Still More Great Moments in Real Housewifery
Because 100 seasons can’t be confined to a list of just 100.
Back in 2021, the Housewives Institute came up with the 100 most unhinged, unexplainable, and unforgettable moments in the 15 years that the franchise had been on the air up to that point. But Housewives is a living work of art that is always evolving and adding to itself — our favorite ladies keep finding new ways to get more unhinged, more unexplainable, and more unforgettable with each passing year. So we couldn’t just let the list sit at 100 and stagnate.
With last week’s premiere of Orange County, there are now 100 seasons of Housewives across all the cities, and more than a quarter of them aired in the years since we first wrote that list. So to celebrate the 100th-season milestone and to keep the best and brightest at top of mind, we decided to see which events since we made the last list might qualify for the next one. Here are the Institute’s picks for the top-50 moments of the last three years, which includes the introduction of Ultimate Girls Trip, the ascendency of RHOSLC, a whole new RHONY cast, the creative revival of RHOBH, and the actual revival of the previously canceled RHOM.
Oh, and since we know you’re going to have complaints about the list, you can send them right here.
50. Robyn Dixon Crying on the Curb (RHOP S8): On a trip to Austin the fight between Robyn and Candiace Dillard Bassett got to be too much, so she needed to take a break and sob alone on the side of the road.
49. Sutton Stracke’s Esophagus (RHOBH S13): Who would have thought that a new Housewife’s entire story line would be about something happening in Sutton’s neck?
48. Alexia Nepola Would Like Her Gift Bag, Please (RHOM S6): When Dr. Nicole Martin threw a Mother’s Day party and invited former Housewife Ana Quincoces, Alexia was so pissed on her bestie’s behalf that they stormed out of the party. But not before taking the gifts Nicole had for them. Well, the jean jackets were personalized.
47. Leah McSweeney Passes Out (UGT S3): Never a shrinking violet, Leah did wilt from dehydration while shopping in a Thai market and needed their butler, Pepsi, to help revive her.
46. Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky Tell the Kids (RHOBH S13): This season was all about Kyle keeping the truth from viewers, but she and her husband had to sit the family down to talk about their separation. Meh. It was better on Buying Beverly Hills.
45. Happy & Ness (RHOP S6): The ladies of the D.C. Metro Area love to name their boobs, but the names Wendy Osefo gave to hers are brilliantly nonsensical.
44. Crystal Kung Minkoff Asks Sutton Stracke If She’s “That Girl” (RHOBH S11): When Sutton said she didn’t see race, Crystal had issues with it and they fought about it for an entire season.
43. A Fashion Show With Fashions (RHOA S14): It only took 12 seasons, but Shereé Whitfield finally mounted a She by Shereé fashion show. Too bad it turned into “She by Shein” in no time.
42. Julia Lemigova’s Hangover (RHOM S4): Ever have a hangover so bad you thought you needed to call an ambulance? Well Julia actually did when the cast was on a trip to the Hamptons.
41. Erika Jayne Yells at the Ladies (RHOBH S12): When Crystal Kung Minkoff and Garcelle Beauvais asked about her $750,000 earrings and sympathy for the victims of her husband’s crimes, she said, “I don’t give a fuck about anybody else but me.” Not her best moment.
40. GNA Mêlée (RHOP S8): After cameras went down at Ashley Darby and Gizelle Bryant’s fashion show, Ashley’s friend Deborah tried to fight Candiace Dillard Bassett. Too bad it was only caught on audio.
39. Hunky Dory (RHOBH S11): While Sutton Stracke and Crystal Kung Minkoff were fighting, someone said they should be “hunky dory,” leading Kathy Hilton to ask, “Who is Hunky Dory?”
38. That Weird Richard Marx Song (RHOC S16): The flop of a season ended with the ladies playing Jem and the Holograms to a song written by a Grammy winner. The song wasn’t bad but the performance … oof!
