In the 15 years since the Real Housewives franchise began, Bravo has honed the art of the reality-TV reunion. The network’s gatherings were once smaller and less glitzy affairs. But now they’re high-budget, multi-episode productions with themed sets, outfit mood boards, and glam squads circling the stage. And it’s not just about the Real Housewives: Bravo has a year-round calendar packed with different reunion shows, from Summer House and Southern Charm to Below Deck and Vanderpump Rules. The latest Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion drops this week, and fans will finally get to watch Lisa Rinna and Kathy Hilton meet face-to-face after months of feuding on social media. Jamie Lee Curtis will even be there! The anticipated three-part event (yes, Bravo reunions cannot be accomplished in one measly hour anymore; Andy Cohen needs a limited-series run to get through all the drama that unfolded on and off the shows) will play into a now-classic Bravo reunion subgenre full of over-the-top gowns, literal receipts, and just maybe some conflict resolution.
The appeal of a reunion is obvious: It’s an “Avengers, assemble!†moment for fans who consider reality stars their heroes battling it out for survival and supremacy. In the early years, when reality TV’s fourth wall was much more rigid, Bravo’s reunions were a rare place to “Mention it all!†and talk about all the behind-the-scenes details of filming. The formula has made for captivating reality TV over the years. At RHOBH reunions alone, we’ve seen the women grapple with death, family dramas, addiction, divorce, affairs, (allegedly) leaked tabloid stories and, more recently, multimillion-dollar fraud allegations.
Making slick reality-TV reunions that are actually entertaining is more difficult than Bravo often makes it look — with the exception of RHONY’s season-13 reunion, which didn’t even end up happening. On the international Real Housewives shows, there’s a noticeable contrast in quality: bad refereeing, basic questions, and the lingering feeling that the participants are just going through the motions (excluding Dubai, these are not produced by Bravo and aren’t hosted by Cohen). And other shows that have attempted to jump on the reunion bandwagon, like Netflix’s Love Is Blind and Selling Sunset, or Love Island and Married at First Sight, never quite pull them off. Often, they’re creaky and underwhelming (the whole cast doesn’t always show up!). And instead of epic takedowns, shocking allegations, unintentionally funny comments, and, at times, even an accidental nap, the other networks have barely mustered one memeable moment.
Bravo’s Real Housewives reunions have evolved into a flagship of the network’s reality-TV output, with dramatic teaser trailers and pregame seating-plan reveals that fans dissect on social media like sports fiends analyzing a team formation. And of course, none of this would be possible without such compelling subjects who always bring their A game to the reunion.
So in an effort to find out what makes a Bravo reunion so magical, Vulture decided to break down the network’s most jaw-dropping, scene-stealing, genre-setting reality-TV reunion moments. We’re left wondering how much Bravo has spent on these reunions: Is it closer to Dana’s $25,000 sunglasses or a pair of Erika Jayne’s diamond earrings? Actually, it doesn’t matter. These reunion moments are priceless.
Infamous moments
Camille Grammer vs. the World — RHOBH season 1
Reunions have blessed fans with so many memeable moments over the years. At the first RHOBH reunion, in 2011, Andy Cohen read out a list of not-so-flattering words that had been used to describe Camille Grammer. In her first season, Camille really didn’t understand how she was coming across. From flirting with her tennis coach while her marriage collapsed to casually reading The Art of War, hosting the Dinner Party From Hell (featuring the “morally corrupt†Faye Resnick and the vape-puffing medium Allison DuBois), and introducing fans to words like pernicious, Camille polarized the Housewives fandom. Speaking of words, here’s that selection of adjectives Andy read out: “Conniving, passive-aggressive, narcissistic, catty, jealous, cruel, hypocritical, self-absorbed, manipulative, fake, insincere, delusional.â€
“That’s my opinion!†— RHOC season 9
Tamra Judge gave us one of Housewives’ most memed moments in the ninth season of RHOC. At the reunion, she was locked in battle with Vicki Gunvalson over — you’ve guessed it! — everyone’s favorite (alleged) con artist, Brooks Ayers. Tamra was (correctly) advising Vicki that, to put it mildly, Brooks didn’t seem like a good guy. This prompted Vicki to ask, “How do you know what’s good for me?!†And we all know how Tamra responded: “THAT’S MY OPINIONNNNN!†This clip has become the go-to accompaniment for controversial (and cancelable) pop-culture hot takes.
