Jo De La Rosa Admits It Was ‘Hard to Look At’ Gretchen Rossi and Ex Slade Smiley’s Relationship on RHOC

Former Real Housewives of Orange County OG Jo De La Rosa is opening up about a painful part of her past.

While time heals all wounds, Jo now admits that it was “hard” to see ex-fiance Slade Smiley’s new relationship with Gretchen Rossi play out on RHOC.

During the first two seasons of RHOC, Jo and Slade were engaged; however, their relationship turned rocky and eventually ended. Jo left RHOC after season two but made appearances during seasons 3 and 4.

Enter Gretchen, who joined RHOC during season 4. Gretchen started dating Slade shortly before season 5 after the death of her much older fiance Jeff Beitzel. The twist is Jo and Gretchen were friends thru Slade, who had previously worked with Gretchen in the mortgage industry.

Now, in a new interview, Jo admits that at 26-years-old she struggled to see Slade move on with her former friend and fellow Housewife.

“I don’t think anybody likes to see their ex move on. Not that they don’t like to see it, but it’s always weird when they do,” Jo revealed on October 9 episode of the “Getting Real with the Housewives” podcast. “You see it on Instagram, or you hear about it. It doesn’t matter if you’re over the relationship or whatever. It’s always weird.”

She also reveals that she left RHOC because “needed time away” from reality TV. Adding that Slade and Gretchen‘s romance  was “hard to look at,” and she was “really immature and didn’t understand it.”

“It’s been years now, and I feel like we’re all in such a great place and time heals all,” Jo continues. “So I think if I was asked to go back [to The Real Housewives], I’d definitely consider it, and I would definitely do it.”

To wrap, Jo says, “everybody ended up exactly where they were meant” to be as Slade and Gretchen got engaged in 2013 and welcomed daughter Skylar in July 2019.