It’s always really good to take a look back at the early years of popular TV shows, so let’s take a look at The Real Housewives of Orange County. Originally the series was tipped to be called Behind the Gates and was a chance for viewers to take a peek into the glamorous lives of 5 women living in Orange County, California.
Eventually, the show was renamed, the format was promising but they changed the name to The Real Housewives – the show we now know so well.
How RHOC Got Started
When the show was still called Behind the Gates it gave the impression that it was going to be more about the homes and properties rather than the people. By changing the name to The Real Housewives, viewers knew that the focus of the show was squarely on the people and personalities involved.
This particular franchise specializes in character-based shows so it is not surprising that the name they finally picked reflects that.
The Real Housewives Of...
Once they had decided on The Real Housewives there was still some debate about whether or not they really needed to add "of Orange County" to that.
However, it seems that someone had the right idea when they said that adding the locations would leave the way open for some spin-off shows later. This was 12 years ago and since then there have been 9 spin-offs. Give that guy a promotion!
Let’s test your knowledge and see!
Inspired By 'Peyton Place'
Peyton Place aired from September 1964 until June 1969. Initially, the show screened in black and white and then after 2 years, in 1966, it went to color. Its cast boasted some major stars such as Mia Farrow and was a popular prime-time show.
At the height of its popularity, it aired three times a week. The show was controversial for its time and was essentially the very first American Soap Opera, spawning a whole new genre of TV shows.
Frank Sinatra Called It Quits
Peyton Place was actually the name of the fictional location of the show and the town, it’s people and their lives were the focus of the series. It explored social issues and opinions and covered subjects like religion, wars, infidelity and so on.
It was very character driven and in this respect, you can see where the show-runners for The Real Housewives franchise became inspired to produce the hit show. Because of its character-based nature, the show went into decline when Mia Farrow left. Her husband Frank Sinatra encouraged her to do so and it led to a real loss of momentum for Peyton Place.
Ratings continued to fall for Peyton Place but it still continued until 1969. Other actors also started to leave and gradually the original characters were replaced. This is also reflected in The Real Housewives where you see old characters leaving and being replaced with newer ones.
Manhattan Moms
Again, another show that had a change of name in order to reflect the fact that this was a show about housewives, was Manhattan Moms. Even the stars of the show were unaware of this until the very last minute.
Now it has become a real trend among these shows to start with The Real Housewives – they withhold the fact from the participants until the last possible moment, finally letting them know that they are going to be Real Housewives.
Although Manhattan Moms is a bit better than the title Behind the Gates, it could make it hard to introduce any characters that aren’t moms. The viewers would obviously notice that right away, this way the whole thing is pretty much open to anyone – as long as they are a housewife!
Potomac Ensemble
Apparently, the same thing happened to the participants on The Real Housewives of Potomac. The working title of the show was the Potomac Ensemble and it was only 2 months before the show went on air that the producers told the participants that this was part of the Real Housewives series of shows.
There is a strong reasoning behind this. The producers believe that the participants will be able to film the show in a much more organic and relaxed way and that they can be protected from unwanted media or fan pressures. The name "Real Housewives" can mean a lot of unwanted attention which would affect the way the series is produced.
'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Don't Even Live in Beverly Hills!
That’s right folks! These real housewives do not actually live in Beverley Hills. In reality, they live in another area of the Hollywood Hills.
Adrienne and Lisa actually live in a place called Beverly Park. This really fancy neighborhood is home to many famous people including Samuel L. Jackson, Sylvester Stallone and Magic Johnson. It is a very select gated community.
Bel Air, Encino And Malibu
Another neighborhood in the show is Bel Air which is the home of Kyle and Taylor. Bel Air was made famous by Will Smith’s show, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Other women live in different neighborhoods such as Malibu and Encino. If you pick up a map and look at where these neighborhoods are you will see they are actually a distance away from each other. Encino, where Brandy lives, is at least a 30-minute drive from Beverly Hills.
