The Worst Insults The Real Housewives Have Thrown At Each Other
We all know that nearly every episode of The Real Housewives in any city features a fight of some kind. After all, drama thrives in shady conditions. But as of 2021, Bravo has aired over 1,000 episodes across 10 Real Housewives casts in 10 different cities. So, it stands to reason that some fights are more intense than others. In fact, even the blowout during The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 11 premiere — when Teresa Giudice takes a cheap shot at the Goldschneiders by spreading the rumor that Evan Goldschneider cheated on his wife Jackie Goldschneider at his own birthday party — was tame compared to what she's said to cast members in the past (Don't worry, though, Teresa is definitely here for other digs). Another Housewives OG, Ramona Singer, also has such a history of slinging shade at cast members that the time she called Heather Thomson a "phony and a fake" didn't even make this list.
That's right, we've compiled a list of the worst insults the Real Housewives have thrown at each other and it's quite deep. From scathing words to reunion brawls, it's all here. So, grab a snack and get ready for a shady stroll down memory lane, it's going to be a long one!
Ramona Singer roasts Bethenny Frankel on the Brooklyn Bridge
One of the worst insults in Real Housewives history happens when a casual stroll on the Brooklyn Bridge becomes heated after Bethenny Frankel and Ramona Singer clash over who planted a tabloid story. In a moment that definitely could not even be considered a fight yet, Singer takes one of the most personal jabs in franchise history. "At least I have friends, you have no friends," she declares, adding, "You have nobody in your life. Right now you have Jason [Hoppy, ex-partner]. You'll probably mess that up, too." (Spoiler alert: Frankel and Hoppy did eventually split.) Still, Frankel is clearly take aback in the moment, and later says during a confessional interview, "I don't know that anyone's ever said meaner things to me than that."
Singer and Frankel have a tumultuous relationship, with low points including not attending each other's charity events, Frankel accusing Singer of stealing a dress and thusly dubbing her "Ranona Ryder," and Singer saying on Watch What Happens Live that Frankel is "not a nice person" and "very difficult." Both women have apologized for their various verbal slugfests, but as of this writing, Singer still hasn't retracted that bridge-walk blasphemy.
Frankel left RHONY for good in 2019, and later told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live that she only keeps in touch with former castmates Dorinda Medley and Sonja Morgan, saying she's heard "crickets" from everyone else.
Monique Samuels physically dragged Candiace Dillard
When friends have a history that begins to deteriorate slowly on camera, sometimes things turn physical. Monique Samuels and Candiace Dillard proved this in Season 5 of The Real Housewives of Potomac. Tensions were high between the women because of Dillard's involvement in the rumor that Samuels allegedly cheated on her husband. At a party, Samuels was triggered by Dillard's hand in her face. Dillard asks Samuels, "You gon' drag me?" Samuels responds, "You want me to?" multiple times before physically grabbing her hair and dragging her head across a table as producers try to deescalate circumstances. While they're separated Dillard antagonized Samuels calling her a "ghetto a**, hood a** b***h (via ET).
Dillard filed second-degree assault charges against Samuels in November 2019. "The physical assault, humiliation and emotional distress have all been very painful and difficult for Candiace, as it would be for anyone attacked so viciously," said Dillard's attorney James L. Walker, Jr. in a statement to People. Samuels filed a counterclaim (via People), but charges on both sides have since been dropped.
On the RHOP reunion, Samuels apologized to Dillard, saying, in part (via People), "I offer you my apology and I'm sorry for the pain that you are still going through and the fact that you still haven't healed from it and I hope that you are able to heal and move forward. She said Dillard's gestures triggered bad childhood memories. Samuels told Us Weekly she's "completely done" with Dillard.
Teresa Giudice allegedly tried to ruin Melissa Gorga's reputation
The ups and downs of Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga's relationship have been dizzying to watch since Melissa joined the cast of The Real Housewives Of New Jersey in Season 3 and described her relationship with Teresa as "competitive" (via Bravo). But the Giudice/Gorga feud goes deeper than jealousy between the sisters-in-law and has gotten physical more than once, including at Melissa's son Joey Gorga's christening. The word "gold digger" was thrown around, and there was even a fight over sprinkle cookies. The worst incident, however, was when Teresa seemingly perpetuated the rumor that Melissa worked as a stripper.
It all went down when Angelo Vrohidis, manager of the New Jersey gentlemen's club, Lookers, was allegedly hired by Teresa and her friend Kim DePoala to "blow the whistle on" Melissa, who had actually just tended bar at Lookers for a short time. When the alleged plan was exposed, Joe Gorga reportedly texted his sister, "You're dead to me," according to Us Weekly. Melissa told the outlet the incident was "one of the worst betrayals of [her] life," and called Teresa "a sick individual" for her involvement with it.
