After a two-year hiatus, pint-sized reality TV titan Tamra Judge is right where back where she belongs: starring on Real Housewives Of Orange County Season 17. Another housewife would have crumbled upon not being asked back on the show, but not Judge. From her successful podcast “Two Ts In A Pod with Teddi Mellencamp and Tamra Judge” with ex-Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star Teddi Mellencamp to a season of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip spent at Dorinda Medley’s Bluestone Manor, Judge has been keeping busy during her brief time away from RHOC. Even though our queen has been thriving, it feels so good for her to have her orange back.

Upon her return to the franchise, the first thing on Judge’s to-do list was to repair her long-standing friendship with Shannon Beador. “We were on a friendship pause for two years,” explained Judge. She went on: “It wasn’t like we just came back and were like, ‘Hey friend. How’s it going?’ No, there was a lot to it.” The relationship with Beador wasn’t the only one Judge had to repair. New housewife Jennifer Pedranti was one of Judge’s CUT Fitness devotees and a longtime friend, but the two are a bit on the outs when the season first starts. “Everything you’ll see is very organic and not all good,” said Judge, adding “There were fights that happened two years ago, which are important to understanding to our dynamic.” While Judge might have some uncomfortable moments trying to fix these two relationships, there’s no doubt that viewers will love watching all the drama and (fingers crossed) healing that is bound to happen.

Judge stopped by the DECIDER offices to talk about the new season, the trajectory of her relationship with frenemy Heather Dubrow, and why all housewives should just “pay your damn taxes.”

DECIDER: Your motorcycle sequence re-introducing yourself to the series after a two-year break is absolutely iconic. Who was the mastermind behind that?

TAMRA JUDGE: I’ve been riding dirt bikes for many years. My husband Eddie recently got into riding Harleys. So, I got my motorcycle license last year and we started to ride. The crew thought tracking me on my motorcycle would be an amazing intro for my returning to the show. When they suggested that ,I was thinking, “Oh my God, how awesome it would be if they tracked me and just threw out all my iconic moments” [laughs], and that’s what they did. I like it. I think it’s pretty cool. I’ve never seen it happen before.

You deserved a great entrance after all that you’ve given us.

It’s a little bit different than walking through a house and going, “I’m back.” And let’s face it, I left in the bushes. I needed a good comeback.

I was thrilled to see you back in the mix, but also thrilled to see Eddie and Sandy. What was your family’s reaction to your re-joining the cast?

There was a moment, I think, a year after I was no longer on the show when my daughter said, “Mom, please go back to the show.” She knew that I got all that energy out, complaining and bitching, and telling people off on the show, so that when I got home, I had none of that left in me. So, she was fine with my being back in action [laughs]. At first, Eddie was like, “No, you know what? It’s been two years. Move on, go forward. There’s no use in going backwards.” However, when the opportunity came to return to Orange County, he, like my daughter, was very supportive. He was really the deciding factor. If he didn’t want me to go back, I wouldn’t have gone back.

Your relationship with Shannon—the good, the bad, the ugly—is one of the staples of RHOC. What was it like to reconnect with her after your “friendship pause”?

We were on a friendship pause for two years, and said a lot of things. I was asked to do interviews from the day after I was let go, and 99% of the interviews I turned down. The interviews that I did do touched on who I was hanging out with, and I mentioned that Shannon wasn’t taking my phone calls anymore. Of course, that went viral, and then the press turned it into something way bigger than it was.

Shannon responded with something snarky, saying, “Well, she’s 45 minutes away.” Since I was only 20 minutes away, I fed off that comment and it just became this big public shit show. Getting back to where we are now didn’t come super easy. No, there was a lot to it. We have some sit-downs that don’t go well that I ended up leaving, and we get into another fight after that. It takes a while for us to get back on track.

Even though you and Shannon hadn’t spoken in years, you shared with her Bronx’s passing and the closing of CUT Fitness. Did you surprise yourself with your openness?

No, I wasn’t surprised. I’m very much an open book and generally just tell everybody how I feel. Eddie’s like, “You know, you don’t have to tell everybody how you feel; you can keep some things to yourself.” But being back in her presence made me feel okay and warm and like we were friends. We were more like sisters. You fight, but then you get over it. I knew there was a lot more that needed to be talked about, and we would have the chance to do that in the future.

In the first episode, we get to meet your friend/new housewife Jennifer Pedranti. Were you excited for her to join the show?

