Tamra Judge Gets Emotional Over ‘Ugly’ Fallout with Shannon Beador (Exclusive)

Tamra Judge is dishing on Season 18 of “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” which marks the 100th season of “Housewives” franchise!

“Extra’s” Melvin Robert sat down with Tamra, who teased plenty of drama ahead, as well as fun times, laughter, and friendships.

Tamra got emotional speaking about castmate Shannon Beador’s DUI arrest and how things took an “ugly” turn with their friendship.

She said, “It’s unfortunate, everything that went down. I was very good friends with Shannon for 10 years, and I know Shannon better than anybody knows Shannon. When Shannon got the DUI, I was on my way — when it was announced — I was on my way to do ‘Traitors,’ so it was on my way to go to Scotland. We were on the phone. We were crying together.”

“It’s hard,” Judge noted while getting tearful. “She was a really good friend. We were very, very close. I worried that something like this would happen to her, and it did. I’m just glad that nobody got hurt. But I felt like it was finally my time to be able to very honest with her and tell her, ‘Listen, you need help. You’ve been on the show for 10 years. Every year, somebody has talked about your drinking. It is time to stop.’ And she did not take it that well that I said that.”

Tamra ended up backing out of the "Tres Amigas" show with Shannon and Vicki Gunvalson, explaining, “It was hard for me to commit to so many tour dates, but also because she was still drinking and I thought, ‘I’m not going to be that friend that’s going to enable you.’ ... This time, nobody got hurt, but if there's a next time, I'm not going to be one of those people who's like, 'Oh, you're okay. Don't worry. You can have a few drinks.' I don't want to be involved in that."

When asked if she had expressed concern for Shannon before, Judge answered, “Yes. What basically happened is because I did that, she pretty much turned on me, started talking behind my back, saying horrible things about me. Nobody liked me. Nobody wants you on the show. And I'm like, 'I'm trying to help you.' So, I'm like, you know what? I need to take a step and not be involved so closely with this."

Tamra revealed she did reach out to Shannon when she found out Shannon's ex John Janssen was dating Alexis Bellino. She shared, "I sent Shannon a text. I said, 'I know we're not in a good place. I know this has gotta hurt. I hope you can enjoy your holidays. I'm so sorry for what you're going through.'"

She stressed "It's not that I've ever turned my back on her. Because I was there for her from the day she got her DUI, the day I got out of ‘Traitors,' we did a show together. That's when I saw her drinking, the phone calls with her drunk were coming in and I’m like, ‘Where’s rock bottom?’”

While their relationship is strained right now, Tamra has hope that things will be repaired. She said, “It gets really ugly with us this year. It gets really bad. There’s some good times, but it ends really bad, so I just hope that she gets the help she needs.”

Judge also dished on where she stands with Jennifer Pedranti after some challenges, saying, “I know I was a little rough on her last year, but it was really from a place of concern, and if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t have gone that route. But I do care about her and I want only the best for her, and you’ll see as the episode goes on, we are very close and we are talking again. I thought we had a really good season for the most part."

The highlight for Tamra this season has been her daughter Sophia appearing on the show.

She explained, "What people don't know, and I get accused of this all the time, 'Oh, your kids don't talk to you.' I'm like, 'Yes, they do.' I have one estranged daughter that we do not speak and that's been going on for 10 years, but Sophia, Spencer, Ryan... Spencer and Sophia have lived with me full time for years. Now Spencer's off at college. Ryan obviously is older, he's in his 30s, so he's been out of the house for years."

She continued, “But Sophia had been in the background of me filming all the time. She would have to hide and it was really hard on her, because she is a huge part of my life. She's my baby. Now she’s able to film and I gave her the option, ‘Is this something you want to do? You know, I want you to know it’s not that easy. There's backlash on social media. People are mean, they'll make fun of you no matter what.'"

She says Sophia wasn't worried: "She's like, 'Mom, I don't care about that stuff.'"

Tamra said the backlash is something that she’s “gotten better” at handling herself over the years.

She reflected, “In the very beginning, I think it was like MySpace, but you know, there was always negative comments. There’s always people that are behind their keyboard feeling so strong to tell somebody off... It’s a really small group, 2% of the people in the world that are back on there saying mean things. I feel sorry for them their life is so miserable that they need to do that.”