“So nasty, so rudeâ€Â — RHOA season 6
NeNe Leakes is one of the most memeable Housewives of all time, from her confessionals to her clapbacks. At reunions, NeNe has always brought her A game, and when Kenya Moore accused her of being “so nasty, so rude,†she was not going to take it lying down. When Kenya tried to drag her, NeNe repeated “So nasty, so rude†over her with an expression that indicated she was relishing every second of it. This is one of those memes that has eclipsed the Bravo fandom; even people who don’t watch any Housewives know it.
NeNe Leakes vs. Kim Zolciak-Biermann — RHOA season one
If there’s one thing NeNe will do, it’s drag people at the reunion. And one of her most hilarious examples comes from the very first RHOA reunion when she went head-to-head with Kim Zolciak-Biermann. The pair were bickering about what Kim’s mysterious married lover, “Big Poppa,†had allegedly said about NeNe, when NeNe went for the jugular: “Close your legs to married men!†she repeated, pointing at an open-mouthed Kim. This set the tone for Atlanta’s shady, brutal reunions.
Phaedra Parks comes for Kenya Moore — RHOA season 6
Speaking of brutal takedowns from the Atlanta ladies, there is no reunion rant more memorable (or too much) than Phaedra Parks coming for Kenya Moore. After Kenya explored the possibility of using a sperm bank to have a child, Phaedra went for the jugular and then some, saying, “She’s sitting around, running around talking about my husband, the father of my children, and she spends her weekends pedaling through sperm banks, looking through catalogues trying to find a donor. Honey, you don’t know if your baby daddy will be an axe murderer or a child molester because what you will know is that he needed $10 for a medium-size pizza so he ejaculated in a cup so you could have a kid. Now check that.†Yeesh.
Nicki Minaj as a guest host — RHOP season 6
Mere weeks after causing a storm with a string of debunked anti-vaxx tweets that invoked some swollen testicles, Housewives superfan Nicki Minaj became the first person to guest-host a reunion. RHOP’s sixth-season reunion was a four-parter with Minaj hosting one part. Unlike Cohen, Minaj didn’t have to pretend to be impartial. From dragging the eternally messy Ashley Darby for having “no story line†to forcing Candiace Dillard Bassett to sing a cappella, Minaj didn’t hold back. She also ushered in a new era of celebrity cameos and appearances on the reunions.
Brandi Glanville mocks Lisa Rinna’s hairdo — RHOBH season 5
Season 5 was Brandi Glanville’s final one (for now) as a full-time RHOBH Housewife, and what a season it was: from throwing wine on Eileen Davidson to slapping Lisa Vanderpump and outing Kyle Richards for smoking pot, there was hardly anyone Brandi didn’t piss off. Lisa Rinna vs. Brandi was a particularly captivating rivalry. Even all these years on, no one has burned Lisa quite as well as Brandi did at this reunion. When Lisa said Brandi’s look was “trashy,†she responded, “Listen, you’ve had the same hairdo for 20 years.†The clapback was so iconic that even Lisa’s BFF Eileen applauded it. And a speechless Lisa had to admit to a giggling Andy Cohen that, yes, she has had the same hairdo for 20 years.
Kim Richards returns the Bunny — RHOBH season 7
The rivalry between Lisa Rinna and Kim Richards was, thankfully, one that viewers got to see a lot more of. In season seven, Kim gave us one of the most infamous reunion moments of all time: the Bunny. After several seasons of feuding that featured smashed wine glasses and threatening text messages, Lisa attempted to make a peace offering by gifting Kim a toy bunny for her first grandchild. Kim initially accepted the gift, but after their feud continued, she brought the Bunny back to the reunion, citing her “superstitions†about its “bad energy.†Toe-curling doesn’t even come close to describing the awkwardness when Lisa ended up crying and leaving the stage — Bunny in tow — followed by Kim. Since then, the Bunny has made appearances at the WWHL Clubhouse and even BravoCon.
