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The Housewives of Sydney: Ranked

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Finally, we’re coming home!

Welcome to another edition of Real Housewives ranked, and I’m so excited to be writing about my first city outside of the Bravo universe, especially because it’s in my own city – Sydney!

Just a few queens hanging out. And Caroline.



Full transparency: I watched this out of chronological order. I saw the hype about RHOS coming back with season two after a six year hiatus. One specific housewife cast in season two was also a major reason why I decided to tune in, but more on that later. I watched season two, then season one, then the most recent season three.

With a small list of castmates comes a small ranking, so without further interruption, let’s rank the iconic ladies of Sydney!

13. Athena X Levendi
Just like the very first episode of RHOS suggests, Athena X is Jatz crackers! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a housewife like Athena X, and unfortunately I do not mean that as a compliment. She was capable of going from 0 to 100 in a matter of seconds, and she would go from attacking someone and belittling them for no reason, to then crying for forgiveness, just to rinse and repeat. Also the owner of the most exhausting reunion performance ever. Ugh.

12. Caroline Gaultier
I quite liked Caroline in season two, as I thought she was stylish, had a certain sass about her, and was fairly entertaining to watch. And then her abysmal performance in season Three shot her to the (almost) bottom of this list. She spent the entire season playing professional victim, shirking accountability, and just being a general piss irritating housewife.

11. Nicole O’Neil
I quite like that Nicole is possibly the preppiest housewife in any city, because we all know Housewives was intended to be lifestyle porn. Watching her navigate conflict calmly “like a lady” and then watching her blow up at Athena X was a very interesting contrast. But her performance in season two and three is mostly forgettable, and her refusing to participate drags her down.

10. Krissy Marsh
So I actually quite like Krissy, which goes to show you how good this cast is if she’s at 10. I think she’s quite funny, has great confessional energy, and her ability to navigate conflict but also get up from a table and walk off is quite fun to watch. There’s just something about her that’s quite pretentious? I don’t know. I still like her though.

9. Matty Samaei
We all know I love a peacemaker housewife that can also get into it and defend themselves when they need to, and Matty was one of the housewives who played this role in season one. I would’ve liked to learn more about her family and her career, but seeing her interactions with the group was entertaining. And her storm off in the finale was iconic.

8. Victoria Montano
Victoria is probably one of the most stunning housewives in any city, and I love that she has a flare for short skirts because so do I. She exudes wealth which is what a housewife should do, but there is an obvious air of elitism about her that’s probably a little too real. Her role in season three as Martine’s mouthpiece does keep her from going any higher in this list, unfortunately.

7. Martine Chippendale
Martine is an interesting case for me. First of all, she’s absolutely beautiful. Secondly, I find her feud with sunlight to be hilarious TV, and her ordering her husband to carry her parasol while she swung a golf club was great. Thirdly, I appreciate that she can speak her mind, especially as the newbie in season three. What keeps her from going higher in this list is I feel like the other housewives had to walk on eggshells around her after her blow up, which isn’t a nice feeling for anyone tbh.

6. Kate Adams
From episode one of season two, I could tell that Kate would be a great housewife. Calling out past drama that had nothing to do with her in a group setting was straight out of the housewives playbook, and then she continued the next two seasons constantly speaking her mind, standing up to someone if she felt slighted, and also going to the gutter for ammunition. Textbook housewife IMHO.

5. Victoria Rees
Victoria was really that bitch in season one, and the very first episode showed that. Her throwing Athena’s cape into the harbour may have been a tad overproduced, but lord did it set the tone for the most chaotic season of Housewives ever. She had a very interesting personal story of finding her family, and her season long feud with Athena is one for the history books tbh.

4. Sally Obermeder
With the two peacemakers from season one gone, it was Sally’s turn to step up, and she fit this role well. She was mainly a fence sitter in season two, being an ally to everyone on the cast. Season three was lowkey a fantastic performance from Sally, as she started the season off trying to bring everyone together, but then would get into it with Victoria on different occasions where she won each time. Plus, you can just tell she’s a wonderful human. We love that.

