"The Real Housewives of Orange County" hasn't even premiered yet, and the cast is already stirring up new drama online.
On July 10, cast member Tamra Judge shared a video to her social media accounts, saying that her co-star — and former friend — Shannon Storms Beador "accidentally liked" a message before immediately unliking it while "scrolling through old text messages trying to find receipts between the two of us."
Tamra went on to imply Shannon was searching for "receipts" buried in their "two-year-old text messages" to use during an appearance on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen." Shannon is scheduled to appear on the show July 11, following the Season 18 premiere of "The Real Housewives of Orange County."
Tamra was once part of the "Tres Amigas" friend group with Shannon and "RHOC" OG Vicki Gunvalson, who will appear in the new season as a friend of the show. The trio previously toured around the country together in front of crowds of fans. Now, Shannon and Vicki are continuing the tour with just the two of them after tension between Shannon and Tamra resulted in Tamra exiting the group (more on that later).
During a conversation with TODAY.com, Shannon shared her version of events in terms of what happened with the old text messages.
"It is absolutely the funniest thing ever," Shannon says. "For those that don't me very well, I'm low-tech."
She adds that she pushes buttons all the time "by mistake."
She explains she has circles at the top of her texts.
"I don't know how they get up there," she continues. "So there was a circle, and it had Tamra and another person on it. I must've hit it. I don't know how to 'heart' a text message. I've never done that before."
"I'm not obsessed with you, Tamra," Shannon says, adding she is "not getting receipts for 'Watch What Happens Live.' No, I'm not going through old texts. Let's make another big deal out of nothing. She looks ridiculous."
"I must've butt-liked it," she adds. "Is there such a thing? Yeah, I butt-liked her text."
One of the things that "bothers" Shannon so much when it comes to her relationship with Tamra, she explains, occurred not long after her DUI. Shannon was arrested in September 2023 on suspicion of drunk driving and a misdemeanor hit-and-run. The fallout from that will play out in Season 18, according to scenes shown in the trailer.
"Tamra chose to extricate herself," Shannon says about Tamra's absence from the Tres Amigas. "But what bothers me so much, especially in this season, is that the day after my DUI, Tamra left for Scotland to film 'The Traitors.' And when she came back, she was sick, and we did a show together for the Tres Amigas, but Tamra (knows) nothing about what I've been doing and what I've been working on for the last year.
"She's talking about things in the past. She embellishes, she says I was sneaking around. I wasn't. It's bothersome, and it's hurtful to me that someone who I considered to be one of my best friends decided to turn on me."
Shannon then points out Tamra is "big buddies" with Alexis Bellino, who is currently dating Shannon's ex John Janssen.
"I don't know what her agenda is, but it's not healthy for me," she says.
What is healthy for Shannon at the moment is her relationship with Vicki.
"I will tell you that, very different than Tamra, who says she was there for me and that's why this is hilarious for me, but I was pretty injured after my accident," Shannon says.
"My kids were all in school. So Vicki took me in, and I stayed with her and she took care of me," she adds.
"She has such a nurturing, motherly side to her," Shannon says, adding fans can see her and Vicki's honesty and transparency during their live show, “Shannon & Vicki Live!”
She says she can travel around the country for this tour now that she's an empty nester. Shannon has three daughters — Sophie, Adeline and Stella — from her previous marriage to David Beador.
"I'm single. I have no desire to be in a relationship," Shannon says. "How crazy is that?! So that just shows a little bit of growth on my side because I always want to be in a relationship."
"The Real Housewives of Orange County" premieres July 11 at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo and will stream the following day on Peacock.
(Bravo and Peacock are part of our parent company, NBCUniversal.)
