The Real Housewives is an American reality television franchise which aired on March 21, 2006, starting with the Real Housewives of Orange County. Each of the franchises documents the personal and professional lives of a group of affluent women residing in or around a certain city or geographic region. Eleven series have been produced in the United States, with another 21 international adaptations broadcasted on Bravo.
There is no doubt that The Real Housewives has changed my life for the absolute better; I do believe that without this series I wouldn’t know the true meaning of womanhood that including the highs and lows of friendships, family dramas and explosive marriage breakdowns or even welcoming new marriages. This addictive drama makes the audience see how each woman navigates the world on their own terms. From their iconic one-liners, their confessionals and their reunions at the end of each season, these women have changed my life and the way I see women and the world.
Through this blog, I am diving into the power of womanhood through friendship, betrayal, love and individuality. It is important to understand the real housewives through these important topics as they all intersect and collide.
Womanhood through friendship
Firstly, the power of womanhood through friendship is undeniable and that is what creates “The Real Housewives”. Many of these affluent women were friends before the show and some were not. I would like to dive into the Real Housewives of Atlanta which debuted on the 7 October 2008. The Real Housewives of Atlanta is undeniably one of the most watched on Bravo even to this day. Nene Leakes was one of the funniest, quick-witted, iconic and shadiest icons of the Platform. Her friendship with Kim Zolciak-Bierman was also the highlight of the show as these two individuals were the epitome of frenemies. Kim and Nene’s relationship had the highest of highs and lows in every single season that they aired together. The two individuals bring out the best and the worst in each other.
Additionally, what made Nene notable was her famous one-liner on the season one reunion, giving Kim “advice for” that many Real Housewives fans will never forget - “Close your legs to married men.” leaving Kim in utter shock. Both Kim and Nene had a very turbulent friendship till the end of season one, but, it is clear that these frenemies still reached out to each other during emotional times especially when Nene’s late husband Gregg passed and Kim’s divorce was public.
Kim and Nene’s relationship helped me understand compatibility on a different scale. I've learnt a lot in my own life about how you may have such deep affection for someone, yet friendships can never be compatible—it's normal to not be compatible with someone at times.
Womanhood through Betrayal
Betrayal in Real Housewives was something that enraged many of the series’s fans as most of these betrayals happened before the series aired and sometimes even after. One of the biggest scandals on the series was in the Salt Lake City, of Jen Shah's arrest, as Lisa Barlow felt “betrayed” and accused Jen Shah of living a “double life”. Jen Shah not only lied about her husband’s health to evade law enforcement authorities but was also later arrested for defrauding the elderly in a massive $5 million telemarketing scam. Lisa felt betrayed by her friend as she cried at the dinner table at Meredith Mark’s rental home in Vail, Colorado and mentioned “I don’t think she is who we think she is. I feel she had a double life” This betrayal triggered the viewers, including me, because you never know what a friend could be thinking and doing behind your back. Salt Lake City had the scandal of the year in 2022 when Jen Shah was arrested for a telemarketing scam leaving viewers on their seats waiting for the next season to come.
Womanhood through Love and loss
Love and Loss in these women’s lives were shown in almost every single episode within the series was heartbreaking and sometimes even a great thing because through these women you get to see how it unfolds or sometimes how their lives change for better and for worse. Relationships for me have always been confusing. Sometimes I used to wonder why this person stayed. Why does this person accept the abuse or pain? Most of the time it would be childhood trauma as to why they stayed and other times it would be because their kids were so young, or sometimes it would be because they have nowhere else to go or the financial stability is what is keeping them there. One individual that resonated with me was the series’s Miami star Lisa Hochstein. Lisa was young when she married Lenny and made their first debut on Real Housewives of Miami. For four seasons,fans watched as Lisa struggled in both her marriage and with her infertility issues. It was an emotional event for me because Lisa didn’t deserve this at all. She loved Lenny so much, but Lenny divorced her and remarried someone else in a year. Lisa’s story, her resilience as a woman to leave the abusive relationship but still be in love with the person who did wrong to her makes me shed tears. It felt like I was on a journey with her.
The Real Housewives franchise is one of my favorite reality television shows on the planet, because of its rawness. These are real people who are going through real things that a lot of other individuals can relate to. There is no doubt that these are affluent women so they might never know us, but to see how these individuals grow and evolve is what makes it so admirable. I admire and love all of the real housewives because they are all a special addition to my perspective of life no matter how you might see them.
Photo source: Pinterest
Editor: Jaya Jha
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