The Messiest Real Housewives Divorces Of All Time
"The Real Housewives" shows are full of drama between the castmates — but oftentimes, married couples have their fair share of relationship troubles. While it doesn't help that cameras put a spotlight on their marriages, other times, couples battle it out behind the scenes. However, it eventually and inevitably becomes public. One of the names that come to mind in regard to "Real Housewives" divorce is the Giudices. Teresa and Joe Giudice called it quits after the two served time in prison and the latter was deported to his birthplace, Italy. "I go to jail for 11 and a half months — that was devastating for my kids and Joe, so then I come home, [and] three months later, Joe goes to jail. Five months after that, my mother gets sick. When my mother passed, I was done with Joe,"' Teresa shared in a confessional during Season 13 of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," per Bravo. Despite their legal troubles and divorce, the two remain amicable and even vacation together with their children.
Although Teresa and Joe had a relatively happy ending, there are other splits in the "Real Housewives" stratosphere that did not fare so well and unfortunately, they've made it to the list of the messiest divorces of the Bravo franchise.
Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann
"The Real Housewives of Atlanta" fans were shocked when Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann filed for divorce within days of each other in May 2023. As reported by the New York Post, Biermann filed first and requested sole legal and physical custody of their minor children. He also asked for alimony and to keep their Atlanta mansion, but asked the courts to divide their debt equally. The former couple was deep in financial trouble, with mountains of credit card debt and owing over $1 million to the IRS in federal taxes.
Two months later, Zolciak and Biermann reconciled but filed for divorce again in August 2023. The following November, police arrived at their house on a domestic disturbance call, on claims Biermann was screaming for hours. According to the police report obtained by In Touch, Biermann yelled, "It's nothing but an act. It's all bulls***. Everything she does. There's no money, there's no house." Biermann continued to scream at the officer, "Oh, calm down? You wanna live this, motherf***er? You wouldn't have lasted a year. You wouldn't have lasted a day in this f***ing house!"
Over the course of their nasty split, Zolciak accused Biermann of smoking marijuana around the kids while he claimed she had a gambling addiction and wanted her to submit to a psychological evaluation. The couple's divorce is as heated as ever — and still not finalized. According to TMZ, a judge has ordered the pair to go to mediation to figure out their differences regarding their settlement and custody battle.
Erika Jayne and Tom Girardi
Erika Jayne never let the cracks show in her marriage to Tom Girardi, so her announcement of their divorce to the cast of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" in Season 11 caused jaws to drop. The "Pretty Mess" singer filed for divorce in 2020 a month before Girardi was accused of embezzling money from victims of the Lion Air Flight crash, People reported. Jayne was named in the suit, which claimed that the money funded their "lavish lifestyle," including her $40,000 per month glam expenses. In July 2022, Jayne was hit with a $50 million lawsuit, accusing the reality star of racketeering and illegal business practices, per Page Six. "Tom and Erika routinely misappropriated client settlement money to project an image of wealth and to prop up a lifestyle made for reality TV," the documents stated.
Amid the legal drama, it was revealed by the Los Angeles Times that Girardi had been having an affair with Judge Tricia Bigelow, who received $300,000 from the disgraced lawyer to help pay for a Santa Monica condo. The kicker was, the money came from a trust account of one of his clients. "Wow. I knew about jewelry, shopping sprees, and plastic surgery but this really threw me for a loop," Jayne posted on Instagram.
The divorce is still ongoing and it may never be settled. In a "RHOBH" Season 12 episode, Jayne admitted, "It's ironic, but if I was divorced from Tom, I'd have to pay him alimony. I'll stay married, thanks."
Phaedra Parks and Apollo Nida
Legal drama seems to follow the "Real Housewives" cast everywhere. In 2014, Apollo Nida, husband of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta Star," Phaedra Parks, was arrested and charged with fraud, per CNN. Nida pleaded guilty and began his eight-year prison sentence in July of that year. Parks consequently filed for divorce and her rep told E! News, "This situation has put a tremendous strain on Phaedra and her family and she is working hard to bring back a sense of normalcy to everyone's lives."
