See Why Jo De La Rosa Is Back on The Real Housewives of Orange County

   

An original cast member — the one and only Jo De La Rosa — is making an appearance on the upcoming Season 18 finale of The Real Housewives of Orange County.

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In a preview for Episode 17, set to air Oct. 31, Jo arrives to Alexis Bellino's house for a party celebrating Jennifer Pedranti's engagement to Ryan Boyajian.

"Hi Jo Jo!" Alexis says when Jo walks in, going on to give some background on their relationship in a confessional. "I met Jo about 12 years ago, and Jo has known these women longer than I have."

From there, Alexis shares a big life update on her pal: "Jo just got married. He's an amazing guy."

"She gets along with everybody," Alexis adds. "I don't think she has any enemies — which is perfect, because she can help me squash some of mine maybe."

 Jo De La Rosa laughing and holding a drink up.

If you haven't caught up on early RHOC in a while, don't fret. Jo was one of the series' — and thus the franchise's — first Housewives when she joined the show for Season 1 back in 2006. She stayed on for two seasons before departing, but obviously hasn't lost touch with the ladies.

Born in Lima, Peru, Jo's family immigrated to Orange County when she was three years old. After growing up in Mission Viejo, she attended the University of California at Irvine, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Comparative Literature.

In 2020, Jo released a series on her Popcandy podcast called "Life After Housewives," where she talked to former 'Wives — she was the first to be interviewed — about what it was like to leave the Bravoverse. In a time before social media, it was much harder to make ends meet and Jo found that she'd "ran out of money" about a year after her time as a cast member ended. Her next move? Moving in with a friend and taking a bartending class.

"I had a publicist at the time, and he was like, 'Jo, you cannot be seen bartending.' People were like, 'What the hell are you doing bartending here? You just got off a hit show!'" she explained. "Back then, there were a lot of reality stars that had gotten off of like, American Idol, and were also doing the same thing. We were all seeing each other in clubs. A lot of them were promoters." 

 

Where is Jo De La Rosa today?

 

These days, Jo is Jo is happily married to musician Taran Gray and is the co-founder of a company called SocialPlay, an "LA based creative agency specializing in TikTok content that connects brands to their ideal audience," according to her LinkedIn.