Camille Grammer is even further away in Malibu, with at least an hours drive to Beverly Hills. As with everything on TV The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is not totally what it seems. Just because something says it is reality television does not mean that everything is real, but this might be taking it a bit far.
Kyle Richards Has Actually Been A Super Prolific Actress
As well as being a Housewife, Kyle Richards as also had a pretty impressive acting role. According to her entry on Wikipedia, she has starred in many TV shows and movies, including an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and many episodes of Little House on the Prairie.
Since she starred in Real Housewives she has been less active in other roles but still makes the odd TV appearance. She participated in Whose Line is it Anyway? And in TMZ and was recently a contestant on The New Celebrity Apprentice.
The New Celebrity Apprentice
The show was relaunched after host Donald J. Trump left to run for the President of the United States and was replaced with Arnold Schwarzenegger, the actor and former Governor of California. Kyle was not great in the show and came in at 12th place. She was eventually fired by “The Governator” after 4 rounds.
Although she managed to earn $25,000 for charity which is by no means a small achievement, she was ruled out for not being creative enough. It was therefore time for her to be ‘terminated’.
Carole Radziwill & Her Husband
Carole Radziwill started her career working as a TV journalist and actually met her husband, Anthony when she was working on a pretty tough case at ABC News. Lyle and Erik Menendez were the subjects of the case and they were eventually convicted of murdering their parents in Beverly Hills, California.
Initially, the brothers were not considered suspects but in a matter of months, the tide had turned when investigators got suspicious of their lavish spending. Carole was assigned as a journalist on the case and Anthony Radziwell was producing the case for ABC News.
Sad Ending
Although it was not a romantic way to meet, the two were married until Anthony’s death in 1999 from cancer. Sadly his family was later critical of Carole, saying she had exploited the loss of her husband for ratings in the Housewives TV show.
A Gigantic Plumbing Disaster
Sonja Morgan’s toilet was the center of a plumbing crisis during the 5th season of Real Housewives of New York, and this was allegedly caused by the camera crew using the facilities.
When the toilet overflowed during a party Sonja claimed it was overuse by the crew that had caused the issue. Although it sounds excessive to immediately try to blame the crew, it is not that out of character as far as Sonja is concerned. She is someone who is used to high-class events and mixing with the well to do including European Royalty.
High-Class Socialite
It is not that unusual for her to get upset with assistants if she thinks they have messed up. Sonja is also certainly one to overreact over parties as well. According to E! News when Tinsley Mortimer hosted a party in her honor, Sonja actually boycotted it over some petty argument she had with Tinsley.
Most of us wouldn’t consider an overflowing toilet that big a deal and would just figure it out but then that is why Sonja is a reality TV start, it pays to be dramatic now and again. Where would RHONY be without all the drama?
Anna Wintour Is A Fan
If you have ever seen The Devil Wears Prada you have probably heard of fashion critic and journalist Anna Wintour. She was the inspiration for Meryl Streep’s character in the movie which gives you an idea of the sort of person she is.
The Vogue 100 List
It happens that Anna Wintour is actually a big fan of Katie Rost, even going as far as asking her to join the Vogue 100 List in 2009. This is quite an honor as it is made up of people who inspire the editors of Vogue and the sort of people it features are drawn from a number of creative fields.
The people that make the list are pretty special ranging from celebrity chefs, activists, artists, athletes and many other areas of life. The list is often full of new rising stars and does not limit itself to A-listers or well-known names. It is pretty exciting to be featured on the list as it comes with an article all about you in Vogue magazine’s online landing page.
Eileen Davidson Is an Actual Published Author
In October 2008 Eileen Davidson published her first novel, Death In Daytime. Writing alongside Robert J. Randisi the book’s main character, Alexis Peterson, is the opening of a successful daytime TV soap opera.
However soon real life becomes much more dramatic than the show with her head writer blaming Alex for stealing his love when March is found the police suspect foul play and Alex is their number one suspect.
Soap Opera Crime Mystery
The novel has 4 stars on Amazon and has spawned 3 subsequent novels, the final one being published in 2011. People seem to have been impressed with the novel although there are a couple of negative reviews the majority say how enjoyable it is to read.
