Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise has quite a legacy, but most people are wholly unaware of just how many rules the actual real housewives need to follow to ensure their job security. While some may watch the show to see how the “other side” lives, and others may watch it purely as a guilty pleasure, there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to make sure the show is always moving forward and is always entertaining.
Here are the most insane rules the cast members of The Real Housewives are forced to follow.
Cast Members Aren’t Allowed to Sue Between Seasons (Ever)
For how many battles there are between cast members on-air, you have certainly noticed that no one ever goes to court for anything on the show. That is because Brave doesn’t allow the ladies to sue one another. They want all the juicy fighting between cast does on camera, on set.
All Phone Conversations Will Be Recorded
If you want to be on The Real Housewives, best say goodbye to your privacy (which seems a given with a show like this, anyway). Every person on the show must have their phone set to speaker when working. That way nothing gets worked out privately and everything is fair game.
Reunions Do Happen ONLY On-Camera
Bravo wants to ensure that none of the ladies who are fighting work it out privately before reunion shows, so they are banned from talking to one another before any of the reunions.
They are allowed to bring copies of texts and emails to the reunions though, because that stuff plays out quite dramatically in person.
They Are Not Allowed to Alter Their Looks At All
None of the cast members of The Real Housewives are allowed to alter their looks in any major way. Even when it comes down to post-show interviews with other networks, the ladies are all given only three outfits they can wear, and they must wear them for all interviews.
This is done so the interviews have visual continuity with the show itself.
Bravo Essentially Owns All Cast Members
Some folks wonder why the ladies on these show rarely do anything outside of the shows, but it is for business reasons. Bravo makes the players sign non-compete clauses, which keeps them from doing anything else, legally.
In other words, once a real housewife, always a real housewife.
Outfits Choices are Limited and Controlled
It can easy to get swept up in the grandiose fashion of the show, which makes it easy to overlook some of the stranger rules these women have to follow. For press events, they all get told what colors to wear, what styles, and are made to match with the colors of each other’s outfits.
There Is No “Fourth Wall” to Break
The fourth wall, as it is called in reality TV, is when you see a cast member talking to staff or producers of the show. While it may be a mainstay in some other reality TV shows, that just doesn’t happen on The Real Housewives because producers fear it would break the immersion.
Cast Members Are Encouraged To “Take Vacations”
In most jobs, workers live for taking what little vacation time they have each year, as it gives them a chance to rest and recoup, while also allowing people a change of scenery. And while most workers have to fight for vacation time, Bravo encourages it’s stars to take vacations.
The reason being, it gives them material for a “more compelling storyline” during their respective seasons.
Bravo Takes a Percentage Of Your Brand Revenue
Many of the cast members of The Real Housewives have side gigs, like having their own brand of clothing or wine. What people don’t know is that Bravo gets a cut of all the money they make off that brand.
The reason being Bravo helped them with their name and their current level of clout, so Bravo feels like they are key to the success of said brands, like Skinnygirl Wine.
So while it may seem like The Real Housewives is all glamour and glitz, there is a lot going on behind the scenes that your average viewer of the show has no idea about. Bravo clearly has a lot of control over their stars, and what we see of them.
Perhaps they also have a “you must flip a table over during an argument” rule too, though we cannot confirm or deny that.