By Wonderwall.com Editors
8:38am PDT, Apr 2, 2015
From crazy cat fights and luxury vacations to lavish weddings and endless legal dramas, Bravo's "Real Housewives" shows are the gifts that keep on giving. "The Real Housewives of Orange County" star Heather Dubrow turns 48 on Jan. 5, 2017, so in honor of her special day, Wonderwall.com is taking a look at the highs and lows of our favorite "Real Housewives" stars. Let's start with the birthday girl: Heather has been accused of being the "puppet master" of all of the drama on "RHOC" Season 11. She had some serious issues with fellow housewife Vicki Gunvalson in particular and was essentially campaigning for Bravo to cut her out of the hit reality TV series. The drama unfolded when the ladies from Orange County went on a trip to Ireland. At one point, Heather called Vicki a "stupid b—-." But she didn't stop there! Heather told Meghan King Edmonds, "I'm so sorry your beautiful trip is ruined by that trash." (She called housewife Kelly Dowd "trash" too!) But despite all the low moments, Heather's 2016 also featured a very big high: She moved into her newly built "Dubrow Chateau" with its state-of-the-art movie theater, flown-in olive tree, closet that dreams are made of, and champagne room — so cheers to Heather! Keep reading for more highs and lows from the "Real Housewives" casts…
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"The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Kim Richards was arrested after a wild night at the The Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel in the early hours of April 16, 2015. The troubled reality TV star, who was allegedly drunk, locked herself in a bathroom and had to be forcefully dragged out by police officers — and she reportedly kicked one of the cops! She was charged with being drunk in public, trespassing and resisting arrest. Then in August 2015, she was arrested for allegedly shoplifting from Target as reports emerged claiming she'd been homeless and living out of her car. Kim's maintained that she's been sober and healthy since September 2015, though she's faced lingering legal troubles related to probation violations stemming from her terrible 2015.
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Bethenny Frankel found major fame after her stint on the hit Bravo reality TV show "The Real Housewives of New York City." Though she landed her own spinoff documenting her life as a newlywed and new mom, Bethenny's life slowly began to fall apart: The TV personality's failed marriage and bitter divorce made headlines, and her highly anticipated talk show was canceled after just one season. But there was one serious high: She made a ton of money off the sale of her Skinnygirl brand! According to Forbes, Bethenny sold her Skinnygirl drink line to Fortune Brands' Beam Global for $100 million.
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"The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice has had her fair share of highs and lows. But the most publicized pitfall has been her and husband Joe Giudice's federal financial fraud convictions and resulting prison sentences. In July 2013, Teresa and Joe were indicted on 39 counts of bankruptcy, mail and wire fraud. On Oct. 2, 2014, a judge ordered Teresa to serve 15 months in prison ahead of Joe, who started his 41-month sentence in March 2016. Though Teresa was released early — just in time for Christmas 2015 — Joe won't be coming home until 2019.
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Ouch! After being compared to Miss Piggy during one of Slade Smiley's comedy sketches, "The Real Housewives of Orange County" star Vicki Gunvalson went under the knife to alter her looks. In 2012, she revealed that she'd thinned her nose and had a chin implant and fat injections. Vicki also had some very real drama to face when she was accused of being in on ex-boyfriend Brooks Ayers' fake cancer scheme. Brooks was accused of fabricating medical documents to prove he was battling cancer, and he later confirmed that the forgery rumors were true. Currently, Vicki has a new man in her life: Steve Lodge. "He is very established, he's very successful and he treats me like a princess. I'm in a good place," she told Page Six in June 2016. "I'm so excited."
Danielle Staub was trouble! The former "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star got the boot from Season 3 after her castmates confronted her about her criminal past with the help of a book. Yes, a book. "Cop Without a Badge" exposed Danielle — who was living under the name Beverly Merrill at the time — and her involvement with a kidnapping and extortion scheme. The book also revealed details of Danielle's relationship with a felon-turned-FBI informant, her stripping past and countless lovers. No wonder Teresa Giudice flipped a table during their confrontation!
