RHOC Star Criticizes Tamra Judge’s Relationship With Her Daughter

Heavy/NBCUniversal Tamra Judge and the cast of RHOC season 18.

“Real Housewives of Orange County” personality Vicki Gunvalson gave her opinion on her castmate and former friend, Tamra Judge‘s estrangement from her daughter, Sidney Barney.

In the September 2 episode of her podcast, “My Friend, My Soulmate, My Podcast,” Gunvalson said that she believed Judge should focus on mending her relationship with Barney, instead of filming RHOC. According to Gunvalson, Barney has taken issue with Judge’s decision to film on the Bravo series.

“[Judge] won’t talk about Sidney [on RHOC] who she hasn’t seen in years … Listen, if my daughter [Briana Culberson] didn’t talk to me, I would be on a flipping plane right now. Knocking on her door. Begging her for forgiveness. And I don’t even care what I did,” said Gunvalson on her podcast. 

Gunvalson also said, “Sidney has a very strong opinion of Tamra.” In addition, she said Barney has requested her mother to “stop embarrassing the family, stop doing what you are doing, and get off the show” to rekindle their relationship. 

“Tamra did none of that. So you know what, that shows Sidney ‘I’m not important to you,'” said Gunvalson on her podcast episode. 

Vicki Gunvalson Mentioned Tamra Judge’s Estranged Relationship With Her Daughter on Teresa Giudice’s Podcast

Gunvalson mentioned Judge and her eldest daughter’s estrangement in a July 2024 episode of “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Teresa Giudice‘s podcast, “Turning the Tables.” Gunvalson, who has not been a full-time RHOC cast member since 2020, said she did not like how Judge behaved towards some of her co-stars.

“Last year, it was to [Heather Dubrow]. This year, it’s to [Shannon Beador]. It’s always somebody that she’s going after. And nobody will ever go after her because they’re afraid of her,” said Gunvalson. 

She went on to say that no one on the RHOC cast “ever talks about why her daughter [Sidney Barney] doesn’t talk to her.”

“Nobody ever talks about her relationships. They don’t because they don’t want to go there with her,” said Gunvalson to Giudice. 

Gunvalson also said she is not interested in mending her friendship with Judge.

“I don’t like mean girls. I don’t want to be around it, I hate it. And Tamra is, like, a mean girl. She’s a mean girl,” said Gunvalson. 

She clarified that she has “moved on” from their feud.

Tamra Judge Responded to Vicki Gunvalson’s Comments

Judge responded to Gunvalson’s comments about her and her eldest daughter’s relationship in a September 3 X post. She stated that she believed Gunvalson “is disgusting.” She also said she thinks Gunvalson made the remark because “she needs a little attention.”

In addition, Judge referenced that Culberson had issues with Gunvalson’s now ex-boyfriend, Brooks Ayers, during their 3-year-long relationship which ended in 2015. 

“Listen, I’m not going to take parenting advice from a woman that chose her boyfriend, Brooks, over her own daughter. A woman who had a boyfriend told [her husband Ryan Culberson] that he should beat his wife to keep her in line and to stay with him. To me, that’s disgusting,” said Judge in her X video.

She also told Gunvalson to leave her alone.

During the RHOC season 8 reunion, which was filmed in 2013, Culberson confronted Ayers for telling her husband “to start hitting [her]” to “get her to fall in line.” 

Ayers confirmed that he made the comment.

“Listen to me, I was drunk and angry. And yes, I’m sorry I said that,” said Ayers during the season 8 reunion.

Tamra Judge Spoke About Her Eldest Daughter in July 2023

Page Six reported that Judge spoke about falling out with her eldest daughter, who is fathered by her ex-husband Simon Barney, while filming the RHOC season 11 reunion.

“My oldest daughter, Sidney, said, ‘I don’t want to live with you anymore. You’ve ruined my dad’s life.’ [She] left that day and has not come back,” said Judge during the reunion, which was filmed in 2016.

While speaking to Page Six in July 2024, Judge stated that she has not mended her relationship with her eldest daughter. However, Judge said the 24-year-old has been communicating with her siblings.

“She is reaching out to her brother and sister now, so that’s good news,” said Judge.

Sidney Barney Made a Statement on Social Media About Her Mother in 2017

People magazine reported that Sidney Barney released a statement about her estrangement from her mother in a 2017 Facebook post.

In the post, Barney stated that she has requested her mother “to stop speaking of me publically [sic] as I don’t want to be associated with her or the show [RHOC].”

In addition, she wrote, “The reasons I left my mothers [sic] house are that she was neglectful (leaving us at home with no food or simply ignoring us entirely).”

“[S]he constantly put herself first and the biggest reason was that she was mentally and emotionally abusive. She was no mother to me,” continued Barney in the 2017 Facebook post. “The ONLY reason I am not living with her is because she continues to do the things that pushed me out of her house, like talking about me on the show/press/social media, doing embarrassing things on the show, lying to me and putting herself first to name a few.”

She noted that Judge attended her high school graduation. Barney stated she was unhappy that Judge posted pictures from the event on social media. According to Barney, she asked Judge “to not post anything about my graduation, anywhere.”

“The one thing I asked and have been asking for 4 years now has been to not talk about me because I don’t want to be in the spotlight,” wrote Barney. “But Again breaking her promises as per usual, she puts herself, her fame, her reputation, and her bank account before me. If she really wanted a relationship she would keep her promises and recognize that it is no one elses [sic] fault but hers that I do not want her in my life.”