3. Melissa Tkautz
Of the two aforementioned peacemakers in season one, Melissa was my favourite. A stunning housewife and pop icon from the 90s, Melissa was mainly an ear to anyone who needed one, but when her own friend Athena turned on her for literally no reason, Melissa did not back down and defended herself against that haunted woman. I would love to see a Melissa return in the future tbh.

2. Lisa Oldfield
Lisa is absolutely a one of a kind. With the sharpest tongue on any Real Housewife ever, Lisa could cut you down so quickly you wouldn’t even realise she did it, and she truly had the best confessionals of any Housewife in any city. Probably the owner of the best one liners from any Housewife, Lisa was equal parts vile, entertaining, and quality TV. I hope she did get to thank that morbidly obese guy on a kayak towing a giant inflatable swan for saving her life. 

1. Terry Biviano
When I mention there was one name who made me want to watch RHOS, I’m talking about Terry Biviano. If you’re an NRL fan, you know who she is. If you’re an Aussie reality TV fan, you know who she is. If you love a good pair of shoes, you know who she is. I have never picked someone as being the perfect Real Housewife as I did for Terry. Not scared of conflict, arguments, or stirring up petty drama and shutting it down with class, Terry is absolutely a top tier Real Houswife, and a lot of women could learn a thing or two from her on how to navigate conflict on reality TV.

I do have concerns that season four may not be coming any time soon. Season three was announced pretty much as soon as season two had ended, so the fact that we haven’t heard anything frightens me, because this entire cast is reality TV gold, and this show is only really just getting started. As long as Terry comes back, obviously.

Because honestly, Sydney is probably one of my favourite cities of Housewives ever – and that’s saying a lot!

Also I just want to include this photo here for no reason at all.



– by The Black Widow

The Housewives of New York: Ranked

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It’s the Big Apple’s time to shine!

When I first started my foray into Real Housewives, I was fairly adamant that I wasn’t going to watch Real Housewives of New York because the snippets I did see didn’t tickle my fancy at all. Additionally, my impressions of Ramona and LuAnn from RHUGT weren’t the greatest, so it was a city I was happy to skip.

But then I had no other cities to watch, and my love for Real Housewives proved too great, so I started the second ever franchise with little expectations, and to be honest, I actually really enjoyed it!

Thought I’d trigger a fanbase by including a picture of the new RHONY over the OG’s.


It’s important to note that these rankings will take into consideration the original group of women that made up RHONY as well as the iconic women who appeared in the reboot. So from the wonderful eccentricities of Alex McCord, to the most Brynntesting girl in the room Brynn Whitfield…

Let’s get to ranking!

23. Ramona Singer
I find Ramona to be an abhorrent human being, and I’m one of those Bravoholics that can’t excuse poor behaviour and bad human qualities because “they’re entertaining”. Sure, she was entertaining at some points and she had some iconic moments, but she was so blatantly rude and condescending to literally everyone and tried to pass it off as ‘just being honest’. Good riddance tbh.

22. Luann de Lesseps
If you were to ask me who the most overrated housewife is, I’d say Luann. Luann seems to have such a big following among the Bravoverse and I truly don’t get it. While not as rude and condescending as Ramona, Luann makes up for it in grand delusion and not in the fun kinda way either. I’m surprised she’s noticed that other people exist in this world to be completely honest, so this is why she finds herself ranked so low. 

21. Cindy Barshop
The first one season wonder of this list, Cindy was just kinda there. While I did agree with her that a ‘pecking order’ among the group was ridiculous, Cindy just didn’t mesh with the group and it came across on screen very clearly. Being cropped out of the group photo really sealed the deal as well.

20. Leah McSweeney
How Leah could go from such a fantastic first season, to the most abysmal sophomore season is beyond me. Initially, I liked her young, free-spirited energy, and she was a great addition to a significantly older cast. And then the popularity got to her head, and she made young and free-spirited seem like a bad thing to the point of being unbearable. Oh well. At least I can thank her for bringing Brynn to our screens since she’s the sole reason RHONY had to be recast.