To be honest, the idea behind the books sounds pretty interesting and might well be worth picking up a copy.
When Each Member Only Made $7,000
The First Season Of 'The Real Housewives Of New York', did not bring a huge pay packet. Each person made $7,00 which seems low even when you consider that this is pretty common if you are working on an unknown new project.
I mean a lot of us would be grateful to get $7,000 for the season but by Hollywood standards, it does seem very low indeed. In fact, reality stars usual take home between $200,000 and $15, 000,000 per season which is a bit of a leap from $7,000!
We are pretty amazed that Bravo could get all the ladies to participate in the show for such a small initial salary but maybe sometimes a fund project is worthwhile taking a low salary for a while?
Prove Your Value
It could explain why the shows are so dramatic – that’s what the watchers are looking for and if you want to ramp up the ratings you have got to provide something they want to tune in for. Once those ratings start going up you can expect those paydays to become sweeter and sweeter all the time.
It’s a bit like real life, you have to prove your worth before you can expect your boss to give you that pay rise. The ladies on the show are making sure the viewers remain glued to their antics, ratings are the name of the game and ratings means dollars! Anyway, it has all paid off, the Housewives are still on TV and their salaries have certainly gone up!
Who Paid $2,500 To Get On 'RHOC'?
This is such a cool story – imagine being Slade Smiley – he paid the company $2,500 to actually get onto the hit show The Real Housewives of Orange County.
It wasn’t actually as simple as him just paying over the cash. He had actually spent the money in order to win a very special prize at a charity auction. That prize was being in a reality TV show and it was only after he won that he found out it was RHOC.
This meant he got his slot, along with Jo De La Rosa who was then his fiancee. It was certainly a life-changing event, we wonder if he realized this when he entered the auction?
Another Break-Up
Slade split with Jo De La Rosa but almost immediately struck up a relationship with Lauri Waring. He certainly enjoyed being on the show and some people have suggested that this was the reason for this short-lived relationship.
Whatever his reasons Lauri split with Slade in the third season and he ended up dating recently widowed Gretchen Rossi, returning to the show in Season 5. At the time there was gossip in the tabloids that Rossi was unhappy with the fact that Slade was infertile and may break up with him because of her desire to have a child.
Today They Make $40,000-$60,000 An Episode
Although $7,000 seems a lot to us we are guessing that salary was not popular with the Housewives. But fear not! They are certainly doing a lot better now and are said to be making between $40,000-$60,000 an episode.
The Biggest Earner
Of course, rates can vary and some can make a lot more of this. Reported salaries for the show include $750,000 a season for Vicki Gunvalson, a million for Terese Giudice and high fliers Phaedra Parks and Cynthia Bailey both banking $1.3million a season.
Kandi Burruss is the top earner though – she gets $1.8million every season.
The ones that are making the real fortunes are the stars of The Real Housewives of Atlanta and this is probably because out of all the spin-offs this show is so much more dramatic it is super popular with the viewers. These sorts of pay checks must make the salaries earned by some of the OC Housewives feel even more like they are being short changed.
According to recent reports in LA Weekly, $55,000 is the median salary in LA, the median salary in Atlanta is $59,000 so be part of the ‘Housewife’ franchise is definitely a lucrative career pathway!
Promising To Not Sue For ANYTHING
It is not unusual today that a company will ask their employees to sign agreements of various types, many require a non-compete or a non-disclosure agreement to protect their interest but the Real Housewives have to promise not to sue anyone on the show for any reason.
This all came to the fore in 2015 when the key legal clause was used by Brandi Glanville against Joanna Krupa. Joanna had started a defamation lawsuit against Brandi because Brandi had made some comments about her. Joanna claimed that Brandi was guilty of defamation; Brandi claimed that because of the legal clause the case could not be made against her.
A Public Apology
At the end of it all Brandi publicly apologized and it was settled out of court. Brandi did manage to make her apology sound as if the judge had been in favor of throwing the no-sue clause out but that still remains a secret.
