Believe it or not, Real Housewives of Orange County is currently airing the 100th Real Housewives season! To mark the occasion, the Features team here at Reality Tea put our heads together to name the great Real Housewives moments EVER. Naturally, we could’ve come up with a thousand!
We hope you’ve enjoyed looking back at 100 seasons of gasp-worthy moments with us! If your fave isn’t on this list, please check out numbers 100-31 in our countdown. And don’t worry, there’s still the final 20 to go! So, without further ado, here’s 30-21!
30. These 10 best Real Housewives moments start with a classic: The only thing fake about Aviva Drescher is THIS!
That’s certainly one way to punctuate an argument! In response to the ladies calling her “fake” all season, Aviva Drescher decided to show her the true meaning of that word. Insisting THIS was the only thing artificial or fake about her, Aviva slammed her prosthetic leg down on the table. “Everything else is real!” she repeated over and over.
Who could blame the crowd for bursting out laughing, and mouthing, “holy shit.” Then, as if that wasn’t enough, Aviva THREW her leg across the room to Heather Thomson, and said, “I’ll crawl home!” Heather wasn’t crying “holla!” about that one. Luann de Lesseps absolutely lost it, and joked in a confessional, “they say this is the last straw…I mean, this is the last leg.”
29. NeNe Leakes is very rich, bitch
Everything NeNe Leakes said, and every face she made, on Real Housewives of Atlanta lives on as a meme these days. Her retort to Shereé Whitfield, “I am very rich, bitch!” surely made its way onto some Housewives fans’ needlepoint pillows.
What makes this moment a little less iconic nowadays is the unfortunate “Trump check” reference. Of course, in context, this was because NeNe was on Celebrity Apprentice. Unsurprisingly, she was such a breakout star that she quickly appeared on other reality shows and scripted dramas.
28. Leah McSweeney versus Tiki Torches
Leah McSweeney certainly mixed things up on Real Housewives of New York. And I’m not just referring to her eclectic outfits.
Ramona Singer’s girl’s night was an absolute mess for many reasons. And that was long before Leah trashed the place. As an argument with Ramona and Dorinda Medley was underway inside, Leah convinced Tinsley Mortimer to go skinny dipping.
The underwear-clad Leah began throwing booze at the tiki torches surrounding the pool. When Leah ranted about hating the tiki torches, she said it was because of what they represent. A confused Tinsley replied, “they represent, like, a fun party.” Of course, while Leah didn’t say it outright, tiki torches are now associated with the Charlottesville white supremacist riots. After all, a major theme of this season was the RHONY ladies’ ignorance and privilege.
27. Bravo, Bravo, fucking Bravo!
As her weed dinner reappearance showed, Denise Richards loves to break the fourth wall. When her Real Housewives of Beverly Hills co-stars (especially Kyle Richards) put her on the spot and questioned her honesty AGAIN, Denise officially had enough. So, she dropped the ultimate, fourth wall shattering bomb: “Bravo, Bravo, fucking Bravo!” This wasn’t just one of the best Real Housewives moments ever, but one of the most shocking.
This RHOBH moment left viewers gasping, and asking, “can they do that?” It felt like a peak behind the curtain at production secrets. Sure enough, producers eventually cut in, and tried to convince Denise to get back to the scene. The reactions of Kyle, Lisa Rinna, and Erika Jayne are particularly fascinating in hindsight, considering their own turns in the hot seat in subsequent seasons.
26. Monique Samuels breaks out the RHOP reunion binder of receipts
No one can deny that Monique Samuels exited Real Housewives of Potomac with a bang. At the Season 5 reunion, she came prepared with a whole binder of receipts!
Monique read her co-stars to filth, and looked amazing doing so (this is one of my personal favorite Real Housewives reunion looks). Especially regarding Gizelle Bryant’s relationship with ex Jamal. Karen Huger’s soft “is … Jamal coming?” and utter lack of surprise when Gizelle answered that he wasn’t, really says it all.
Like many RHOP moments, this has been replicated, but none can match the original. Sorry to Monica Garcia and her RHOSLC Burn Book.
25. Luann de Lesseps fell in the bushes to deliver one of the best Real Housewives moments
Leave it to Luann to cut some tension with a timely pratfall! As Sonja Morgan and Bethenny Frankel argued over Ramona’s behavior, Ramona vented to a very drunk Luann outside. At some point, Luann decided to dance her way out … and immediately fell into the bushes, laughing the entire time. The image of a hysterical Luann, laying in rose bushes, in a jumpsuit Ramona complimented five second earlier, should be displayed in The Louvre.
24. Teresa Giudice pushes Andy Cohen into his chair
From a table flip to a chair push! There’s a lot of discourse around the lack of a RHONJ reunion this year. The Real Housewives of New Jersey reunions have always been extra dramatic. But Season 2 was something else, thanks to Danielle Staub. And not just because she wore a tank top and brought a mannequin head. Teresa Giudice did not react well to Danielle’s antics, to put things mildly. Andy Cohen got caught in the middle, and caught some strays.
When Danielle brought up Teresa’s nephew, all hell officially broke loose. Teresa got out of her chair and right into Danielle’s face. As Andy tried to hold her back, Tre pushed him into his chair. The expression on his face was nothing short of priceless.
23. Meredith Marks tells Angie K: “You! Can! LEAVE!”
To quote (a five espresso martinis deep) Heather Gay, Meredith Marks left the Palm Springs table with a British accent … and we will never get over it. Meredith always has a … unique way of pronouncing words. But the half British, half space alien voice she put on to tell Angie Kastsanevas “You! Can! LEAVE!” instantly went down in history.
As Heather burst out laughing (her most relatable moment yet), Meredith kept getting better and British-er. Shouting, “Can we get sekarity please? Can we get sekarity? She refuses taleeve.” The “security” (sorry-“sekarity”) she got was Chad (a waiter, as the chyrons helpfully pointed out), who adorably told her, “I’ll … do whatever I can.” You know it’s bad when Mary Cosby seems like the voice of reason.
Once Meredith got up to “worry about the THINGS THAT MATTER in this world”, Lisa Barlow followed her. At which point Meredith brought up the “ruhmerze and nahstinezz” about Angie. “You want me to go there with her huzzbund? Oh I can do that. Don’t fuck with me. Tell her to fuck AUGHF.” Personally, as if I didn’t love Meredith enough already, this cemented her as RHOSLC’s best Housewife.
22. Taylor Armstrong says ENOUGH!
A moment that will live on in reactions GIFs for eternity! There’s a reason the original dinner party from hell will never be topped. Actually, there’s about a billion reasons. But one of them is the way Taylor Armstrong shut down her argument with Kim Richards. The way she flailed her arms and repeated, “ENOUGH! Enough enough enough!” is exactly the type of over-the-top gesture that makes Taylor such a Real Housewives legend. Not to mention, prime meme material.
21. Rounding out today’s best Real Housewives moments: Dorinda Medley made it NICE!
Dorinda’s Berkshires home, Blue Stone Manor, is one of the most iconic Real Housewives estates. It was also the setting of RHONY’s greatest moments. Including, to quote Luann, Dorinda’s “not-birthday birthday” meltdown. Dorinda cooked! She decorated! She did it NICE! Luann’s mocking pouty face expression is the cherry on top that solidifies this as one of the best Real Housewives moments ever.
Stay tuned, as next weekend, our countdown of the Real Housewives franchise’s best moments reaches its conclusion…
TELL US – WHICH OF THESE REAL HOUSEWIVES BEST MOMENTS ARE YOUR FAVORITES? WHAT MOMENTS DO YOU HOPE TO SEE IN THE TOP 20?