As crazy as Ramona Singer may seem, no one deserves to be cheated on. After 27 years of marriage, the star of "The Real Housewives of New York City" divorced Mario Singer in 2014 after discovering his affair with socialite Kasey Dexter. Despite a brief attempt at a reconciliation, Ramona ultimately decided she'd had enough. We're still rooting for you, Ramona!
Fans watched as Tamra Barney's marriage to Simon Barney crumbled over the first few seasons of "The Real Housewives of Orange County." Unsurprisingly, their divorce was anything but amicable. On the bright side, the scrappy housewife found love again and married Eddie Judge in a stunning wedding at the St. Regis Monarch Beach hotel in Dana Point, California, on June 15, 2013. Though the couple has faced rift rumors, they are still together.
Rino Aprea and wife Teresa Aprea divorced because he allegedly slept with her mother. Yes, you read that right. Though "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" tip-toed around the allegations on-air, Victoria Gotti is certain of it. Mob boss John Gotti's daughter spilled the family secret over drinks with Teresa Giudice and Amber Marchese, claiming that Rino was the one who divulged the affair. Whatever the truth is, Rino and Aprea mended things and got remarried. Salute!
You never know what will happen on "The Real Housewives of New York City." And Aviva Drescher launching her prosthetic leg during Sonia Morgan's "Team Sonia" party at Le Cirque in New York City proved that! So what caused her to throw it? A catfight, of course! Before her leg took flight, Aviva plopped it on the table and claimed: "The only thing artificial or fake about me is this. Everything else is real! I'm sick of being called fake!"
Though Melissa Gorga has vehemently denied that she was ever a stripper, a handful of regulars on "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" think otherwise. Ahem, Kim D. But the truth is that Melissa did work at a strip club — just not as a dancer. Her former boss at Lookers Gentleman's Club in New Jersey revealed that he hired her as a bartender. Kim, get your facts straight, girl!
As an attorney, Phaedra Parks should probably have done more digging before marrying Apollo Nida! In 2014, Apollo was charged with bank, mail and wire fraud and ID theft and ultimately was sentenced to eight years in prison. But before he surrendered to authorities on Sept. 11, 2014, Apollo went AWOL and busted into the "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star's home fuming about how she'd refused to put money in his prison account. Needless to say, it was all caught on camera. And on a side note: This wasn't Apollo's first time behind bars. He served time for auto-title fraud from 2004 to 2009. As if that wasn't enough, Apollo — who's filed for divorce from Phaedra — has now proposed to another woman while behind bars. In late 2016, Radar Online revealed that his fiancée's name is Sherien Almufti and that she's a New Jersey real estate agent.
BFFs no more! "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" former besties Lisa Vanderpump and Brandi Glanville have been at odds for quite some time and neither will let go of their ongoing feud. While fans have been hoping that these two would kiss and make up, Brandi crushed any chance of a reconciliation when she slapped Lisa in the face.
Don't fret, we aren't going to touch Brandi Glanville and Joanna Krupa's fishy feud! Instead, let's revisit the "The Real Housewives of Miami" star's gorgeous $1 million wedding at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort in Carlsbad, California, on June 13, 2013. Though it was quite an affair, getting to the altar wasn't smooth sailing for the model. In November 2012, Joanna called off her five-year engagement to Romain Zago, then reconciled with him a month later. She was also livid when Romain presented her with a prenup. And lastly, how can we forget when Joanna kicked her fellow castmate Lisa Hochstein out of her bridal party?
Taylor Armstrong and her late husband, Russell Armstrong, might have been going through a bitter divorce and facing financial problems, but no one would ever have predicted that her estranged spouse would commit suicide in Los Angeles in August 2011. Though we don't know why Russell took his life, some have speculated that the pressure of his divorce — the former "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star accused him of verbal and physical abuse — and a $1.5 million lawsuit may have played a role. His death hit Taylor hard, but she was able to find love again and married attorney John Bluher in 2014.