Not really. I’ve never really wanted any of my friends on the show because it’s a very slippery slope. It’s very hard to maintain friendships in that environment. Jennifer and I went through some rough times during the pandemic at CUT Fitness, and you guys will see all of it. So, we weren’t on great terms at the time. I was so excited to be asked back, but when I found out Jennifer, who had tried out before for the show, was hired too, I was like, “Oh, and you’re coming too?”

We do have so much history from the past. Everything you’ll see is very organic and not all good. I’m bitching about her. She’s bitching about me. There were fights that happened two years ago that are important to understanding to our dynamic. I tried to keep those old arguments out of it because that background is hard for viewers to understand, but I couldn’t totally ignore the past. It was tough to navigate through.

I’ve been beating myself up about Jennifer in many ways, so I called her in tears and told her, “I don’t know what this is going to look like, but I never wanted to hurt you.” The good news is that we’re good now, but getting there has been tough. Some viewers are going to wonder, “Wait, she brings her friend on and then now this? They’re fighting like crazy.”

How do you think she handled herself this season?

She did a good job. If somebody would’ve thrown a napkin on my face like someone did to her, I would’ve crawled over the table and choked them. That’s just me. But she was cool and calm. She had a lot coming her way for a newbie and did well.

Obviously, Bravo fans are thrilled by RHOBH alum Taylor Armstrong joining RHOC as a friend this season. Were you happy to have another ally on the show?

Taylor is so sweet, so kind, and has the biggest heart. I loved having her around.

How’d she fit in with the other ladies?

Well, not very well with Heather. Not very well at all. But the rest of the girls loved her.

What can you tease about the trajectory of your friendship with Heather this season?

I went into the show not really knowing where I stood with a lot of the girls. Heather had said some not great things about me on her podcast . I’ve always been her biggest supporter when she wasn’t on the show. When I was asked “Who would you bring back?” I always said Heather. As soon as I got fired, they brought her back [laughs]. I did put all that aside when I rejoined the show. We started off pretty well, but there were definitely some bumps. I got to a point where I just called everybody out. I didn’t keep anything in. There were a lot of things that Heather did that were questionable to me. Towards the end, it gets really bad.

You were almost at Ground Zero when Shannon took that selfie with her ex-husband David at the Quiet Woman. Were you happy or sad that you missed their encounter?

I would’ve liked to have seen the moment. I haven’t seen David in a long time. I was doing press with her that day, and I left around 7:30. By the time I got home and sat down, I looked at my phone and there’s a picture of Shannon and David. At first, I thought it was an old one or something. I sent her a text message, asking, “Have you lost your mind?” We’re in a group text with some other friends and they’re like, “What is going on?” She just ran into him and thought it was a good idea to take a picture. My reply was, “Can you please sleep with him and take a video so you can send it to his wife?” I hate that woman [laughs].

I have to tell you I love “Two Ts In a Pod.” You and Teddi have great rapport and balance each other out nicely.

We do. She’s very controlling and I just give her shit all the time [laughs]. We’re like an old married couple at this point. We can finish each other’s sentences. It’s really weird. I told her, “If I start my period again, I’m done with this friendship.”

You advised your fellow housewives on the podcast to “just be honest” and “pay your taxes.” It seems simple enough advice to follow, but Bravolebrities have a hard time doing both things. Why is that?

It seems very simple. In the housewife universe, we get paid without taxes being taken out. If you don’t do quarterly taxes or you don’t file your taxes or you don’t save the money to pay the taxes, that’s a problem. So yeah, just pay your damn taxes.

Being honest is hard too.

Some people come on the show and feel like they have to be a certain way which includes wearing designer clothes. One of the girls is wearing all fake designer clothes from head to toe. Not just a Gucci belt. I’m talking head to toe. I thought to myself, “When Balenciaga is spelled wrong on your sweater, that might be a problem.” I did manage to keep my mouth shut though. At one point, I’m literally looking at her with the ocean behind her, and she’s like, “What are you looking at?” I was looking at the misspelling of Balenciaga, but I said, “Oh, the ocean. Isn’t it beautiful?” The moral of the story is don’t try to be somebody you’re not.

Last question. If you could go on another season of RHUGT, which of the housewives would you bring with you?

I’m definitely bringing Teresa [Giuidice] with me because I think that would be fun. Bethenny [Frankel] too. Chanel Iyan, I would love to see. Maybe Erika Jayne. Of course, I’d bring Teddi because I need an ally.

I would love to see Teddi in that environment.

I’m hoping that she’ll get on a Girls Trip. I’d love to see her. She’s actually thinking about moving to Orange County and has looked at some very fancy houses.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo.