Ditching the Lambos, Rolexes, and PJs,
these Housewives walked away from million-dollar marriages.
But was it ever true love? Or were these gold-diggers jonesing for a sweeter honey pot?
Luann de Lesseps clocked in with two divorces
during her time on "The Real Housewives of New York City." When the O.G. signed on for Season
1 in 2008, she was married to Count Alexandre de Lesseps. Back then, her shtick was all about
etiquette and class, which she monetized with a book and her song "Money Can't Buy You Class."
The Countess split from her first husband in 2009. Luann then played the field before
she walked down the aisle with Tom D'Agostino in 2016. But that marriage lasted just seven months.
"I suffer a lot. I mean, I really suffer a lot."
Sticking with "The
Real Housewives of New York," original cast member Ramona Singer's marriage to Mario
Singer appeared to be thriving during the early seasons. But despite their chemistry,
Ramona filed for divorce in 2014 after Mario got caught cheating.
All told, the couple were married for over 20 years. They have also managed to remain friends,
and even quarantined together with their daughter, Avery, in 2020.
"I could never be with him again. What we had was very special and very good,
but, you know, things move on."
For her part, Ramona seems to enjoy being back in the dating pool. But
she isn't rushing into anything serious. She told ET in 2021,
"I'm at a stage in my life, I want a man, I don't need a man."
"Real Housewives" fans mourned Nene's
husband Gregg Leakes when he died in September 2021 after a battle with cancer. He seemed to be a
great match for Nene and a caring husband. But the couple still endured a few bumps along the way.
When "Real Housewives of Atlanta" debuted in 2008,
the pair had already been married for 11 years. But after two years on the show,
they split. Claiming that Gregg cheated on her, Nene pulled the plug, telling "Uncensored,"
"You have to teach people how to treat you."
"It was me teaching Gregg a lesson and I think he got it."
After they divorced in 2011, the two later remarried. The
couple stayed together until Gregg's death ten years later.
"He's the sweetest, most authentic man to — like, it's not a brand, it's actually him."
Just after Noella Bergener joined "The Real Housewives of Orange County" for Season 16,
she appeared to be surprised when she was served with divorce papers only a few episodes in. The
breakdown of her marriage to attorney "Sweet James" Bergener then became a key storyline.
"Sweet James" filed for divorce in July 2021,
and things were finalized in December of that year. Noella told E! News,
"He had a midlife crisis coupled with shame coupled with like some
narcissistic spiral of just bats— craziness."
"I need to take off my dirty robe, and get out of my dirty bed,
and stop crying over a man who doesn't effing deserve it."
For her part, Noella seems to have moved on with Bobby Schubenski.
As of late 2022,
Erika Girardi's divorce is still looming. The split coincided with charges that her husband,
former attorney Tom Girardi, had been embezzling money from clients. Though Erika filed for
divorce in November 2020, by May 2022, she claimed to ET that divorce wasn't a priority.
"If I was divorced from Tom, I'd have to pay him alimony. I'll stay married, thanks."
Erika and Tom have been married since 1999. They are more than 30 years apart in age,
but they appeared to be very much in love on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." Still,
there were also cheating allegations and revelations about Tom's mental
decline. As Erika detailed on a reunion show,
"I let go of my Lamborghini. I let go of my 16,000 square foot home. I let go
of my marriage. I let go of everything. I literally made a decision that I had to."
Kenya Moore's
divorce also has yet to be finalized, as of 2022. Moore joined "The Real Housewives
of Atlanta" in Season 5, where fans watched her lose out with multiple
ill-fated romances. But it seemed like she found true love with Marc Daly. The
pair married in secret in 2017 and welcomed their daughter Brooklyn the following year.
"I think I missed a lot of red flags."
After a slew of other allegations, Kenya told Bravo it all came down to being too
busy to prioritize the marriage. The couple announced their divorce in 2019 after only
two years together. According to Radar Online, the two battled over legal custody of Brooklyn,
Daly's entitlement to a share of Moore's home, and their daughter's appearances on the show.
There have been many, many divorces
on "The Real Housewives of Orange County," but no one has as much regret about theirs as Vicki
Gunvalson. The O.G. of the OC even admitted of her ex Donn on "Watch What Happens Live,"
"I'm not going to say that he wasn't good for me.
I think that if I had to do all over again, I would not have divorced Donn."
The couple called it quits in 2010 after 17 years of marriage. Vicki has always talked
about her "love tank" needing to be filled, and it seems that she is back at it again. In February
2022 she confirmed to Access that she has a new boyfriend who's keeping the tank fully loaded.
Teresa Giudice and
her marriage to Joe Giudice took center stage during the early seasons of "Real Housewives of
New Jersey." But later, both Teresa and Joe served time for charges related to fraud. And since she
stuck with him throughout the whole ordeal, many fans assumed she'd stay for good. She didn't.
Joe was released from prison into ICE custody, since he had never applied for
American citizenship. He was eventually deported to Italy, and the two divorced. In November 2021,
Joe told E! News that he was trying to fight his way back into the U.S.,
but Teresa has since moved on. She married Luis Ruelas in the summer of 2022.
