Poppin' bottles, poppin' pills and breakin' the law.
From The O.C. to Jersey, these "Real Housewives" kids took reality fame and
flipped it the bird. Here's who screwed the pooch and who just might make it out alive.
Tamra Judge's 30-something son, Ryan Vieth,
has been in trouble since we first met him on "The Real Housewives of Orange County."
Things escalated in 2015 when he was arrested for alleged domestic violence after reportedly
fighting with his fiancée, Sarah Rodriguez, who's also the mother of his daughter Ava.
"I'm not buying into it."
Judge downplayed the incident on Instagram, but Vieth and Rodriguez have since broken up.
Vieth then proceeded to bash his ex online. Three years later, Vieth shared a homophobic,
transphobic, and racist Instagram Stories rant that was captured by Reality Tea, when he wrote:
"Who else is sick of hearing about gay/trans people or how
racist white people are toward black [people] or asians now?"
Oof. Instagram Stories expire, but this one couldn't disappear fast enough.
Josh Waring's rap sheet is longer than his mom's short-lived stint on "The Real
Housewives of Orange County." Lauri Peterson stuck around for two seasons, but told The
Orange County Register that she left to deal with the fallout of her son's ongoing drug problems.
Sadly, his issues have only escalated ever since, and now include battery,
and felony drug and forgery charges, according to Crime Watch Daily.
Still, nothing is quite as shocking as his 2016 arrest for alleged attempted murder.
"He started smoking marijuana and I just feel that that was just the path down."
According to the Los Angeles Times, the arrest involved a police chase and brief standoff.
Waring pleaded not guilty to all 12 charges related to the incident.
For the next two years, his case continued to make headlines.
He was caught with wine in his prison cell; sued by the man he allegedly shot;
screamed profanities in court; and fired his lawyer while alleging a
grand conspiracy to frame him by the Costa Mesa Police Department.
Waring pleaded guilty to the shooting in 2021 to avoid additional jail time,
but he was back behind bars shortly after his release.
According to CBS News, he was arrested twice in two years for drug charges
involving fentanyl — along with a number of felonies. When he missed his court date,
he was declared a fugitive and sent back to the slammer.
Tammy Knickerbocker only appeared on "The Real Housewives of Orange County" for two seasons.
But her adult daughter, Lindsey Knickerbocker, is still catching headlines for bad behavior.
According to WREG Memphis, she was cuffed in a Motel 6 parking lot in
Arkansas in February 2022 — thanks to a broken license plate light. Per the
report, officers also searched Lindsey's car and discovered:
".4 grams of meth, more than $2,000 in counterfeit money,
2 forged checks and a device to print more checks."
More than a week after her arrest, The Sun reported that Lindsey was
still behind bars because her family failed to pay off her $25,000 bail.
Ashley Holmes had a wild ride
as the daughter of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" alum Jaqueline Laurita.
In the early years of the show, Holmes was a major character who pretty much did what teenagers
do best — rebel against their parents and get arrested for assaulting their mom's coworkers.
"You're not going unless you make your bed and you put those away."
"Mom, are you on crack?"
In 2010 — the year following the iconic Teresa Giudice table flip — Holmes was
involved in a now-legendary scuffle that got the New Jersey Housewives cast
banned from the North Jersey Country Club.
During the incident, Holmes yanked Danielle Staub's extensions straight from her head
during a verbal argument. Of course, for the serious fans, we should mention that Staub was
wildly offended yet basically did the same thing to Margaret Josephs a decade later.
But either way, weave-pulling is classified as legitimate assault,
and Holmes was convicted and slapped with a $189 fine, according to the New York Daily News.
Today, Holmes seems to have gotten her act together — at least when it comes
to no longer pulling people's hair. She moved out of her parents' house,
became a makeup artist, and tied the knot.
But her alleged temper apparently moved on with her. In 2020, Holmes announced
that she had separated from her husband, Pete Malleo, and seemingly began lashing out online.
According to Page Six, she went as far as claiming of her estranged husband:
"[He] is busy f—ing some busted looking w—-."
That's a lot to say to a fan in a tiny Instagram comment. While Malleo denied the allegations,
Holmes told another fan not to feel bad for her, writing, "I'm fine lol."
One so-called "Housekid" who seems to have possibly rebounded from some of
his trouble is Peter Rosello, the son of "Real Housewives of Miami" star Alexia Echevarria.
He had a tumultuous couple of years when he was arrested for allegedly
assaulting a homeless man and posting a video of the incident online in 2012.
