Real Housewives Who Can't Afford Their Lavish Lives

The key to a successful "Real Housewives" series is wealth. That's why the current series are set in the country's most expensive cities and suburbs. Viewers are drawn in by the escapism of watching someone drop $36,000 on a sushi party and then refuse to eat the food when she finds out a guest once sued her plastic surgeon husband after a botched boob job. We would be so lucky. When you get over the sensationalism and pull at the threads upon which the women have built their fame, the reality is just as fascinating as any fake storylines on the "Real Housewives" franchise.

What is an exercise in escapism for the viewer is a test of keeping up appearances for the cast. Put simply, the higher you rise, the further you fall. In their quest for ratings and contract renewals, Housewives have a bad habit of overspending and "forgetting" to pay their taxes. But of course, that's not the case with all Housewives. Some of them, like Lisa Vanderpump, really are that wealthy. But for every Vanderpump or Dubrow, there are a dozen women cast on Bravo living dangerously beyond their means.

A standout in the early seasons of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," Kim Zolciak-Biermann's popularity spawned a spinoff, "Don't Be Tardy," which showcased her luxurious Georgia mansion. However, despite all the expensive things Kim Zolciak-Biermann and her husband, Kroy Biermann, owned, the reality star found herself in major financial trouble in 2022 when the couple were unable to pay back a $300,000 loan. The five-bedroom home, estimated to be worth $2.5 million, was reportedly auctioned off for a mere $257,000 (a claim that she denied — which later turned out to be false).

In 2023, Kim and Kroy filed for divorce, but reconciled, and then did the same thing again. Kroy filed for divorce a third time in 2025, but a reconciliation did not appear to be in the cards, especially when they were ejected from their home by U.S. Marshals after selling the place for $2.75 million and then refusing to leave. During a subsequent appearance on "Watch What Happens Live" in July 2025, Kim confessed that things had become so bleak, she was forced to borrow money from her daughters. 

"Actually, the rug was pulled out from the Zolciaks, and yeah, Ariana's money was spent on bills," she said. Meanwhile, she'd been sued for several unpaid credit card balances, and was being threatened with having her wages garnished. In December 2025, Us Weekly reported that she was hit with a lien from the IRS, owing a whopping $1.3 million in unpaid taxes. 

When viewers of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" were introduced to wannabe pop star Erika Jayne in 2015, she and her wealthy attorney husband Tom Girardi lived in a posh LA mansion, while her $40K-per-month glam squad kept her looking gorgeous. However, it all came crashing down when she and Girardi split in 2020, followed by allegations that Girardi had embezzled millions from his clients. While Jayne denied having any knowledge of her ex-husband's massive grift, prosecutors accused Girardi of ripping off more than $15 million from his clients.

At the age of 86, Girardi was found guilty, and sentenced to seven years behind bars. After Girardi declared bankruptcy, trustees were appointed to take control of the law firm's finances and pay back the victims of his fraud. While trustees dug into the books, Erika Jayne received some life-changing legal news when she was sued by the trustees, who alleged that Girardi had spent a staggering $25 million on funding Jayne's pursuit of pop stardom — insisting she pay it all back. 

Through it all, Jayne has continually asserted her innocence. "Five years later, I'm still fighting my way out of this," she said in a confessional. "I still have civil cases that are in motion. I don't know that I'll ever get away from any of this. I don't know what happens to me in the end." Expect to see further evidence of Erika Jayne's shady side when her trial begins, scheduled for February 2026.

Ever since she began appearing on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" in 2016, Dorit Kemsley's lavish spending has been on public display. In the years that followed, there have been accusations that she and husband Paul Kemsley, aka PK, have stiffed business partners, once over a $200K loan to launch her swimwear line, and again when their bank accounts were frozen after PK was accused of repaying less than a quarter of a $1.2 million loan. Then, after PK was accused of owing a Las Vegas casino more than $3 million, they were hit with tax liens totaling more than a million bucks.

