Kyle Richards says her daughter Portia asked if RHOBH would film until everybody died.
The Real Housewives are getting candid about what it really means to raise children in front of Bravo cameras.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Vicki Gunvalson, Kyle Richards, Luann de Lesseps, Gizelle Bryant, Teresa Giudice, Lisa Barlow and Porsha Williams opened up about fame, feuds, mug shots, marital meltdowns and how their children were pulled into the Housewives world.
While the women chose reality TV, their families did not exactly get the same choice. And when asked how they look back on that now, several of the Housewives admitted the impact on their kids has been complicated.
Kyle Richards, who joined The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in Season 1, reflected on her youngest daughter Portia growing up with cameras around her for most of her life.
“Portia was so little, she didn’t really have a choice,” Kyle said. “She’s now applying for colleges and she wrote something in her essay about all this. And it really hit me like, ‘My gosh, this child has no memory of her life before the show.’”
Kyle then shared a wild but very real question Portia once asked her when she was only around five years old.
“She once asked me when she was around 5, ‘Mom, do we do the show until everybody dies?’” Kyle recalled.
Kyle said she told Andy Cohen about Portia’s question, and Andy had the most Andy response.
“I told Andy and he goes, ‘You know, she may not be wrong,’” Kyle said with a laugh.
Gizelle Bryant said she did ask her daughters about being on The Real Housewives of Potomac when they were younger, but at the time, they were excited about the idea of being on TV.
“I asked my kids. They were so little,” Gizelle said. “They just were like, ‘TV, yay.’”
Now that they are older, Gizelle says her daughters are much more indifferent about the Bravo world.
“But now, they could take it or leave it,” Gizelle said. “And they do know that we some bad bitches over here. And they’re very proud of me.”
Porsha Williams then admitted she may not have handled things the same way when it came to her own daughter.
“Am I the only one who didn’t have a sit-down conversation?” Porsha asked. “I honestly now feel a little selfish, because I don’t remember just asking them.”
Gizelle pointed out that Porsha had a baby on the show, and Porsha joked that her daughter quickly learned the reality TV routine.
“Yes,” Porsha said. “She learned to say, ‘Mic me!’”
Lisa Barlow responded, “How cute!”
Vicki Gunvalson, the OG of the OC, gave one of the most honest answers about the toll Housewives can take on family.
“My children are now 39 and 40,” Vicki said.
Vicki shared that her son filmed this year, but her daughter Briana wants nothing to do with the show. Vicki also opened up about how the show impacted Briana’s family, especially when it came to how her husband was portrayed.
“My son did a film this year. My daughter wants nothing to do with it,” Vicki said. “Her husband just got back from the Marine Corps — six tours overseas — and he’s got some PTSD, and they really showed a bad light of him.”
According to Vicki, Briana has made it clear that she does not want to participate.
“She just was like, ‘Mom, I want nothing to do with it,’” Vicki said. “I’m like, ‘Can you do a cameo? Can you come on for a little bit?’”
Vicki even revealed that Andy Cohen reached out to Briana about appearing this season, but Briana shut it down.
“Andy even called her for this season and she was like, ‘Please lose my number,’” Vicki shared.
Vicki then admitted, “What the show did to their family was not good.”
Teresa Giudice, who has raised her four daughters on The Real Housewives of New Jersey, said her girls have different feelings about being part of the Bravo world.
“Two of my daughters like it and the other two don’t,” Teresa said. “I always ask; I don’t force them.”
Luann de Lesseps also shared that her two children have had very different reactions to her time on The Real Housewives of New York City.
“My daughter has supported me through all the shit in my life,” Luann said. “My son, since the [season one] dancing moment, will never forgive me. He’s an artist; it’s not his life.”
Kyle added that Portia was so used to cameras being around that she thought it was normal for every family.
“For years Portia assumed everyone had a show,” Kyle said. “Her classmates would say, ‘No we don’t.’”
The conversation is a reminder that Housewives fame does not just affect the women holding the diamonds, peaches, oranges or snowflakes. It affects the children who grow up around production crews, confessional drama, public opinion and storylines they never signed up for.
Some kids embrace it. Some tolerate it. And some, like Vicki’s daughter Briana, want nothing to do with it.
But after 20 years of the Real Housewives franchise, the women are now looking back at what their families gained, what they lost and what it meant for their children to grow up in front of millions of viewers.