The Star That Fans Want To See Return To The Real Housewives Franchise
In the "Real Housewives" franchise, goodbye is rarely ever the end. From Heather Dubrow to Shereé Whitfield, former cast members are always rejoining the madness for a second (or third) round of shade and hit GIF material. In fact, Whitfield's "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" Season 9 tagline was, "Don't call it a comeback, call it a takeover." Bringing back a familiar face is a sure-fire way to breathe new life into the show when things have gotten stale. It gives the ladies a new target to befriend, beguile, or bully depending on their motives, changing up alliances and keeping things fresh.
However, some comebacks have been more successful than others; Bethenny Frankel quickly ascended the ranks to queen bee her second go around on "The Real Housewives of New York," while "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star NeNe Leakes unexpectedly found herself near the bottom of the totem pole when she returned to the show. Beloved cast members can easily lose goodwill with fans, and sometimes it's a prime case of being careful what you wish for.
Nicki Swift conducted a survey of 574 readers and asked which Real Housewife should make a comeback. Votes were close, with at least some demand for all of them, but one Bravo star was clearly above the rest.
Bethenny Frankel is the most-missed former housewife
Bethenny Frankel led our survey's results with nearly 24% of the votes. Phaedra Parks and Caroline Manzo were neck and neck for second place, receiving 21 and 20% respectively. Lisa Vanderpump surprisingly only received 19%, while Monique Samuels came in last place with 16%.
Frankel's victory should come as a surprise to nobody. The fast-talking "The Reak Housewives of New York" housewife kept big personalities like Ramona Singer and Luann de Lesseps in check, and also had two dramatic season-long arcs about her friend breakups with Jill Zarin and Carole Radziwill. In addition, she used her time on the show to launch the lifestyle brand Skinnygirl, and led several philanthropic efforts through her charity, BStrong. Despite Lisa Vanderpump's massive popularity among "Real Housewives" fans, it makes sense that she didn't win since viewers can still watch her on "Vanderpump Rules." Also, the Atlanta, New Jersey, and Potomac franchise installments are doing just fine, so the returns of Parks, Manzo, and Samuels might not be needed just yet.
Unfortunately, even though Frankel continues to discuss her "RHONY" tenure in interviews and podcasts, it doesn't sound like she's open to coming back. She already left and returned once, and any future comeback would be her third run on the show. However, fans once thought Heather Dubrow wouldn't return to "The Real Housewives of Orange County," so anything is possible!