The real housewives franchise has become one of the most popular reality series on Bravo TV, and for good reason.
Whether it’s Atlanta, New York, Beverly Hills, Potomac, Orange County, Atlanta, Dallas or New Jersey, fans always have housewives that they love and some they just love to hate.
Say what you want about these women but they always bring the drama, and that’s what reality TV is all about!
Unfortunately, sometimes our favorite housewives either get the ax or they decide to leave on their own terms. There have been many over the years and we would love to see some of our faves return to shake things up.
1.Jill Zarin- The Real Housewives of New York City
Jill Zarin was one of the original members that we loved to hate on the New York franchise. She started out as best friends with Bethenny Frankel whose Skinny Girl brand had not yet gained the popularity it has today.
However, as Bethenny’s star began to rise it seems Jill was not very supportive and the two women had a fight that ended their long friendship. It may have also set the stage for Jill’s exit from the show in 2011, after being a Bravo housewife for four seasons.
Since her departure, the 56-year-old lost her husband Bobby Zarin after a long battle with cancer.
Jill is still friends with current RHONY cast members Ramona Singer, Luann de Lesseps and Sonja Morgan so we occasionally get a glimpse of her on TV.
This season, she was at Dorinda Medley’s Halloween party, which was featured on RHONY and we would love to see her come back –even as a friend of the show.
2.Tamra Judge-The Real Housewives of Orange County
Tamra Judge is another veteran housewife who loves to stir the pot and keep things interesting but after 12 seasons, she recently made her exit.
She formed the funny girl gang, the Tres Amigos along with Shannon Beador and another original cast member, Vicki Gulvanson.
However, both Vicki and Tamra left the show in 2019.
The Cut Fitness owner was not fired, but she was demoted from her role as a full-time housewife so she decided to bid adios to the franchise. She later shared that her ex-husband’s battle with stage 2 throat cancer was also a factor in her leaving The Real Housewives of Orange County.
We’re yet to see how the upcoming season will fare without Tamra, but based on the trailer that we’ve seen so far fans are not impressed.
Some viewers are already asking for the vivacious, outspoken blonde to make her return.
For now, RHOC is the only franchise that doesn’t have an original cast member on the show, so if there’s one OG that needs to return its definitely Tamra.
3.Phaedra Parks- The Real Housewives of Atlanta
Phaedra was the southern Belle that could read people without breaking a sweat and fans loved her for it. We also enjoyed the friendship she shared with Porsha Williams as the two became known as Frick and Frack.
However, Phaedra sealed her fate in Season 9, after starting a nasty date rape rumor about her former friend and castmate Kandi Burris.
The mom-of-two told Porsha that, at one point, Kandi and her husband Todd Tucker intended to drug and rape her.
Porsha confronted Kandi about the allegations which she vehemently denied but things came to a head at the reunion when Phaedra was revealed as the source who made up the rumor.
The shocking revelation put a strain on her relationship with Porsha, who believed every word that Phaedra had told her.
The other RHOA cast members were angered by Phaedra’s actions, and apparently so were the show producers who promptly fired her after the reunion.
But now, time has passed and wounds have healed. So why not bring back the southern belle to stir things up in the ATL?
4.Bethenny Frankel-The Real Housewives of New York City
This Real Housewives of New York OG has come a long way since her first few seasons on the show, where she was labeled as the “poor” housewife. At the time, she had no husband and she was in the early stages of her business.
Fast forward to a few years later and Bethenny is one of the richest women in the franchise– with her Skinny Girl brand taking off and leading to a slew of other successful business ventures.
Her brash tongue and in-your-face attitude have rubbed many of her castmates the wrong way, but Bethenny has a legion of fans on her side. But in 2019 she quit the show for good and although she has taken a hiatus from RHONY in the past, this time seems very permanent.
Viewers have been begging the single mom to return to the show, but we doubt this will ever happen. While explaining her exit earlier this year she told Entertainment Tonight, “I just was ready to do it. I didn’t want to be there anymore. I mean, honestly — I just didn’t.”
This certainly doesn’t sound like someone who has any intention of being a Bravo housewife again. But hey, stranger things have happened. It is 2020, after all!
5.Adrienne Maloof-The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
What can we say except that we love the OG’s? They give us a feeling of nostalgia and if you’re a true Housewives fanatic, you certainly remember Adrienne Maloof.
Her over-the-top lifestyle and fabulous shoe collection made her an unforgettable cast member but after three seasons, she quit the show and didn’t even show up for the reunion.
We later learned that it was a revelation from her then-castmate, Brandi Glanville that caused Maloof to abruptly quit the show.
She had been hiding a secret that she and then-husband Paul Nasif has used a surrogate to carry their twin sons. Apparently Adrienne did not want this information to go public as she had not even shared it with her sons. But as you know, if you’re on a reality TV show, your secrets are going to be revealed.
These days, Adrienne and Paul are divorced. He has since remarried and is expecting another child.
As for Adrienne, she’s known for dating younger guys and we just caught a glimpse of her at Kyle Richard’s charity auction during a recent episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Wouldn’t it be fun to see single Adrienne on the dating scene? Bring her back Bravo!