37. Teresa Giudice Throws Drinks at Margaret Josephs (RHONJ S12): It wasn’t quite a table flip, but it was close.
36. The Case of Gizelle Bryant’s Missing Bottle of Clase Azul (UGT S3): She spent the whole trip talking about how it was stolen, only for Heather Gay and Whitney Rose to admit to stealing it in the season’s final moments.
35. Noella Bergener Sobs by a Stream (RHOC S16): I’m not even sure what she was upset about, but if a sister needs to cry by a stream, just let her.
noella bergener rhoc 15 real housewives of orange county screaming crying by river creek pic.twitter.com/k5WNQAXsOO
— reaction videos (@ShadyAFVideos) June 20, 2023
34. Black Shabbat (RHONY S13): The whole of the show’s terrible 13th season and all that followed can be summed up by Ramona Singer behaving like an asshole at an event trying to promote diversity.
33. Sutton Stracke’s Magic Mike Freak-Out (RHOBH S13): She did not want to see fake cunnilingus onstage. She goes to the ballet!
32. “I Wouldn’t Be Caught Dead at [BLEEP]” (RHONY S14): The very first fight on the very first episode of the RHONY reboot is about an unnamed restaurant some wouldn’t go to. (We figured out it’s Catch.)
31. Kathy Hilton’s Aspen Breakdown (RHOBH S12): No, not the one where she walked out of Kemo Sabe because Lisa Rinna tried Kendall Jenner’s vodka, the other one that we never saw on camera.
30. “How About If Your Son Died?” (UGT S2): Dorinda Medley used a terrible metaphor to try to explain something to Brandi Glanville and made a terrifying face across the dinner table while doing it.
29. “Or What?” (RHOBH S11): After an L.A. Times article about Erika Jayne’s legal troubles that no one read came out, they confronted her at dinner, and this vicious snap at Sutton Stracke sums up how it was received.
28. Mia Thornton Throws Lettuce (RHOP S6): When things were getting too heated with Candiace Dillard Bassett, Mia chose to walk away — but not before tossing a handful of salad at her. Yeah, that’s not making things better.
27. “Baby Gorgeous” (RHOSLC S2): Lisa Barlow’s pet name for her younger son went as viral as COVID.
26. Heather Dubrow’s Sushi Party (RHOC S16): Fancy Pants’ first episode back and she finds out her friend Nicole, whom she brought on the show, sued Terry years ago.
25. Lenny Hochstein’s Hot Mic Moment (RHOM S5): While Lisa was throwing a party for the cast, Lenny was talking to his friend Vito about how he’s going to divorce Lisa and how he feels like sleeping with her is cheating on his mistress. Truly awful behavior from one of Bravo’s vilest men.
24. Shereé Whitfield Gets Stood Up (RHOA S14): Shereé returned this season with an ex-con boyfriend who left her sitting alone, outside, at a café in Philadelphia, and it was the saddest thing ever.
23. Mia Thornton and Gordon’s Divorce (RHOP S8): The harrowing conversation between these two in the season finale — where we learned about their open marriage and Mia’s rekindled relationship with her high-school boyfriend, who might be the father of one of their children — was the realest moment of a terrible season.
22. Crystal Kung Minkoff’s Ugly Leather Pants (RHOBH S11): Sutton Stracke might have hated them, but they sold out after this episode.
21. Erin Lichy Takes Ubah Hassan’s Phone (RHONY S16): A terrible prank gone awry turned into an all-day fight with Erin well on the losing end.
20. Emily Simpson Eats a Turkey Sub in the Sauna (RHOC S16): I miss pre-Ozempic Housewives.
19. Erika Jayne’s Tear-Stained Face (RHOBH S11): So much of the past several years of drama on this show can be perfectly summed up by Erika Jayne’s face covered in tear-streaked mascara, an image that’s become a fixture of Housewives Twitter.
