The Real Housewives are known for their drama and fights, but sometimes Real Housewives stars have gotten a bad rap. There are always two sides (and sometimes even three, four, or five, depending on how many Housewives are involved) to every story, so sometimes it's best to hear all sides before determining if that particular Housewife should be faulted. Unfortunately, not all Housewives are given the chance to explain themselves or discuss maybe why they acted a certain way before getting a bad rap. Let's face it, the Real Housewives do more screaming than listening, right? That's what the series is all about.
Well, that's where I come in. To be clear, that doesn't mean everything the following Housewives have done should be excused or forgotten. Sometimes the Bravolebrities go a bit too far and take things to a new level before thinking things through. That said, what they've done or said to find themselves in bad rap territory is sometimes caused by other Housewives. Then, they end up taking most of the blame and can't seem to find their way back to the top.
Really, when haven't most of the Housewives got a bad rap? In particular, these 12 seem to get in more often than not.
1. Kelly Dodd
Kelly, Kelly, Kelly. The Real Housewives of Orange County hasn't seen such a controversial Housewife in a long time. Ever since she came on in Season 11, Kelly Dodd certainly hasn't made a great first impression. She's definitely said some horrible things, like when she brought up Tamra Judge's estranged daughter or when she talked about Shannon and David Beador's marriage.
However, Kelly has gotten a bad rap at certain times when she definitely didn't deserve it. For example, Tamra definitely instigated that fight with Kelly during their trip in Ireland. Before Kelly should have never brought up her daughter, Tamra stirred the pot by making claims that Kelly investigated Heather DuBrow's home loans. Kelly barely had a chance to defend or explain herself before she was given even more evil eyes from the women.
Then, what about that time Kelly said she didn't want to drink in Ireland, but Shannon kept ordering alcohol for her? It led to one of the biggest blowups in RHOC history, which says a lot. Oh, and let's not forget about that time at Shannon's '70s-themed party. Kelly and Shannon got into a huge fight. Granted, Kelly hurled some awful insults, but how did they expect her to react after walking in on Shannon and her friends saying Kelly performed sexual favors to pay her bills?
Kelly is no angel, but sometimes she isn't the only one at fault.
2. Yolanda Hadid
One would think when anyone is dealing with an awful disease they would receive compassion and the extension of a helping hand, but that didn't happen all the time with Yolanda Hadid. In Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 6, she brought her battle with Lyme disease to the forefront. However, rather than everyone having her back, she was quickly labeled as someone who might just have Munchausen syndrome thanks to Lisa Rinna. It was a very messy situation and one that should have never even happend.
Even though many have Hadid's back, it was still completely unfair that she was even questioned and earned a bad rap for possibly faking her Lyme disesase. I think most fans will agree that she is the one Housewife who definitely didn't deserve any of this and it's a shame her final season of RHOBH went this way.
3. Melissa Gorga
When she first came onto the Real Housewives of New Jersey, her sister-in-law Teresa Giudice ensured that Melissa Gorga wouldn't walk around without negativity following her. First, there was that whole ridiculous sprinkle cookies debacle. Then, there was that time that Melissa thought Teresa may have contributed to a conversation alleging she cheated on her huband Joe Gorga. Oh, and what about "stripper-gate"? In the Season 4 finale, rumors swirled about her alleged stripper past and it was unclear just how invovled Teresa was in spreading them. Whatever the case, a dark shadow was cast on Melissa for a past that wasn't even her past. In a blog post (via Celebuzz) shared in October 2011, she wrote, "As everyone knows we are filming season 4 so there is not too much I can confirm, but there is one thing that I would like to clarify…the accusation that I was once a dancer at a strip club. This is 100% NOT TRUE."
As soon as she was cast in the reality series, it was like Melissa didn't even have a chance to insert herself into the show before facing all kinds of tension. She was immediately lababled as a bad person by Teresa and it turned into all kinds of drama for Melissa. However based on RHONJ Season 7, all seems to be well with Teresa and Melissa — for now.