Kim Zolciak-Biermann performs live — RHOA season two
Kim Zolciak-Biermann threw the first medium-tier auto-tuned pop song at Stonewall when she released “Tardy for the Party,†the start of many Housewives music releases. (She truly walked so Countess Luann could run.) In Atlanta’s second-season reunion, Kim performed the song for the first time (with a little help from Kandi Burruss, who wrote it). The vocals may be questionable, but Kim inspired a generation of Housewives to live out their dreams of pop stardom — and for that, we salute her.
Kyle Richards compares Lisa Vanderpump to a chess player — RHOBH season two
Lisa Vanderpump might have been driven off the show after allegedly leaking stories to the press, but before that, she was truly a Housewife with nine lives. Long before LVP’s husband screamed “Good-bye, Kyle!,†she had clocked Lisa’s notoriously slithery ways. In the second RHOBH reunion, Kyle described being in a friendship with LVP as “like playing chess with Bobby Fischer†— a famous player, FYI. Why? Because “every move is calculated.†Of course, Lisa responded to these accusations of being manipulative by scheming Kyle’s downfall in the next season. What a way to prove her wrong!
Erika Girardi’s four-part grilling — RHOBH season 11
In its 11th season, RHOBH was in its true-crime era, with allegations against Erika Girardi and her estranged husband, Tom, taking center stage. As she refuted accusations that she had known about her husband’s alleged multimillion-dollar, decades-long “Ponzi scheme†(as the L.A. Times described it), Erika got into some wild confrontations. Sutton Stracke, the show’s self-designated chief investigator, or “Fancy Drew,†was in the firing line. And at the box-office four-part reunion, Erika withstood a tough grilling from Andy and the rest of the group, occasionally losing her cool and never backing down. It was truly one for the books.
Ramona Singer falls asleep — RHONY season 7
There have been so many reunion episodes across shows from different Housewives cities that firsts are increasingly rare. But Ramona Singer — the “Singer Stinger†herself — delivered one in RHONY’s season-seven reunion when she fell asleep on the couch. “Wake up, mama!,†said Heather Thomson as she noticed Ramona drifting off.
Andy Cohen vs. the Housewives
Andy vs. the entire New Jersey cast — RHONJ season 12
As Bravo’s resident pot stirrer, Andy Cohen has been a constant presence at reunions since the days when the Real Housewives franchise was just one not-so-humble show. He keeps his cool most of the time, but occasionally he comes to blows with the cast. At the Real Housewives of New Jersey season-12 reunion, Andy lost his temper like never before. When a screaming match between the entire cast got out of control, he stood up and yelled, “You’re all talking!,†later confessing that he had “lost his shit.†Housewife Margaret Josephs said afterward, “Oh my God, I never saw you so bad.†We don’t disagree!
Andy vs. Ramona Singer — RHONY season 6Â
In the Housewives world, there’s only one thing more clichéd than a vow-renewal ceremony: the divorce that inevitably follows. This is precisely what happened when Ramona Singer’s 25-year marriage with Mario hit the rocks. And when rumors of his infidelities appeared in the press, Ramona was not keen on discussing it at RHONY’s season-six reunion. When Andy asked how her marriage was going, Singer shot back, “Mario and I are together. Let’s go to someone else. Thanks, Andy.†When he tried to push the discussion further, she wasn’t happy. “So how’s your love life? Who are you going to have sex with tonight? Tell me!,†she responded. “I’ll tell you when I go on a reality show,†Andy shot back. Zing! In the end, Singer ended up shouting, “I’m shutting this down!,†and for a moment, it looked as if she might walk offstage. The following year, she gave Andy one of her famous “in awwwwl sincerity …†apologies, and the pair buried the hatchet.
Andy vs. Carole Radziwill — RHONY season 10
The story goes that Carole Radziwill and Andy Cohen met at a dinner party; she let slip that because of her marriage to the late Anthony Radziwill, she could use the titles duchess and princess — and the next day she started getting calls from Bravo. Things weren’t so rosy in Carole’s final reunion, though, when she was not impressed with Andy’s referee stills during a heated moment with her bestie turned nemesis Bethenny Frankel. Carole turned to him and said, “You’re so full of shit, Andy!†Since exiting the show that year, she hasn’t been so complimentary about Bravo in interviews and on Twitter — we are not sure the pair are still on speaking terms.
