NEWS that “Real House wives of the O.C.” star Gretchen Rossi is now going out with the ex of cast- mate Jo De La Rosa is not going over well at Bravo, the network that carries the show.
As reality show hook-ups go, the new relationship between Gretchen, who lost her fiancé to cancer last fall, and Slade Smiley, who has a son with a rare type of brain cancer, is a soap-opera dream.
But insiders on the hit series are skeptical of the new affair and are not anxious to have Slade back on the “Real Housewives” series again.
Slade, a title-insurance broker, starred with Jo in an ill-fated “Real Housewives” spin-off last year called “Date My Ex.”
Bravo has not decided yet if it will produce a fifth season of the original “Real Housewives” series.
But the franchise, which has spread to New York, Atlanta and — starting next month — New Jersey, has been a big hit for the network.
If it does return to Orange County, says one insider, “We’re hoping that Slade is out of the picture.”
