Tamra Judge's Daughter Blamed Her for Divorce and Custody Case With Simon Barney

Those who have seen Tamra Judge on The Real Housewives of Orange County know she loves to share her "OPINION" with anyone she crosses paths with. Her fearless approach to confrontation makes many adore or at least love hating her. But even the biggest Housewives villain develops a soft spot regarding their kids.

During Tamra's early days of RHOC, she often showed her life as a real housewife. She and her husband at the time, Simon Barney, had three children — Spencer, Sophia, and Sidney, plus her son from a previous relationship, Ryan Vieth. But soon, Tamra's kids, sans Ryan, weren't involved as much on the show for a difficult reason.

Simo filed for divorce after nearly 12 years, which he claimed was due to Tamra's infidelity. The split resulted in a custody battle that still affects her today.

Tamra and Simon's divorce deeply affected their children. Their contentious divorce led to a custody disagreement between the exes, though Tammy clarified in 2016 that she was never in a "battle" with her ex for their kids.

"I've never lost custody of any of my kids," Tamra told Entertainment Tonight. "I hear that all the time … I'm not going through a custody battle."

Simon and Tamra's arrangement reportedly meant they had equal legal rights to their children. However, only two of their three kids chose to live with Tamra. She shared on a RHOC reunion episode that she relinquished custody of her daughter, Sidney, who didn't want to live with her and blamed her for her and Simon's divorce.

"She came in the kitchen, and she sat down and she said, 'I don't want to live with you anymore,'" Tamra shared with tears in her eyes. '"You've ruined my dad's life.' And I said, we need to work through these things. We can go to counseling. She basically left that day and, two years later, has not come back," she added. "It was all over the press that Simon was trying to take the kids away from me, and she never talked to me again."

Sidney clapped back against her mom in a 2017 Facebook post. She stated that her leaving the house had less to do with her mom and dad's divorce and more to do with Tamra being "mentally and emotionally abusive" and declared in the post that Tamra "was no mother to me." She also said her mom "pushed her out of the house" by refusing to honor her wishes to not post on social media.

Thankfully, Tamra confirmed in July 2023 that she and Sidney were growing into a "nice" place with one another after reuniting at Sophia's graduation. She's also seemingly in a good place with all of her kids and is enjoying her life with her husband Eddie Judge.

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