19. Sai de Silva
I personally have a bad taste in my mouth when it comes to ‘influencers’ so immediately I was wary of Sai. Turns out I had every reason to be. She was just so unbearable to watch, so I can’t imagine how unbearable she is to be around. The only praise I’ll give her is that every cast needs a villain, and with some refining, she could be a good one.

18. Erin Lichy
Erin’s beautiful and she looks like she lives a fancy, interesting life, but homegirl needs some lessons on how to be a bone collector because her pot-stirring ways were so obvious and they flopped nearly every time. I’ll cut her some slack that it was her first season and they had big shoes to fill, so hopefully she finds her footing more in her second season. Also I’ve never been so sure that someone has bad breath before.

17. Ubah Hassan
Ubah had a great start for me, being a beautiful, strong and outspoken woman that radiated classy model energy, and she finished off the season fairly the same. And then she had one of the worst reunion performances I’ve ever seen, which tanked her position on this list. Here’s to hoping she makes a snappy recovery in her second season.

16. Jules Wainstein
I actually really liked Jules. I thought she was beautiful, was great with her kids, and had an interesting story to share. Of the one season wonders (Eboni excluded for obvious reasons), I thought Jules was the most deserving of a second season. I couldn’t stand Bethenny bringing Jules’s eating disorder up, and also couldn’t stand that Bethenny had an issue with Jules mentioning she was Asian because if you’re not a POC, you don’t get how race plays into simple aspects of life. I hope Jules is living her best life now.

15. Jill Zarin
For the first couple of seasons, I really liked Jill. She was fun to watch, seemed to live an elite New York kind of lifestyle, and she was kinda quirky. And then her atrocious performance in season four happened, and that really dropped her down the list. Also, Jill’s unquenchable thirst for being featured in the spotlight is both hilarious and pathetic and gets really annoying sometimes.

14. Sonja Morgan
Sonja is a really popular housewife among the Bravoverse, and while I get why others may like her, I just couldn’t get behind her. Her shtick of being an older woman living as if she was a 21-year-old horny sorority girl got old very quick, and it became extremely embarrassing to watch all of her drunk antics. I will, however, applaud her for being the only one to acknowledge and accept Eboni voicing her struggles as a black woman in season 13.

13. Aviva Drescher
Let’s be honest: Aviva is iconic. Maybe bar Bethenny, Aviva was the sharpest with her words, and she could effortlessly read a bitch as made evident with her ‘white trash’ spiel. Her backstory of how she lost her leg was also very interesting. I don’t even need to mention the leg toss because that goes down in history, and rightfully so. Iconic. Simply iconic.

12. Kelly Killoren Bensimon
I lowkey love the crazy, unhinged housewives, and Kelly was New York’s version of this archetype. I mean, it wasn’t called Scary Island for no reason. Kelly was beautiful, but almost every word she spoke made absolutely no sense, but you could tell in her mind she thought she was spitting hard facts and truths. God bless her, that wonderful action verb of a woman.

11. Eboni K. Williams
I compare Eboni to Tiffany Moon of RHOD, in that their respective casts were never really confronted with the topic of race on their shows until they showed up. Eboni was the first black woman to be featured on RHONY, and she was unapologetic about that fact, looking to educate the women on black culture as well as explain to them the harsh stereotypes she faces as a black woman. Sure, she was a bit condescending, but I also think she should be proud that she’s a strong, intelligent black woman, and if others find that intimidating, that’s on them.

10. Bethenny Frankel
Bethenny was a hard one for me to rank, considering that I really liked her on the show, but despise her outside of it. The difference between Ramona and Bethenny, however, is that Bethenny was at least likeable during her tenure on RHONY. She was that bitch of the show, most of the season’s storylines revolved around her, and she was essentially always guaranteed to get first chair at the reunion. Her anti-Bravo antics currently can get fucked, however, and I’m sick of seeing her stupid face eating in her TikToks.

9. Jenna Lyons
I had preconceived notions of Jenna Lyons, and those led me to believe I wouldn’t like her. However, the images of a stonefaced, monotone boss-like figure were dashed when this sweet, gentle woman spoke for the first time, and I almost immediately fell in love with Jenna. I do believe she’s holding back, however, and would love to see more of her authentic self next season.

