Sutton Stracke: What To Know About RHOBH's New Star
If there is anyone who can fill Lisa Vanderpump's pink Louboutins on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills after her Season 9 departure from the series, it's new cast member Sutton Stracke. OK, fine, no one can ever replace LVP, but Sutton is giving it the ol' Bel-Air try. Bravo actually enlisted two women to fill the Vanderpump void in Season 10, Sutton and Garcelle Beauvais, but only the latter actually holds a diamond in the opening credits as a full-time cast member.
Sutton was meant to be a full-time cast member, but due to issues with her ex-husband, she wasn't able to film as much of her personal life as Bravo would have liked. As a result, she was technically demoted to "friend" of the Housewives. She explained the last-minute change-up in an interview with Access Hollywood, "I think when you sign on to be a Housewife, it really is your whole life that you're giving up to the audience and I wasn't able to do that. But, hopefully, next season we're gonna get to see all aspects of my life and it will be all good."
But her billing as a friend of the Housewives doesn't mean that she won't be tagging along on cast trips or causing a ton of drama at dinner parties this season. In fact, she's already gotten herself into hot water with her castmates.
Sutton Stracke and Patricia Altschul from 'Southern Charm' won the same award
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member Sutton Stracke was born in 1970 in Augusta, Ga. Per her bio on Bravo, she moved to New York City in her 20s to be a professional ballet dancer and eventually became the Cunningham Dance Foundation's Director of Development and the Augusta Ballet's Executive Director. She currently sits on the American Ballet Theatre board, among others, backing up Lisa Rinna's Season 10 comments about her being used to the "finer things" in life and socializing — namely place-cards at dinner parties, as reported by Entertainment Weekly.
In fact, if there was ever a pro at giving parties on the Bravo reality series, it's Sutton. Per Bravo, The Salonniere named her a Top Party Host in America, alongside Oprah, Michelle Obama, and none other than fellow Bravolebrity Patricia Altschul, the matriarch of Southern Charm. She most definitely has room for tons of esteemed parties, as she owns a super glam Bel-Air mansion, in addition to properties in New York City and Augusta, per Bravo.
But Sutton isn't all about table manners and judging people's outfits: She recently opened SUTTON, a boutique in West Hollywood that also just happens to be a five-minute walk away from Lisa Vanderpump's SUR Lounge and Restaurant, in case you get a hankering for fried goat cheese balls after shopping.
Sutton Stracke's ex didn't want her kids on the show
The main reason that Sutton Stracke was demoted to a mere "friend" of the Beverly Hills Housewives is reportedly due to her ex, according to an interview she did with Access Hollywood. She told the outlet that she "wasn't able" to film with her kids, and while she didn't mention him by name, it's likely that he didn't sign a release to let their kids be on air.
According to the same interview, she just didn't find out until the last minute — she even filmed a tagline and everything. But Sutton isn't worried, saying, "I filmed the whole way. I feel like I'm full-time. I just don't carry a diamond. But, it's all good. It's been such a great experience and I've had like the best time. I have no regrets."
The ex in question is Sutton's high school sweetheart, Christian Stracke, whom she married in 2000. They split in 2016, per Entertainment Tonight, and have three children together — daughter Porter, 17 years old, and sons Philip and James, who are 15 and 12 years old, respectively, per Bravo.
Sutton Stracke immediately caused drama on 'RHOBH'
Despite not holding a diamond on Season 10 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, new cast member Sutton Stracke isn't shying away from getting in the mix. During the April 2020 premiere, she immediately got herself into hot water by criticizing cast mate Dorit Kemsley's Rihanna Fenty outfit. Per Page Six, she said in an interview on the show, "If a celebrity has done a collaboration, I could care less. I mean, if God came down and helped collaborate with Tom Ford on this dress, that does not interest me."
Not only was she judge-y judge-y about Dorit's ready-to-wear get up, Sutton also came for a pregnant Teddi Mellancamp in early episodes. The socialite called the fitness guru "boring" and groaned about her being pregnant while filming, per E! News, resulting in Teddi breaking out into tears and excusing herself from the table.
Sutton has already made a name for herself with Bravo fans, and if she keeps these antics up, she's all but guaranteed a diamond for Season 11. As long as she doesn't embarrass herself or family too much, of course.