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Tamra Judge reintroduced fans to her daughter, Sophia Barney.
“The Real Housewives of Orange County” star’s youngest child made her first appearance on the Bravo reality show in more than a decade on the season 18 premiere, and fans were blown away by how different she looked.
Judge teased Sophia’s return in April. In a post on X, she shared a photo of her now-brunette 18-year-old daughter with the caption, “That’s a wrap for Sophia. Can’t wait for you all to be reintroduced to her this upcoming season. #RHOC.”
Sophia is Judge’s daughter with her ex-husband Simon Barney. She also shares another daughter, Sidney, 24, and son, Spencer, 23, with her ex-husband, and has another son, Ryan Veith, 38, with her ex, Darren Veith.
Judge and Barney divorced in 2011 after the 5th season of RHOC, according to BravoTV.com. Little Sophia had appeared in 20 episodes up until that time, but was never seen again following her parents’ divorce.
“You haven’t seen Sophia in over 10 years because her dad would not sign the agreement to allow her to film,” Judge said in a confessional. “She’s been living with me this entire time. She is now 18 and getting ready to go to college.”
On the “Real Housewives of Orange County” season 18 premiere, titled “Exes and OCs,” Judge’s daughter made her first appearance on the show since 2010.
Fans Couldn’t Believe How Much Sophia Barney Has Changed
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PeacockSophia Barney on RHOC.
Fans remember seeing Sophia as a little girl with blonde hair. Fourteen years later, she has dark, brown hair with bangs, winged eyeliner, a nose ring, and a tattoo. She also dropped an F-bomb while talking to her mom in her return RHOC scene.
While her mother rarely posts photos of her on Instagram, Sophia has changed a lot since a 2020 photo that showed her as blonde at age 15. Fans reacted on social media.
“Wow Sophia is all grown up! She seems like a sweetheart and so pretty #RHOC,” one fan wrote on X.
Others couldn’t get over Sophia’s edgy look.
“Idk what I thought Tamra’s daughter would look like. But, Kelsi from High School Musical was not it,” another wrote.
“Tamra’s daughter being an alt girl is so [expletive] funny,” another chimed in.
Fans also reacted to the dynamic between Judge and her daughter when, in one scene, the teen quickly shut her mother down when asked if she had talked to her father. “I’m not talking about that,” Sophia replied.
Sophia also appeared extremely uncomfortable when Judge broke down over her daughter Sidney, whom she is estranged from. “I know you don’t want to talk about her,” Judge said, to which Sophia replied, “Not really. … Can you keep [your thoughts] in your head? I’m not your therapist.”
Some fans felt that Sophia didn’t really want to be on camera.
“Did you see how uncomfortable Sophia was? She literally said 3 times that she didn’t want to talk about their family issues on camera, but Tamra kept pushing. That girl didn’t like being filmed. It’s sad. Seems this is exactly why Simon wouldn’t give permission,” one commenter wrote.
“The Tamra and Sophia scene was…..awkward #RHOC,” another agreed.
Tamra Judge Said Sophia Becomes Less Nervous as the Season Goes On
PeacockSophia Barney.
While fans think Sidney seemed uncomfortable, Judge revealed her daughter wanted to film with her on RHOC. Speaking with Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea,” Judge shared that she was scared when her daughter first got back in front of the cameras.
“When she started filming, I noticed … she ain’t acting like she’s normally acting,” the RHOC star added. “So I noticed that she’s very nervous about filming. “So, you’ll see a difference from Sophia in the beginning and Sophia toward the end of the season. She opened up, she relaxed, she had a much better time.”
Judge elaborated in an interview with Decider. She admitted it was “hard” to bring Sophia back on the Bravo reality show because she wants to “protect her at all costs.”
“I know how the audience can be at times,” Judge added. “I told her, ‘this is your choice if you want to do this,’ I never pressured her at all. She decided to start filming and was pretty nervous the first five times or so that the cameras were on. I kept checking in with her to make sure she was okay and wanted to keep going. Towards the end of the season, she starts opening up more and it’s wonderful.”
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