Lore
Fun facts about the shows and the women with title cards. Each one links to where it came from. Sources checked November 2, 2026.
Every franchise
It all started with two TV soaps: Desperate Housewives and Peyton Place. The franchise began as Bravo's unscripted take on the two!
Each housewife films her closing shot solo, like the star she is! She holds the prop in her left hand, her right hand and both hands, each at three distances, and the group shot is put together later.
Placement in the group shot is serious business. Where each woman stands is settled late in the season, with Bravo, and the center spot usually goes to whoever the season revolved around. Executive producer Doug Ross calls it "highly political".
Taglines are filmed in front of a green screen, and the network has the final say on which ones air. Even a fabulous line needs approval!
A reunion is a one-day affair, about ten hours long, that gets cut into two or three episodes.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City got its big reveal at the first BravoCon, in November 2019.
Salt Lake City housewife Lisa Barlow's favorite tagline is her season 1 line, her very first. Started strong.
When you take cheap shots, always expect a hangover.
RHOSLC S1Salt Lake City housewife Lisa Barlow co-founded Vida Tequila with her husband, John, in 2003, and it officially launched in 2007. Salud.
Salt Lake City housewife Heather Gay is a New York Times best-selling author! Her memoir, Bad Mormon, came out in February 2023.
The center snowflake in Salt Lake City's season 5 opening was Angie Katsanevas'. She says she cried the first time she saw herself in the middle of the intro card.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills housewife Kyle Richards' favorite tagline is her season 2 line. She says it is about gratitude. Thankful and glam.
I'm not the richest girl in Beverly Hills, but I am the luckiest.
RHOBH S2Beverly Hills housewife Kyle Richards' first big role was a family affair; she played the younger version of her sister Kim's character, Tia, in Escape to Witch Mountain (1975).
Beverly Hills housewife Kyle Richards played Lindsey Wallace in Halloween (1978) and came back to the role in Halloween Kills (2021). Some women get sequels!
Garcelle Beauvais made history as the first Black woman in the Beverly Hills cast, when she joined in season 10.
Crystal Kung Minkoff broke ground as the first Asian American in the Beverly Hills cast. She joined in season 11.
Shaken, not stirred! Beverly Hills housewife Denise Richards played the nuclear physicist Christmas Jones in the Bond film The World Is Not Enough (1999).
Beverly Hills housewife Erika Jayne has nine No. 1 songs on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart. Nine.
Vanderpump Rules was the first Housewives spin-off, premiering in 2013, and centered on Beverly Hills housewife Lisa Vanderpump's restaurant SUR.
The Real Housewives of New York City
The New York series was pitched to Bravo as, after one season of Orange County had aired, Manhattan Moms.
For many, taglines start with a bottle of wine! New York executive producers Lisa Shannon and Barrie Bernstein brainstorm the lines over one, then trade ideas with the cast.
New York housewife Sonja Morgan's favorite tagline is her first one. To her, one could say the original ALWAYS wins.
I have a taste for luxury, and luxury has a taste for me.
RHONY S3 to S4New York housewife Dorinda Medley's favorite tagline is the one she made her debut with. Grand entrance, grand favorite!
I give Uptown a whole new attitude.
RHONY S7New York housewife Luann de Lesseps' favorite tagline is her season 8 line. Countess taste.
If you can't be cool, you can't be with the Countess.
RHONY S8New York housewife Luann de Lesseps became an actual countess in 1993, when she married the French count Alexandre de Lesseps.
In 2010, season 3 of New York served the franchise's first three-part reunion.
New York housewife Bethenny Frankel sold her Skinnygirl cocktail line to Beam Global in 2011. Cheers to that! 🥂
Before she joined New York, Carole Radziwill was a producer at ABC News, where she won three Emmy Awards. Emmys first, tagline later.
The Real Housewives of Potomac
Potomac's working title was Potomac Ensemble. Sounds like a quartet, cue the violins! 🎻
The first Potomac cast filmed without knowing what the show would be called. They found out on a conference call, right around when Bravo announced it. Surprise! 🙈
Before the season 1 intro aired, ABC News had wondered if the prop would be a crab, Maryland's best-known export, for Potomac. Cheers to the champagne glasses instead of crabs! 🥂
Potomac housewife Candiace Dillard Bassett was Miss United States 2013, originally wearing the crown for the District of Columbia.
Potomac housewife Ashley Darby was Miss District of Columbia 2011 and took her crown to Miss America 2012.
Potomac housewife Gizelle Bryant has her own makeup line! She launched EveryHue Beauty, made for women of color, in 2017.
The Real Housewives of Orange County
Orange County's working title was Behind the Gates, centered on one gated community, Coto de Caza.
Orange County's season 1 had no taglines written for the credits at all. Instead, each woman's intro played a line she said on camera that season.
Orange County housewife Vicki Gunvalson's favorite tagline is her very first, and she says it came from a scene in her kitchen.
I don't wanna get old.
RHOC S1Andy Cohen made his reunion-hosting debut for Orange County's season 2, in a special called Real Housewives Confess.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey
Orange County holds oranges in the closing shot, New York holds apples and Atlanta holds peaches. The New Jersey cast holds nothing. Pure confidence.
New Jersey almost held flowers. Andy Cohen says nobody could settle on a prop for season 1, so the cast was going to hold flowers, for the Garden State. He says they probably should have!
New Jersey housewife Teresa Giudice's favorite tagline is her season 5 line. Fifth time's the charm!
Haters are gonna hate, but I just love, love, love.
RHONJ S5New Jersey housewife Teresa Giudice's first cookbook, Skinny Italian, came out in 2010 and was a New York Times best seller. A hit on the first try.
New Jersey housewife Margaret Josephs launched her lifestyle brand, The Macbeth Collection, in 1999. It all started with decoupage metal buckets!
The Real Housewives of Atlanta
In Atlanta, holding a peach means a full-time spot. Marlo Hampton found out she had hers for season 14 in style: producers met her at home with peach flowers, right after a Birkin shopping trip.
I always had the juice, but now I got the peach!
RHOA S14Atlanta housewife Kandi Burruss co-wrote TLC's No Scrubs and won the 2000 Grammy for Best R&B Song for it. Legendary.
Atlanta housewife Kenya Moore was crowned Miss USA 1993, the second African American woman to win.
Atlanta housewife Porsha Williams has history in her family tree; she is the granddaughter of the civil rights leader Hosea Williams.
Atlanta housewife Porsha Williams' favorite tagline is her season 12 phoenix line. Rising, obviously.
This phoenix has risen. And I'm saying: Bye, ashes!
RHOA S12Atlanta housewife Cynthia Bailey's favorite tagline is her season 8 line, a nod to her fashion career. Runway to reality.
Seasons may change, but Cynthia Bailey never goes out of style.
RHOA S8Atlanta's season 9 went big with the franchise's first four-part reunion, in 2017.
The Real Housewives of Miami
Miami is the comeback queen! Bravo aired its first three seasons, from 2011 to 2013, Peacock revived it in 2021, and it came back to Bravo for season 6.
The Real Housewives of Dallas
Dallas never got a season 6. Test scenes for one were shot in 2021, for Bravo executives only, before the show was shelved.
The Real Housewives of D.C.
New Jersey and D.C. are the only franchises whose casts never held a prop in the opening credits. Dallas held stars, for the Lone Star State.