RHONJ & RHOBH: The Biggest BFF Breakups on Real Housewives

The RHONJ and RHOBH franchises love hard, but they fight harder.  Check out some of the biggest BFF breakups New Jersey and Beverly Hills have ever seen.

When RHONJ  started, it gave us a look into the traditional Italian American families of friends that were, for all intents and purposes, family.  With the Guidice, Manzo and Laurita clans, viewers felt like the friends were practically family to each other, and initially, everyone joined forces against the enemy: Danielle Staub.  But that was short-lived after Teresa Guidice, Caroline Manzo and Jacqueline Laurita had the falling out of all falling outs.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey: The Guidice’s, the Manzo’s, and the Laurita’s

Had anyone predicted that many seasons later, Teresa would be good friends with Danielle and not talking to any of the Manzos, no one would have placed that bet. Except for Dina Manzo (née Laurita), the Manzos and Laurita’s became fed up with Teresa’s many dramas, including a rivalry with sister-in-law Melissa Gorga and questions surrounding an impending criminal case against her and husband Joe. Adding fuel to the fire was possible jealousy as Teresa emerged as the clear fan favorite and leveraged that into multiple best-selling books, a brand of wine, a line of hair products, and several more money-making opportunities.

These days, the two families steer clear of each other. The Manzos and Laurita’s have left RHONJ for other opportunities, and the franchise has centered squarely on the Guidice-Gorga clan, who seem to be able to supply plenty of entertainment and drama on their own.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Lisa Vanderpump and Kyle Richards

The Lisa Vanderpump and Kyle Richards breakup was a long (read: very long) time coming. The first clue that there might be a crack in this friendship was at the first reunion when Kyle famously said these words to Lisa: “Being friends with you is like playing chess with Bobby Fisher… Every move is so calculated.”

Those words have since been echoed by many other women on the show, including Brandi Glanville, Erika Girardi, Lisa Rinna, and Teddi Mellencamp. Through 10 seasons, the two weathered many bumps in the road, many of which were caused by what Kyle felt was Lisa trying to manipulate her or storylines on the show (rumors of Mauricio cheating, questions about Yolanda’s health, PuppyGate). And Lisa’s source of frustration was what she felt was Kyle failing to have her back when other cast members leveled accusations at Lisa.  At the reunion, Kyle said she felt like she “paid the ultimate price” for being honest with Lisa, which cost them their friendship.

After a very rough year for Lisa, the final straw was Kyle’s visit to Lisa as a representative of all the other women. Kyle’s intent was to let Lisa know what the other women’s perspective of PuppyGate was and to try to mediate the situation; Lisa saw it as Kyle once again not having her back and it was the final straw. Kyle was kicked out of Villa Rosa with Ken Todd’s dismissive (and frequently mocked on social media) “Bye, Kyle!”

It’s too soon to tell if these two will someday be able to work out their differences, but if Lisa’s history with former friends is any indicator (Brandi, Adrienne, Yolanda), we have probably seen the last of this duo.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey is on every Wednesday on Bravo.