Countess no more! Shortly after their 16th wedding anniversary in 2009, LuAnn de Lesseps and her husband, Count Alex de Lesseps, split amid rumors he was seeing another woman abroad. But the star of "The Real Housewives of New York City" found love again! Luann is ending 2016 on a high note — with a wedding to businessman Thomas D'Agostino Jr. on New Year's Eve in Palm Beach, Florida. There's been a lot of drama with Thomas, because he's also been with some of her fellow housewives and even allegedly cheated on LuAnn. Ramona Singer explained the situation best. "Well there's a whole big thing — a whole big situation with Luann. It's a whole triangle, the so-called triangle between Luann, Tom, me, Sonja, and some things come out that really are heart-wrenching," Ramona explained. "I think the drama is, if you're my girlfriend, I would tell you if I was going to start dating a guy you were dating. To me, that's girl code. Why would you start dating a guy and [not] just say, 'Hey, Ramona, I know you dated him, but I'm dating him now too'? There was nothing serious between Tom and I. I mean, I was actually involved in a heavy-duty relationship out in Denver. But while he was dating me, he never told me he was sleeping with benefits with Sonja — who does that? At least Harry Dubin had the decency to take a year apart. This guy overlapped."
Kim Zolciak-Biermann and NeNe Leakes have had their share of friendship lows on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." Remember how they'd repeatedly scream "f— you!" at one another — and how both swore that their friendship was done for good? Well, they ended things on a high note. Kim revealed that things got better between them when she quit the show. "We're great. We've been great since I, literally the day I left 'Housewives,' at that reunion, we hugged, I texted her, 'cause I was actually really emotional when I left that reunion. I felt, 'Oh my God! This is where it all began.' Had no idea I was going to have my own show and then from then on we've been great," Kim said at a Mohegan Sun fan event in 2015. Both Kim and NeNe left the show to pursue other projects. NeNe recently revealed that she won't be back for the show's next season but Kim might. "When we couldn't work the deal out on me making appearances, then they went to Kim to work the same thing, I suppose," she told People Now. "I'm assuming she took it." Kim, however, denied the rumors. Kim told E!, "NeNe texted me last week and asked me, and I responded 'No.' And then two hours later, she's telling everybody I'm going to be on." She added, "I've not even been asked to be on this season, so I don't know, it's weird." While the "RHOA" casting rumors continue, let's not forget that NeNe and Kim were also rumored to be getting their own spin-off that would star just the two of them. We'll keep our fingers crossed for that show!
Can't a housewife just go commando in peace? Erika Jayne hit a low point on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" when she got an etiquette lesson from the show's newest housewife, Dorit Kemsley. Erika decided not to wear any underwear with her designer dress, explaining, "It doesn't look good under my dress. Why would I break up a beautiful design with a panty line? Really?" Dorit just wasn't having it. "If I went there in a short skirt and there was a man sitting in front of me, I would do everything in my power to make sure my legs were crossed," she said. "Or I'd have a napkin over it or I'd have a pillow on my lap or something."
LeeAnne Locken hit a very low point on "The Real Housewives of Dallas." Off-camera, LeAnne was said to have made threats against housewife Marie Reyes, and their fellow housewife Cary Deuber recapped it all. "Last night, I woke up to LeeAnne's voice literally roaring throughout the house," Cary said. "She was screaming at the top of her lungs in Marie's face, telling her she was going to slaughter her." Housewife Stephanie Hollman added, "At one point she said she was gonna get her 'carny style.'" Marie then confronted LeAnne: "You followed me around and said, 'When I don't like something, you know what happens? I gut them. I gut them!'" LeeAnne defended her threats by saying, "What you think is killing and what I think is killing are two different things." Yikes!
