By Megan Riedlinger
6:32am PST, Nov 16, 2023
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The "Real Housewives" franchises have served up their fair share of drama over the years, but nothing helps ratings soar like a cheating scandal. Bravo viewers have seen lengthy marriages come to an end before their eyes.
The most recent example? Lisa Hochstein and Lenny Hochstein's union. The Miami-based reality stars seemed to have the perfect marriage, but that came crashing down in May 2022 when Lenny publicly announced their split — the same month the plastic surgeon was accused of cheating on his wife of 12 years with Katharina Mazepa, a model 30 years his junior. Lenny insisted to Page Six that he didn't start seeing Katharina "until after the decision was made to get divorced" but Lisa maintained she was "blindsided" by Lenny. "Unfortunately, this is a case of a man lying to two women at the same time," she told Page Six. She and Lenny struggled before all this too: Lisa admitted in 2021 that they nearly split after he had an emotional affair before their two children were born.
In July 2023, Lenny popped the question to Katharina. Lisa's response? She took to her Instagram story, writing, "Congrats to my current husband and his mistress on their engagement." She too, has moved on, going Instagram official with her new man, Jody Glidden, that same month.
As season 6 of "The Real Housewives of Miami" debuts on Nov. 1, 2023, we're taking stock of the other major "Housewives" cheating scandals. Keep reading for more…
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Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky seemed to have a picture-perfect marriage on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," but even their union was rocked by cheating allegations in 2013. Season 4 covered the rumors, which surfaced in tabloids and claimed that Mauricio had a threesome with escorts. Though nothing came of those allegations, it was the beginning of the end of Kyle's friendship with pal Lisa Vanderpump. Kyle was unhappy with Lisa's reaction and at the time, Lisa doubled down about not fully condemning the rumors, writing on her Bravo blog, "Can we as women state unequivocally that our husbands are faithful? Of course not! It would be foolish to."
Off screen during season 12, Mauricio faced another set of cheating allegations as eagle-eyed fans wondered if something was happening between the real estate mogul and Kyle's co-star Dorit Kemsley. Dorit shut down the rumors on "Watch What Happens Live," telling host Andy Cohen, "Honey, listen, when something is so ridiculous, you just kind of discount it."
But with season 13 now airing in the wake of news Kyle and Mauricio separated earlier in 2023, fans are wondering if it's actually Kyle who allegedly cheated this time…
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After years of cheating rumors swirling around Mauricio Umansky, it was finally Kyle Richards' turn to be in the hot seat.
In July 2023, the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" stars confirmed they'd separated after 27 years of marriage — which led fans to speculate that it could have to do with a newcomer prominently featured on Kyle's Instagram. Kyle was seemingly spending a lot of time with country singer Morgan Wade, who's 26 years her junior, and documenting it on social media. Their odd friendship sparked romance rumors that were only fueled by Kyle's cameo in Morgan's "Make You Fall in Love With Me" music video in which the two got very steamy — from spending time in a bubble bath together to sharing a kiss.
Though both Kyle and Morgan have denied a romantic relationship, their friendship took center stage in the trailer for season 13, with Kyle's pal Dorit Kemsley even pointing out that Morgan had Kyle's initial tattooed on her body. The reality star then opened up about their odd friendship on "Watch What Happens Live," calling Morgan, "absolutely one of my best, best friends in the world." Of the intrigue about their bond, Kyle claimed Morgan's tattoos were to blame, telling host Andy Cohen, "If she didn't have all those tattoos, people would not say that."
Despite the denial, Kyle did confirm during that same appearance that she was the one who initiated her separation from Mauricio. She also revealed that they continued to live under the same roof, with Mauricio staying in the primary suite and her moving to an upstairs area in their house.
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Just months before their 15th wedding anniversary, Shannon Beador revealed in June 2015 that husband David Beador had been involved in an eight-month-long affair. The surrounding drama went down on season 10 of "The Real Housewives of Orange County," though cameras didn't catch a verbal altercation Shannon got into with David's ex-mistress at a USC football game that October, which Shannon detailed on "Entertainment Tonight." Shannon and David decided to go to couples counseling, all of which was featured on the show. It worked for a time — they celebrated a vow renewal on camera in 2016 — but in October 2017, they announced they were calling it quits. Despite filing that December, their divorce wasn't finalized until April 2019. Shannon was ultimately awarded $1.4 million in a divorce settlement.