She did say that she regretted the comments she had made and that the reaction had been out of all proportion. Hopefully, they are getting on better these days.
"Book Gate"
Yes, there was another lawsuit! In the 6th season of The Real Housewives of New York a scandal erupted between Carole and Aviva. Although Carole was normally on the sidelines of any disputes or feuds on this occasion she was front and center and the whole season was played out again the backdrop of a scandal which became known as #BookGate.
Whilst on Buzzfeed, Aviva claimed she had heard that Carole had actually used a ghostwriter to pen her memoir which she published in 2005. Carole was not very pleased and said that whilst she liked to brush off dramas this time she could not let it go, an attack on her career was a step too far.
Ghost Writer
It seems that is was not only about the fact that Aviva had gossiped but that it acted to not only belittle her books and her ability as an author, it was also untrue. Carole was hurt and angered by what she considered an attack on her late husband and his family.
At one point Aviva even criticized her because of her age. Carole admits that the only reason this did not end up in a lawsuit was that she had signed the contract with Bravo and that had contained a ‘no sue’ clause. She felt that taking them on to sue Aviva just wasn’t worth the effort although it was something that other Housewives had considered from time to time.
The Contract
Although the “no sue” clause seems hard to believe there are some other pretty strange clauses that have found their way into the contracts given to anyone participating in ‘Housewives'. According to reports in TheThings, there are some pretty strict rules that the Housewives have to abide by.
Firstly, they can’t run for public office until they have been out of their role for a year. Although we can’t imagine that any of them would consider running for President, they can’t do it any time soon.
Total Control
Most of the contract clauses have to do with the amount of control the show-runners and producers have over the participants. For example, the producers can tell them when to change their appearance and how it must change. Hair, make-up, personal style all come under the jurisdiction of Bravo if you participate in these shows.
Interestingly the show-runners decide exactly how the participants are portrayed, this means that they can use editing techniques to change how things happened, and can essentially put forward an image of what has happened that is not factual.
Essentially ratings are king and if something needs to be changed to keep those nice and high so be it. If anyone breaks these rules they can be sued by Bravo or fined up to $50,000.
Vicki's Son
Vicki ended up on The Real Housewives in a pretty amusing and unusual way. It was her son Michael that had actually applied to go on the show and according to Slice, the crew went to the house to meet him.
Whilst there they met Vicki and decided that they actually preferred her and that she would be more suitable to the show. They ended up rejecting Michael and singing Vicki instead. Awkward.
No Need To Worry
It turned out to be a good decision around though. Vicki has become a real icon of the show and Michael managed to do pretty well for himself too. In 2017 he moved into a new 3 bedroom home on the West Coast, Pacific Beach, San Diego to be exact, so despite his rejection, he is obviously doing OK.
Vicki has been a really good investment for the show and is still part of the hit show The Real Housewives of Orange County.
More Recruitment Drama
Heather wasn’t that keen on joining The Real Housewives. She had a good reason – feeling that the show may harm her acting career because of the reputation the show has. That said Terry really wanted Heather to be on the show so he took matters into his own hands by signing the paperwork on her behalf.
This sounds a little bit dubious to us but that said, Heather joined the show and nothing has happened to Terry so far. However, we wouldn’t recommend forging someone else's signature on a legal document of any kind unless you want to end up in jail.
The Good Doctor
Terry has himself had plenty of experience of sensationalized reality TV. He has participated in shows such as Botched and Bridalplasty in his professional role as a plastic surgeon. His most recent show launched in August 2016 and involves traveling the country helping people who have been disfigured by genetics or accident.
He stars alongside Paul Nassif and the got a reasonable rating on IMDB. Botched by Nature only ran for one season. Terry Dubrow has also starred in other reality shows like The Swan and Good Work.
RHOC Has Now Had 19 Housewives
The original – and some would say best – iteration of this iconic reality show has had 12 successful full seasons under its belt and has outlived many of its spin-off shows.
