Bravo: A look at the longest running cast members across franchises

2019 and 2020 have been the year of shakeups for Bravo and The Real Housewives, but check out which wives stood the test of time.

The first and longest-running franchise is The Real Housewives of Orange County.  But I’m sure you knew that by now.  Vicki Gunvalson was a part of 14 seasons on The Real Housewives of Orange County, with 13 of them as a full-time wife according to the Wikipedia page.

She considered herself the OG of the OC, and let Andy Cohen know that she created the show.  Tamra Judge had 12 as a full-time wife.  This will be Shannon Beador’s 7th season on the cast as a full-time wife, given that Bravo doesn’t change that on us week.

RHONY

Ramona Singer has been a full-time housewife on The Real Housewives of New York for all 12 seasons of the show.  Sonja Morgan has been full time for 10 consecutive seasons.  Luann de Lesseps has been a housewife for 12 seasons, including the upcoming one.  She was a “friend” during season 4 but was full time again for season 5.

An interesting tidbit from the wikipedia page is that the show is technically missing a season, as season six was supposed to start in May of 2013, but contract negotiations delayed it.  “The sixth season premiered on March 11, 2014, a year later than planned with Kristen Taekman as the latest housewife,” the wiki page noted from a press release by tvbythenumbers.com. 

RHONJ

On The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Teresa Giudice has been a part of the cast all 10 seasons.  Much to Teresa’s chagrin, the next most senior housewife is her sister in law, Melissa Gorga.  The cast has been more varied and not many wives stuck around consistently.  

RHOA

Kandi Burruss joined The Real Housewives of Atlanta in season 2, giving her 11 seasons on the show.  Cynthia Bailey is behind her with 10 seasons, joining in season 3.  Nene Leakes has 10 seasons: season 8 as a guest, and season 9 she was gone entirely. 

RHOBH

On The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Kyle Richards and Lisa Vanderpump were tied with 9 consecutive seasons, starting the franchise together, until Lisa left the show.  Now, Kyle will have 10 seasons as a full-time wife under her belt, since she is presumably full time again this season.

Franchises by the numbers

Now according to Wikipedia, in order of the number of seasons per franchise on Bravo, it goes RHOC (14 seasons), RHOA (12 seasons), RHONY (11 seasons), RHONJ (10 seasons) and RHOBH has 10 seasons as well.  The rest of the franchises have much less.

The Real Housewives of Potomac and The Real Housewives of Dallas both have 4 seasons but are currently on the network.  The Real Housewives of Miami was cancelled after 3, and The Real Housewives of D.C. made it only one season before it famously ended.

Of all the international franchises, The Real Housewives of Cheshire also has 10 seasons but isn’t shown in the US.  The Real Housewives of Melbourne has 5 seasons, with another on the way.  Hopefully, that one will air in the US, because those ladies are entertaining as can be.

What’s your favourite franchise, international or US-based?

The newest franchise, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, is set to premiere later this year.