For over ten years, real housewives all over America have delighted viewers of Bravo’s beloved franchise, The Real Housewives. From Orange County to Atlanta to New York City (and everywhere in between), the housewives stunned viewers with their extravagant parties, gorgeous mansions, closets the size of entire houses, and worldwide vacations. But even more extravagant than their luxurious lifestyles? The drama. And more often than not, the drama on these shows almost always leads to the juiciest catfights.
From pulling hair to throwing wine and even flipping furniture (who can forget Teresa Giudice’s infamous fight with an innocent table?!) these women never shy away from getting in a fight to protect their family and their names. But the first episode aired twelve years ago in 2006, meaning that the drama and fights that ensue are easy to lose track of. But don’t worry – we’ve done all the digging to find the best, most memorable fights. Keep on reading to see 17 of the juiciest catfights from The Real Housewives franchise!
17. Aviva v. Heather: The fake foot
This fight definitely wins for its shock factor. During season six of Real Housewives of New York, the women accused Aviva Drescher of lying when she said she was too sick with asthma to tag along on their trip to Montana. Heather Thomson was quick to say that she thought it was “more than just asthma,” saying she probably just wanted to stay behind with her husband. Aviva claimed that she would never lie to the women, to which Heather said was “laughable.” Aviva yelled, “The only thing artificial or fake about me is this!” and proceeded to take OFF her prosthetic leg and plop it ON the table (that everyone was eating on). She continued to yell, “I’m sick of being called fake!” before taking her leg and throwing it on the floor, making this one of the most epic fights in housewife history.
16. Adriana v. Joanna: Things get physical
While the housewives usually stick to throwing insults and wine glasses (and a leg, but only once in a blue moon), fights can get physical once in a while. In the case of Real Housewives of Miami stars Adriana De Moura and Joanna Krupa, it wasn’t long before actual punches were thrown. It all started at a lingerie party at Lisa Hochstein’s house to benefit breast cancer. The altercation began when fellow housewife Karent Sierra accused Adriana of making comments about her in the media. Joanna stepped in, and Adriana quickly brought up Joe Francis, another guest of the party who claimed to sleep with both Joanna and her sister, saying, “Joe Francis was right, they’re just Polish immigrants trying to get a plate to eat food in.”
She then took off running down the hallway, only to be followed by Joanna (and the cameras). Seconds later, Adriana turned around and punched Joanna square in the face, knocking her into the camera crew, though Adriana claims Joanna started the physicality by grabbing her shoulder. Either way, it was pretty nasty to see two women get physical at a breast cancer benefit event.
15. Porsha v. Kenya: Porsha gets charged with assault
Mark this as another fight that got physical – but this time, it ended in an arrest. During the season six reunion of Real Housewives of Atlanta, Kenya Moore said that Porsha Williams cheated in her marriage and continued to question her character. Porsha said, “You are not going to keep on talking about my character like you know what you’re talking about.” They began calling each other names, and Kenya pulled out a megaphone and pointed it at Porsha saying, “You are a dumb hoe, shut up.” The women got in each other’s faces (as Andy Cohen tried helplessly to separate them) before Porsha pulled Kenya to the ground. The women continued yelling before Porsha was taken off the set. A few weeks later, she was charged with assault. The two women are still part of the RHOA cast today.
14. Teresa v. Danielle: Teresa flips the table!
This Real Housewives of New Jersey fight was technically between Teresa Giudice and Danielle Staub, but let’s be real, the table was the real victim here. Danielle was friends with the housewives at one point, but it didn’t take her long to become an outcast. During the RHONJ season one finale, Teresa hosted a dinner party for the wives and their families. It didn’t take long for Danielle to pull out “the book”: a book that shared scandalous gossip about Danielle’s life, which she heard the wives had been sharing with their friends outside the housewife’s circle. She started throwing accusations at sisters Dina Manzo and Caroline Manzo, and then Jacqueline Laurita got involved, too, of course. With insults flying, Teresa got so angry that she picked up her end of the table and shoved it toward Danielle! Drinks and silverware went flying, and the husbands quickly intervened to get the women away from each other. While there wasn’t a clear winner, the table definitely lost that night.
13. Kim & Kyle v. Brandi: Meth in the bathroom
It’s no secret that Brandi Glanville is the resident villain of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. It seems that all fights lead right back to her, and this one is no different. This season two fight started all because sisters Kim Richards and Kyle Richards stole Brandi’s crutches. There’s no denying the immaturity of that, but it didn’t take long for the fight to escalate. When Kim and Kyle questioned Brandi’s parenting abilities, Brandi said of Kim, “She’s cracked out of her f*cking mind.” Note: Kim’s history of alcohol and drug addiction has been a large part of her storyline on the show.
