Jennifer Pedranti went from being good friends with Tamra Judge, to getting a napkin thrown in her face by Tamra, all in the span of just a few episodes on The Real Housewives of Orange County. Jennifer broke down the napkin incident on new episode of HollywoodLife‘s Pay Attention, Puh-Lease! podcast, where she EXCLUSIVELY revealed that her and Tamra actually had an important off-camera conversation about Jennifer’s boyfriend, Ryan Boyajian, right before their fight.
“We were all walking into Nobu that night. Some of the ladies needed to use the restroom. We were not mic’d or no cameras yet,” Jennifer said. “Tamra and I were talking — and she’s even putting lip gloss on me — and she says, ‘Does Ryan hate me?’ And I said, ‘No Tamra, Ryan does not hate you.’ And she said, ‘You know I owe him an apology.’ And I said, ‘I wish you would do that. He deserves it. I wish you would do that.’ ”
Jennifer said that after her positive off-camera conversation with Tamra, she expected that the dinner Heather Dubrow threw at Nobu would go smooth. And boy was she wrong.
“When the napkin happened, it was even double shock, because two minutes prior to that we were talking about having this amazing fun night together,” Jennifer explained. “And then why? Where in the hell did that go wrong in a span of five minutes? So the napkin — I was just shocked. How do you even make sense of this?”
The yoga studio owner explained that watching back the episode, she still can’t believe Tamra went so ballistic on her about her relationship with Ryan.
“I did watch it back and I think she even says to me, ‘I wanna have fun tonight.’ And I think I sit there and say, ‘So do I,’ ” Jennifer said. “She ordered a shot. That’s why when I heard her under her breath do that thing that she does, I just thought, ‘You’ve got to be freaking kidding me.’ I had just had enough. I told her to watch it, and she just [threw the napkin] right in my face.”
Jennifer also admitted that she’s “sad” her years-long friendship with Tamra has crumbled on the show. She’s especially disappointed that Tamra talked smack about her — and Ryan — when she did Watch What Happens Live with their co-star Emily Simpson.
“You ask me today and I’m gonna tell you that was my friend,” Jennifer said about Tamra. “I would’ve stood by her. My friends matter to me. I’m like, ‘Was any of our friendship ever real for her? Did I ever matter? Is everything a moving piece for Tamra? Has she been in this world to long?’ The things Tamra says hurt because it was real for me. She was real for me.”
On WWHL, Tamra claimed that Jennifer stayed with Ryan after he allegedly cheated on her so that she could get on RHOC. But Jennifer said on the Pay Attention, Puh-Lease! podcast that there’s no truth to Tamra’s accusations whatsoever. “I was not in a cheating relationship and just hoping to God to get casted. Not at all,” she said.
Jennifer also explained why Tamra and Ryan haven’t had a sit-down conversation yet on the show to clear the air about the drama.
“Ryan was open to it at all times,” Jennifer said. “He, like me, was trying to understand it. You will see, we do have a dinner and we are together. And Tamra’s so fun with Ryan and they have fun moments. I keep saying it was like this rollercoaster. You will see all of it. Buckle up, baby.”
Jennifer’s full interview on the Pay Attention, Puh-Lease! podcast is available now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Jennifer talks more about the truth of her relationship with Ryan, the awkward advice she got from Vicki Gunvalson, her friendship with Taylor Armstrong, and much more!