Real Housewives of OC, Gretchen Rossi, Sued for Libel by Ex Boyfriend
The Real Housewives of Orange County is never short on drama – especially where Gretchen Rossi is concerned.
When Rossi was first seen on The Real Housewives of the OC she was portrayed as the younger fiance of Jeff, a terminally ill man.
RadarOnline.com is reporting that Jay Photoglou, Rossi’s alleged ex-boyfriend, is suing Rossi and charging her with libel and slander and five other counts.
It all stems from Rossi denying romantic involvement with Jay, as she was depicted as the fiancé of Jeff during the first season of her appearance on the reality TV show, The Real Housewives of Orange County.
According to the lawsuit, Photoglou says he and Rossi began dating in 2008 and Rossi told him that she was a caregiver to a terminally ill “ex-boyfriend friend, Jeff Beitzel.” Photoglou further states that over the next year, he and Rossi were known to their friends as “a couple” and “vacationed together, went to marriage workshops together, attended each other’s family vacations and had each other’s names tattooed on their fingers.”
During that time on or around March 2008, Rossi was approached by friends and former Orange County Housewives cast mates, Slade Smiley (who Rossi is now dating and living with) and Jo De La Rosa (Slade’s then girlfriend), who told Rossi they could get her a spot on the show.
The lawsuit further claims that Rossi was “intimately involved with Photoglou the entire time the show filmed Rossi’s first season.”
Beitzel, who was portrayed as Rossi’s fiancé on the reality show, died in September, 2008. The following month, Photoglou says he and Rossi had each other’s names tattooed on their fingers and Photoglou eventually moved into Rossi’s house.
Photoglou charges Rossi with damaging his reputation by calling him a liar, a drunk and a thief and is demanding punitive damages in the lawsuit. The lawsuit charges Rossi with spreading lies in published interviews, in emails to private individuals and members of the media.
What do you think about the lawsuit?? If it is true – it’s just another reality show that isn’t so real??
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