Tamra Judge says her ‘mental health isn’t strong enough’ amid backlash from saying she’s on the spectrum

Tamra Judge has caught a lot of heat this season for her actions on The Real Housewives of Orange County.

In a surprising turn of events, the backlash intensified this week when she claimed she was recently diagnosed as “on the spectrum.”

The 57-year-old shared the news during a chat on her Two Ts In A Pod podcast with Teddi Mellencamp.

While some people shared messages of support with Tamra on social media, many were skeptical of the timing of the admission.

On Tuesday evening, the longtime reality TV star issued a statement to let viewers know how she’s feeling.

“I started therapy because this year has been really hard on me,” she candidly wrote.

“I started feeling really insecure, and I didn’t wanna leave my house unless I had to.”

“I even considered just being admitted into a mental health facility,” the Bravolebrity added.

Tamra shares why she revealed what her therapist told her

Tamra went on to say that she learned a lot about herself throughout her conversations with her therapist, “like how I process information, my sensory issues, my social anxiety, my aversion to eye contact with new people, my not wanting to be out of my routine.”

The podcast host said she recognizes that “on the spectrum” is a broad term and admitted that she doesn’t “really understand it fully.”

She then delved into her podcast appearance and how she spoke with her therapist before filming the podcast, and her “head was spinning from what she had said.”

“I had no time to process things, or even talk to my family – I was just back at work.”

Tamra said she even questioned whether to remove that segment from the podcast, but she had been so accustomed to being “open” with viewers about her life.

However, she realizes she “spoke too soon publicly” and admitted that “processing this with such an onslaught of negative comments has been horrible.”

Tamra then opened up about how she doesn’t like to “look weak or play the victim” and revealed that she’s “working” on herself “to be a better person for me and the people around me.”

Tamra claims this is her ‘real life’

She also addressed the criticism that she was using this as a storyline on RHOC.

“This isn’t some storyline. It’s my real life.”

While she appreciates “the amazing people who reached out,” she thinks “it’s best to move forward more privately until I get to a better mental place.”

The mother of four said that her “mental health is just not strong enough where I can be judged and hated on right now.”

Tamra has been prominent during RHOC Season 18, which has featured some of the most dramatic storylines in years.

In the most recent episode, the cast went to London to celebrate Shannon Beador’s birthday, but there was high drama when Tamra trashed Shannon during the first cast dinner.

The developments are expected to spill into the next handful of episodes as the season winds down.

The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo. Stream Seasons 1-18 on Peacock.