After Tamra Judge left Real Housewives of Orange County in January 2020, real fans didn't
stop following her story. As any Real Housewives obsessive will know, she's been very open
about the fact that she became estranged from her oldest daughter, Sidney Barney.
"How long have you not seen her?" "Uh, three and a half years. Sidney texted
me last night. She invited me to her graduation!"
They weren't always estranged, of course. Back when Tamra joined the show in 2007 for
Season 3, we did see some footage of Tamra actively being a mom. But that all changed
in the Season 5 finale, when she told her ex-husband Simon Barney that she wanted a
divorce. They split up, and Simon didn't sign off for their three kids to appear in subsequent
episodes of the hit reality show.
Over the years, Tamra has talked about her family life a lot. Unfortunately, this penchant
for oversharing evidently irked Sidney to the umpth degree. During their subsequent
estrangement, Tamra would often discuss their many issues —opening up about the family
drama on the show, in interviews, and on social media. In the past, Sidney has also shared
her side of the story in some heated social media posts.
Thankfully, it sounds like Tamra and Sidney have turned a corner, and their relationship
is on the mend. In February 2020, Simon Barney went public with his Stage 3 throat cancer
diagnosis. In an interview with People, he said,
"It's kind of like a new beginning for me and my family. [...] We’re getting along
in ways we haven’t in years. [...] And that shift carried across the board with my kids,
too.”
In March 2020, Tamra confirmed that she'd reconciled with Sidney in an Instagram comment.
One fan reportedly asked her,
"Since the news, [...] does your other daughter [Sidney] talk to you?"
Tamra's response?
"We have all reunited."
Tamra's issues with Sidney reportedly took shape after her bitter divorce from Simon.
In 2014, Radar Online released court papers filed by Simon, which alleged that
"[Tamra] has been very neglectful in her care for the children. This has resulted in the
children not getting prompt medical care, nutritional meals, hygienic care, and deterioration
in their school work and attendance."
Simon also revealed that Sidney had moved out of Tamra's house. In 2017, Sidney echoed
some of her father's sentiments in a public Facebook rant. According to E! News, she wrote
that,
"The reasons I left my mother's house are that she was neglectful (leaving us at home
with no food or simply ignoring us entirely), she constantly put herself first and the biggest
reason was that she was mentally and emotionally abusive. She was no mother to me."
In the post, Sidney claims she told Tamra exactly how she felt — both in therapy and
in court — before turning to social media. Meanwhile, Tamra vehemently denied these allegations,
claiming,
"I would NEVER abuse, hurt or neglect her in any way."
At the end of the day, it seems like Tamra and Sidney are very different from one another.
Tamra clearly loves being a public figure and it might be said that she lives for drama.
Meanwhile, Sidney seems to really enjoy her privacy. But like we said, Sidney has been
pretty vocal on social media over the years. Her 2017 Facebook post was in response to
Tamra sharing these photos of Sidney's high school graduation online... even though Sidney
specifically told her not to do any such thing.
"To be able to go and see her graduate and to see her grow up and take on the next step
of her life means the world to me."
Sidney also shared screenshots of a text conversation in which Tamra promised not to share pictures
from the big day.
In her hot-headed Facebook post, Sidney alleged that her father Simon Barney "forced" her
to invite Tamra to graduation. She agreed — as long as Tamra agreed to two basic rules:
"She remains cordial with [her] father and [her] stepmom and to not post anything about
[her] graduation, anywhere."
Nevertheless, Tamra did share the pictures on her public Instagram account. Out of context,
it looks like a harmless post that Tamra shared to support Sidney's achievements. But Sidney
clearly didn't see it that way. In response to Tamra's graduation gaffe, Sidney felt compelled
to write:
"she puts herself, her fame, her reputation, and her bank account before me."
In January 2020, Tamra confirmed that she was done with the show. Soon after that, Sidney
and Tamra reportedly started to mend their relationship. Obviously, this is great news
for the whole family… and we certainly hope that Tamra and Sidney continue to get along.
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