In April 2025, Dorit filed for divorce. That, she explained during an episode of "RHOBH," was when she realized just how dire her financial situation actually was. "For the last 14 years, PK's been paying the lion's share of our family outgoings," she said in a confessional. "When we separated, he said that the finances would stay the same. A month later, I got an email saying that he decided that he's no longer going to do that. And I was like, 'How can you change this all of a sudden?' And his answer was, 'I only agreed to that for one month.'" Meanwhile, Dorit admitted she was surprised to discover her home was in pre-foreclosure, and she had no idea whether there were any investments or retirement accounts she could access. "I have yet to discover everything," she said. "And I can tell you I'm in the unknown."

When viewers first met Sonja Morgan in the 2010 season of "The Real Housewives of New York City," her money troubles were already evident. Over the course of the next few seasons, the unemployed divorcee, who lived in her ex-husband's multimillion-dollar Manhattan townhouse, tried her hand at starting some businesses, including a film production company, Sonja Productions. However, that business crashed and burned when she filed for bankruptcy, citing a debt of almost $20 million.

According to Morgan, that debt came about from a failed attempt to make a film that was supposed to star John Travolta, but the actor's demands proved impossible for her to meet, so the project was scuttled. That led her partner in the project, Hannibal Pictures, to successfully sue her for $7 million.

The case was finally settled two years later, and Morgan felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her. "It feels great. I did a great job," she told E! News in 2015. "I paid what I had to pay, and it wasn't easy, but at the same time, it was an experience." Morgan was glad to be finally emancipated from all that public scrutiny into her finances. "It's nice to be free of everyone looking at my money," she said. "I finally have my financial privacy back," she said. Meanwhile, after years of failed attempts to sell the NYC townhouse, she finally unloaded it in 2024 — albeit at a huge loss, selling for about half of the $9.1 million that she and her then-husband, JPMorgan heir John Adams Morgan, had paid for it back in 1998.

Famed for her outrageous antics on "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," table-flipping Bravo star Teresa Giudice has generated far more headlines for financial wrongdoing than her reality TV shenanigans. It all began back in 2009, when she and husband Joe Giudice declared bankruptcy, alleging to be in debt to the tune of $11 million. During the course of the bankruptcy proceedings, the couple was hit with multiple criminal charges, including bank fraud, wire fraud, and mail fraud. Both entered guilty pleas, with Teresa sentenced to 15 months in the slammer, while Joe was given 41 months. Joe, who technically was not an American citizen, was deported immediately after completing his sentence.

In a 2019 episode of "RHONJ," Teresa claimed she was resentful toward her husband, criticizing how his bad decisions negatively impacted her financial stability. "Like, I should be much further with all my businesses. Like, I built up a lot," she said. "And then everything came crashing down because of the legal stuff."

The Giudices separated in 2019, and finalized their divorce in 2020. She remarried soon after, tying the knot with Luis "Louie" Ruelas in August 2022. In 2024, the newlyweds faced multiple tax liens; Giudice owed the IRS more than $300,000, while Ruelas owed almost $2.6 million. In late 2025, despite rumors of the contrary, Giudice insisted she and Ruelas were not getting divorced.

A charter member of "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" cast, Jen Shah and her husband, Sharrieff Shah, flaunted their lavish lifestyle on the show. Viewers, however, were understandably confused about where all that money was coming from, given that her husband was an assistant coach for the University of Utah, and she worked in some sort of murky marketing gig.

The source of their income became clear in 2021, when Shah and her assistant, Stuart Smith, were arrested and charged with fraud over their involvement in a telemarketing scam. Targeting the elderly, Shah offered bogus assistance to vulnerable victims which she claimed would help them, and sold their information to other scam groups. As Homeland Security Investigations' Special Agent-in-Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh declared in a press release (via Department of Justice), "These individuals allegedly targeted and defrauded hundreds of victims." Initially proclaiming her innocence, Shah subsequently cut a plea deal, pleading guilty on a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, while agreeing to pay back $6.5 million to the victims of her con. 

