‘The Real Housewives’ Has Only Had 5 LGBTQ Cast Members Over the Years, and They’re Mostly Recent Additions
Over the years, The Real Housewives has introduced nearly 150 women into the households of Americans as they watch their lives play out in various cities, from Beverly Hills and Atlanta to Miami and New York City. Throughout that time, only a small number of LGBTQ Housewives have been cast on the show. Of those five Housewives to appear on the show, four of them have been cast on their respective series in the past few years, despite the first Real Housewives series, The Real Housewives of Orange County, premiering on Bravo in 2006.
Braunwyn Windham
Braunwyn Windham joined The Real Housewives of Orange County for seasons 14 and 15, running from 2019 to 2021. In 2020, Windham declared in an interview with GLAAD that she is a proud lesbian.
“I like women, I’m gay. You know, I’m a member of the LGBTQIA+ community,” she said. “I’m a lesbian and it has taken me 42 years to say that but I am so proud of where I am right now. I’m so happy where I am. To be able to be comfortable in my own skin after so long is just so nice.”
While on The Real Housewives of Orange County, she was married to Sean Burke, with whom she shares seven children. Windham filed for divorce in October 2022.
Julia Lemigova
The Real Housewives of Miami went off the air for nearly a decade, returning as a Peacock-exclusive series in 2021. The rebooted version of the show featured some familiar faces as well as some new additions, including former model Julia Lemigova. Lemigova is bisexual and married to retired tennis star Martina Navratilova.
On Season 5 of The Real Housewives of Miami, Lemigova revealed that she and Navratilova are planning to adopt a child together.
Noella Bergener
Noella Bergener joined The Real Housewives of Orange County for its 16th season in 2021. Bergener is openly bisexual.
Bergener also made history on The Real Housewives of Orange County as the first Black Housewife to be featured on the show. Bergener departed RHOC after one season.
Kandi Burruss
Kandi Burruss is one of the most recognizable Real Housewives from over the years. The former Xscape member and Grammy-winning songwriter has been a part of The Real Housewives of Atlanta since 2009. During her time on RHOA, Burruss spoke her sexual past, which consisted, in part, of of sexual experiences with women.
“Everybody has an experience or two, and you don’t necessarily go around telling everybody because now I’ve been branded the ‘lesbian of the show.’ And it’s just like, just because people have an experience or a couple of experiences, that doesn’t determine what they’re into all of their life.”
In a 2017 interview with Rolling Out Loud, Burruss spoke about her bisexual experiences, acknowledging that her past experiences with women would put her in the bisexual category. “I think everybody has different terminology [and] what they would do. But I personally feel if you can have sex with the same sex and have sex with the opposite sex and enjoy both, then you have to be considered bi. So with that being said, I guess I would have to be [bi],” she laughed, “because I have done [it] and it was fun. I’m not gonna lie to you, it was great.”
Jenna Lyons
The Real Housewives of New York City is in the midst of a reboot with an entirely new cast of characters for its upcoming 14th season after criticism that the long-running series isn’t diverse enough. Among the new Housewives to join the show is designer Jenna Lyons.
Lyons has publicly been in a relationship with Courtney Crangi, sister of jewelry designer Philip Crangi, since 2012.
