Michelle Arroyo accused her ex Slade Smiley and his girlfriend Gretchen Rossi of “neglect” and “inexcusable behaviour” in a new statement.
Slade Smiley is primarily remembered by Real Housewives of Orange County viewers for his incendiary outbursts and history of unpaid child support. Now, Smiley’s ex-girlfriend Michelle Arroyo is accusing him of neglecting their kid Grayson in the aftermath of his untimely death.
Arroyo accuses Smiley and his wife, former RHOC cast member Gretchen Rossi, of “capitalising” on Grayson’s death in a statement published by People on Thursday. She also accuses them of “misrepresenting” their relationship with Grayson after Rossi memorialised the 22-year-old on Instagram.
“I have remained silent year after year on his father’s and his fiancée’s atrocious behaviour and neglect out of respect for my son, who desired nothing more in this world than a meaningful relationship with his father,” Arroyo said in a statement.
“Slade Smiley and Gretchen Rossi shamelessly distorted the true nature of their relationship with Grayson, which was almost nonexistent,” she continued. I will not stand by and let them profit from my son’s murder for who they were when he was still alive and needed his father.”
The announcement comes after Rossi paid an impassioned tribute to Grayson, who died of brain cancer earlier this month at the age of 22. Smiley was photographed with Grayson as a child in the post. Rossi characterised Grayson as “an angel on Earth and an outstanding warrior” in a lengthy caption.
In addition, the former Real Housewife shared a video compilation from Entertainment Tonight that included footage of her husband and Grayson as children.
“Gretchen has posted video after video, including on Valentine’s Day, presenting a flagrantly false image of a loving stepmother to my child when the reality is she has not made the effort to nor seen him in over 10 years, which is why he is 12 years old in every picture she posts,” Arroyo responded.
Following Grayson’s death on February 5, Arroyo set up a GoFundMe page to cover funeral expenses. The fundraiser’s description, which states that Arroyo was the “only caregiver and health care advocate for over 16 years,” did little to dispel allegations that Smiley skimped on financial support for his kid.
Smiley owes $152,655.27 in child support, according to a court ruling obtained by People. Arroyo also told the magazine that the last child support payment she received from Smiley was “in August of 2019 for $36.19.” That payment was also confirmed by others.
Furthermore, Arroyo states in her statement that Smiley has only visited his kid “rarely” since 2008, “cancelling last minute or simply not showing up at all with no warning.” Grayson, she claims, “wanted not to see his father anymore” as he grew older in order to avoid further disappointment.
“[Slade and Gretchen] can have the money that was rightly mine,” Arroyo told People. “But they cannot shamefully capitalise on his wonderful memory as I will no longer permit it, and in death, I shall be his voice. “Enough already.”
“It’s awful that the Smiley family is not being allowed to grieve at this terribly difficult time due to the false charges being made by Grayson’s mother,” sources close to Smiley and Rossi said in a statement to People. Gretchen adores Slade and assisted him in creating a poignant monument to his son, but she has been attacked by Grayson’s mother. It’s a terrible situation.”
Rossi has been cast in the fourth season of Peacock’s Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, which just finished filming. Throughout the season’s upcoming release, the former Housewife will presumably have numerous opportunities to publicly state her case.