No-shows
Adrienne Maloof — RHOBH season 3
No-showing at a reunion is the ultimate cop-out — no matter how many ’wives try to rebrand it as some sort of “boss move.†Adrienne Maloof was the first to no-show, when her co-star Brandi Glanville spilled rumors about her personal life on-camera in RHOBH’s third season. This sparked a frustrating situation in which Adrienne got lawyers involved and succeeded in partially shutting down the story line. Rather than show up and face the music, she was absent from the reunion. In a dramatic turn of events, Andy turned to the camera and fired her there and then, saying, “Adrienne Maloof’s final act as a Housewife is not showing up tonight.†(She has since said she regrets the no-show.)
Lisa Vanderpump — RHOBH season 9
Lisa Vanderpump was pretty shady when Adrienne Maloof — her onetime nemesis — didn’t show up for the season-three reunion, but that didn’t stop her doing the exact same thing in season nine, when the entire cast accused Lisa of leaking a story to Radar Online about her co-star Dorit Kemsley allegedly abandoning a dog (Lucy Lucy Apple Juice). After Puppygate, LVP’s husband, Ken, kicked Kyle Richards and her unsightly felt hat out of Villa Rosa, screaming, “Good-bye, Kyle!†We didn’t see much of her on RHOBH after that because she refused to show up and keep her side of the bargain. Once again, it’s the fans who lost out.
Let’s talk about the husband
Michael Darby — RHOP season 4
Let’s face it: No one watches Real Housewives for the husbands. But that doesn’t mean that sometimes their (alleged) actions don’t become major story lines. RHOP’s fourth season was dominated by Ashley Darby’s (now-estranged) husband, Michael, who was accused of groping a crew member. Filming was initially suspended and resumed only after the charges were dropped, but this didn’t stop many of the cast from believing he was guilty. Michael was also accused of making some, er, fairly lewd comments about Robyn Dixon’s partner, Juan. And at the season-four reunion, all this came to a blistering conclusion with the Darbys facing off against the rest of the cast.
Paul Kemsley — RHOBH season 7
Paul “PK†Kemsley, husband of everyone’s favorite American with a British-accent, Dorit, is a cautionary tale to husbands of Housewives everywhere: Don’t get too involved in the drama. In season seven of RHOBH, PK’s first of many on the show, that’s exactly what he did. When Erika Girardi went commando and accidentally flashed PK, Dorit gave her a pair of underwear and, well, she didn’t see the funny side. “Pantygate,†as it came to be known, turned into a season-defining drama. On the season finale, PK ended up calling Erika “inherently cold,†and at the reunion, he returned to face the music. Surprisingly, the pair seemed to bury the hatchet, and now Dorit and Erika are besties.
Make-ups and breakups
Vicki Gunvalson and Tamra Judge — RHOC season 12
The Housewives world is full of on again, off again friendships, and the reunion is where some relationships end forever while others find a path to reconciliation — with a little help from Andy, TV’s messiest therapist. Vicki Gunvalson (the self-proclaimed “OG of the OCâ€) and Tamra Judge (now making a return to the show) is one for the books. The pair were good friends but infamously fell out when Vicki started dating Brooks Ayers, a man who was alleged to have faked cancer and scammed various women. (What a catch!) After several seasons of mudslinging between them, in which Vicki was on a mission to make everyone think Tamra’s husband, Eddie, was gay, the pair somehow reconicled at the season-12 reunion. (And they were recently spotted filming together, so things still seem to be rosy between them.)
Briana Culbertson and Brooks Ayers — RHOC season 8, season 10
Reunions can be where some relationships go from bad to worse. This is what happened in season eight of RHOC when Vicki Gunvalson’s daughter, Briana, and Vicki’s now-ex boyfriend Brooks went head-to-head. Like many cast members, Briana disliked Brooks and had concerns about her mother’s tumultuous relationship with him. During a tense confrontation, Briana claimed Brooks had advised her husband, Ryan, to start hitting her. Brooks apologized and admitted he had said it — to gasps from the rest of the cast. Two seasons later, when Vicki’s relationship with Brooks had ended amid rumors of a cancer scam, Briana returned to the reunion couch. This time, she claimed Brooks had hit on her while she was pregnant and tried to flash her.