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It was about Tom after all! Luann de Lesseps of "The Real Housewives of New York City" had a very short-lived marriage to Tom D'Agostino thanks to a cheating scandal. The couple wed on New Year's Eve in 2016 — despite co-star Bethenny Frankel's claims that Tom had been cheating. By August 2017, their marriage was over after seven short months with sources telling People magazine there were infidelity issues. In 2019, Page Six reported that Tom finally copped to cheating — two years later — but allegedly told friends Luann was unfaithful first. Her response to the outlet? "I wish [Tom] well. I have moved on, and I hope he can do the same."
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"The Real Housewives of New York City" featured a shocking split early on when Ramona Singer discovered that husband Mario Singer was cheating. During a season 4 cast trip in 2011, a psychic suggested her husband might have been unfaithful, but it wasn't until January 2014 that those suspicions were confirmed when Ramona, according to a report from People magazine, caught Mario with young New York socialite Kasey Dexter at their home in the Hamptons. Though Ramona and Mario tried to make it work and went to therapy, she discovered he was still seeing Kasey so she ended their 22-year marriage that August.
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Viewers were watching the demise of Camille Grammer and Kelsey Grammer's marriage on season 1 of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills"… but no one knew it until the season finale. The show kicked off with Camille speaking adoringly about her hubby, who'd recently taken a job on Broadway in "La Cage aux Folles" and had been living in New York City. Unbeknownst to her, during this time, he'd started an affair with British flight attendant Kayte Walsh, who's 25 years his junior. Kelsey asked for a divorce over the phone, Camille said on the last episode of the Bravo series that season. She also shared how she learned he was having the affair: When she arrived at their Manhattan apartment, the doorman stopped her and questioned her identity, saying, "You're not Mrs. Grammer," which led Camille to discover that another woman had been a frequent visitor. Kelsey filed for divorce in July 2010 and two weeks after it was finalized in February 2011, he wed Kayte. A year later, Kelsey reflected on his infidelity during a stop on "Anderson Live," telling host Anderson Cooper, "I was trying to pretend things were normal for the sake of letting her have that moment. It was just ill advised. It was the wrong decision and I should have come home from England when I first met Kayte and just said, 'Listen I've met somebody and this hasn't been working for a long time.' I regret not doing that."
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Not every cheating scandal results in divorce! "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Jennifer Aydin openly discussed husband Bill Aydin's infidelity on season 12 of the show when it was brought up by co-star Margaret Josephs. The cheating happened 10 years prior when Bill, a plastic surgeon, had an affair with a pharmaceutical rep while Jennifer was pregnant with their fourth child. Despite the betrayal, Jennifer stayed with him and they worked on their marriage. Jennifer even took to Instagram in February 2022 to share a throwback picture, writing, "I'm glad I stayed… and forgave" on an old family photo. As for reliving their family nightmare, Jennifer told Page Six, "Signing up for this show, that's what I agreed to do — to show the good, the bad and the ugly. It's not easy."
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Jules Wainstein faced husband Michael Wainstein's cheating allegations on her very first season of "The Real Housewives of New York City." The couple divorced in July 2016 after Jules learned of the alleged affair. For his part, Michael continuously denied the allegations. His attorney, Mark Jay Heller, spoke to Us Weekly on Michael's behalf, sharing, "If she had caught him cheating, she certainly would have put in an answer and account to claim alleging that he committed adultery." Their divorce process was even messier than the original allegations: It lasted for four years and saw Jules arrested for allegedly punching Michael in the face in 2020. Season 8 ended up being her only season.