4. Kim Fields
The former Facts of Life star was in for a rude awakening when she joined Real Housewives of Atlanta. As showcased throughout Season 8, Kim Fields was extremely low-key compared to the other women. Really, all she wanted was to be with her family. There was nothing wrong with that, except she was made to feel bad for it, especially when she brought her kids to Jamaica. The women weren't too thrilled with her for that. What about that other time she broke down to Phaedra Parks about missing her husband and two boys while she was away with the other Housewives in Miami? Then, remember when Kim left that meeting in Washington D.C. after she considered the topic of conversation inappropriate for children?
Most of the women throughout the entire Housewives franchise are used to traveling without their partners and taking some much-needed time for themselves away from parenthood. However, that's not who Fields is, so for her to be judged for that isn't right. She loves being with her family and experiencing new things with them. Why is that such bad thing?
5. Ashley Darby
No one knew what really to expect when Real Housewives of Potomac premiered for the first time in 2016, but I bet they didn't think they'd see so many women bashing someone for her age, aka being too young. Ashley Darby got a bad rap from the get-go and more often than not many of her fellow Housewives blamed her age. Really? She's not a child, but rather a 27-year-old businesswoman and wife. Just because she is siginifanctly younger than the rest of the cast doesn't make her a child, though that didn't stop some of her cast members from looking down on her.
I mean, it never made sense why Ashley got so much heat, especially when Gizelle Bryant called her a "THOT," every time Karen Huger was too classy for whatever event Ashley threw, or when Gizelle made comments about Michael Darby's (Ashley's husband) sexuality. Was Ashley always completely innocent? Of course not, but for her to get such a bad rap in comparison to the other RHOP stars wasn't fair.
6. Cary Deuber
Like RHOP, the Real Housewives of Dallas was a huge success — and thanks to all of the drama. However, cast member LeeAnne Locken took the drama way too far when she accused Cary Deuber of having an affair with her current husband Mark Deuber. Before she knew it, Cary was having to defend herself over something she's repeatedly denied (though, she's never denied that Mark was married when they first met) and also being labeled as a home-wrecker. It was awful to watch and even more so at the Season 1 reuinion when Cary broke down over the rumors. It was one of the more upsetting moments of RHOD, but Cary did manage to hold her own against LeeAnne and didn't let any of it tarnish her marriage.
Furthermore, Cary continued to be taunted at Heidi Dillon's (LeeAnne's friend) party where she was labeled "rude." How did they expect her to be after she was hearing rumors circulating about her marriage with Mark? To top it off, Heidi declared the following during the actual party in front of everyone, "So Cary was just saying how she's gonna give a demonstration on the corn dog." Yes, that is a direct quote. Cary definitely didn't have an easy first season.
7. Shannon Beador
Season 10 of the RHOC was an extremely difficult one for Shannon Beador. She dealt with her husband David Beador's affair on reality television for the world to see and it was quite the emotional time. When Season 11 rolled around, Shannon and David were in a better and healthier place. They even renewed their vows in what will forever be remembered as one of the best Housewives moments. Though, negativity swooped in when David's mother came to her granddaugthers' rock show and started telling Shannon's friends that her daughter-in-law "pushed" David to an affair. As you can imagine, Shannon was not happy and she lost it.
Yes, maybe Shannon blew up a little bit too much and should've saved some of it for later at home and not in front of her girls, but can you blame her? How much more can she take when it comes to her marriage? Her mother-in-law was totally out of line, just like it was for fans to bash Shannon for her reaction. David's affair is a touchy subject and just when Shannon is in a happy place someone comes in and ruins it. So, I don't think it's completely fair for her to get criticized over how she responded to her mother-in-laws comments.
8. Jules Wainstein
A good portion of the Real Housewives of New York City Season 8 included talk about newbie Jules Wainstein's weight and her struggle with an eating disorder. During one episode, she told the women, "I live on the fine line of an eating disorder. In one second, I have a bad day and I have my slips all the time. Three days ago, I threw up my food. I’m not going to lie — it’s my life." She later said in her private interview, "Bulimia, it’s with you forever. It’s a big part of my personality."