8. Jessel Taank
I started off not liking Jessel, especially with the Christmas tree lingerie fiasco, but then her fun side shone through, and she showed why she was the main girl for season 14. Her ability to stand up for herself, while also talking with this almost sweet naivety made her really likeable, and I can’t wait to see more of her next season.

7. Alex McCord
Oh my sweet Alex McCord. I don’t know how I’ve coped without you for so long. At first, I was indifferent to the eccentric Alex who couldn’t bear to be away from her man for more than 30 seconds, but then I grew to love her as she became more confident in her voice, and her reads were just so iconic. (“You are in high school!” anyone?) I will never forgive Caroline Manzo and Brandi Glanville for preventing us from seeing Alex’s grand return in RHUGT.

6. Heather Thomson
I saw Heather’s grinning face floating around Housewives Twitter before I started RHONY, so with that in mind, I assumed I wouldn’t like her. But I really liked both sides of Heather’s personality: the sweet and nurturing side that would refer to her friends as ‘mama’; and the no-nonsense ratchet side that so effortlessly dragged Aviva. I also really admired her strong business acumen, and her efforts to relate to Eboni. I will never forgive Leah McSweeney for ruining a potential Heather comeback in season 13.

5. Kristen Taekman
Every Housewives city will randomly cast a young, pretty housewife to change up the dynamic, and Kristen was New York’s version of this archetype. What makes Kristen different, though, is that she was super likeable, shady when she had to be, could defend herself when she needed to, and was just like the sweet girl next door. Her comeback performance on RHUGT also just goes to show that sometimes the ‘forgotten’ Housewives are some of the best Housewives.

4. Tinsley Mortimer
I didn’t know anything about Tinsley before RHONY, so finding out that she was the It Girl of New York and also lowkey inspired Gossip Girl was super fascinating. I love the sweet, non-confrontational but can get into it when needs be (more on that later) Housewife archetype, and I found Tinsley to be a version of this. Her personal storyline of wanting to find love was just so captivating, and how could you not be on her side with this? It’s just a shame she left halfway through season 12, because that was shaping up to be her best season yet.

3. Dorinda Medley
Like Radzi says, “When Dorinda is bad, she’s so good!” I had unfairly grouped Dorinda in with Ramona and Luann so I expected not to like her, but I ended up loving the Meddler so much. You had weet and sober Dorinda, who was very motherly and nurturing, but then you get martini Slurinda, who would just verbally eviscerate anyone for no good reason. Mix that together and you have yourself a top tier Housewife. In saying that, I could see why she was ‘put on pause’ at the end of season 12.

2. Brynn Whitfield
If I could pick any Housewife to be my spirit animal, it would definitely be Brynn Whitfield. Brynn is flirty, sexy and confident, willing to use her sexuality to her advantage whenever she wants, but also has a serious side that serves as a good friend and someone you don’t want to mess with. And that is basically describing myself. Learning more about Brynn’s backstory and her family dynamics also make her one of the more fascinating Housewives across any city.

1. Carole Radziwill
As mentioned before, I love the sweet non-confrontational but still don’t mess with me Housewife archetype, and that describes Princess Carole. An underrated Housewife IMO, Carole could hang in there with the heavy hitters like Bethenny and come out relatively unscathed, but she could also stay out of the drama while providing humourous commentary. Her personal backstory as a widow was also very interesting to watch. If I’m going to be honest, Carole won me over when one of the first things she says on RHONY is “I don’t hate children. I just can’t stand when mothers get together and that’s all they talk about”. Iconic.

Can you believe it? Over four years, I have finally finished all of Bravo‘s Real Housewives cities! (Excluding RHODC, but that has one season so it doesn’t really count.) I won’t know what to do with my spare time anymore! Someone send help!

– by the Black Widow

The Housewives of Potomac: Ranked

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Word on the street is this is another Real Housewives article.