Bethenny Frankel and Jill Zarin — RHONY season 3
Housewives can sometimes feel a little bit like The Hunger Games. And in season three of RHONY, Jill Zarin’s botched attempt to take down Bethenny Frankel left her at odds with the rest of the cast. At the end of a drama-packed season in which Jill was famously turned away from the cast trip to the Caribbean, the reunion was where it all came to a head. And despite Jill’s crying and begging for forgiveness, there was no path to reconciliation with her former bestie. (Longtime RHONY fans will know the pair eventually made up years later, so it’s all good.)
Shannon and David Beador — RHOC season 12
The Real Housewives Divorce Curse stretches right back to the franchise’s origins. When reality-TV cameras put the focus on a relationship’s flaws and one person suddenly becomes a “celebrity,†sometimes those relationships don’t last. The separation (and eventual divorce) of Shannon and David Beador was one of the most painful to watch: affairs, fights, a vow renewal, and Shannon even attending her own funeral (featuring a gravestone). But the couple finally called it quits in 2017, after 17 years together, which led to a pretty messy divorce. Shannon tearfully revealed that David had ended their relationship during the season-12 reunion, and her fans breathed a deep sigh of relief. (In other news, David’s new wife, Lesley, just filed for divorce after less than two years of marriage. You know what they say about karma!)
Storm-offs
Ramona Singer — RHONY season one
The reunion storm-off has become as much a part of the Housewives world as cast trips, messy fortune tellers, Prohibition-era Gatsby-themed parties, leaking stories to the press, and throwing your prosthetic leg across an NYC cocktail party. (Okay, maybe not that last one.) One of the first Housewives to exit the reunion couch (before returning slightly later) was Ramona Singer, in RHONY’s first reunion, which was just one episode long. Ramona didn’t want to be associated with a discussion about semi-nude photos of her co-star Alex McCord, presumably because of how it might reflect on her in fancy Upper East Side circles. In the true-crime era of Housewives, such a “scandal†would barely register at a reunion. But clearly, season one of RHONY was a simpler time!
Camille Grammer — RHOBH season 9
Camille Grammer hasn’t been a full-time Housewife since season two, but she has never been far from the action. In Lisa Vanderpump’s season-nine absence, Camille became the main antagonist and gave us one of the most epic storm-offs in Housewives history. After dropping the bomb that she had invited the cast to her Hawaii wedding only because of “production,†Camille got up from the couch, yelled for her producer, and started taking off her mic and dress as she stomped toward the exit. (The scene was so bizarre that Denise Richards even asked if Camille was “on something.â€)
Accusations
Vicki Gunvalson accuses Kelly Dodd of doing cocaine — RHOC season 13
Over the years, the topic of recreational drug use has come up a lot on Housewives. (How could we forget Lisa Rinna’s epic “Were people doing coke in your bathroom?â€) And from RHONY’s John Mahdessian to RHOC’s Braunwyn Windham-Burke, allegations of doing coke have made an appearance at reunions, too. During RHOC’s season-13 reunion, one of the most impactful allegations came when Vicki Gunvalson accused Kelly Dodd of doing cocaine. Kelly strongly denied the claims, of course, but Bravo was so unimpressed with Vicki that she was demoted to a “friend of†role after 13 years on the show. Other ’wives should take note: Not even “the OG of the OC†is untouchable. (That said, Vicki appeared on the second season of Ultimate Girls Trip and was recently spotted filming for RHOC’s upcoming season, so maybe Bravo has forgiven her.)
“The lies, the lies, the lies!†— RHOA season 9
Not only Vicki was fired for making wild accusations at a reunion: At RHOA’s season-nine gathering, it finally came out who told Porsha Williams that Kandi Burruss and her husband, Todd Tucker, had tried to drug and rape her: Phaedra Parks started the rumor that had been bubbling away all season. It’s one of the most damaging accusations ever made on Housewives, and it unsurprisingly resulted in Phaedra’s firing. Still, there is a silver lining: Kandi’s reaction — the iconic “THE LIES, THE LIES, THE LIES!†— became one of the all-time greatest reaction memes. (Just like Vicki, Phaedra was back for RHUGT season two, so it seems like it’s more water under the Bravo bridge.)
