For years, The Real Housewives franchise has been revealing lie after lie throughout major storylines. The Bravo network launched a massive hit when it aired The Real Housewives of Orange County season 1, as the installment offered a glimpse of life behind the gates. As the drama intensified, in that installment and others, some of the women became more deceptive.
Teresa Giudice, Vicki Gunavalson, and Ramona Singer are famous housewives who've often found themselves trying to get their stories straight. It can be hard for them to remember that there are cameras capturing everything that they do. However, when these stars aren't conscious of being filmed, some exciting stuff can happen. Below is a compilation of some of the best lies told throughout The Real Housewives history.
10 LeeAnne Locken's Insults
During her last season on The Real Housewives of Dallas, LeeAnne allowed her temper to get the better of her, and as she spewed foam from her mouth, she said some pretty disgusting things about co-star, Kary Brittingham. On several episodes of the Bravo franchise, LeeAnne was caught making fun of Kary's accent and Mexican heritage, while speaking to her friend.
9 Kathy Hilton's Meltdown
Kathy usually comes across as one of the more proper females on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but after a recent trip to Aspen, she didn't seem so poised. Lisa Rinna was the only other cast member in a sprinter van with Kathy, but the actress claimed that the hotel heiress threatened to bring down Kyle Richards (and the entire NBC network) after she felt insulted. Kathy still denies that she ever made these threats. Meanwhile, Lisa has stuck to her story, noting onscreen that she'd seen the, "devil" that night.
8 Phaedra Parks Was Caught Red-Handed
The Real Housewives of Atlanta season 9 showed a fan favorite (Phaedra Parks) falling from grace. It was revealed that she'd set up Porsha Williams to lie about Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker trying to have sex with her. After Porsha was cornered by Kandi, who naturally wanted to know who was trying to accuse her of being a rapist, the mother of one revealed that Phaedra was behind all of it. Phaedra and Kandi were once best friends, but after a falling out, it came to light that the mortician wanted nothing more than to bring her former ally down.
7 Ashley & Michael Darby Tried To Stop A Scandal
Ashley Darby's relationship with her ex-husband Michael Darby was always called into question by The Real Housewives of Potomac viewers. Michael got quite the reputation for touching the men of the franchise, as well as members of the production team. Eventually, he landed in hot water, with Ashley being forced to back up his claims. During RHOP season 4, Michael was accused of sexually harassing a cameraman while at Monique Samuel's home for a BBQ. The charges against Michael were later dismissed due to lack of evidence.
However, that didn't stop the Bravo footage from airing on the season, causing immense backlash for both Michael and Ashley. The video caught the camera man saying, "Don't do that," which led to an uproar at the reunion. While Michael asserted that he accidentally bumped into the crew member, no one on the reunion stage believed his story.
6 Vicki Gunvalson & Brooks Ayers Tried To Cover Up A Shameful Lie
One of the biggest lies of all time came from The Real Housewives of Orange County franchise, when Vicki continued to cover up Brooks Ayers's lies about cancer. During the RHOC 2013 season, Brooks said he was diagnosed with stage III non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Vicki, for her part, jumped on her boyfriend's bandwagon. She stated that she'd seen the paperwork, and even gone to the hospital with Brooks for his treatments.
However, it turns out that Brooks never received treatment at the City of Hope medical center, after claiming that he'd gone to that facility for years. Brooks finally came clean about his and Vicki's lies, telling E! that all the documents were fabricated. He claimed he acted alone, without Vicki's knowledge. While the mother of two tried to share that she was duped, just like fans, most of the cast mates found it hard to believe that the insurance CEO was led on so easily.
5 Ramona Singer Tried To Make Herself Look Good
Telling the truth has never been the Singer Stinger's strong suit. In fact, she's often tried to make herself look as good as possible. However, during the worldwide pandemic, Ramona couldn't find an angle that worked for her, as she was often caught out and about. For example., she partied at Donald Trump's Mar-A-Lago resort. After contracting the coronavirus, Ramona stated she had donated plasma, but co-star Leah McSweeney smelled a rat, and called her out.
Even though the confrontation proved to be fruitless, with Ramona walking away, her good friend Luann also questioned Ramona's ability to tell the truth. During her confessional, Luann de Lesseps outed Ramona for lying, pointing out her extremely red face. It was clear that Ramona was trying to ignore the fact that she'd spent time in Florida, isolating with her ex-husband. She also wanted to downplay the fact that she traveled a lot during the height of the pandemic.
4 Luann de Lesseps Didn't Want To Talk About Her Pirate
Even though Luann was often tiresome due to her constant etiquette talk, she gained the attention of The Real Housewives of New York City with her extreme lie while on a cast trip to St. Barts. At the time, Luann was very much in love with her French beau, Jacques, but after a night of partying at The Conch, Luann strayed. She brought the Captain Jack Sparrow lookalike back to the housewives' villa.
The mother of two tried her best to cover up her infidelity, but her secret French phone call to the pirate (to ensure that he'd tell the same story) outed her. The former countess seemed to forget that she was still mic'd up by Bravo, revealing her true colors.
3 Lisa Vanderpump Made A Dramatic Exit
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fans lost Lisa Vanderpump in the middle of season 9. The lover of pink and dogs shared that the entire cast has made it impossible for her to return. Lisa added that she'd be skipping the reunion special. When the story broke about Dorit's rescue dog, Lucy Lucy Apple Juice, the drama seemed so fake. Radar Online shared that poor Lucy had turned up at a kill shelter after leaving the Vanderpump sanctuary.
Lisa then found herself in her famous "Goodbye Kyle" fight, which was the last fans saw of the popular housewife. The whole season left viewers confused. However, it was a near-certainty that Lisa wasn't telling the whole truth.
2 Teresa Giudice Targeted Her Sister-In-Law
Over the years, keeping up with The Real Housewives of New Jersey star's constant lies has been challenging. Teresa has had it out for her sister-in-law, Melissa Gorga, and her brother, Joe Gorga, for years. However, one of her most outrageous fibs had to do with her co-star, Margaret Josephs. During season 10, Bravo cameras revealed that Teresa had encouraged her once arch nemesis, Danielle Staub, to pull Margaret's ponytail in a vicious attack. While the mother denied the move, the reunion revealed her part in that attack.
Teresa has lied about numerous other issues, including her arrest. The Real Housewives of New Jersey star was arrested and charged with fraud back in 2014, and later sentenced to 15 months in prison. For years, Teresa lied to herself, refusing to admit that she spent time behind bars. She only said that she was, "away."
1 Jen Shah
For two seasons, Jen Shah lied to The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City viewers about her knowledge of a nationwide fraud scheme. Jen was first arrested in March 2021, as she was filming RHOSLC season 2. Bravo cameras caught Jen receiving a "heads-up" phone call, where she claimed that her cousin was telling her that her husband was in the hospital. However, it was Sharrieff Shah, letting his wife know that a federal law enforcement team was heading her way.
Never has a The Real Housewives sprinter van been so interesting, as Jen was arrested on the side of the road, due to wire fraud and money laundering charges. She was accused of participating in the aforementioned telemarketing scam. Jen initially pled not guilty, but surprisingly, she changed her plea to guilty in July 2022. She was later sentenced by a New York City court. The judge told her she'd need to spend six and a half years behind bars.
Sources: Radar Online, E!