Tamra Judge got surprising news that has changed her whole outlook on life!
On Monday’s episode of her Two Ts in a Pod podcast with co-host Teddi Mellencamp, the Real Housewives of Orange County star revealed she “found out something pretty big” during her first therapy session just minutes prior. She shared:
“I am on the spectrum.”
The spectrum she is referring to is the autism spectrum. And FWIW, as we’ll get into later, it doesn’t sound like she has been given an official diagnosis yet. Still, this is a big discovery! A lot of people are neurodivergent, and it sounds like Tamra is making some big realizations about her entire life.
Related: Holly Madison Opens Up About Having ‘High Executive Functioning’ Autism
The 57-year-old explained that “working through trauma” has been her “biggest problem,” and now she has more understanding about why. She candidly explained:
“I just thought that things were black and white to me. … I grew up with a family that didn’t have a lot of empathy or love or whatever, so that just transpired onto my adult life. But after talking and going through everything and my emotions, and I have a hard time with empathy and feeling other people’s feelings … there’s a reason why.”
The Bravo personality went on to note that she believes the condition is linked to her social anxiety, among other things, adding:
“How I make it through the show is [by] drinking.”
Oof.
This news was so fresh, she hadn’t even told her husband Eddie Judge yet! Wow! The TV personality also predicted she’s going to have a “rough few months” moving forward as she deals with “a lot of huge changes” as a result of this. It must’ve been such a mind-blowing thing to learn about herself! You can tell in how emotional she was (below).
While some fans were complimentary about Tamra’s decision to be so forthcoming with this update, calling her “courageous,” sadly, it sounds like a ton were also super mean!
On Tuesday, Tamra took to her Instagram to share a lengthy statement about why she now regrets sharing the news. She wrote:
“I started therapy because this year had been really hard on me. I started feeling really insecure, I was having intrusive thoughts, and I didn’t wanna leave my house unless I had to. I even considered just being admitted into a mental health facility.
In my conversations with my therapist, who I’ve known for years, we talked about a lot over the course of two hours. And she told me that many of the things about me — like how I process information, my sensory issues, my social anxiety, my aversion to eye contact with new people, my not wanting to be out of my routine, etc. — were all signs of being on the spectrum.”
Addressing that there is more “evaluation” to be done for a formal diagnosis, she added:
“Now, ‘On the spectrum’ it’s such a broad term. I don’t really understand it fully, and my therapist told me more evaluation was needed. But when I sat down at the mic to record my podcast 15 minutes later and my head was spinning from what she had said. I had no time to process things, or even talk to my family — I was just back at work. And I was so emotional, I just blurted it out.”
Naturally, her initial reaction was to keep the private matter private — but she ended up allowing it to stay in the final edit, something she wishes she could redo. She shared:
“Afterwards, my instinct was to have it removed. But I’m used to being so open with everything in my life, I thought against it. Now, I wish I had. I just want to take people through the journey with me as I’ve always done, but I realize now I spoke too soon publicly, and that processing this with such an onslaught of negative comments has been horrible.”
Ugh!
That’s awful! People can be so cruel! The Vena CBD founder clapped back at her critics, noting:
“If you know me, you know I don’t like to look weak or play the victim. I also hate labels, just as much as I hate excuses. But I’m working on myself — not a TV show; to be a better person for me and the people around me. This isn’t some storyline. It’s my real life.”
She concluded:
“I have past trauma that is deep and painful. This is something I’ve suppressed for 15 years. But I’m finally getting the help I need, and I’m proud of myself for that.
So as much as I appreciate the amazing people who reached out, I think it’s best to move forward more privately until I get to a better mental space. My mental health is just not strong enough where I can be judged and hated on right now. Yes, I’m admitting I’m weak. And I’m okay with that right now.”
Wow. What an awful thing to be bullied when sharing such significant and vulnerable news! We’re so sorry she was made to feel this way!!! We wish Tamra nothing but the best as she continues to explore this discovery about herself and focus on her mental health!
Thoughts? Tell us (below).
[Image via Tamra Judge/Two Ts in a Pod/Instagram]