Then, less than a year later, he was arrested for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia,
according to Gossip Extra. Apparently, police only found him out because he was
riding in a car that struck an unmarked police vehicle and fled the scene.
"As a mother, obviously, you can, you know, feel my pain."
But even today, Rosello still seems to struggle. According to People, he was
arrested for battery after allegedly getting physical with his girlfriend in early 2022.
The charges were later dropped, and while speaking with Showbiz CheatSheet,
Echevarria tried to explain her son's ongoing issues.
She revealed that Peter was traumatized when his younger brother Frankie was
involved in a head-on collision and placed in a medically induced coma. At the time,
Peter reportedly claimed that he didn't want to live without his brother, who eventually emerged
with debilitating brain trauma. It looks like everyone in the family has a lot of healing to do.
Luann de Lesseps' daughter, Victoria,
successfully offended Aviva Drescher on "The Real Housewives of New York City" in 2014 when
her art — which often features nude women — was included in one of Drescher's parties.
By all accounts, Victoria seems to be living a pretty typical life in
the Big Apple these days as a budding artist and designer.
But her time in her mom's spotlight hasn't always been filled with wine and roses.
In April 2017, Victoria was pulled over in the Hamptons for driving without her headlights on.
At the time, she was given a breathalyzer test, and blew a .15. If you need a refresher,
the legal limit is .08. Victoria was arrested and spent the night in jail.
Bravo fanatics may also recall that mom Luann was
similarly arrested in Palm Beach that December for what E! News reported as:
"Battery on an officer, disorderly intoxication,
resisting arrest with violence and crimes against a person."
Luckily, the former countess and her daughter have since been able to keep
their noses pretty clean. Luann — who launched an alcohol-free rosé
brand — has long been open about her journey toward sobriety, telling People in 2019,
"I take my sobriety very seriously and like many in my situation, it is a daily struggle."
"I put you through such hell for a long time, so, I just want to say I'm sorry my love."
Luann has also bonded with Victoria over the decision to give up alcohol,
telling her daughter in a 2021 episode of the show that she was proud of how far she had come.
"Very proud of her. Very grown-up to get it at this age."
Lynne Curtin joined the cast of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" in the middle
of Season 4 and stuck it out until the end of Season 5. But she had her hands full from the
beginning with financial issues and with her two teen daughters, Raquel and Alexa.
"Alexa's just Alexa. She's semi-retired, she doesn't work now. She has a boyfriend."
But things have gone south for Alexa, who turned 30 in 2022. Back in June 2016,
she was pulled over and found to be in possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia.
A year later, she got a DUI for allegedly driving under the influence of prescription drugs.
The following month, Alexa's grandmother accused her of breaking into her house and threatening
her. Just two months after that, cops busted her again for allegedly smoking heroin in her car.
She was also accused of keying her boyfriend's car in February 2018.
And after pleading guilty to a variety of similar charges in 2021,
she was sentenced to over two months behind bars, according to The Blast.
It should also be noted that in August 2017, she won a $2.25 million civil
suit against the County of Orange and Deputy Sheriff Nicholas Lee Caropino.
Alexa claimed Caropino sexually assaulted her after investigating a 2014 domestic
dispute between herself and her ex-husband. Though Caropino was cleared of criminal
charges after a lengthy investigation, Alexa maintained her allegation, telling People:
"This has been the hardest thing I've ever gone through."
NeNe Leakes was already battling son Bryson Bryant's legal woes in the early seasons
of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." He was arrested twice in 2010 on gun and drug charges,
which Leakes downplayed in a statement to People, adding:
"Like any parent, I am disappointed with the actions and arrest of my son,
Bryson. […] [We will] deal with this family issue in a private manner."
"My oldest burned our kitchen down once. Like, years ago."
Unfortunately, Bryant has been arrested multiple times since. In 2011,
he got caught stealing from an area Walmart. NeNe Leakes refused to bail
Bryant out of jail and even kicked him out of the house, according to Distractify.
Things spiraled so far out of control that by late 2014, he was sent to the
slammer for three months and ordered to check into an "intensive" rehab program,
according to Radar. In 2015, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that
Bryant had been arrested again, for providing police with a false name.
To make matters even worse, someone leaked photos of Bryant to Radar in October 2017,
alleging they partied with him while he snorted cocaine.
Still, Bryant turned things around. In addition to welcoming three children, his Instagram states
he's an aspiring music producer, manager, and actor, as well as a proud family man.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available.
Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website
or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).