Shaw was sentenced to 78 months in prison. She was released in December 2025, after serving just over two years of her six-and-a-half-year sentence. At that point, it was uncertain whether she was placed in a halfway house or in home confinement. In any case, don't expect to see her return to the "Housewives" franchise. "I would assume she'll wind up on a reality show of some kind, but won't be anything I'm working on," Andy Cohen declared on his SiriusXM radio show, "Radio Andy." "I don't know if I could see Bravo working with her again."

Viewers of "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" have questioned what Lisa Barlow actually does for a living to afford her lavish lifestyle. Her wealth supposedly comes from her tequila brand, Vida Tequila, while Barlow also heads her own marketing firm, Luxe Marketing. 

However, in 2021, Barlow was sued by Bart Carlson and his company, Yukon Construction, claiming she hadn't repaid a $400,000 loan he'd given her back in 2010. According to the lawsuit (via The Salt Lake Tribune), the loan had been granted to keep her companies from going under during a time when she was "experiencing severe financial difficulties." Barlow responded in a statement, calling Carlson's allegations "untrue," and declaring, "I pay my bills and obligations and I always have." 

In 2024, Barlow's attorney filed a motion to dismiss the suit, describing Carlson's claims as a "fanciful tale." Meanwhile, two other lawsuits — both claiming to have loaned money to Barlow for her businesses — were ultimately dismissed. Barlow addressed the multiple lawsuits at a "clarity lunch" that was filmed for "RHOSLC." "People can sue you for anything," she told the other members of the cast. "You can look at someone the wrong way, they can sue you ... Sometimes, they think because you have too many Chanel bags, they should have those Chanel bags, so they sue you for those, too." As of late 2025, Carlson's lawsuit was still pending.

Jacqueline Laurita appeared in the first several seasons of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," and proved to be one of the many in the franchise to struggle with maintaining appearances. It all hit the fan in 2009, when husband Chris Laurita's clothing firm, Signature Apparel, filed for bankruptcy. That became complicated when, during the bankruptcy proceeding, the couple was accused of siphoning money from the company to fund their lavish lifestyle, with the bankruptcy trustees suing them for $7.8 million. 

Meanwhile, Jacqueline faced her own personal debt, with more than $300,000 of back taxes in arrears. However, she insisted it was extenuating circumstances and not living high on the hog that was to blame for the couple's dire financial straits. "After my husband lost his company during that rough economy, it took some time for the decrease in income to catch up to us," she wrote in her Bravo blog. "We were also not prepared for the cost of raising a child with special needs. No matter what financial challenges and obligations we've faced, Nicholas' needs have always been a top priority for us."

In 2019, Chris was desperate enough to raise cash that he attempted to sell their belongings via Facebook Marketplace while their home faced foreclosure. The bankruptcy lawsuit was finally settled in 2025, with the Lauritas ordered to pay $760,000. Meanwhile, the couple's subsequent relocation to Orange County opened the door to a return to the "Housewives" universe. According to a December 2025 report from Page Six, Jacqueline was weighing an offer to join the cast of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" — a rumor that RadarOnline claimed was completely true.

In April 2024, "Real Housewives of Potomac" star Wendy Osefo's husband, Edward Osefo, called the police to report that their Maryland home had been burglarized while they'd been vacationing in Jamaica. At the time, the couple claimed that thieves made off with several of Osefo's pricey Birkin bags, along with most of her jewelry, stealing about $450,000 worth of stuff.

Fast forward to October 2025, when police arrested two people — not the alleged thieves, but the Osefos, who were charged with insurance fraud. All told, the couple faced 16 charges, seven of which were felonies. As more information emerged, authorities alleged that the Osefos staged the robbery. Prosecutors claimed that suspicions were raised when Wendy was seen on social media wearing a ring that she'd reported stolen; further investigations led to the discovery that other items they'd told their insurance company had been stolen had actually been returned to the stores from which they'd been purchased — with the couple receiving full refunds. 

