Tamra Judge said she’s on the spectrum and has a “hard time with empathy,” and there’s “a reason why.” The Real Housewives of Orange County star also addressed “sensory issues,” and she hinted at “huge changes” moving forward.
In recent seasons, many castmates have accused Tamra of attacking their character and spreading false rumors that damaged their reputations. She was once sued by the husband of a former castmate, and now she’s reportedly getting sued by Jennifer Pedranti’s boyfriend Ryan Boyajian after Tamra claimed on Watch What Happens Live that he stole money from a professional athlete.
“I just did my first therapy session,” said Tamra on her Two Ts In A Pod podcast. “Let’s just say I found out something pretty big about myself that I didn’t know.”
Her co-host Teddi Mellencamp then pressed for more information.
“I am on the spectrum,” said Tamra.
“Oh my gosh, Tam,” Teddi responded.
“Don’t make me cry,” said Tamra in tears.
When asked what that means going forward, Tamra answered, “We’re trying to work through that. I have a really hard time processing stuff. I have a lot of sensory issues, sound, light, touch. But [my therapist] says that’s not my biggest problem. My biggest problem is working through trauma that I had in my life, that I don’t want to say on here.”
“I’m just a person, that, I just thought things were black and white,” she continued. “That I grew up with a family that didn’t have a lot of empathy or love … [but] I have a hard time with empathy in feeling other people’s feelings … and there’s a reason why.”
Tamra said she hadn’t yet told her husband Eddie.
As Tamra wiped her tears, Teddi expressed, “I love you and it doesn’t change any of that. And I would say that one of your greatest skills is that you can read people, and you have that … Sometimes the filter isn’t always there to read how somebody else is gonna react … Now you’re aware and it’s not a bad thing. You can [use] this to elevate yourself.”
“There’s gonna have to be a lot of huge changes moving forward,” responded Tamra, who said she drinks alcohol on the show to alleviate her social anxiety. “And then all this suppressed s**t that’s going on in me comes out when I drink … I don’t want to say the reason why because it brings in another person.”
Tamra said she feels a need to “expose” people when they’re “wrong” because she’s a “brutally honest person.”
She said part of it has to do with not feeling “control” in a previous marriage, which had “trauma.” Tamra also shared that “something big happened” the night before, and she suggested that the therapy session helped her with it.