Adrienne Maloof accuses Lisa Vanderpump of selling stories — RHOBH season two
Years before Puppygate, in which Lisa Vanderpump was accused of leaking stories to Radar Online and took a lie-detector test to try to prove otherwise, RHOBH’s resident “sniper from the side†was accused of selling stories to the outlet at the season-two reunion. Adrienne Maloof put a giant target on her back by making the allegation, which LVP was not happy about. After describing the accusation as “a fucking insult,†Lisa insisted, “I have never sold a story in my life, and I won’t be accused of that!†Look how well that worked out.
Physical altercations
Teresa Giudice shoves Andy Cohen — RHONJ season twoÂ
This moment could easily have gone into the “Andy vs. the Housewives†section, but in truth, an Obama-suit-clad Andy Cohen was just an innocent bystander when he got between Teresa Giudice and Danielle Staub. Teresa became enraged when Danielle — who, for reasons unknown, was wearing a white tank top to a reunion — brought up her family. As Teresa moved toward Danielle, Andy tried to restrain her, but she pushed him right back into his seat. You tell him, Tre!
Porsha Williams attacks Kenya Moore — RHOA season 6
For reasons unknown, Bravo let Kenya Moore bring a scepter and a megaphone to the reunion, which she wouldn’t stop using to provoke Porsha Williams. After finally reaching her breaking point, Porsha stood up, grabbed Kenya by the hair, and dragged her across the stage. The incident was so bad that Porsha was demoted to “friend of†for the following season. (No megaphones have been permitted at reunions since then.)
Receipts
Monique’s binder — RHOP season 5
Before social media came along and made Bravo blogs a thing of the past (RIP), reunions were the main space for Housewives to challenge the portrayal of certain events on the show. With the fourth wall always down, no topic is off-limits. And as more and more of the Housewives’ onscreen friendships are conducted via text, this means receipts are frequently brandished. In her final reunion, Monique Samuels went a step further by bringing an entire binder of receipts with her that was full of color-coded dirt on her castmates. The most brutal revelation was a transcript of a conversation between Jamal Bryant, ex-husband and then-boyfriend of Gizelle Bryant, and another woman that appeared to reveal an indiscretion. Monique may no longer be on the show, but she still holds the title for most brutal use of receipts at a reunion.
Sets and Outfits
RHONJ season one
RHONJ’s first reunion set was an ode to the mantra “So bad it’s good.†With a marble floor, gleaming couches, and hanging chandeliers, it was giving Kris Jenner–meets–Kyle Richards’ white party (circa 2011)–meets–Dynasty, all pulled together on a shoestring.
RHOSLC season two
The lead-up to a reunion isn’t just about the seating chart and waiting to see who has been chosen to sit on either side of Andy. Now part of the pregame warm-up is the reveal of reunion looks on social media. RHOSLC’s second reunion broke the internet when Bravo posted some, well, interesting outfits. From Jen Shah’s purple feathers to Lisa Barlow in metallic silver, the ladies pulled out all the stops. And the reunion set, an igloo-inspired winter paradise, was also one for the books.
RHOP season 5
Potomac’s season-five reunion set was transformed into Portugal, where the women vacay’d on their cast trip (minus Monique, who skipped the trip after her physical altercation with Candiace). At the reunion, the women of Potomac dazzled in canary yellow. And somehow, against all the odds, they served.
RHONY season 12
After more than 15 years, the reunions have become much glitzier. It’s the custom for their sets to be big, elaborate, and, most of all, themed. One of the most meta appeared in RHONY’s season 12 reunion, which was filmed using socially distanced chairs instead of couches. The women were joined by the ghost of reunions past, with furniture and pieces from the previous 11 RHONY reunions arranged in the backdrop. Now that’s history!
RHOA season 13
If we were celebrating individual reunion looks, we would be here all day. But of all the ensemble casts, none nails a theme quite like the women of Atlanta. It’s hard to pick one RHOA fashion highlight, yet season 13’s all-black lineup was a gasp-worthy moment. Particular props go to Kandi’s BDSM-inspired look, which was no doubt a reference to the dungeon-themed party (and the stripper) that caused so much controversy during the season. Siri, play Rihanna “S&Mâ€!