During a hearing in late 2025, a judge granted prosecutors' request to see the couple's financial records going back eight years. That request was based on evidence they'd uncovered indicating the Osefos were drowning in debt, with the pair in possession of 67 credit cards and debit cards. When the Osefos' trial begins — scheduled for April 2026 — prosecutors are expected to demonstrate that they were living far beyond their means when they hatched a scheme to stage the bogus burglary.

As viewers of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" have witnessed, Kelli Ferrell has no problem spending vast amounts of money, such as the time she presented her daughter with 17 expensive gifts for her 17th birthday. Whether she can afford it, however, became a legitimate question in July 2025 when a debt collector sued her over a five-figure credit card debt. According to a report from Us Weekly, Navy Federal Credit Union sued Ferrell over allegations she owes $26,434.86, and had "failed, neglected, and refused to make payment upon the account."

Meanwhile, Ferrell's Nana's Chicken-N-Waffles restaurant also experienced some financial road bumps. During the Season 16 "RHOA" reunion special, host Andy Cohen chided her for spending a fortune on her dog, Cha Cha. "You should invest your money in the waffles and not the dog," he told her. Cohen was referencing the $100,000 that she owed the restaurant's landlord, with Ferrell responding she'd sent "a good sum of money" to settle that debt.

When Cohen asked why she hadn't paid until being sued, she insisted it was because she'd just spent $200,000 in legal fees relating to her recent divorce, which had been contentious. "When I left my husband, I told him, 'You just have your residual income. Allow me to do what I've always done, which is run the businesses.' He specifically told me that he would close everything and I would not have anything without him," she claimed during a confessional interview.

When delving into the untold truth of Kenya Moore, one thing that's become impossible to ignore about the controversy-generating former "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star has been persistent reports of financial strain. "Kenya is basically broke and she doesn't have any money," a source told RadarOnline in 2014. "Most of the things that she shows off, like purses or cars, don't belong to her."

Whether or not that's true hasn't been definitively established, but what to make of a 2018 report that her 7,000-square-foot mansion — aka Moore Manor — had been hit with a tax lien of more than $150,000? Or a 2025 report that she was being sued by the landlord of her Atlanta-based hair spa for more than $40,000 in unpaid rent? With respect to the former, she ultimately paid that lien off. As for the latter, Moore filed a counterclaim, alleging it was the landlord who owed her money, and not the other way around, due to the hundreds of thousands she'd invested in the property.

Meanwhile, it's not just Moore who's allegedly experienced money troubles. In March 2025, her ex-husband, Marc Daly, was reportedly facing eviction from his NYC apartment due to unpaid rent. He also faced a lawsuit over arrears of nearly $450,000 related to his restaurant, SoCo, which went under in 2024.

In June 2025, Brynn Whitfield confirmed she was exiting "The Real Housewives of New York City," after joining the show in 2023. "After a lot of thought, I've made the decision to walk away from reality TV. For now," she said in a statement issued to Bravo. According to Whitfield, she was preparing to focus on her new role as chief marketing officer with Hoppy, the dating app she co-founded, in addition to her podcast, "Please See Below," and the book she was writing.

While she gushed about the bright future she was facing, things weren't always so sunny. In 2023, The U.S. Sun reported that she'd been hit with two separate tax liens, totaling nearly $30,000, and had once narrowly avoided being evicted from her apartment. That said, Whitfield has apparently gotten her finances in order in the years following. As of late 2025, her net worth was estimated at $3 million.