As my working from home days are coming to an end, that means the intimate relationship I’ve had with my TV and hayU account will soon drastically change. But until that day comes, I will continue to binge watch as much Real Housewives as possible!

This time I will be ranking the ladies of Potomac. Real Housewives of Potomac came with a glowing review from my sister, who had compared it to a combination of Beverly Hills and Atlanta. Considering that they are two of my favourite franchises, it was a no brainer that this would be the next franchise I’d start.

The-Real-Housewives-of-Potomac-800x450

Real Housewives of Potomac has spanned, as of writing, six seasons and featured ten full-time housewives. Let’s get to ranking!

10. Candiace Dillard Bassett
Contrary to popular belief, I haven’t just recently turned on Candiace in the past couple of seasons; unfortunately I’ve just never liked her. Candiace strikes me as the type of person who grew up with a silver spoon in their mouth and never had to face the consequences of their actions, and when those consequences hit her, she cries victim. Thanku, next.

9. Charrisse Jackson-Jordan
According to some reports on Twitter, we have Charrisse to thank for rounding up the crew for the first season of RHOP so I am thankful to her for that. Other than that, I don’t have much to say about Charrisse. She was boring, and even when she tried to stir up drama, it was boring. Soz hun.

8. Wendy Osefo
Wendy had the potential to be a lot higher on this list. Her somewhat condescending performance on season five put her at the bottom, but the first half of season six she seemed to be redeeming herself. And then the second half happened. And here we are. I’m sorry professor but you are trying too hard to be iconic when really, if you just be yourself that’s iconic enough.

7. Robyn Dixon
I really want to like Robyn more than what I actually do; she’s funny, breathtakingly beautiful, and is a great mother to her kids. But for six seasons we have sat through the exact same storyline with Robyn – talking about Juan and their complicated relationship – and believe me when I say we are tired of it.

6. Mia Thornton
If Mia stayed off Twitter, she’d be a lot higher on this list. I really liked Mia when we were first introduced to her in season six and I thought she had a lot of potential. She was funny, glamorous, shady when she needed to be, and who can forget the absolute flair she had when tossing that lettuce at Candiace? Her messy antics on Twitter, however, prevent her from going any higher on this list.

5. Gizelle Bryant
The Queen of Shade herself comes in at the halfway mark. Gizelle really is a top-tier housewife who is the definition of understanding the assignment. She’s funny, she’s entertaining, she’s so beautiful, and she’s shady… sometimes too shady. With all that being said, I love watching the scenes with her daughters because she is such a wonderful mother.

4. Ashley Darby
Ashley was by far my favourite in season one, and she would’ve been higher on this list had it not been for her husband. Ashley is gorgeous, not scared to get into a scrap if needs be, and is completely messy, which she admits to being. I do however frown at her being completely blind to Michael’s actions, and some might even argue that she enables it.

3. Katie Rost
Katie is an interesting case. At first I didn’t take to her that much in season one, but as that season went on, she grew to be one of my favourites. And after two seasons away, she came back in as a FOH in season four and was absolutely my most favourite thing about that season. She’s so unapologetically herself and somewhat blunt… she’s Katie Rost.

2. Karen Huger
If you’re a RHOP fan then you know you’re either Camp Gizelle or Camp Karen. Considering that Gizelle has already been rated, then you know that I’m definitely Camp Karen. Much like her counterpart, Karen definitely understands the assignment, and the Grand Dame almost epitomises what RHOP is.

1. Monique Samuels
Monique is by far my favourite of the franchise. She has the wealthy housewife lifestyle that us fans love, but also keeps the part of her identity that she was raised with, and I think that’s something to really be admired. Everything that a Real Housewife should be Monique was, and although season five’s events led to her departure, Monique to me is definitely one of the realest housewives of any franchise.

With season six officially finished, I eagerly anticipate season seven and hope that any cast changes shake up the show’s dynamics to bring even more reasonable shade!

– by The Black Widow

What RHOD Needs to Make a Comeback

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I’m still grieving guys. Give me a moment.