Teresa always maintained her innocence over what became known as "Strippergate," and was eventually (quasi) exonerated when Kim confessed to Radar that the whole thing was mostly her idea, and was a vengeance plot over a business disagreement Kim had with Melissa. Fortunately, as of this writing, Teresa and Melissa are on good terms.
The lies! The lies!
Has any Housewives drama even come close to the Kandi Burruss/Portia Williams "sex dungeon" rumor? For the The Real Housewives Of Atlanta uninitiated, the confrontation over the rumor happened during the cast's Season 9 trip to Hawaii, when Williams told Burruss,"You told someone that you were going to drug me and take me to a sex dungeon." Burruss exploded in response, saying the wild claim could "ruin [her] life, ruin [her] business, ruin everything."
What actually happened was Burruss and Williams drunkenly made out one night, and Burruss claimed that Williams said she wanted to have sex (via People). That blew up into the truly outrageous lie that Burruss and her husband planned to drug and take advantage of Williams and another friend, Shamea Morton. It got so bad that Burruss served Williams a cease and desist order to prevent her from talking about the rumor anymore. So, exactly how did that blow up? That would be Phaedra Parks, who mislead Williams into believing she was simply passing on the rumor that she heard elsewhere.
After refusing to reveal her "source" at the Season 9 reunion, Parks was fired from RHOA, with producer Andy Cohen telling E!, "None of the other women wanted to have anything to do with her. ... How do you shoot a show about a group of friends when no one is speaking to one of the friends? Williams apologized to Burruss for believing Parks, and the ladies moved on to disliking each other for less serious reasons.
Game night gone bad in Beverly Hills
Kyle Richards and Brandi Glanville of The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills have a history of intense fights. In Season 2, their tension exploded at a game night. Kyle made a blonde joke that Brandi didn't like. Brandi called Kyle a "b***h" and accused Kyle's sister, Kim Richards, of being "wasted out of her f**king mind. And the insults just kept flying; Kim implied Glanville was from a trailer park, Brandi said Kim was "[doing] crystal meth in the bathroom all night long;" and Kim called Brandi "a little h*e" and a "sl*t pig;" Things nearly got physical, and it eventually got so heated that Brandi threatened Kyle's life for talking about her kids.
Kyle wrote in her Bravo blog about the episode, "I am disappointed in myself that it got so out of hand." She admitted, "Watching myself laugh like that I was thinking, 'Oh, my gosh, all I needed was a broom and a wart on the end of my nose!'" After a long rivalry, Brandi and Kyle made amends at a post office in 2019. Kim and Brandi eventually had a strong friendship, but Kim wasn't speaking to Brandi as of December 2020 because of a rumor that the two of them had a threesome.
Porsha Williams put hands on Kenya Moore
During the Season 6 reunion of The Real Housewives Of Atlanta, Kenya Moore accused Porsha Williams of cheating on her ex-husband, Kordell Stewart, from whom she filed for divorce in 2013 (via E!). Williams called Moore a "sl*t from the '90s" and Moore fired back calling Williams a "dumb h*e." Williams got up from the couch and threatened, "I will f**k you up." She then grabbed Moore's hair and pulled her to the ground (via Bravo).
Williams was immediately remorseful off set. "I can't believe I did that. I've embarrassed myself," she said. As she was carried out of the reunion by a friend she added, "I can't believe that ratchet h*e made me go there." Williams was charged with misdemeanor battery in April 2014 (via CNN). She turned herself in and was released on $2000 bond. The ladies patched up their relationship after the incident, but during the 2020 reunion (via Us Weekly), Moore called Williams a "fake friend," so all is apparently not well between them.
The table flip heard around New Jersey
Teresa Giudice and Danielle Staub have one of the most complicated friendships in Real Housewives history. In Season 1 of Real Housewives Of New Jersey, Staub was an outsider among all of her castmates, including Giudice. At a dinner party with the cast and their families, Staub was trying to explain the truth behind a book called Cop Without A Badge by her ex-husband, Charles Kipps. During the argument, Staub told Giudice to "pay attention," which Giudice apparently did not appreciate. Giudice was convinced there were truths in the book other than what Staub was admitting to, and to make her point, she decided to flip a table and called Staub a "prostitution wh*re" and a "f**king stupid b*tch."
The women feuded for the rest of Staub's initial time on RHONJ until she left at the end of Season 2. Fast-forward to Season 8, when Staub re-joined the cast as Giudice's friend. Giudice was even a matron of honor in Staub's 2018 wedding to Marty Caffrey, and she later encouraged Staub to engage in some classic RHONJ drama of her own by pulling Margaret Josephs' ponytail during a fight. By 2019, Staub and Giudice returned to their natural state of being pissed at each other. What happened? "By the end of the season, there was a lot of finger pointing between Teresa and Danielle and it led to their falling out," a source told Us Weekly.