In November 2016, Parks announced to TMZ that her divorce was finalized. However, the following March, the courts reversed the judgment on the grounds that Parks had misspelled her ex-husband's name and that the terms weren't fair to Nida, per TMZ. After three long years of battling it out, the divorce was finalized in July 2017, TMZ reported. The two agreed on joint legal custody with Parks getting primary physical custody of their two kids.
During "The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip," Parks shared with her castmates (via Bravo), "Our divorce was final, and he appealed it. And they granted the appeal. That only happens 1% of the time." Nida, on his part, blasted Parks during an appearance on "RHOA" Season 14. "Phaedra left me to basically rot. That's how I look at it," he told Shereé Whitfield. A source told Page Six, "He realizes the only way that he's going to get any press is to talk about Phaedra."
Lisa and Lenny Hochstein
"Real Housewives of Miami" couple Lisa and Lenny Hochstein first started divorce rumors in May 2022 when the plastic surgeon was seen at a Miami club with model Katharina Mazepa, per Page Six. According to sources, Lisa showed up with her castmate Larsa Pippen and they confronted Lenny. At the time, Lenny denied any trouble with his wife but they later confirmed their split. He soon filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, Page Six reported.
Amid the divorce proceedings, Lisa filed a claim that Lenny was withholding money from her while he was off galavanting with Mazepa on lavish vacations, per People. In the statement, she claimed he withheld funds from her after she had concerns about him wanting to throw their annual Halloween party with his girlfriend in attendance, while their kids were home. "Recently, she has started abusing the credit card to buy things for herself. Last month the bill was nearly $60K. This month, she continued the abuse, including purchasing jewelry and clothing for herself, which placed the card over the limit just prior to my vacation," Lenny said in his defense.
Fans have watched the messy process play out in "RHOM" Season 5 when Lenny was caught in a hot-mic moment telling a friend he was going to leave Lisa. The divorce drama continued to play out in Season 6, with the two at war over the settlement. When asked on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" when her divorce would be finalized, Lisa simply said, "No clue."
Kenya Moore and Marc Daly
There were red flags in Kenya Moore and Marc Daly's relationship way before the "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star filed for divorce. During Season 20, viewers saw Daly put Moore down in front of the cameras, as well as Moore finding out that her then-husband had sent inappropriate texts to other women. After Moore discovered that Daly was cheating on her, she told her castmates that she'd confronted the other woman over the phone. It came as no surprise when the reality star filed for divorce in May 2021 and according to documents obtained by RadarOnline, Moore asked for sole legal and physical custody of their daughter. The following month, Daly countersued for joint legal custody and requested Moore's Atlanta home to be split between them evenly.
Because Moore and Daly didn't sign a prenup, the divorce dragged out for years, which the "RHOA" star has regrets about. "I always say, prenup for everyone because it protects both parties ... but when it came to my marriage, I said I want a prenup, he was adamant about not having one and I regret not having one," she shared on the Tamron Hall Show. According to RadarOnline, Daly told the courts he took home $5,000 a month, while Moore's reported income was $50,000 a month. The divorce was finalized in December 2023 and Moore told People, "I'm excited for this next chapter in my life and being the best mom I can be for my daughter, Brooklyn."
Meghan King and Jim Edmonds
Before Meghan King ended her three-season run on "The Real Housewives of Orange County," fans watched as Jim Edmonds seemed checked out of their marriage and even acted disinterested in his wife's IVF process. The pair were still married when Edmonds left "RHOC" after Season 12, but in 2019, there was talk that Edmonds had cheated on King. "Regrettably, I had a lapse in judgment. I engaged in an inappropriate conversation with this person. At no time was there any type of relationship or physical contact. Absolutely none," he told Us Weekly.
In a January 2020 episode of King's "Intimate Knowledge" podcast, the former "RHOC" star revealed that she and Edmonds were separated and that he was dating a woman they'd had a threesome with. Their divorce was finalized in May 2021, but things got worse from there. In June 2022, King filed a temporary restraining order against her ex, claiming he had been verbally abusive, per TMZ. The drama continued on and in February 2023, King took to her Instagram Stories to tell fans (via Page Six), "Nobody really talks about coercive control and the after-effects of divorce. People say, 'It'll get better in time. It'll get better with time.' It's been three years." A month later, People reported that Edmonds filed to split custody of their three kids, claiming King was an "unfit" parent. It won't be surprising if the two continue to take public shots at each other.