18. The Palm Springs Trip (RHOSLC S4): Meredith Marks starting “rumors and nastiness about the husband,” Heather Gay puking and/or peeing in a plastic bag, Mary Cosby taking a Sprinter to the McDonald’s parking lot, Lisa Barlow freaking out about glam. Can you believe all these moments were from the same trip?
17. Karen Huger Gets “Vassinated” (RHOP S6): COVID times weren’t kind to the Housewives, but we did get this one psychedelic moment when Karen’s vaccine seemed to take her on a hallucinogenic journey.
16. The Gondola Ride From Hell (RHOM S6): Lisa Hochstein threw food to a dog, she and Kiki Barth got into a fight, Julia Lemigova and Marysol Patton started making out, they went to the island of scary dead dolls, then Guerdy Abraira passed out and they had to call the paramedics. This is why Housewives should never get on a boat.
15. Erika Jayne’s Crazy Story (RHOBH S11): “Tom’s house was broken into and he confronted the burglar and then had to go have eye surgery and then my son had to go over and help, and then my son, he rolled his car five times on the way home, yeah, I’m under a lot of stress.”
14. Heather Gay’s Black Eye (RHOSLC S3): It took two seasons to find out where it came from, but the mystery — and her evil-eye eye patch — will never be forgotten.
13. Teresa Giudice’s Wedding Hair (RHONJ S13): It broke the internet and almost broke her neck.
12. “Bitch, I’m Worldwide!” (RHOA S14): When Marlo Hampton accused Kandi Burruss of only being known in Atlanta, she clapped back with this instantly iconic line and absolutely cleared.
11. “You’ve Got a Hot Box” (RHOP S6): Gizelle Bryant tried to come for Karen Huger, who declared that there was something wrong with Gizelle’s box, that she is a “broke whore from Hampton University,” and “that’s why we went to Sing-Sing.” We don’t know what it means, but Karen stays queen.
10. Guerdy Abraira Shaves Her Head (RHOM S6): I don’t like it when Housewives makes me cry, but when Guerdy had her husband, Russell, shave off her locks before she lost them to chemotherapy, I sobbed and sobbed and sobbed, not only because of the cancer but because of the love these two share.
9. Luis Ruelas Loves Bo Dietl (RHONJ S13): With one red-faced outburst at the season-finale party, Luis dropped the private investigator’s name and ruined Joe and Teresa’s relationship for good.
8. Kyle Richards’s Weed Dinner (RHOBH S13): From Kyle facing questions about her marriage to Denise Richards being so schwasted she doesn’t know her pink, puffy jacket is on upside down, this whole thing was a high time.
7. Lisa Barlow’s Hot-Mic Rant (RHOSLC S2): “Meredith can go fuck herself, I’m done with her. ’Cause I’m not a fucking whore and I don’t cheat on my husband. Her and her dumb fucking family that poses.”
6. Homeless Not Toothless (RHOBH S12): No one could figure out the name of Dorit Kemsley’s favorite charity, even those who have worked with the homeless and worked with the toothless.
5. Tribeca Is Up and Coming (RHONY S16): This stray comment landed Jessel Taank in the pantheon of wonderfully clueless Housewives.
4. “Period. Dot.” (RHODubai, S1): With one quote in a confessional, Chanel Ayan became a star.
3. “Name ’em. Name ’em. Name ’em.” (RHOBH S13): When Kyle Richards was confronting Sutton Stracke about her erratic behavior, she wanted examples and wouldn’t relent until she got them.
2. “Receipts, Proof, Timeline, Screenshots” (RHOSLC S4): With this one quote and a bit of detective work, Heather Gay took down Monica Garcia, the most successful, duplicitous, amazing, and terrifying Instagram stalker of all time.
1. Jen Shah’s Arrest (RHOSLC S2): I hope that we never have to see the FBI show up looking for a Housewife again, but the first time was absolutely amazing and put Sprinter Vans on the map.