Bravo Housewives Admitted the Network ‘Lied’ to Them Before Casting
The Real Housewives franchise on Bravo has had a number of iterations across different cities. Some of the cast members have become bona fide stars. According to them, though, their intent had never been to be the faces of the franchise. Many of them said that they had no idea they were joining the Housewives at first.
Many Bravo Housewives said they weren’t aware they were joining a franchise
Vicki Gunvalson made her debut on The Real Housewives of Orange County in 2006. This was the first installment of the Housewives franchise. She claimed that she didn’t initially know that she was auditioning for reality television. She wouldn’t have agreed to take part if she knew this.
“Scott Dunlop [RHOC creator] told me it was going to be a social experiment: Pull back the gates of Coto de Caza and ask what it was like to live there as a working woman when 99 percent of the women didn’t work,” Gunvalson told The Hollywood Reporter. “I said, ‘What do they do all day?’ He said, ‘They play golf, play tennis and go to the doctor for Botox.’ I said, ‘I do all of that, plus work — and I’m the breadwinner.’ He said, ‘Oh. We’ve got a TV show.’ This was just a pilot. None of us thought it would ever be made. So when Scott called to say it was a go, I panicked. I had no desire to be on TV.”
The second installment in the series was The Real Housewives of New York. Star Luann de Lesseps said she had no idea this was a Housewives show.
“They called ours ‘Manhattan Moms,’” said de Lesseps. “They didn’t tell me it was The Real Housewives of New York — because if I’d watched Orange County, I would definitely have said, ‘No way I’m doing that.’ I didn’t know how popular it would become — or how many of us would end up with mug shots.”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards said she hadn’t known what she was getting into. Gizelle Bryant, who stars on The Real Housewives of Potomac, was also in the dark.
“They did it to us years later,” she said. “They told us explicitly that Potomac was not Housewives. We were ‘Ladies of Potomac.’”
While each of these women has become famous from their respective shows, they hadn’t known this would happen to them.
“They lied to all of us!” Bryant said.
Some Bravo Housewives shared their favorite things about the franchise
While many of the Housewives said that they wouldn’t have joined the show if they knew what it was, they have learned to like reality television. De Lesseps said she thinks the show has allowed her to become the best version of herself.
“I’m living my best life,” she said, adding, “I’m 60 years old now. I stand in my house and I go, ‘This is my house. These are my cars. This is my boat. Look at my beautiful children. Look at what I built.’ I built my life. I’m free.”
Richards said that Housewives has given her many opportunities over the years.
“Now that I’m separated from my husband, I never thought I’d be in this position, but I’m great,” she said. “I’m working. I started my production company. I have four shows in development. I’m OK on my own, and there’s no denying that the Housewives had a big part in that.”
