58 Fun Facts About Real Housewives

Which location was home to the very first Real Housewives series, which premiered in 2006?

The Real Housewives of Orange County premiered on Bravo on 21 March 2006, originally pitched as a documentary about life inside the gated community of Coto de Caza.

Who is credited as the creator of the Real Housewives franchise?

Scott Dunlop, a Coto de Caza resident, pitched a documentary-style look at his gated community; Bravo reshaped it into The Real Housewives of Orange County, and the franchise followed.

Which Andy Cohen late-night show doubles as an aftershow for the network's reality programming?

The show premiered in July 2009 and takes its name from the network's slogan of the time, "Watch what happens."

The franchise was inspired by scripted soap operas including Peyton Place and which ABC hit?

Desperate Housewives, ABC's 2004 hit, inspired both the franchise's name and its opening credits, in which each cast holds a signature object in her outstretched hand as that show's actresses did.

In the opening credits, the New York City cast holds which fruit in the closing lineup?

The New York cast holds apples, a nod to the Big Apple; being handed an apple has become shorthand for officially joining the cast.

On whom did Teresa Giudice flip a dinner table during the first season of New Jersey?

Teresa Giudice flipped the table at Danielle Staub during the 2009 season-one finale dinner after Danielle told her to 'pay attention', screaming 'prostitution whore!' in what became the franchise's signature clip.

Bethenny Frankel built her fortune on which lifestyle brand, which began as a pre-packaged margarita?

Skinnygirl began as a bottled low-calorie margarita launched in 2009; Frankel sold the cocktail business to Beam Global in 2011 while keeping the Skinnygirl name for everything else.

Which was the first US installment to be cancelled, after just one season in 2010?

The Real Housewives of D.C. aired one season in 2010 and was cancelled in April 2011, the first in the franchise to go, after cast couple Michaele and Tareq Salahi's headline-grabbing scandal overshadowed the show.

Real Housewives of D.C. cast members Michaele and Tareq Salahi were filmed crashing which event without an invitation?

A White House state dinner, President Obama's first, in November 2009; Andy Cohen later blamed the 'stink' they left for the show's cancellation.

Jen Shah's 2021 arrest, which happened mid-filming, was for running what kind of operation?

Shah ran a nationwide telemarketing fraud that sold worthless 'business development' services to elderly victims; she pleaded guilty in July 2022 and reported to the federal prison camp in Bryan, Texas, in February 2023.

Kandi Burruss of Atlanta first found fame in the 1990s as a member of which R&B group?

Kandi Burruss sang in Xscape, the Atlanta R&B quartet behind 'Just Kickin' It' (1993) and 'Understanding'; she reunited the group for Bravo's 2017 series Xscape: Still Kickin' It.

Which former Miss USA joined the Atlanta cast in its fifth season?

Kenya Moore won Miss USA 1993 as Miss Michigan, the second Black woman to take the title after Carole Gist in 1990, and joined Atlanta's fifth season in 2012.

The Beverly Hills spin-off Vanderpump Rules premiered in which year?

Vanderpump Rules premiered on 7 January 2013, following the staff of Lisa Vanderpump's restaurant SUR; its second-season premiere that November was a two-hour crossover with Beverly Hills' fourth-season opener.

The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip launched in 2021 on which streaming service?

Peacock, NBCUniversal's streaming service, launched Ultimate Girls Trip on 18 November 2021, putting seven women from four cities under one roof in a Caribbean villa.

Which RHOBH original cast member played Lindsey Wallace in John Carpenter's 1978 slasher classic?

Kyle Richards was nine when she played Lindsey Wallace in Halloween (1978); she reprised the role in Halloween Kills (2021) and Halloween Ends (2022) while filming Beverly Hills.

Which socialite is the niece of Beverly Hills sisters Kim and Kyle?

Paris Hilton's mother Kathy Hilton is Kim and Kyle's older half-sister; Kathy joined Beverly Hills herself as a 'friend of the housewives' from season 11 in 2021.

Erika Jayne's ex-husband Tom Girardi, later convicted of wire fraud, was famous in which profession?

Tom Girardi was a Los Angeles personal-injury attorney whose firm Girardi Keese helped win the PG&E case that made Erin Brockovich famous; he met Erika when she was a cocktail waitress at Chasen's.

Erika Jayne made her Broadway debut in 2020 playing which role?

Erika Jayne debuted as Roxie Hart in Chicago at Broadway's Ambassador Theatre on 6 January 2020; the COVID-19 shutdown ended the engagement in March after barely two months.

Lisa Vanderpump's West Hollywood venue SUR is an acronym for what?

SUR stands for Sexy Unique Restaurant; Lisa Vanderpump and husband Ken Todd co-own it with Guillermo and Nathalie Zapata, and it was the original setting for Vanderpump Rules.

The Atlanta cast holds which fruit in the closing lineup of the opening credits?