“You are trashy and classless,” yelled Kyle in defense of her sister. Brandi then shot back, “At least I don’t do crystal meth in the bathroom all night.” The other housewives all agreed that they didn’t believe Kim was doing drugs. In a confessional later that episode, Camille Grammer said, “The crystal meth [comment] was way too far, way too far.”
12. NeNe v. Sheree: I am very rich, b*tch
The very best Real Housewives fights are the ones that happen over, well, nothing at all (and lucky for fans, that happens quite a lot). That’s exactly how this season four Real Housewives of Atlanta fight between NeNe Leakes and Sheree Whitfield went down. Honestly, the core of the argument came down to the fact that Sheree claimed NeNe directly spoke to a party planner, Tyrone, and NeNe said she didn’t. When Sheree called Tyrone and asked whether he directly spoke to NeNe, he said he did, calling NeNe out for her lie. But the best part of this fight was that it resulted in NeNe’s famous catchphrase: “I am very rich, b*tch.” NeNe yelled the now-famous line in Sheree’s face before she stormed away, and now fans can buy shirts and other memorabilia with the saying on it.
11. Joe Giudice v. Joe Gorga: The husbands fight
The husbands are some of the most underappreciated stars on the Real Housewives franchises, and in this fight, viewers got to see Real Housewives of New Jersey husbands Joe Giudice and Joe Gorga go at it. During a season five family retreat aimed at healing, healing is the last thing that happened. Teresa Giudice was accused of spreading rumors about Melissa Gorga, her brother Joe’s wife. Teresa told her brother to stick with blood, but Joe fired back saying he’ll never stick with “scum.” Teresa ran out of the room to tell her husband, Joe, that her brother called her scum, and it didn’t take long for Joe Giudice to run to Joe Gorga and tackle him to the ground. The two men fought and dragged each other all across the room while other family members tried to break things up – meanwhile, Teresa ran away, proving family drama really is the juiciest drama.
10. Erika v. Dorit: Pantygate
It didn’t take long for new housewife Dorit Kemsley to start drama on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. It all began when Dorit and her husband P.K. attended a party with Erika Jayne, Lisa Vanderpump, her husband Ken Todd, and Kyle Richards. Erika, being everyone’s favorite fashionista on the show, announced that she went commando so that she didn’t have any lines on her dress (relatable, right?). Everyone had a laugh and went on with the night… but not Dorit and P.K. The two were so unsettled by Erika’s choice to go panty-less that they continued to talk about Erika, with Dorit telling other housewives that Erika purposely flashed P.K. in their limo. P.K., being the worst househusband on the show, then said, “Maybe Erika’s bits are available for the world? What am I supposed to say? ‘Close your legs darling, I don’t like the view?’ I didn’t mind the view!” *Cue the eye rolls*. Late in the season, Dorit bought Erika a pair of underwear, Erika claimed that even her husband Tom was upset by the drama, and Dorit refused to apologize, solidifying her and P.K.’s titles as the worst.
9. Lisa Rinna v. Yolanda: Munchausen’s
Another Beverly Hills housewife who’s no stranger to drama is Lisa Rinna. She found herself in the middle of a season-long fight with Yolanda Hadid, who was very candid about her crippling struggles with Lyme disease during her time on the show. Lisa’s hair stylist mentioned that she thought Yolanda might have Munchausen’s syndrome, a mental illness where someone fakes an illness or ailment to gain sympathy or attention. Lisa then told this to Kyle Richards and Lisa Vanderpump, and it wasn’t long before word got back to Yolanda. The fight was drawn out over the entire sixth season and exploded during the reunion episode, with basically everyone turning against Lisa Rinna. Any shock there?
8. Lisa Rinna v. Kim: Don’t go after my husband
Another Beverly Hills brawl! This epic argument between Lisa Rinna and Kim Richards went down in season five of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. The women were on a trip to Amsterdam when a dinner party went sour. Kim and Lisa began arguing, which led to Kim accusing her sister Kyle Richards of never standing up for her. Before long, all the women were calling names and throwing insults (Eileen Davidson called Kim “disgusting”). Kim then made a comment about Lisa’s husband, Harry Hamlin, insinuating that he may have been unfaithful. Lisa lost her cool, screaming “Never go after my husband!” while she picked up a wine glass, splashed the wine at Kim, and smashed it on the table. Kyle ran out of the restaurant before the women dispersed, making this one of the most dramatic fights of the season.
