What Gretchen Rossi Has Been Up To Since Leaving RHOC

During her time on The Real Housewives of Orange County, Gretchen Rossi made her mark. She was accused of being a gold digger, of pitting housewives against one another, of cheating on her fiancé, and so much more during her four-season stint on the reality tv series before she was let go. Viewers either adored her or despised her. They thought Rossi was fake or applauded her for standing up against the other ladies who wanted to tear her down. The Bravo celebrity was truly someone fans of RHOC rooted for or against. There was no in-between.

Given that viewers did not get any backstory on what Rossi did for a living, it was not clear how she was going to be able to live the lifestyle she had become accustomed to while filming. But because Rossi had a successful real estate company before taking care of her fiancé, who ultimately succumbed to cancer, she had a nest egg saved up. And between the salary Rossi was paid on RHOC and the contacts she made as a result of being on the show, Rossi did just fine financially in the years after leaving the franchise. A fact that continues to be true today, a decade after her time with the show came to an end.

Here is what Gretchen Rossi has been up to since leaving RHOC.

Gretchen Rossi And Slade Smiley Are Still Going Strong

When Slade Smiley made his debut on RHOC, it was with his then-fiancé, Jo De La Rosa. Ultimately, the two called things off. When this happened, they believed that De La Rosa would remain on the show.

But it was Smiley who instead got the storyline. And this was because he started dating Rossi after her fiancé passed away, in 2009.

As soon as the couple went public with their relationship, there was controversy surrounding it. Not only had Smiley dated another RHOC cast member, Lauri, but there were questions about whether the two were dating for appearances on the show only.

But, the couple is still together in 2023. A claim that some of the same housewives who stated the relationship would not last can say about their own marriages.

The couple is going strong 14 years after they started dating. And while they did get engaged in 2013, Rossi and Smiley have yet to walk down the aisle.

There have been a couple of dates that have come and gone to say "I do," but ultimately something got in the way personally or professionally. However, this has not changed the relationship between the two. It may have actually made them stronger.

"Like, I feel like I want to be like Goldie [Hawn] and Kurt [Russel]," Rossi explained. "Like, look at how long they’ve been together. And they’re so happy and in love."

The RHOC alum continued, "Or like look at Oprah and Stedman. And like, all of them are doing so well. And I swear all of the people that have gotten married after they’ve been together for so long. Like they ended up getting divorced!"

Though there is no date on the books to get married, Rossi and Smiley are perfectly content with their little family. A little family that has had an addition since last being on reality television.

A Daunting IVF Journey Made Gretchen Rossi A Mom

Smiley had thought that he was not going to have any more children after his boys with his ex, Michelle Arroyo, were born. As such, he had a vasectomy. Therefore, in order to start a family, Smiley and Rossi went the route of IVF.

The first attempt to become pregnant via IVF appeared that it was going to be a successful one. 14 embryos were harvested and it looked like full steam ahead to add a plus one to the family.

"So we did IVF first and we had such great results at the beginning and then the day before they were supposed to implant all the embryos – we had 14 embryos – basically what happened was they arrested, which means they all died off,” Rossi explained.

“That was very disheartening and a very difficult time for us and it was just emotionally, physically and mentally extremely draining."

It was because of this that Smiley made the decision to have a reverse vasectomy. However, the procedure did not work as anticipated and Rossi was not able to get pregnant.

As such, the couple decided to turn to IVF in order to make their dreams of a family come true.

After yet another round of IVF, the couple found out they were expecting in 2018. And after years of wanting a child, Rossi became a mom to a baby girl in July 2019.

Gretchen Christine Was Acquired By A Large Company

Gretchen Christine was a brand that Rossi started that focused on handbags. While she got a lot of flack from her RHOC castmates for trying to launch her own brand, Rossi's tenacity paid off.

This is because several years after the brand was launched, it was acquired by Dastmalchi. And made Rossi not only a pretty penny but allowed her to stay on as Creative Director.

"It’s so nice to have this mother ship, if you will, to really help us take the business to the next level," Rossi said of the acquisition.

Rossi went on to explain, "With the millennials, who are basically using their phones to shop, they really aren’t walking into the malls anymore to shop and it’s, in one way, it’s very sad and in another way it’s kind of exciting to see the growth and the access that you can have to consumers so quickly, so yeah,” Rossi said.

“I would definitely say that our focus isn’t heavily focused anymore specifically on retail."

This acquisition allowed Gretchen Christine to be launched on Amazon. And with the international following Rossi had from RHOC, her line has been a success.

Slade Smiley And Gretchen Rossi Started A Podcast

Recognizing that their fans were interested in what they were up to since leaving RHOC, the couple started a podcast.

Knot Too Taboo was launched in February 2020. Rossi and Smiley covered topics that included things such as sex, money, parenting, health, and more.

While the podcast went for just over a year, it appears that the duo decided to go a different avenue, as there have not been any new episodes since March 2021.

Gretchen Rossi Returns To Reality Television

While Rossi was the first to say, never say never to returning to reality TV, how that would happen was unclear. But Bravo came calling and offered Rossi an opportunity she could not refuse.

And as such, the former RHOC star is back with housewives from several franchises in The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip Season 4.

The first two seasons of the show have already been streamed on Peacock. Season 3 is scheduled to air in spring 2023 and Season 4 has yet to film yet. However, it is known that it will be taking place in Marrakech, Morocco.

And of course, being a Housewives franchise show, there will be plenty of drama that fans have come to know and love that will unfold fairly quickly. Whether Rossi will be a part of it remains to be seen.