2020 was a pretty terrible year for just about everyone and especially for Real Housewives fans who had to say goodbye to so many fan favorites. Bravo fans grew tired of waking up and feeling like they lost a housewife every day. Now, taking a look back, it may not have been so far from an exaggeration.
Fans may not even recall who the first loss of 2020 was for the franchise, but they know it hurts. Each time a beloved housewife walks away from the show, it leaves a hole that is hard to fill. Many viewers started each city franchise with a particular group of housewives, and most of us hate to see anyone go.
All in all, Bravo fans lost a total of 12 housewives, which is basically one a month. Not even Andy Cohen’s jokes and tea-spilling interviews in the clubhouse could fix this catastrophe. Bethenny Frankel announced that she would be leaving The Real Housewives of New York for her second and final time. There were rumors of contract disputes, but it looked like the mother of one really wanted to work on her own creations while also helping out her charity. Fans were given the gift of Leah McSweeney, but most of us still miss Bethenny’s no bulls**t attitude. The OG of the OC, Vicki Gunvalson, announced she would not return to the show in January after being demoted to a friend. Vicki has made it clear to fans and the network that she believes the show has gone done in taste, especially with Braunwyn Windham Burke being added, but she could no longer in good taste “whoop it up” for fans. The departure that cut fans the deepest would have to be Dorinda Medley from RHONY. As if the summer wasn’t hard enough, in August, fans learned that Dorinda had been fired from the show due to her drinking issues. There is no doubt in any fan’s mind that this may have been the mistake of the year since Dorinda brought us Blue Stone Manor and some fantastic one-liners. And without adding insult to injury, fans watched the year close out as Monique Samuels, NeNe Leakes, Tamra Judge, Teddi Mellencamp, Danielle Staub, Tinsley Mortimer, LeeAnne Locken, Eva Marcille, and Denise Richards also joined the women who walked.
Even though we were given some newbies, it has yet to make up for the women we lost. At least the upside to all the loss is; hopefully, Bravo has no one left to cut, and each franchise can only go up from here. But, if they do need to trim the fat some more, why not look into cutting Kelly Dodd and her uneducated opinions as well as Ramona Singer, whose stinger has stung one too many.