Each city's object nods to its location; the Dallas women even held CGI stars for the Lone Star State.

NeNe Leakes played synchronized swim coach Roz on which Fox series?

Ryan Murphy cast NeNe Leakes on Glee as Roz Washington, an Olympic bronze medalist turned synchronized-swimming coach, in season three (2012), then made her a series regular on his NBC sitcom The New Normal.

Kandi Burruss co-wrote which 1999 TLC hit alongside Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs?

Kandi Burruss wrote 'No Scrubs' with She'kspere and Xscape bandmate Tameka 'Tiny' Cottle; in 2017 the three received writing credits on Ed Sheeran's 'Shape of You' for its resemblance to the TLC hit.

Atlanta housewife Kim Zolciak's 2009 dance single, produced with help from castmate Kandi Burruss, carried what title?

'Tardy for the Party' later landed in court, with Kandi suing over profits from the track and castmate Phaedra Parks acting as her attorney.

Luann de Lesseps' first single, released in 2010, was titled what?

'Money Can't Buy You Class', co-written by Desmond Child, was recorded during the third season in 2010 and unveiled at a release party for the cast; 'Chic C'est la Vie' followed in 2011.

The RHONY season-three cast trip that fans dubbed "Scary Island" took place in which destination?

The trip to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands produced the episode 'Sun, Sand and Psychosis', and Kelly Bensimon's behaviour there became one of the franchise's most-referenced meltdowns.

Real Housewives of New York's Aviva Drescher stunned her castmates by slamming down and then tossing what across a table?

Aviva Drescher slammed her prosthetic leg on the table at Le Cirque in the 2014 season-six finale, declaring it 'the only thing that is artificial or fake about me'.

The first season of Ultimate Girls Trip was filmed at a villa in which destination?

Vicki Gunvalson and Garcelle Beauvais both said they were originally cast but had to drop out because of the pandemic.

Bethenny Frankel was the runner-up on which 2005 reality competition before joining RHONY?

Bethenny finished runner-up to Dawna Stone on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart in 2005; her wheat-free, egg-free baking business BethennyBakes was featured on the show.

Teresa Giudice served her fraud sentence at a federal prison in which state?

Teresa served 11 months of a 15-month sentence at the federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, in 2015; she and husband Joe staggered their sentences so one parent could stay home with their daughters.

Melissa Gorga, who joined New Jersey in season three, is related to Teresa Giudice how?

Melissa is Teresa's sister-in-law, married to Teresa's brother Joe Gorga; she arrived in 2011 alongside Teresa's cousin Kathy Wakile, and the family feud powered the show for years.

Which Potomac cast member is known by the nickname "the Grande Dame"?

Karen Huger styled herself Potomac's 'Grande Dame' from the show's 2016 debut; her two-part 2022 special took her back to the family farm in Surry County, Virginia, for a reunion.

Vicki Gunvalson, the franchise's original 'OG', built her fortune running what kind of business?

Vicki's company, Coto Insurance & Financial Services, is an insurance agency named for Coto de Caza, the gated community where the show was born; she ran it throughout her years on camera.

Vicki Gunvalson's boyfriend Brooks Ayers admitted to fabricating documents about what during season 10?

Brooks Ayers admitted in 2015 that he had fabricated City of Hope medical records to back his claim of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer diagnosis that had dominated the tenth season.

Bethenny Frankel was reportedly paid how much for the entire first season of RHONY?

Bethenny has said she was paid $7,250 for all of New York's first season in 2008, a figure she cited often after her Skinnygirl sale made her a multimillionaire.

The Real Housewives franchise's first show was filmed in 2005 under what working title?

Filmed in 2005 as 'Behind the Gates', a documentary-style look at Coto de Caza, it was retitled The Real Housewives of Orange County before its March 2006 premiere.

Which was the first international adaptation of the franchise, premiering in 2011?

The Real Housewives of Athens premiered in Greece in February 2011, the first adaptation outside the United States; Vancouver (2012) and Melbourne (2014) followed.

Which county names the UK edition that premiered on ITVBe in 2015?

The Real Housewives of Cheshire premiered on ITVBe in January 2015 with a cast drawn from the wealthy 'Golden Triangle' villages south of Manchester, such as Alderley Edge and Wilmslow.

Salt Lake City was announced in November 2019 at the first edition of which event?

Andy Cohen announced The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City at the inaugural BravoCon in New York in November 2019; the tenth US installment premiered a year later.

Which Atlanta housewife snapped 'Who gon' check me, boo?' at her party planner in 2009?

Sheree Whitfield fired the line at party planner Anthony Shorter during a season-two row over her 'Independence Party' in 2009; 'Who gon' check me, boo?' became one of the franchise's most-quoted catchphrases.

Dubai cast member Caroline Stanbury had previously starred on which Bravo series?