The only person who has been a full-time cast member throughout the full 12 seasons is Vicki Gunvalson. Others have been longtime cast members, for example, Tamra Judge who joined in the third season and has been a stalwart of the show ever since.
Another longtime star is Jeana Keough. She has been seen in most shows, missing 3 seasons, however often she is seen as a guest or friend rather than a main character.
13 Seasons And Going
Some Housewives did not have any kind of longevity, the shortest-lived include Peggy Sulahian and Lydia McLaughlin. Peggy joined for season 12 and has now left whereas Lydia took part in the 8th and 12th seasons. Over the last 13 years, the show has had a total of 19 Housewives. Considering the original show was only paying $7,000 a season this is no mean achievement.
The seasons have also got longer, the first show was only 8 episodes but it grew and grew until by the 10th season it had reached 24 episodes. The show has now been scaled back to a steady 21 episodes a season.
Funny Connection Between 'RHOC' And 'RHONY'...
Carole Radziwill co-parents a dog called “Baby” with Meghan King Edmonds’ brother TJ King. “Baby” actually has 3 parents, with Tripp Swanhaus also co-parenting alongside Carole and TJ.
All three friends share an apartment in SoHo and they split their time looking after Baby. It is a pretty strange arrangement but it seems to work really well.
Busy Parents
All 3 doggy parents have such busy lives so this means they can all take it in turns to be available to take care of their dog. Dogs need a lot of love and attention and as people are becoming busier and busier pet-sharing is becoming more and more common.
They say there are only ever 6 degrees of separation but how strange that Carole would end up sharing a dog with Meghan’s brother when they live right across the country! Meghan is not being left out though, she considers herself Baby’s “doggy aunt” so we wonder how often she takes that trip out of New York to visit.
Dating George Clooney
In the late 1990’s to the early 2000's Carole dated George Clooney for a short time and she really has only nice things to say about what a great guy George is.
Carole is always saying how amazing George is. In 2012 she teased him in a Tweet saying that if she did kiss and tell she would be saying what a good kisser he is!
Best Wishes To Amal
It sounds like they both really enjoyed the relationship while it lasted and seem to have parted on good terms.
Carole doesn’t say why the relationship ended and, again, she has nothing but words of praise for George’s wife Amal, saying how amazing she is and how wonderful it is that they have fallen in love. As for Carole, she has not remarried and seems to be enjoying the single life.
Carole Also Dated Ralph Fiennes...
Carole is certainly a very interesting lady – however, her relationship with Ralph Fiennes, who she met during a summer visit to London many years ago, was more of a summer romance than the more serious type of relationship she had with George Clooney.
There seems to be no end to the interesting facts about Carole!
Date Inspired By A Book
According to Carole, they had a very intense relationship but once the summer was over they parted company. There have been rumors that this short relationship with Fiennes inspired her in part to write some of the chapters in her book The Widow’s Guide to Sex and Dating.
Carole explains: "Our relationship was not the basis for a storyline in my novel, but like most fiction, stories are a pinch of the writer's experience and a part their imagination.” Carole admits that one scene was inspired by one time when she ran into him at a bookstore. She doesn’t dish outrageously, but she says:
"I hadn't seen Ralph for some time and heard he was in town. I left a note at his hotel. It was a copy of a note that Sam Beckett had once written to a friend. I knew Ralph would get the reference. He's very intelligent, you know. That note and the subsequent meeting at the bookstore was loosely detailed toward the end of the book. I'm afraid that is all I will say. Wink."
More Weird Connections
Bethenny and Kyle have been friends for over 25 years despite the fact that they have a whole continent between their hometowns. The women met in LA – Bethenny was in town concentrating on developing her business and working in the food industry, while Kyle was dining at the restaurant Kyle was working in.
La Scala Boutique is a popular, high-class restaurant in the city. Bethenny had a unique way of introducing herself to Kyle, telling someone you are dating their ex is a pretty bold first contact but it turned into a friendship that has lasted for 25 years.