"Real Housewives of Potomac" star Karen Huger's finances have always been in question. She was in major trouble with the IRS in 2017. While residing in one of the wealthiest zip codes in the country, Karen and her husband, Ray Huger, reportedly owed the IRS millions, per The Washington Post. Ray made his fortune in software technology but raised eyebrows when he and Karen sold their Potomac home for less than it was worth and moved to a less affluent suburb in Virginia.

In front of cameras and cast mates, Karen was adamant that there was nothing going on with Ray's finances. However, during an interview with People, she was forced to admit that the truth was somewhere in the middle, though she refused to go into any details about reported liens or back payments. "The good news is we're great," she said, praising her husband's business skills. "Material things come and go, but if you have the love of your family — your children, your mom, your dad, your brother, your sister — we pulled through and we're better for it," she added.

Karen's cast mates still weren't satisfied. They alleged that it wasn't good business that got Ray out of trouble; it was Karen bailing him out. The reality star didn't see a problem with that. "My husband took care of his business responsibilities and I added support to our family," she wrote in a 2020 Instagram post. "I ride for my man."

By now, it should be clear just how much the Housewives struggle with money, and while overspending may just come with the territory, many cast members can contain the fallout to the off-season at least. Not so for Lynne Curtin. The former "Real Housewives of Orange County" star and her family hit financial ruin while the cameras rolled. In 2010, the Curtins were unceremoniously evicted from their lavish Southern California home. Lynne's two daughters, who were home alone at the time, opened the front door and were given an eviction notice, per People. They promptly called their mother. She confronted her husband Frank, who couldn't pay the required $10,000 security deposit for their new home and acknowledged, "I screwed up." That's an understatement, considering just how damaging the eviction would be.

When she realized the extent of their financial woes, Lynne filed for divorce after 22 years of marriage. The mom spent a lot of time with lawyers that year as she also filed for bankruptcy, revealing that she only had $100 in her bank account, per TMZ. She claimed she was only making around $3,000 a year on her jewelry line and was spending around $500 a month on necessities. The outlet reported that Lynne and Frank were indebted to the IRS by about $30,000. This former Housewife has moved on from the drama of her reality star days, and continued plucking away at her jewelry line.

Danielle Staub, an absolute force on "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," has not always been the best with finances. Case in point, in 2021, after being let go from the show, Staub was sued by her landlord for over $6,000 in unpaid rent. Here's the problem: Though she'd lost her job and seemingly couldn't pay rent, Staub was still happy to spend money in other areas. "When the landlord inquired about rent payments or setting up a payment plan, she suggested that 'if they have [a] hard time paying our bills for the property, they should apply for a government loan,'" a source told The Sun. "I can imagine it is less than pleasant to see her showing off while knowing she's not paying her bills."

Staub's financial trouble wasn't exactly surprising considering that in 2012, she filed for bankruptcy. The Star Ledger (via NJ.com) reported that her liabilities reached $1.9 million. Following the end of her fourth marriage — which only lasted a few months — Staub was without a home. Per the divorce agreement, Staub's ex listed their multimillion-dollar Bergen County house in 2019 in the months following the divorce, as she had not been able to come up with the funds to purchase it from him. All About The Tea obtained documentation showing that Staub was court-ordered to vacate the home in June 2020. That's how Staub ended up in the aforementioned apartment, which caused her just as much grief as the overpriced house.

Alexis Bellino was the epitome of a Real Housewife of Orange County. She had a husband, Jim Bellino, who disagreed with her working outside of the home, twin daughters who had extravagant birthdays, and a devout love for the Lord that she celebrated with a Swarovski crystal Bible. In reality, things were much more complicated than they seemed on TV.

Just after Alexis joined the show, her family home went into foreclosure in 2010 when she and Jim defaulted on payments for a multimillion-dollar loan. Ironically, the couple didn't seem to have spent much time in the house in question, as they'd taken years — and tons of money — renovating it. Jim claimed the whole thing was blown out of proportion, and that loss was just part of the commercial and residential real estate game that made him rich. "This is commonly done," he said in a statement (via The Orange County Register), clarifying that it was his company, not himself, that filed bankruptcy. While foreclosure was avoided, Alexis and Jim reportedly ended up with a "short sale," unloading the home at a loss.