Caroline Stanbury starred in all three seasons of Ladies of London (2014-17) before joining Dubai in 2022, Bravo's first original international installment.

Beverly Hills season two produced the "Woman yelling at a cat" meme, with Kyle and whom?

The still of Taylor Armstrong screaming while Kyle tries to calm her, from 'Malibu Beach Party from Hell' (2011), was paired with Smudge the cat in 2019 and won Meme of the Year at the 2020 Shorty Awards.

Which one-season Beverly Hills housewife's tagline, 'You can never be too young, too thin, or too honest', drew flak?

Joyce Giraud, a former Miss Puerto Rico who lasted one season (2013-14), said a producer handed her the line and promised it was only recorded as an option, then the network used it anyway.

Whose no-show at the 2013 Beverly Hills reunion set the precedent that skipping a reunion ends a housewife's run?

Adrienne Maloof skipped the season-three reunion in early 2013 amid her split from Paul Nassif and was not asked back; Andy Cohen later cited her as the origin of the rule that skipping a reunion means leaving the show.

Who joined the Real Housewives of Atlanta in season four as the show's first official 'friend of the housewives'?

Marlo Hampton stayed in that part-time role on and off for a decade before finally being promoted to full-time in season 14.

The 2023 "Scandoval" affair on Vanderpump Rules involved Tom Sandoval and which castmate?

Tom Sandoval's months-long affair with Raquel Leviss, exposed in March 2023 while he was living with Ariana Madix, sent cameras back up for the season-ten finale and a three-part reunion.

Andy Cohen first co-hosted CNN's New Year's Eve coverage on 31 December 2017 alongside which anchor?

Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen first co-hosted CNN's New Year's Eve coverage on 31 December 2017 after Kathy Griffin's exit; the close friends had already toured a stage show, AC2, that grew out of a 92nd Street Y interview.

Before joining Bravo, Andy Cohen spent ten years at which network, starting as a news intern?

Andy Cohen spent a decade at CBS News, starting as an intern in 1990 and rising to senior producer of The Early Show, before moving to the cable channel Trio and then to Bravo in 2004.

The seventh installment, set in Florida, grew out of a show the network originally ordered as what?

Bravo ordered Miami Social Club in 2010 as a rebuild of its 2009 series Miami Social, then folded it into the brand as The Real Housewives of Miami, which premiered in February 2011.

Which Miami housewife's mother, 'Mama Elsa', became a fan favourite with her psychic readings?

Elsa Patton, mother of Marysol Patton, became the Miami show's breakout character with her face-reading 'psychic' pronouncements and cocktail-hour one-liners; she died in May 2019.

New York City's series was in pre-production under what working title before joining the franchise?

Bravo developed the show as 'Manhattan Moms' before folding it into the franchise weeks ahead of its March 2008 premiere; in 2022 it became the first installment to be fully recast.

Which professional dancer was partnered with both Vanderpump and Erika Jayne on Dancing with the Stars?

Gleb Savchenko danced with Lisa Vanderpump in 2013, when she went out in tenth place, and with Erika Jayne in 2017, when the pair were eliminated in week five.

Erika Jayne's first single, which topped Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart in 2007, was titled what?

'Roller Coaster' (2007), Erika Jayne's debut single, was the first of a string of number ones she scored on Billboard's dance club chart; the album Pretty Mess followed in 2009.

Which feminist leader said the franchise presents women as 'rich, pampered, dependent and hateful towards each other'?

Gloria Steinem, co-founder of Ms. magazine in 1972, criticised the franchise in a 2011 interview, saying its women were shown as 'rich, pampered, dependent and hateful towards each other'.

Kevin Hart created which BET parody of the franchise, which ran for five seasons from 2013?

Real Husbands of Hollywood, Kevin Hart's mock reality show, ran on BET from 2013 to 2016; Hulu answered with its own spoof, The Hotwives, set first in Orlando and then in Las Vegas.

In which state is Dorinda Medley's Blue Stone Manor, where 'Ex-Wives Club' was filmed?

Blue Stone Manor sits in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires; it had already hosted the New York cast's holiday trips, and Dorinda's 2021 memoir is titled Make It Nice.

Which Salt Lake City housewife's 2023 memoir is titled Bad Mormon?

Heather Gay's memoir Bad Mormon, published in February 2023, recounts her divorce and her departure from the LDS church; she co-owns the Beauty Lab + Laser med spa in Salt Lake City.

Andy Cohen's 2012 bestselling memoir is titled what?

Most Talkative, subtitled Stories from the Front Lines of Pop Culture, came out in May 2012 and made the New York Times bestseller list; The Andy Cohen Diaries, modelled on Andy Warhol's diaries, followed in 2014.

In the Real Housewives of Dallas opening credits, the cast held which CGI object instead of a piece of fruit?

Stars, for the Lone Star State; it follows the pattern of New York's cast holding apples and Atlanta's holding peaches.