Gretchen Rossi exited The Real Housewives of Orange County season 8. Since then, Gretchen welcomed her daughter Skylar with her fiancé Slade.

Gretchen Rossi has been up to quite a bit since she exited reality TV following her stint on The Real Housewives of Orange County season 8. Viewers might remember Gretchen when she joined the cast on RHOC season 4. Back then, Gretchen was engaged to fiancé Jeff Beitzel, who had been diagnosed with cancer. At the time, RHOC season 1 showed Gretchen taking care of Jeff and spending their last year together as a couple in love.

However, ahead of the RHOC season 4 reunion, Gretchen revealed that Jeff had lost his battle to cancer and had passed away a few months prior. Despite going through the pain of a loss, fellow costar Tamra Judge couldn't help but bring up rumors that she was dating someone else while she was engaged to Jeff. Gretchen vehemently denied those claims, which set the tone for their future friendship. The former reality star later found love with Slade Smiley, who she got engaged to on her last season

After leaving the series ahead of Real Housewives of Orange County season 9, Gretchen did make a brief appearance during season 12 alongside Lizzie Rovsek. Following that brief guest appearance, Gretchen decided to shift her focus to becoming a mother. At the time, the 43-year-old and her fiancé Slade were undergoing IVF. Gretchen, who almost lost her house, even opened up about her journey with Us Weekly. "The first time that we did it, we actually had 14 embryos that six hours before we were going to implant them, or one of them in me, we lost all of them," Gretchen said of her first time trying IVF. Despite the hardships between her and Slade due to the process, she was thankful to have an amazing partner like him by her side.

After many years of trying to get pregnant, Gretchen announced in December 2018 that she and Slade were finally expecting their first child together. Nine months later, Grethen gave birth to their daughter, Skylar. Since then, Gretchen, who went through postpartum depression, has been in mom mode and has put all of her energy into being the best mother she could be. In April 2021, Us Weekly asked Gretchen if she and Slade plan to have any more children in the future. She revealed that the couple is still very open to the idea, but she wants to wait before implanting another embryo. The couple still has "one more genetically sound embryo," which Gretchen would feel guilty about if she didn’t implant one day. While she plans to implant the embryo someday, Gretchen still needs some time for Skylar.

It seems that life only got better for Gretchen after quitting RHOC seven years ago. Not only did she leave the show engaged to the man of her dreams, but she finally got the child she always dreamed of having. Alas, maybe Gretchen will be the next former OC housewife to make a return.

Next: RHOC: What Happened to Lynne Curtin After Season 5

The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST on Bravo.

Source: Us Weekly