6. Caroline Manzo-The Real Housewives of New Jersey
This red-haired Jersey girl came into our lives during the first season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey and it was clear she was very much in charge.
The matriarch of the Manzo family, Caroline was opinionated and held nothing back during her five seasons on the show. While starting out as friends with alum Teresa Guidice, by Season 4, they were feuding like enemies. In 2013, after 5 seasons, Caroline bid goodbye to RHONJ.
However, by 2014 Caroline and her “thick and thieves” family scored a spin-off on Bravo called, Manzo’d with Children but the show didn’t last for very long. It ended in 2016 after three seasons.
These days, the 59-year-old is a grandmother and spends her time showing off her culinary skills on YouTube. But we would love to see her make a return to The Real Housewives of New Jersey to duke it out with her former friend, Teresa Guidice.
7.Heather Dubrow-The Real Housewives of Orange County
Dubbed by her castmates as “fancy pants,” Heather Dubrow rolled on the scene with her adorable family and proper social etiquette in Season 7.
Fans instantly took a liking to the brunette beauty as she gave us an inside view into her life as a stay-at-home-mom to her four kids and wife to the prominent plastic surgeon, Terry Dubrow.
The banter between the very serious Heather and her lighthearted husband– as they tried to build their mega-mansion– was frustrating for the RHOC alum but certainly entertaining for viewers.
Heather also had a great dynamic with her fellow castmates and we loved the blossoming friendship between her and OG Tamra Judge.
Unfortunately, after five years on the show fans were sad when Heather announced that she would be leaving. However, her departure message gave us hope that she could return on day.
“I have decided to go in another direction and do what’s best for my family and career,” wrote Heather. “Should I change my mind, I thank Andy Cohen, Evolution and Bravo for telling me that the door is always open.”
Well Heather, it might be time to walk through those doors because we need you back!
8.Sheree Whitfield- The Real Housewives of Atlanta
The Atlanta ladies may have a bone to pick with the “bone collector” but viewers were certainly here for Sheree Whitfield and her loose lips.
Joining the RHOA cast since the very first season, this OG brought the drama from the very beginning with lots of personal problems to keep us thoroughly entertained.
From the failure of her clothing line, She by Sheree to issues with building her dream house Chateau Sheree, and drama with her ex-husband, it may have all been too much for the Atlanta housewife.
After several seasons, she left Real Housewives of Atlanta but returned for seasons 9 and 10 and things got juicy as Sheree’s relationship with her prison Bae Tyrone Gilliams played out on the show.
Sadly, as we got excited to see the OG back in full form again, news came that Bravo did not give offer our girl a reasonable salary so she left. But after blessing us with the classic, “Who gone check me boo?” catchphrase, Bravo needs to put some respect on Sheree’s name and give her what she’s worth!
We want Sheree back ASAP! Get it together, Bravo!
9. Lisa Vanderpump-RHOBH
Lisa Vanderpump wore the crown on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills for several seasons. With her posh accent and dark British humor, she was the housewife that many castmates did not want to tangle with.
The pink wearing animal lover ran a slew of successful restaurants in the 90210 while being an activist for animals in her spare time.
Ironically, it was an animal-related scandal known as “puppy gate” that led to her last season as a housewife.
Castmate Dorit Kemsley re-housed a puppy that she adopted from Lisa’s organization, and the family later put the puppy in a shelter.
The RHOBH ladies believed that Lisa was angry at Dorit for re-housing the dog so she leaked the story to the media to make Dorit look bad.
Despite denying the accusation, the women did not believe Vanderpump, and the drama-filled season was centered around the scandal. Before Season 9 even ended Lisa announced her departure from the show, and stopped filming with the group. She didn’t even show up for the reunion.
RHOBH fans want Lisa to return but since she’s no longer on speaking terms with her former castmates, this may not happen anytime soon.
10. Aviva Drescher -The Real Housewives of New York City
She’s the only housewife in history who can take off her leg and throw it on a dinner table, so why wouldn’t we want her back?
Aviva Drescher came onto the scene for two seasons and while she wasn’t a fan favorite, she certainly gave us a lot to talk about.
From her crippling fear of traveling without her husband to her playboy father who could even make Sonja Morgan blush, let’s just say Aviva and her family made for good TV.
Aviva was actually the only RHONY housewife that was born and bred in NYC. At age six she lost her leg during a freak accident on a farm.
Her story was a very compelling one, but soon fans started to dislike the blonde beauty.
Then came the leg throwing incident during a cocktail party, which may have been the catalyst for her being fired from Bravo.
While it certainly takes the top spot of memorable TV moments, former cast member Heather Thomson revealed that it was actually a staged moment by Aviva–who had reportedly told production she was going to do it.
While it certainly got our attention, it wasn’t enough to keep her around and she was fired after two seasons. However, now that RHONY is looking to make some cast changes, maybe we can give Aviva a second shot.
Were any of your favorite housewives missing from the list?
Well, tell us who you would like to see make a return to the Real Housewives franchise.