Shared Memories
Bethenny and Kyle stayed in touch and Bethenny worked as an assistant to Kyle’s sister for a time. Nowadays they like to share posts on Instagram and keep in contact regularly, sharing old memories online.
Life can be amazing sometimes – these two friends ultimately both ended up on reality TV shows. We wonder what that ex-boyfriend thinks when he sees them both on TV!
Andy Cohen Has A Big Role in Casting
Andy Cohen takes a lot of time, energy and care to make sure he gets the right people on the show and that they have the right qualities to work with the other stars. Apparently, a sense of humor is key if you want a place in the show and this is probably sensible considering the fact that The Real Housewives is full of humor and jokes, and also some pretty fierce shade at times.
Andy likes it a lot when someone comes along as a potential new cast member and he finds they already have connections with existing members of his team. He understands well how this real-life personal relationship can really spice things up in terms of the show dynamics, and how it can ramp up the drama on the show.
Just Roll With It
The other key factor and this probably seems obvious, is that anyone wanting to join the show must be prepared to live their life on screen. Shrinking Violets need not apply. If you take part in the show you can expect to kiss your privacy goodbye and the producers can make up whatever they like about the participants and present them in any way they see fit.
The best people for the job are those candidates who will give their all to satisfy the viewers’ hunger for drama. Strangely, you don’t actually have to be a housewife – anyone is welcome to apply to be on the shop and Andy is open to all possibilities.
He Almost Squashed A Spinoff
Andy Cohen and the show-runners were really dubious about have 2 Housewives shows running that both featured areas in Southern California. However, the project went ahead and both shows are still going strong.
While some other spin-offs from the original Real Housewives of Orange County were a flop – The Real Housewives of Potomac, we are looking at you - the original still runs alongside The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Andy Cohen was apparently one of the loudest voices calling for a shut down on the Housewives of Beverly Hills, according to an article in Glamour magazine.
He obviously changed his mind and thank goodness because 8 seasons later and the show is still going strong having had a large cast of 16 housewives. Vanderpump Rules – the hit show with Lisa Vanderpump is a successful spin-off from the show.
Vanderpump Rules
Kyle Richards and Lisa Vanderpump are the only 2 Beverly Hills Housewives who have survived since the beginning and are still there after 8 seasons. Like the Orange County version of the show most housewives are pretty short-lived – in the Beverly Hills show around 6 Housewives stayed for 3 seasons, some even less.
It must be hard living your life in full view on TV every day. We can imagine the novelty must wear off real fast.
Looking Too Low-Maintenance
Kelly Bensimon was told off by the show for looking ‘too natural’ when she went horse riding. How glamorous do people need to look to ride a horse? Well apparently if you are a Housewife you need to look like a supermodel all the time.
As the producers are allowed to dictate style they made no bones about the fact that next time Kelly went riding she needed to make sure she was looking her best.
"Drowned Rat"?
According to Kelly, she was told that she was a supermodel and ‘not a drowned rat’! Wow, that is pretty harsh. Sometimes natural is not such a bad thing! Given that this is supposed to be reality TV it doesn’t seem that real that people get their hair done and apply full makeup to take a ride on a horse.
What happens if you go for a workout, we suppose you have to spend half a day in the salon beforehand! This doesn’t really seem like ‘reality’. Still, this is why they are paid the big bucks!
Dorinda Medley Owned Her Own Cashmere Business
Dorinda first got her career started while working with Liz Claiborne in New York when she later moved to London with her husband she launched her our business - DCL Cashmere where she won some high-quality clients including Joan Collins and Princess Diana.
When she moved back to the US she sold DCL Cashmere and started a successful real estate company.
From Wool To Real Estate
Dorinda now has a net worth of around $20million – this is a testament to her business acumen and also to the fact that Cashmere is one of the most expensive types of wool in the world.
Garments cost upwards of $200. Cashmere is a pretty hard type of wool to make. It comes from the underbelly of the Kashmir Goat and it takes a lot of it to make one jumper – 2 goats worth to be precise!