So, it was beyond shocking to see some of the women (mainly Bethenny Frankel and Carole Radziwill) harshly commenting on Jules' weight. Bethenny even said in the Season 8 premiere, "She looks like a really thin girl — like, she looks like there is an issue. I wrote a book called Naturally Thin. This is not naturally thin. It's the kind of thin that makes people around you uncomfortable. I never had an eating disorder. I had a mother who had an eating disorder, and I've been around it, and I understand it." As for Carole, she said in another episode after talking about Jules' issue with her, that she "wasn’t surprised" about her eating disorder because she is "very, very, very thin — unnaturally thin."
Jules' weight never should've come under so much scrutiny.
9. Brandi Redmond
Oh Brandi Redmond from RHOD, you truly are a breath of fresh air. There has never quite been a Housewife like her and probably because no one else has ever worn a poop hat to a charity event. As soon as this latest Housewives series debuted, LeeAnne and Brandi were at odds (and mainly thanks to Brandi's poop hat). LeeAnne basically thought she was way classier than Brandi and didn't appreciate the former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader's pranks or carefree speech.
The way LeeAnne viewed Brandi and labeled her was wrong. She was by no means hurting anyone by having fun and having a surprsing poop obsession, just like her BFF and co-star Stephanie Hollman. It was unfair of LeeAnne to call Brandi "trash," because she certainly isn't. Brandi didn't deserve that type of treatement, but thankfully she never lost her sense of humor throughout it all.
10. Sonja Morgan
Sonja Morgan always seems to have an eventful season of RHONY, including Season 8 where she just couldn't seem to win with the ladies. First, there was that whole ordeal with Sonja naming her prosecco brand Tipsy Girl. For Bethenny, that hit way too close to home to her own brand, Skinnygirl. I get where Bethenny is coming from, but when she talked to Sonja about it, she took it way too far and even made her cry. "I think you're a fraud," Bethenny said. "You've come up with six fake businesses, and no one buys any of it." It was a hard conversation to watch, especially if you're a Sonja fan. It really didn't seem like Sonja chose that name to be malicious, but whatever the case, the aftermath was a lot of her to deal with.
I mean, their huge fight even caused Dorinda Medley to univite Sonja from the Berkshires. None of the women, save for Luann de Lesseps who tried to defend Sonja, thought she should come so Dorinda excluded her. They truly believed they had her best interest by preventing another altercation with Bethenny. Really, Sonja should've counted herself lucky for not being invited, especially after that huge blowup between Bethenny and Luann went down. However, it was still hard to watch Sonja be left out.
11. Jacqueline Laurita
The RHONJ finally returned with Season 7 in July and it certainly didn't disappoint when it came to Teresa Giudice and Jacqueline Laurita fighting. Just when fans thought they would become BFFs again, they both unleashed some nastiness. To be clear, at times Jacqueline was just as much at fault as Teresa for certain events that occurred (like when this happened), but their feud went to a ridiculous new level when Teresa made claims during the Season 7 reunion that Jacqueline and Caroline Manzo set her up by calling the government which led to her going to prison (she was released in December 2015 and her husband, Joe Giudice, is currently serving a 41-month sentence also for fraud).
"I plead guilty and you set me up," Teresa claimed at the reunion. "You set me up. In my gut, it was either you, you and Caroline, set me up. You guys were behind everything, calling the government, everything." She added, "I'm so happy I got that off my chest. I do believe that. I believe that. I believe it in my gut...I feel it in my gut." Jacqueline immediately denied it and said, "You think I called the government on you? Are you kidding?! You seriously think I called the government? That is not true." Caroline responded like you'd probably expect and told Bravo's The Daily Dish via email, "Thanks for reaching out, but I have no interest in responding to this question as it would be a waste of my unlimited data usage."
It's one thing to get mad at Jacqueline for getting in your sister-in-law's face and making plastic surgery jabs, but to make major allegations about calling the feds? That's a pretty big deal and something you can't take back.
The Real Housewives drama never ceases, does it?
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