7. Kim v. Kyle: Who’s an alcoholic?
With more family drama, one of the most intense fights on the show happened between sisters Kim Richards and Kyle Richards in the back of a limo back during season one of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. The tension between the two is the result of years of unsolved family issues, and it all explodes in a limo ride home from a party thrown by Taylor Armstrong. The two started fighting about Kyle walking into one of Kim’s conversations at the party, and in no time at all, Kyle called Kim an alcoholic, saying she was delusional and that she needed to get help. After the episode aired, it was announced that Kim had checked into rehab, and her struggles have been chronicled on the show ever since.
6. Bethenny v. Kelly: Go to sleep!
Real Housewives of New York star Bethenny Frankel and Kelly Killoren Bensimon never liked each other, so their season three vacation together with the other housewives was bound to end in a fight. Kelly had one of the craziest mental breakdowns on the show, calling the women names, insulting Bethenny’s career as a chef, and calling the other reality stars vampires and devils. Honestly, her manic outburst was almost too crazy to keep track of. Once Kelly said that she was paranoid because she thought Bethenny was actually trying to kill her, Bethenny famously screamed, “Go to sleep! Go to sleep! You’re crazy, go to sleep!” The wives all agreed that Kelly had a “chemical imbalance” and had to explain that Bethenny was, in fact, not trying to kill her. This episode was later nicknamed “Scary Island” – for obvious reasons.
5. Aviva v. Carole: Bookgate
In another Real Housewives of New York fight, Aviva Drescher was under the assumption that Carole Radziwill dissed her book during this season six outburst. Aviva then claimed that one of Carole’s books was ghostwritten, and then said that the “word on the street” was that no one wanted her book anyway. The problem with the whole argument was that Carole’s primary career was as a writer, so there was no question that Carole was the clear winner of the “bookgate” fight.
4. Amber v. The Twins: The first responders
This particular Real Housewives of New Jersey fight was especially entertaining because everyone was dressed as first responders. In typical housewife fashion, this all started with a rumor through the grapevine. At the party, Nicole Napolitano confronted Amber Marchese because she said that Melissa Gorga said Amber called Nicole a homewrecker. Got that? Amber wanted to gather up everyone who was involved to talk about it, but Nicole refused, saying that she wasn’t Amber’s dog. Then, Nicole pulled Amber’s hair and Amber hit Nicole. Drinks and punches were thrown and the women were pulled apart from each other (fitting that everyone was dressed like first responders, right?). But to really solidify this as one of the juiciest fights, Amber’s husband Jim Marchese showed Nicole’s boyfriend Bobby Ciasulli the chunk of hair that Nicole ripped out of Amber’s head. Cute?
3. Danielle v. Jacqueline’s daughter: Protect the weave
Since the housewive are so catty, it’s only fitting that their kids inherit that gene, too. This season two blowout during Real Housewives of New Jersey started when Teresa Giudice began fighting with Danielle Staub at a country club. Teresa called Danielle an “old hag,” Danielle said she should have pressed charges against Teresa when she threw the table (back in season one!), and the two started screaming at each other. Danielle accused Teresa of having her house under foreclosure, and Teresa advanced at Danielle. Danielle ran away, weaving through people as she tried to get away while an angry Teresa ran after her. Danielle ended up in a corner outside of the country club, crying that she couldn’t breathe OR walk because her heels were broken. Teresa found her, and as people tried to help Danielle into a waiting car, Jacqueline Laurita’s teenage daughter Ashley Holmes came out of nowhere and SNATCHED one of Danielle’s hair extensions right out of her head. How’s that for a plot twist?!
2. Camille v. Taylor: The intervention
During season two of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Camille Grammer and the rest of the wives held an intervention for Taylor Armstrong, who they suspected was being physically abused by her husband, Russell. In her confessional interview, Lisa Vanderpump told the producers that the women were hearing various stories about Taylor’s alleged abused one on one, but they were inconsistent, leading to the women holding an intervention for Taylor. It was then that Camille told Taylor they were protecting her, to which Taylor acted confused and surprised. Camille said that they all heard her husband “hits you, broke your jaw or that he beat you up,” though they had never seen any physical evidence of the alleged abuse. “You have to be honest. YOU need to be honest,” yelled Camille as she left the room, making this an unexpected and memorable moment of the series.
1. Sheree v. Kim: Protect the weave (again)
If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that housewives love to pull hair. During season two of Real Housewives of Atlanta, a confrontation between Sheree Williams and Kim Zolciak lead them fighting on the street as NeNe Leakes tried (and failed) to break them up. Sheree latched on to Kim’s wig and tugged it to the side, saying, “I felt the need to tug on her wig. I did not try to pull it off, I did not want to pull it off. I just wanted to shift it a little bit.” Kim, angry that one would come for her weave, then said that Sheree’s hair was just as fake as hers and stormed away. It’s definitely not one of the most explosive fights in housewife history, but still entertaining nonetheless!