Dorinda is not known for bragging about her achievements or wealth on the how but she certainly has a lot to be proud of. The Real Housewives is another string to her bow and is obviously helping to top up her bank balance quite nicely.
He Did It
Faye Resnick, of Beverly Hills housewives fame, became a star after her best friend Nicole Brown Simpson was murdered back in the early 1990s.
Faye believes that OJ did murder Nicole and has been very outspoken about this. In American Crime Story: The People v. O. J. Simpson, Faye’s character was portrayed by Connie Britton.
Big Man
Carole Radziwill was friends with Andy Cohen before she was cast for the role in RHONY. Andy gets to make a lot of the casting decisions so if you are a rich woman and you want to be in the show, he is the man you want to know.
Big Name In Reality TV
Big Brother 2, The Real World: London and Temptation Island are just some of the shows on which the producers for The Real Housewives learned their craft and honed their talent for producing top-notch quality reality TV.
Sister Sister
When the Real Housewives of New Jersey cast Caroline and Dina Manzo, it was the first in the franchise to have cast members who are related. The two women are sisters.
It’s All About Location
Even the location for The Real Housewives of New Jersey has a claim to fame. Before being used in the show the brownstone was a featured location in the hit TV show The Sopranos. No wonder the series is so popular, even the real estate is a star!
Inspiring
Real Housewives may have a link to another famous TV show: Orange is the New Black, at least they do according to Teresa Giudice. She did time in the same jail and claims that they based one of the characters in the show - Judy King – on her.
Guidice claims that the character is just like her and that the show-runners had probably got the inspiration from her book. In reality, the show is based on the book by Piper Kerman “Orange is the New Black: My Year in A Woman’s Prison”.
Famous Contractor
It seems that Kevin Jonas, the oldest of the Jonas Brothers is also kept busy while his brothers are on tour.
He owns the contracting firm that built Kathy Wakile’s house, giving him a link to The Real Housewives. Who would have thought it?
Video Game Stars
Facebook actually had The Real Housewives of New York game where you could indulge your fantasy of being a real housewife and engage in all the excitement and drama. We are wondering if this was inspired by the fact that Kim Kardashian also had a successful Facebook game.
The Princess Dump-aries
There’s a real touch of class in the Real Housewives of New York – LuAnn de Lesseps was once married to a count. They divorced after he cheated on her with the Princess of Ethiopia, Kemeria Abajobir Abajifar.
Although now she is divorced she is not really a countess any more LuAnn still calls herself Countess, and who can blame her?
Reality Star BFF
Even before the first episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County aired, Meghan Edmonds was close friends Audrina Patridge, star of The Hills. It is great that they are now both stars of reality TV – it is something else that they have in common.
But How Does She Feel About Vaccines?
Heather Dubrow appeared alongside Jenny McCarthy in her McCarthy’s TV show Jenny. The show only enjoyed a short run before it ended but for the two women, this was to be the start of a long-term friendship between them that is still rock solid today.
What’s In A Name?
The concept of The Real Housewives of Orange County was to give people a peep inside a gated community at the lives of the upper class wealthy.
The show was originally due to be named “Behind the Gates.” The name change was genius, it led the way for so many spin-offs and became a top-rated TV show.
Family Time Served
Sometimes you do find a judge with common sense – when Teresa and Joe Guidice were convicted of fraud the judge allowed them to serve their time one after the other. The judge ruled that the kids did not deserve to be separated from both parents, what a great guy.
Stand by Your Man—Or Not
Phaedra Parks was certainly not involved with her husband’s criminal activities. The Real Housewives of Atlanta star was certainly not impressed with him at all and made her displeasure known when he was convicted of fraud.
Phaedra did not turn up at his trial and she distanced herself from him to the point that as he headed to jail she was out enjoying the nightlife. When Parks was questioned about the likelihood of her marriage continuing despite her husband serving an 8-year stretch, she admitted that it was “not likely”. Crime just doesn’t pay.
Make ‘Em An Offer They Can’t Refuse
