‘RHOC’ Star Gretchen Rossi Opens Up About Postpartum Depression, Admits She Didn’t Initially Connect With Baby

Gretchen Rossi experienced postpartum depression after the July birth of her first child, daughter Skylar Gray.

During the September 26 episode of The Doctors, the former The Real Housewives of Orange County cast member admitted that when it came to becoming a mother, things didn’t go down between her and her daughter in the way that she expected.

“I make a joke that I’m going to write a book called It’s All a Lie,” Rossi shared, according to a report from Us Weekly magazine.

According to Rossi, she had absolutely no clue what she was in for when she first got pregnant with her baby girl, especially after seeing so many happy mom photos on social media.

“I just thought, ‘This is going to be great.’ You see Instagram, you see social media, you see the media making it look like it’s so perfect, and you just sit there and breast-feed your child and you look magically into their eyes. It was nothing like that,” Rossi said.

Following the birth of her daughter, which was reported by The Inquisitr, Rossi went through a really difficult time as she experienced depression and anxiety and failed to connect to her child in the way she had hoped. Then, she had a breakthrough during an emotional visit to her daughter’s pediatrician.

During the visit, Rossi broke down and began crying and right away, the doctor informed her that she should consider the idea that she may be experiencing a serious case of postpartum depression. Although Rossi was initially hesitant to consider any such thing because she’s typically a very happy and positive person, she ultimately came to the realization that the doctor was right.

Looking back on the first several weeks of motherhood, Rossi said she was really struggling with the idea that she wasn’t mastering her new life as a mom, even though she had finally gotten the miracle baby she’s been hoping for over the past several years. As she explained, she was failing to manage her life and all of the duties that parenting entails, all while she also tended to her busy career and life in the spotlight.

Luckily, through it all, Rossi had the love and support of her longtime fiancé, Slade Smily, who she said was her “rock.”

“Slade has been the best support any woman could dream of,” she told Us Weekly.

The Real Housewives of Orange County Season 14 is currently airing Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. on Bravo TV.