Tamra Judge sinned against Alexis Bellino
The cast of The Real Housewives Of Orange County was confronting Alexis Bellino about allegedly rude behavior on the Season 7 reunion when Tamra Judge said, "You are psychotic, Jesus jugs." It was a quick insult that was also quickly deemed offensive, as it makes light of mental illness and Bellino's religion. It also didn't take long for Judge to regret the incendiary insult.
"I think for me, I just didn't know what a Christian was. When you think of someone being a Christian you think they don't do anything wrong," she told The Christian Post, apologizing to Bellino and explaining her mindset. "They're not sinners, they don't get boob jobs, whatever ... and she was the epitome of Orange County in my mind, and I think I just didn't know. It was pure ignorance."
All is not forgiven on Bellino's side, judging from her answer when asked by TooFab in 2019 why she thought Judge was "two-faced." "Because I was on a show with her for four years," the mom of three said. "[I] saw how she sells her soul every day to make a paycheck. And the greed of money is the root of all evil is a Bible scripture." Okay, so maybe they wouldn't sit together at church, but Judge, who ended up getting baptized herself on an episode of RHOC, told Andy Cohen in 2019, "I don't have any bad feelings about Alexis; I mean, I haven't seen her in probably seven years."
Joanna Krupa got slapped in Miami
The Real Housewives Of Miami lasted only four seasons, but it still produced one of the biggest insults in franchise history. At a lingerie party, Joanna Krupa came to Karent Sierra's defense when the other ladies were "bullying" her for a negative interview she gave, Krupa told interviewer Diana Madison. Krupa reminded the women that what's in print isn't always the truth, but Adriana De Moura didn't like that. She escalated the fight by supporting allegations that Girls Gone Wild CEO Joe Francis made claiming he had a threesome with Krupa and her sister. "Joe Francis was right, they're just Polish immigrants trying to get a plate to eat food in," De Moura said (via Radar). De Moura said she tried to "disengage" but Krupa "chased" her which triggered her to turn around and slap the model (Too Fab via TMZ.)
De Moura later apologized on Facebook, writing, "I would like to apologize to all Polish immigrants for the comment I made about your nationality. ... [I] didn't mean to criticize any other person of her same nationality or any other immigrants – I'm an immigrant, myself."
De Moura told Radar in 2013 the women called a truce. "It doesn't make any sense to be fighting with her," she said, adding, "I'm in such a good place in my life and I don't want to spend any energy fighting with Joanna."
The Richards sisters epic squabble in a limo
Sisters aren't immune to Real Housewives drama, and we can look to Kim and Kyle Richards of The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills for proof. Surprisingly enough, they cut each other deepest on the Season 1 finale. After Kim makes a "scene" at Taylor Armstrong's party Kyle says during the chaotic limo ride home, "You act like a f**king insane person." Kyle says she's tired of taking care of Kim, causing the older sister to exclaim, "You stole my g*****n house," because Kyle and her husband, Mauricio Umansky, bought Kim's share of their late mother's house (via Us Weekly). Kyle goes on the defensive, saying that Umansky takes care of Kim like a "second f**king wife." She delivers her strongest verbal punches when she says, "You are a liar and sick and an alcoholic."
Kyle exposing her sister's alleged alcoholism on national TV took sibling rivalry to a new low. Kim has since admitted that she's an alcoholic and has been treating her disease for many years now (via People). But she has a right to feel humiliated that Kyle exposed personal information.
Kim told Entertainment Tonight in 2018 she's on good terms with Kyle, saying, "Family is important and I just don't think there's a reason for anybody or anything to get in the way of it, so we're all good." As of 2020, Kyle supports Kim when she's having bad days in quarantine (via Bravo).
Accusations fly in Amsterdam
Lisa Rinna has a history of questioning Kim Richards' sobriety on The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills. The first incident happened in Season 5 at a poker night. Lisa tries to apologize during a cast trip to Amsterdam, explaining that the issue of alcoholism is a sensitive one for her because she lost a sister to addiction as a kid. Instead of making peace, Kim takes offense to Lisa getting in her business and claims to know something about Lisa's husband Harry Hamlin. "I'm concerned about you ... your situation at home," Kim says.
The fight escalates as Kim verbally attacks nearly everyone at the table, including her sister, Kyle Richards. When Lisa has enough, she gets up and reaches across the table, almost slapping Kim. "Don't touch my husband ever," she says, throwing a wine glass. In Season 7, Rinna makes the same mistake twice and tells Eden Sasson that Kim is "close to dying" (via Us Weekly). Kim is so offended, she gives Lisa back the bunny Lisa bought for Kim's grandson. The ladies finally made amends at BravoCon in 2019, because Lisa's daughter was dating one of Kim's family members. Alleging someone is near death is shady, but we're glad they can finally share dinners together.