Bravo's Real Housewives franchise is famous for fights at parties, cast members getting upset with each other over topics big and small, and fun trips. Since the premiere of The Real Housewives of Orange County aired in 2006, fans have been curious about how real the franchise is, since there is so much drama in every single episode.
Over the years, the cast and crew of the Real Housewives have shared behind-the-scenes chatter about filming, from whether cast members are told to come to parties at different times to whether some scenes and storylines haven't been real.
Sonja And Harry's Season 12 Engagement
Sonja stared many RHONY fights and her love life has also been a topic on the series. According to a former cast member who came back to the show recently, Sonja was part of a plotline that wasn't actually real.
In season 12 of The Real Housewives of New York City, Harry Dublin asked Sonja Morgan to marry him, and Heather Thompson told The New York Post that this wasn't real. Heather said, “It was completely staged and totally fake. It was a ring that Ramona was wearing. And she took it off and gave it to Harry to pretend that it was his … it was oneupmanship."
Fights About Not Being Invited Are Fake
Viewers know that sometimes, cast members argue about being left out of a social event and not receiving an invitation like everyone else had. This is understandably upsetting since there is sometimes one person who has been left out and they have to explain to their co-stars that they didn't get the same invite as everyone else.
According to Cheat Sheet, a producer on the show said, “Everything is LOOSELY planned in advance. So to shoot anywhere that is not their privately owned home, you have to get permission from the owner and get a film permit DAYS/WEEKS in advance.”
Sonja Didn't Really Have A Toaster Oven Line
Fans of RHONY recall that back in season 5, Sonja had a storyline about creating a toaster oven product. She often said that she liked to make meals in this appliance and talked to the other cast members about her plans. This has become one of Sonja's most recognizable plotlines, but the toaster oven didn't actually come into fruition.
According to Nicki Swift, Carole Radziwill said on Heather's podcast "In My Heart With Heather Thompson, "She had no intention of making a toaster oven; it was just a funny storyline for the show."
Housewives Are Sometimes Told Where To Sit
According to Business Insider, cast members can be told where they should sit at an event. A producer said, "A lot of that is prearranged seating. You'll say, 'When you walk up, you're going to sit next to him and sit across from her,' in some cases. Sometimes the whole cast knows where they're sitting, and sometimes they don't know. Sometimes just a few know."
This creates tension and drama, as some cast members might not want to sit near each other, and there are people who are going to fight or have certain discussions that they might not if they were sitting elsewhere.
Aviva Planned To Throw Her Leg
One of the most memorable Real Housewives scenes is when Aviva Drescher took her prosthetic leg and threw it across the room at a party in season 6 of RHONY. Her co-stars didn't know what to do or say and viewers still think and talk about it.
Nicki Swift reported that Aviva knew that she wanted to do this before the scene that she was shooting. Harry Dubin, Drescher's ex-husband, also was interviewed on the podcast "Behind the Velvet Rope" and said this was true: "I'm sitting at the bar and she's sitting there in the lounge, where they're filming. She comes out and says, 'Harry, you gotta help me! I'm gonna throw my leg on national television, and you pick me up and carry me out of the scene and tell them what kinda people are these."
Aviva Said Her Feud With Carole Over Ghostwriting Was Fake
After losing her husband Anthony Radziwill, Carole wrote a memoir What Remains about their relationship and her experience with grief. This became a storyline when Aviva kept saying that Carole didn't really write that book and that she used a ghostwriter.
It turns out that this seems to have been a storyline that was faked for the show. According to Reality Tea, Aviva tweeted, "Bookgate was strongly encouraged by one of my castmates and then encouraged by production."
Tamra Said One RHOC Scene Didn't Happen Like That
Tamra Judge's best RHOC episodes showed her fun and vibrant personality, but the former cast member has spoken out about a scene that she says was fake. In season 14 of RHOC, Tamra and Shannon Beador discussed a rumor they heard about Kelly Dodd, but when the scene aired, viewers saw an SUV and heard their voices.
According to Reality Blurb, on her Instagram stories, Tamra explained, “I had some shady editing last year that not only made me look bad but was totally made up #SUVrideNeverHappened.” Tamra said "I rarely complain about edits. I know what I signed up for" but "Using subtitles & piecing together interview questions as an empty SUV drives away to make me look bad is NOT cool and NOT reality and I didn’t sign up for that."
The Reason For The RHOC Ireland Trip Wasn't Real
In season 11, the cast of RHOC traveled to Ireland, getting into fights at pubs and talking about all kinds of personal topics. There were definitely a lot of arguments on this trip, and it was one of the most dramatic and unforgettable from the franchise.
According to Vulture, Brian Moylan wrote in his book The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives that when Meghan King Edmonds wanted to see if she could find any relatives, this was a "bogus" vacation.
Housewives Are Told To Arrive At Parties At Different Times
According to Bustle, Moylan wrote in the book The Housewives that Jeana Keough's son Shane said that some cast members would come to a party at 6 p.m. and then the rest would come at 6:30 and 7. “At first I thought they just wanted to make sure they get everyone entering. But then as it went along I discovered, ‘Oh, they want this person there first because they’re the most mad about something."
Fans know that there have been some intense Real Housewives dinner parties and sometimes the drama has come from people being late. Other times, it comes from people bringing up a certain topic or miscommunication that sparks a massive argument.
Heather Said A Season 13 Storyline Was Made Up
Heather came back to RHONY in season 13 as a "friend" of the cast and while it's always fun when a former cast member will return, since viewers are already familiar with them, Heather had a lot to say about her time back on the series.
According to Page Six, Heather said that her storyline was fake and explained that the plotline "about me and my [‘In My Heart’] podcast" wasn't the case. Heather explained, "That I had talked behind the women’s back or something like that, which was just completely untrue.”