Alexis' life has improved a lot in the intervening years. For starters, she seems financially secure, and she's ditched, Jim. "We were married 14 years and then [in] therapy the whole 14 years. So that tells you something," she told Us Weekly. The reality star remarried in October 2025 to John Janssen in an outdoor ceremony in Laguna Beach.

Kim Richards has earned a reputation as one of the more troubling stars on Bravo. Andy Cohen told Bravo scholar Dave Quinn that the network became so concerned with Richards' drinking that they footed the bill for a rehab stay in 2011, according to Page Six. Richards is now sober but isn't exactly living her best life, thanks to her money problems.

Richards began accruing income as a child actor, but her adult life has been far less lucrative. In 2018, the reality star was accused of owing the IRS nearly $120,000, but it's unclear if Richards ever paid the money back. Richards has also been involved in other expensive suits and owed over $266,000 that year after her dog attacked a neighbor (the dog had also allegedly bitten her stylist and assistant previously).

Richards' money issues extend beyond her dog and taxes, and into her own family. Who could forget the season of "RHOBH" in which Kim and her sister, Kyle Richards, fought relentlessly over what to do with their dead mother's house? Kim even accused Kyle on air of taking and selling their mother's home. "Kim absolutely wasn't cheated out of any money from the sale of the house! After their mother died, both Kathy and Kim asked Kyle to buy them out, which she did," a source told RadarOnline.

Shannon Beador has a lot of problems, many of which have been the basis of her storyline for most of her time on "The Real Housewives of Orange County." From the very first episode, viewers could tell that Shannon and her husband, David Beador, were going to get divorced. In her second season, Shannon found out that David was having an affair, and the couple entered marriage counseling. It took a few more years for the viewers to be proven correct, but Shannon finally filed for divorce in 2017.

When the pair separated, Shannon endured a very long and financially draining legal battle with her ex. After what seemed like decades, the former couple settled on the terms of their divorce. Per the agreement, Shannon would receive a one-time payment of $1.4 million (to even out their community property division) and an additional $10,000 per month in combined spousal support and child support. Shannon also got a BMW, a Cadillac Escalade — her ex kept a lot more vehicles —  and access to several bank accounts. More than enough for most, but not nearly enough for the famous Orange County mom.

When the divorce was finally settled, Shannon quickly filed suit against her divorce attorney for failing to adequately represent her. Among the charges she levied against him were failing to account for her children's future college education (and offering wrongful advisement), failing to get David to sign a "filming release" for their daughters, and lack of communication throughout the process.

The "Real Housewives" franchise was catapulted into the national news cycle when Taylor Armstrong's husband, Russell Armstrong, whom she was divorcing, took his own life shortly after Season 2 wrapped. Things were bad between them for a long time, and Russell was allegedly abusive. In addition to the years of trauma Taylor was left to unpack, she also had to contend with the financial mess Russell left behind involving a medical records firm.

Unbeknownst to her, Russell was in serious financial trouble when he died, to the tune of a $1.5 million in debt. His attorney, Ronald Richards, told ABC News, "He was living month to month to support his lifestyle for Taylor." Richards explained, "These couples join these shows, and then they keep trying to outdo each other, and they end up spending all their money trying to sustain a lifestyle that's unrealistic and wasn't there prior to the show. ... Trying to pretend you have unlimited resources in Beverly Hills is tough."

According to the Daily Beast, Taylor could not pay back the money out of pocket and was forced to sell off other assets to satisfy the debt. As part of the settlement, she had to give up her 10-carat engagement ring. Ironically, she went on to marry her attorney. She got an equally flashy ring, and was even asked to join the cast of "RHOC" in a "Friend" role for Season 17. 

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