Gretchen Rossi is officially returning to The Real Housewives of Orange County for Season 19. Gretchen, who previously held an orange between Seasons 4 and 8, will return as a friend for the upcoming season. This means we’ll get new insight into her relationship with her longtime fiancé, Slade Smiley. But, the couple has long let fans into their lives since they started their relationship 16 years ago.
As fans might recall, Gretchen revealed that she was dating Slade during RHOC Season 5. Slade however, had dated in the RHOC group prior to dating Gretchen, which caused some rifts and friction. But Gretchen and Slade’s love has endured, with them getting engaged during RHOC Season 8, welcoming their first child — a daughter named Skylar Gray — into the world in 2019, and celebrating anniversary after anniversary by each other’s side.
But, let’s take a little trip down memory lane with these throwback photos of Gretchen and Slade that share an inside look at their love story.
When did Gretchen Rossi and Slade Smiley start dating?
Gretchen and Slade made their RHOC debut as a couple during RHOC Season 5, Episode 1. Gretchen had been mourning the loss of her fiancé, Jeff Beitzel, and found solace in her friend, Slade. “Slade and I have actually been friends for eight years,” she explained in a confessional. “And then, all of a sudden, we were like, ‘Why aren’t we dating?'”
Gretchen and Slade bust a move in The Real Housewives of Orange County Season 5 Episode 3.
Photo: Bravo
Slade Smiley and Gretchen Rossi.
Photo: Courtesy of Gretchen Rossi
Gretchen Rossi and Slade Smiley.
Photo: Bravo
Gretchen Rossi and Slade Smiley’s sweet throwback photos
The love between Gretchen and Slade was so apparent from the start and they’ve captured many of their moments on camera.
Slade Smiley and Gretchen Rossi.
Photo: Courtesy of Gretchen Rossi
Slade Smiley and Gretchen Rossi attend the launch of Gretchen Christine for LUXE By Lisa Vogel Swimwear Collection on July 12, 2013 in Topanga, California.
Photo: Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic
Gretchen Rossi and Slade Smiley leave their Soho hotel on April 3, 2013 in New York City.
Photo: Ray Tamarra/Getty Images
Gretchen Rossi’s fertility journey was documented on RHOC
Slade was there by Gretchen’s side when she started her fertility journey in 2014. The couple had pursued multiple avenues to conceive, including in-vitro fertilization, and getting Slade’s vasectomy reversed. Cameras were on hand to capture Gretchen’s visit to a fertility doctor during RHOC Season 8, Episode 9, after she and Slade decided that they were ready to have children together.
Slade stands by Gretchen’s side at a fertility check-up in The Real Housewives of Orange County Season 8 Episode 9.
Photo: Bravo
Inside Gretchen Rossi’s marriage proposal to Slade Smiley
Gretchen took her relationship to the next level with Slade when she proposed to him during RHOC Season 8, Episode 17. She surprised him with a song that she recorded about their relationship, while he was hosting his radio show, asking him to marry her in the lyrics. She then met him at a helicopter pad in downtown Los Angeles, where she proposed to him with a ring. Slade then got down on one knee of his own to accept.
Slade proposes to Gretchen in The Real Housewives of Orange County Season 8 Episode 17.
Photo: Bravo
What are Gretchen Rossi and Slade Smiley doing today?
Gretchen and Slade have not yet tied the knot, but now have a 5-year-old daughter, Skylar, together. Gretchen is super active on Instagram, where she updates her followers on her life, and posts the most adorable videos with Skylar. And yes, you can find photos of her and Slade together on there, too.
In a video posted to her account on Dec. 31, Gretchen reflected on her 2024. “So many amazing memories made with my little family, but also many hard days along the way,” she wrote in the caption of the post. “So that doesn’t mean there isn’t bad with the good, but we get to choose how we move through the struggles.”
The couple also celebrated their 16th anniversary in February 2025. “So grateful everyday to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with such an incredible partner & for our beautiful love story. Thank you [Slade] for loving Sky & I with a Christ like love and being such an incredible role model to our daughter of how a man should treat a woman,” she wrote at the time to mark the anniversary. “I love you forever … and they said it wouldn’t last.”