As one of the original Housewives on The Real Housewives of New York, Ramona Singer has had a major part in the unbelievable Upper East Side drama that Bravo has chronicled for 12 seasons and counting. Ramona’s eccentric personality, cluelessness, and at times callous nature have drawn criticism from viewers, but she’s been an undeniably entertaining presence on the show.
Ramona has gone at it with just about every Housewife in the franchise, and sometimes, fans had her back and defended her actions online. Nonetheless, Ramona has gained a reputation of behaving quite badly on RHONY and many of her most shockingly memorable slights just can’t be excused.
Supported: Trying To Get Bethenny & Jill To Reconcile
Much of Season 3 chronicled the difficulties plaguing Bethenny and Jill’s once-close relationship. Ramona decided to set up a surprise meeting between Bethenny and Jill to try to get the pair to talk through their issues, and Jill and Luann came to Ramona’s place to pick up some clothes.
Jill famously accused Ramona of “ambushing” her and setting her up, but Ramona was shocked by the accusation. After all, Jill had tried to set up a similar meeting between nemeses Bethenny and Kelly not long before. Although Jill’s surprise was understandable, it was clear that Ramona was coming from a good place.
Too Far: Freaking Out About Leah’s Dancing
One of Season 12’s most dramatic moments took place at Ramona’s much-derided “solo” birthday party. When Luann, Leah, and Dorinda began dancing in a way that Ramona disapproved of, the birthday girl had a meltdown and demanded that the women stop and that the cameras be turned off.
But in the context of Ramona having lorded over Leah for her drinking and other behavior for the entire season, it felt loaded for her to target Leah for her ostensibly sexual dancing specifically. Ramona’s criticism of Leah seemed especially hypocritical considering her (often alcohol-fuelled) antics across the show’s entire run.
Supported: The Aviva/Reid Fight In St. Barth’s
Season 5’s St. Barth’s trip is perhaps most remembered for the introduction of one of RHONY‘s most iconic minor characters – “Pirate” Tomas. But there was plenty of drama even before that scandal, as Aviva said she couldn’t come unless her husband Reid accompanied her on the flight.
Ramona and Sonja had a private discussion about how they didn’t like the idea of a husband joining the girls’ trip, and Luann brought it up to Aviva upon her and Reid’s arrival. In reality, Luann instigated the infamous fight between Aviva and Ramona that resulted in the latter famously being called “white trash.” There was no reason why Ramona’s private thoughts on Reid’s arrival needed to be aired.
Too Far: Insulting Potential Assistants
Although Sonja is the Housewife best known for having a slew of employees floating around at all times, Ramona interviewed for a second assistant in Season 4 and came off pretty negatively while doing it.
She criticized what candidates were wearing and even drew attention to one interviewee’s acne, telling the young woman that she needed to use Ramona’s own skin products and giving her a bottle. It was a cringe-worthy moment that didn’t bode well for Ramona’s behavior as an employer.
Supported: Jill Showing Up At Scary Island
The trip to St. John that Ramona organized in Season 3 goes down as one of the wildest Real Housewives trips of all time. After the fight between Kelly and Bethenny the night before that resulted in Kelly abruptly departing for New York, the following way was no less dramatic. Despite having told Ramona she would come and then bailing out of the trip, Jill showed up unannounced at the St. John villa.
Jill felt devastated to essentially be asked to leave by Ramona, but she was on bad terms with three of the four women there, and her excuse of wanting to reconcile with Bethenny (when the two live only a block apart in Manhattan) didn’t hold up. As the host, Ramona already had a full plate and it was reasonable of her to tell Jill it wasn’t the time for a drop-in.
Too Far: Being A Nightmare Houseguest
It’s no secret to RHONY fans that Ramona can be a terrible houseguest, a trait that becomes obvious anytime the Housewives pick rooms on a group vacation. But she can also be extremely rude when visiting friends’ houses, such as Heather’s Berkshires home in Season 6.
Ramona made a huge fuss about deigning to visit the Berkshires, which she called a less classy version of the Hamptons. And when she did arrive, she asked Heather if her house was a garage, ordered A/C to be delivered, and then took off early. And fans can easily recall when Ramona trashed Dorinda’s room in the Berkshires in Season 9.
Supported: Looking For Love
Although she had broken up with Mario nearly 5 seasons before, the most recent season of RHONY found Ramona struggling with the single life. She was at her most vulnerable in the first episode when she memorably broke down at a bar with Elyse. Shaking and crying, the Housewife opened up about her loneliness and how she wanted to have a partner to hold her at night.
Even though Ramona can be a challenging presence on the show and it can be hard to feel sorry for her, it was one moment where she pulled at fans’ heartstrings.
Too Far: Trying To School Heather On Branding
The drawn-out planning and launch of Sonja’s toaster oven was a major storyline dating all the way back to Season 5. At one point, Sonja decided to bring Heather and her colleague James to design a logo for the product. Her first meeting with the marketing professionals didn’t go great, but for some reason, she decided to bring Ramona along for the second meeting.
Ramona’s rudeness was on full display as she interrupted the meeting multiple times, cut Heather off, gave unnecessary opinions, and took a phone call in the middle of discussions. She claimed Heather felt intimidated by her own success as a businesswoman, but in fact, Heather was driven up the wall by Ramona’s unprofessionalism.
Supported: Mario’s Cheating Scandal
One of Ramona’s most painful storylines on the show involved the revelation of her husband Mario’s affair. At the Season 6 reunion, she denied that anything was wrong with their marriage, but the next day announced their split on Twitter.
In the following season, and especially in the premiere episode, she explored in-depth the effects of the divorce on her and Avery, memorably confiding in both Sonja and Dorinda. Later in Season 7, the Housewives celebrated Ramona’s first single birthday in a long time with a trip to Atlantic City. It was a tough couple of seasons for Ramona, and fans could absolutely sympathize.
Too Far: Attacking Kristen With A Wine Glass
In Season 6, Ramona lost her temper over a petty dispute and crossed a huge line. The girls were on a Berkshires lake in a pair of canoes, and after Kristen and Heather jumped into the water, Ramona began to talk trash about Kristen to Sonja and Carole.
But when Kristen, still in the water, surprised Ramona with a retaliatory splash, Ramona responded by throwing her (plastic) wine glass at Kristen’s face and then launching an oar at her fellow Housewife. The shocking incident resulted in a split lip for Kristen.