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"The Real Housewives of New York City" star Kristen Taekman saw a very public cheating scandal unfold in 2015 when her husband admitted to signing up for an Ashley Madison account. The controversial site — which helped men cheat on their wives — was hacked and subscriber information, including Josh's, was released publicly. He put out a statement to Us Weekly at the time that read, "I signed up for the site foolishly and ignorantly with a group of friends and I deeply apologize for any embarrassment or pain I have brought to my wife and family. We both look forward to moving past this and getting on with our lives." Among the details that DailyMail.com uncovered about his membership on the site? He'd had it since 2011 and made 62 payments to the site over the years. Despite the embarrassing revelations, the couple kept up a united front and remain married today.
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Season 10 of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" served up a different kind of cheating scandal when former star Brandi Glanville alleged that Denise Richards was in an open marriage with husband Aaron Phypers. Brandi's revelation came tied with rumors that she'd hooked up with the actress, though Brandi consistently denied the allegations. The scandal didn't rock Denise and Aaron's marriage — the two are still together — but it resulted in Denise leaving the show, later telling "The Talk" that all the drama made her feel like she was in "kindergarten."
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"The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Phaedra Parks and ex-husband Apollo Nida dealt with multiple cheating allegations during their time on Bravo. Apollo accused Phaedra's co-star Kenya Moore of coming on to him during a trip to Los Angeles in season 5, with Phaedra backing his surprising claims. He later admitted it was a lie, but not before getting one more fabricated cheating allegation in… this time against his own wife. When the couple started going through the divorce process, Apollo accused Phaedra of cheating on him with a man named Chocolate. Phaedra denied the allegations as her divorce played out on camera during season 9 — her last on the show. Her time on Bravo ended after a horrific allegation she made about co-star Kandi Burruss and the singer-songwriter's husband, Todd Tucker, got her fired.
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Michael Darby and Ashley Darby's roller-coaster relationship has played out in front of the cameras: They wed in 2014 and Ashley joined the cast of "The Real Housewives of Potomac" in 2016. Unfortunately, their marriage was soon plagued by infidelity rumors.
Michael was charged with sexually assaulting a male crew member in 2018, though those charges were eventually dismissed due to insufficient evidence. And in 2020, he admitted to "something" happening at a casino while Ashley was away on a cast trip.
Despite allegations that he was with another woman at that time, the couple stayed together and later that year announced they were expecting their second child together. Ashley stood by her man through multiple scandals, but they announced their split in April 2022. Their divorce played out on season 7 of the series.
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"The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" viewers had no idea that Erika Jayne's much older husband, attorney Tom Girardi, had multiple affairs until after news of their divorce broke. Erika cited infidelity as the reason for her December 2020 divorce filing, but the couple were also facing lawsuits about allegedly embezzling settlements from Tom's legal clients. That same month, she implied Tom had been unfaithful with a judge, posting screenshots on social media. During season 11 — a year after news of their divorce broke — Erika opened up about her ex-husband's infidelity, revealing that it was a former housewife who inspired her to investigate. "I never had gone through my husband's phone, I never touched his papers, I never touched anything. And after Yolanda [Hadid] divorced David [Foster], I just opened that phone and I was like wow, OK," Erika shared. She later said in a confessional during the same episode, "I found the evidence. It's was text messages, it was pictures. I felt like it was years-long. Well, I know it was."
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Long before their stints in prison and subsequent divorce, "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" stars Teresa Giudice and Joe Giudice battled cheating rumors. It was alleged by the National Enquirer that Joe had a much younger mistress — a college student — in 2012. But during season 12, after the couple split and Joe had been deported to his native Italy, Teresa revealed she believed he had been unfaithful back in 2004 when their daughter Gia was just 3. Teresa opened up about the events on camera, sharing that she surmised he was having an affair when she discovered her husband had a second phone. Despite the evidence, the two stayed together. Joe has denied he cheated.
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Another Jersey cheating scandal? "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Melissa Gorga got into hot water when it was alleged she'd cheated on hubby Joe Gorga with an ex-boyfriend during season 5. One of Melissa's supposed friends told a group that included Joe's sister, Teresa Giudice, that Melissa had an affair, but ultimately, the rumor didn't go much further than that. Joe stood by his lady.
