A GoFundMe page set up for Slade Smiley‘s late son Grayson Arroyo-Smiley‘s memorial services seemingly implied that he didn’t help ex Michelle Arroyo with medical expenses.
Becky Arroyo, one of Michelle’s family members, hinted at the 49-year-old Real Housewives of Orange County alum’s alleged lack of financial involvement in the online fundraiser‘s description.
“Along with sudden and eternal grief comes a substantial financial cost to his mom who has been his sole care provider and healthcare advocate for over 16 years,” the note reads. “Out-of-pocket medical expenses for Gray are in the hundreds of thousands and we are raising money to help cover any outstanding amounts as well as the expenses related to Gray’s memorial services.”
Michelle, for her part, accused Smiley of “inexcusable behavior and neglect” while speaking to TMZ on Sunday, February 19. She also claimed that the Date My Ex alum hasn’t paid child support since 2019 and owes $152k worth of payments. Us Weekly has reached out to Smiley for comment.
The exes’ son died earlier this month at age 22. According to his support website, Grayson was first diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2006 when he was 6 years old.
The grieving mother also called out Smiley’s fiancée and fellow RHOC alum, Gretchen Rossi, alleging that the couple “grossly misrepresented the true nature of their relationship with Grayson, which was virtually nonexistent.”
Rossi, 44 — who shares daughter Skylar, 3, with Smiley — shared a tribute to the actor’s late son via Instagram earlier this month.
“Our rational minds told us this day might come, but our hearts always held onto the hope that this day would not come to fruition 💔,” she captioned a carousel of photos of Grayson. “We are beyond devastated and heartbroken over the loss of Gray. 😔 Grayson Arroyo-Smiley was such a special human being.”
Rossi’s fellow Bravolebrities Tamra Judge and Teddi Mellencamp referenced Michelle’s allegations during the Tuesday, February 21, episode of their “Two T’s in a Pod” podcast.
“It’s heartbreaking and I know Slade lost his son and that’s hard, but Michelle was his prime caregiver,” Judge, 55, said. “She never said much while Grayson was alive, but now that he’s not, I think she’s had it.”
The fitness coach continued: “Gretchen just got a big chunk of money for being on Ultimate Girls Trip and Michelle is having to go through a GoFundMe to pay for his services.”
Grayson’s cause of death has not been revealed, but Michelle shared insight into his condition while confirming the news of his passing.
“I’m heartbroken to share that my sweet Gray passed away Sunday night. It was very unexpected as last week he had CSF drawn from his shunts and they adjusted the valve setting of his shunt and he was doing much better,” she wrote via Instagram earlier this month. “We were still struggling with his diarrhea and I was giving him potassium 3 times a day because it was dropping so low. His heart stopped here at home and I performed chest compressions to get it going until the paramedics arrived and took over. When he left for the hospital he looked good and was breathing on his own but his heart gave out again at the hospital.”
