Heather Dubrow Calls Tamra Judge "Amazing" Amid Simon Barney's Cancer Battle

Tamra Judge has been going through an incredibly difficult time as her family copes with her ex-husband Simon Barney's battle with stage 3 throat cancer. Luckily, she has close friends like Heather Dubrow to lean on during these trying times.

Heather shared during a recent interview with ET that Tamra has confided in her during Simon's cancer battle. "Tamra, you know, she was amazing on Housewives, but she is a very private person, and what has been going on in her family for the last several months has been, obviously, very sad and upsetting," Heather shared. "She has kept it really close to the vest — we've been talking about it, obviously, we are close friends — I think the way she is handling it is amazing, and I think that, what the only positive thing I can say about all of it is how their family has all come back together. But I think the lesson to take away is, we should not have to wait for something tragic or sad or upsetting to happen to pull us all back together."

Simon, who was married to Tamra for 11 years before they divorced in 2011, went public with his stage 3 throat cancer diagnosis last week. He told PEOPLE how the diagnosis has brought his family closer together after several years of strain.

“It’s kind of like a new beginning for me and my family. It’s really brought everyone closer together,” he shared. “When I told Tamra, she said she cried for like, two or three days. Things changed with our relationship from there, in a good way. We’re getting along in ways we haven’t in years. And she’s become close with my fiancée. And that shift carried across the board with my kids, too.”

Tamra, who shares three children with Simon (Sidney, 21, Spencer, 19, and Sophia, 14), also told PEOPLE during a recent interview that Simon's health is one of the reasons she decided not to return to RHOC as a Housewife. “It made me reevaluate my life,” she said.

“The reality of it is, after [my husband] Eddie [Judge]’s heart condition and now Simon with cancer, it’s just very hard for me to want to go on a show where people are screaming and yelling and arguing about things that don’t even matter,” she continued to PEOPLE. “They’ve taught me that life is precious, and you don’t get that time back.”

Heather also shared her thoughts on Tamra and Vicki Gunvalson's departures from RHOC during her interview with ET. "Tamra and Vicki, both incredible; Tamra is a dear friend of mine, I love Vicki, and they were both amazingly influential on the show," she said. "But sometimes, it is time for everyone to move on, and I am really excited to see what their next chapters are going to be."