RHOC’s Tamra Judge Opens Up About Autism Comments and Mental Health Journey

Tamra Judge is sharing her therapy experience while explaining controversial statements about autism that caused major public backlash.

The 57-year-old “Real Housewives of Orange County” star had an emotional breakdown during a therapy session shown on the show’s season 19 premiere. She talked about the mental health struggles she’s been working on for the past four months while clearing up previous comments that upset many people.

“I realized that you have to dig up those things that are buried deep inside of you, because those are the things that come out when you get angry,” Judge said during the July 10 episode as she walked into her session already crying.

The reality star has been addressing tough topics in therapy, including her difficult custody fight with ex-husband Simon Barney, her estrangement from her daughter Sidney, and her father leaving their family. These unresolved issues have greatly affected her emotions and how she handles stress.

Judge said her current mental state has made life especially hard. “My sensory issues are heightened, my intrusive thoughts are out of control right now,” she told her therapist.

Her therapist explained how complicated mental health diagnosis can be, saying: “And we talked about unprocessed trauma and whether or not the spectrum was part of this, because the symptoms can also mimic that. There’s too many variables. It’s hard to say until you get an assessment.”

Fixing Past Mistakes with Honesty

The therapy session let Judge address the controversy around her October 2024 podcast comments, where she said she was “on the spectrum” after just one therapy session and no official diagnosis. Her statement on the “Two Ts In A Pod” podcast, which she co-hosts with Teddi Mellencamp, led to harsh public criticism from people questioning whether she understood autism spectrum disorder.

“When you mentioned that to me, I had gone home and went on my podcast and I misspoke,” Judge admitted during her therapy session. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I just got annihilated publicly and I had a really [expletive] last year.”

Judge later told People that she had “no time to process things” when she recorded that podcast episode and admitted she didn’t really understand what being “on the spectrum” meant.

Autism spectrum disorder, as explained by the National Institute of Mental Health, is a brain and developmental condition that affects how people behave, socialize, and communicate, with different symptoms and levels of severity.

The negative response deeply hurt Judge’s mental health and made her difficult year even worse. “It was very hurtful,” she said in a confessional. “People think that I don’t have feelings and it’s not true. And I’m tired of being called a horrible human being because I’m not.”

Working to Make Things Better

Judge is focusing her therapy journey on personal growth and and improving her relationships with others. The reality star said she is working on controlling her emotional reactions and communication habits that have impacted her personal and professional relationships.

“I just don’t want to lash out when I’m mad, even if somebody’s done me wrong,” Judge shared. “I want to fix things.”

Her therapy work has shown deep trust issues that come from past experiences, especially her complicated relationship with her daughter. “I’m so afraid if I get close to people, they’ll turn on me,” she admitted. “So I just keep a wall up so they don’t get close. I don’t nurture my friendships. I think my biggest struggle is trusting people. I’ve got very few people that I can really talk to.”

Judge is actively working to change her reactive behaviors that she traces back to unresolved trauma. She talked about “not wanting to be so responsive, impulsive, explosive and harsh with my words,” which she believes comes from her past experiences.