Rules The 'Real Housewives' Cast Members Have To Follow (2024)

Nope, ladies on the show don't have to be married or have children to be cast. In 2014, NeNe Leakes asked Andy Cohen why he started bringing on more single women to the franchises, to which he replied: "I think [Real Housewives is] a little bit of a wink because 'housewife' is an old-fashioned term and I think that we're turning it over on its head because, you know, the idea of a housewife now, it's a modern woman, and it's something totally different."

Yes, these women have to send in audition tapes, go through home interviews, have extensive on-camera tests, and more before becoming Housewives. And, of course, they have to earn Andy Cohen's stamp of approval.

In a 2015 interview with Attitude, Andy explained why: "The show works so well because it’s all people who have long histories with each other. So it's not just throwing people together in a Big Brother house and seeing what happens." Think: Dorit Kemsley and Lisa Vanderpump or Dorinda Medley and Ramona Singer.

Per the Real Housewives contract, the crew is allowed to access anything and everything while filming—from the women's closets to their kids. "I always ask people what's off the table. [If they] say, 'This, this, this and that,' I say, 'You shouldn't be on reality TV," casting director Melissa Stanforth told the New York Post.

Have you ever noticed that the Housewives exclusively talk on speakerphone on the show? It's because while they're filming, the producers want to hear both sides of a conversation, you know, since they later share those phone conversations with the whole world.

Each franchise handles legal battles differently. Some refuse to address any talk of lawsuits, while others directly confront them on air—like RHONJ's Teresa and Joe Giudice's fraud case. When it comes to the most shocking legal disputes that have ever aired, however, it easily boils down to two: Jen Shah's arrest for alleged money laundering after a legit SWAT team raid, and the time Andy Cohen rapid-fire grilled Erika Jayne on her embezzlement allegations.

When the show airs, the drama can get real. From things said behind their back to situations that unfolded a lot differently than one thought. That's why the Housewives are supposed to keep a blog with their reactions to each episode as part of their job.

"We actually start discussing what the potential tagline could be for each of the various 'wives pretty much at the beginning of the season, and we kick around ideas all season long, because they want their tagline to be unique and special and ones that really stand out from the pack," producer Doug Ross told E News. The women get some say, record three to six, and producers see which one sticks.

During every season premiere, you'll see at least one Housewife has changed up her look. That's because the network won't let them once filming starts. Why? A new look would ruin the continuity of their interview looks.

And they have to be able to recreate those looks regularly. "You wear the same outfit all year long. You get three looks [total]. But for three months, you have to wear the exact same outfit, same hair, same makeup. You can never cut your hair in the middle of it because you're supposed to look the same," Vicki Gunvalson told Glamour.

Yes, reshoots. Because if reality doesn't work once, try, try again. Cast members have been caught in public filming the same scene multiple times and the crew sometimes even sets up lighting for the "set" where they're filming.

From all white to metallics to different shades of neon, the cast members always look cohesive for their cast photo.

Some are more planned than others. The Real Housewives of Dallas really nailed the black and red color scheme here, but usually the theme is a little less obvious and the women wear what they're most comfortable in—as long as it's co*cktail attire.

When Erika Jayne joined The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, she blew the lid off of the glam squad secret that some Housewives hadn't been airing. Erika was open about her wardrobe, hair, and makeup team she flew out for all of the major cast trips. But at who's cost? Not Bravo's. The stars pay for glam themselves.

It takes hard work to make TV gold like the Real Housewives franchise, and not just from the producers's end. The women are logging six-day work weeks for 14 weeks during their season—and that's on top of any other job that they might have.

Besides securing locations to film (more on that later), the production team gives each cast member a written call sheet. According to Bravo producer, Dave Rupel this "outlines the next day's shoot schedule. Times, locations, weather conditions, etc."

Some of the show's drama is too real to be cooked up, but some is...how do we say this...pushed along by production. Former Real Housewives of New York cast member Alex McCord explained that some of the scenes and phone calls were orchestrated by producers.

In 2013, Radar Online obtained a copy of Tamra Barney Judge's contract, which stated the network has "the right to record my voice using concealed devices while I am talking on the telephone." It went on to mention "other devices located throughout the locations, including areas in which a person under other circ*mstances might have a reasonable expectation of privacy." Wow.