For a while,
it seemed that if Camille Meyer had her way, she would likely still be married to Kelsey Grammer.
But, as we know now, Grammer had other plans.
Viewers could sense something was amiss on Season 1 of "The Real Housewives of Beverly
Hills." We barely saw Kelsey on camera, but when we did, there wasn't a lot of love being shared.
"This is his choice and I can't change his mind."
As we found out later, the "Frasier" alum had a girlfriend, Kayte Walsh,
in New York. And he married her after his divorce was finalized
in early 2011. Camille also moved on, marrying lawyer David C. Meyer in 2018.
"Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Phaedra
Parks divorced husband Apollo Nida during the show because, as they say, criminals gonna crime.
"Don't play me, 'cuz you're playing yourself."
Parks made her debut in Season 3, and her relationship with Nida was in full bloom
for her first four seasons on the show. The couple had married in 2009 — shortly
before Parks became a cast member. Nida had done time for racketeering charges,
and was then arrested in 2014 and sentenced to eight years for more white-collar crimes.
Parks filed for divorce in October 2014, and she was granted primary custody of their two kids.
Shannon Beador joined "The
Real Housewives of Orange County" in Season 9, and her marriage to David Beador hung on
for a few seasons despite the obvious flaws. As she explained in "Not All Diamonds and Rosé,"
"David and I had been fighting. What I'd later learn is that the day after we started filming,
David left for a trip to Key West, Florida, and started an affair."
"It's, um, pretty devastating."
After years of attempting to repair their relationship, the couple announced their
split at the Season 12 reunion, thus ending a 17-year marriage. David is now remarried
and starting another family while Shannon has been dating John Janssen since 2020.
Cynthia Bailey is
currently married to TV personality Mike Hill. But when she first appeared on "The
Real Housewives of Atlanta" in Season 3, she was with Peter Thomas. The two soon got married,
but not without serving up the drama. Bailey explained in "Not All Diamonds and Rosé,"
"Peter came around and changed the game. He defended his wife and he voiced his opinions,
which I thought was admirable. But the other women didn't like that."
No thanks to drama between the cast — and their own financial
issues — after six years together, the couple called it quits in 2016.
"Peter changed the course of my life. And for all
the great things that came out of that, I'll always be grateful."
Bethenny Frankel's
love life has been key to her arc on "The Real Housewives of New York."
"F—ing my way to the top? I can't even f— my way to the
middle. I'm trying to f— my way to the bottom!"
Her boyfriend Jason Hoppy appeared in Season 3, then on the spin-off,
"Bethenny Ever After." The two wed in 2010 when Frankel was pregnant with daughter Bryn and,
according to People, separated two years later. They then spent nearly a decade in court.
In her testimony, Frankel accused Hoppy of mistreating her, their daughter,
and their dog. While the divorce was finalized in 2016, the couple fought over custody of
Bryn as recently as 2021, according to the Daily Mail. Frankel revealed on her podcast, "Just B,"
"I have spent millions of dollars, millions
of tears. I have had a horrific, hall of fame, nightmare divorce."
Frankel is currently engaged to Paul Bernon,
but she says they're in no hurry to take the next step.
Before her
seemingly balanced relationship with hubby Eddie,
"Real Housewives of Orange County" star Tamra Judge endured a far less peaceful union.
"I'm the happiest girl in the whole wide world."
When she joined the show in Season 3, she was married to Simon Barney and busy raising their
three kids. Their issues immediately unfolded onscreen, and Barney filed for divorce in 2010.
Still, as Tamra told Us Weekly, she and Simon have made amends since he was diagnosed with
cancer in 2020. Tamra even reconciled with her daughter Sidney, from whom she was once estranged.
When Gina Kirschenheiter
joined "The Real Housewives of Orange County" in Season 13, her husband Matt was never seen and
didn't even live full-time in Orange County. So, it wasn't a shock when the couple called it quits.
"It's hard to say. So, Matt and I — we're, so, we're splittin' up."
In July 2018, the recently split couple released a statement, telling Us Weekly,
"We will never end our friendship and will forever remain family. We are dedicated to
raising our children together in a happy, healthy loving environment."
They briefly got back together,
but within a month, Matt was arrested for domestic violence. The exes are now civil,
and Gina is living with her boyfriend Travis Mullen and their six combined kids.
Porsha Williams first appeared
on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" in Season 5. She was married to football star Kordell Stewart
and seemed more like a prim choir girl than a fun-loving party girl. Stewart and Williams
got married in 2011 but separated two years later. Their divorce was finalized in 2013.
"I just don't think I should be putting myself in that position anymore."
Following the breakup, Williams accused Stewart of abuse. For his part,
Stewart denied the allegations via Radar Online.
Williams has jumped into a number of relationships since the divorce, including an engagement to her
daughter's father Dennis "Hot Dog King" McKinley and a later engagement to Simon Guobadia.