By now we have all heard the news that Real Housewives of Dallas has been placed on an indefinite hiatus and has not been renewed for a season six yet. This may not come as a shock to some huge Bravo fans as RHOD was one of the less popular franchises, but I personally really enjoyed RHOD and thought it had some great potential.

rhod-season-5-cast-preview

There are many factors that could contribute to Bravo’s decision to not renew RHOD as of now, including low ratings and controversy surrounding the show with accusations of racism and xenophobia. But I don’t think the franchise is entirely dead, and if some changes are made, I believe the franchise could make a comeback within the coming years much like Real Housewives of Miami has done.

Here are five suggestions I have for RHOD to come back fighting strong. Because let’s be honest, we all need to see D’andra do more random shit, and we all need some more iconic Stephanie Hollman one-liners.

1. Kameron needs to go
Whether you believe these are reports or just rumours, there has been speculation that Kameron’s falling out with Tiffany Moon after season five was so bad that Kameron tried to give Bravo an ultimatum: if you want me on season six, then you need to fire Tiffany Moon. Given that ultimatum, the decision is really quite simple: get rid of Kameron, keep Tiffany. Kameron offers next to nothing to the show, has a really pretentious manner, and nitpicks at really small things to try seem ‘housewifey’ when her attempts fall flat (her bringing receipts to the season five reunion thinking she was funny or shady yet everyone else was bored with it). Tiffany was a ball of fun, wasn’t scared to say what was on her mind, and wasn’t against the drama. Really you’re comparing an Hermes handbag to something you can find in K-Mart. See ya later, Kameron.

2. Brandi and Stephanie no more?
On top of getting rid of Kameron, I feel as if my favourite Bravo friendship may have to come to an end as well. Brandi Redmond took to social media to say she wouldn’t be interested in coming back to the show, and to be honest I don’t think there’s a space for her anyway. Her abysmal season five served her downfall and I think not coming back is best for her and the show. As much as I love her, I don’t know if Stephanie could be as strong a housewife if Brandi isn’t on the show with her. She was beautiful and hilarious, but playing the peacekeeper for as long as she did can only do her so well.

3. New stars, new Housewives
Taking the above into consideration, I really think RHOD could benefit from having new faces and a seven-housewife cast. The more housewives, the more drama, and I think drama is what RHOD has been lacking since Leeanne left. If Kameron and Brandi are gone, and let’s say for the sake of this argument that Stephanie is also gone, that leaves four new spots for four new housewives to reach a seven-person cast. With new faces comes new drama, and new dynamics that could come into play to bring that spark back to RHOD. But speaking of introducing new faces…

4. Welcome back Cary!
Introducing four brand new faces would be a very bold move for the franchise to make if they were going to do four new housewives + three existing housewives. In saying that, their best option to counterbalance that is to bring back a former housewife plus three new faces, and of the three choices we have (Tiffany Hendra, Leeanne Locken and Cary Deuber), Cary is definitely the best bet. She was funny and witty and so glamorous, and she wasn’t afraid to bring the heat when the occasion called for it. Her bone collecting skills leave a bit to be desired, but I think bringing Cary back into the fray would be a nice change for the show.


5. The Housewives need to pull their weight
There’s no denying that in the early seasons, Leeanne Locken really carried the show. She was the catalyst for most if not all of the drama, and her funny one-liners and explosive moments really made the show. Essentially, it felt like the Leeanne show ft. the other housewives. This was until D’andra started carrying her own from season three onwards, and then Tiffany Moon helped with the load in season five. Brandi contributed a bit, Cary was okay, Stephanie was essentially moral support, and Kameron and Kary gave nothing to the show. For a Real Housewives franchise to be continuously successful, it needs all of the housewives to pull their weight. They can’t just rely on D’andra and Tiffany for the ratings and the success. Maybe they can all take a lesson from Kyle Richards in the art of ghost producing.

While I wouldn’t say that RHOD is my all-time favourite Real Housewives franchise, it’s definitely up there as a show that I really loved and enjoyed and I don’t want to see it fail anytime soon. Here’s to hoping that this indefinite hiatus is only a short-term thing and we can get back to seeing D’andra do some funny ass shit on our screens again.

– by The Black Widow