The 5 most iconic moments from The Real Housewives

Warning: the following article contains spoilers for The Real Housewives available to stream on hayu (aka if you want some of the show’s sassiest scenes to remain a surprise, stop reading now).

It’s cold outside, dark before dinner time, and we’re all cocooning indoors, likely looking for quality content to keep us company. 

And what could be a better companion than reality television — with all the glitz, glamour, and hilarity of watching others hash out their drama — from the comfort of your couch?

If you’re searching for lighthearted and endless entertainment to binge this winter, look no further. As Canada’s only all-reality TV streaming service, hayu is home to The Real Housewives, offering every season of the entire Real Housewives franchise. From classics like the Real Housewives of New York and The Real Housewives of Atlanta to new spin-offs including The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, Porsha’s Family Matters, and the latest hayu exclusive holiday film, The Housewives of The North Pole.

In honour of the Housewives and all of their drama, we’ve taken a walk down memory lane and rounded up five of the most iconic moments from the ladies.

1. “That’s my opinion!”

The Real Housewives of the Orange County, Season 9, Episode 19

The Real Housewives of the Orange County, Season 9, Episode 19 (hayu)

Welcome back, Heather Dubrow. After a five-year hiatus from the show,  season 16 of The Real Housewives of the Orange County welcomes Heather back in style; and by style, we mean her ridiculously large house. But with Heather’s return came the farewell of icons Vicki Gunvalson and Tamra Judge. So, in honour of the duo, our first iconic moment is from the season nine reunion.

Gunvalson and Judge are best friends who were often not on the best of terms. Gunvalson’s highly controversial boyfriend Brooks (you remember, the one who admittedly forged cancer records), was a sore spot for a lot of the pair’s drama, especially in season nine.

During the season reunion, Judge says she thought Brooks was a bad guy to the ladies on a trip to Bali. Gunvalson then goes on a seemingly irrelevant rant that it doesn’t matter if Judge likes Brooks because Judge doesn’t have to sleep with him or vacation with him (seems obvious). 

In opposition to Gunvalson’s uproar about how Judge doesn’t know what’s good for Gunvalson, Judge explodes, screaming at maximum capacity, “That’s my opinion!” What makes this moment truly iconic is the octave that her screech reaches; it’s truly just something you have to see for yourself.

2. The table flip

The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Season 1, Episode 6

The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Season 1, Episode 6 (hayu)

Even if you only know a little bit about The Real Housewives, you probably know that Teresa Giudice invented table flipping. Since hayu has every season of every The Real Housewives franchise, we can venture all the way back to the 2009 The Real Housewives of New Jersey season one finale.

In this episode, Giudice’s anger knows no limits, and her own parties are no exception. When Giudice hosts a dinner for her friends, the whole gang goes in on Danielle Staub.

It’s when Staub tells Giudice to “pay attention” that you can see Giudice internally snap. This unscripted gold has Giudice physically flip over the entire dining table the group is sitting at. She then storms off screaming profanities (naturally), then seems to immediately calm down upon a kiss from her husband. You really can’t make this stuff up.

3. The leg throw

The Real Housewives of New York, Season 6, Episode 20

The Real Housewives of New York, Season 6, Episode 20 (hayu)

It’s almost painful to not give The Real Housewives of New York‘s most iconic moment to one of Ramona Singer’s, or Luann de Lesseps’ “just be cool, don’t be all, like, uncool” line of a lifetime. However, Aviva Drescher in the show’s season six finale is arguably the most iconic moment in the history of The Real Housewives. 

As per usual, the ladies were all confronting Drescher after a season full of drama surrounding her lies and toxicity — which always goes well, right? Well, this time it went especially well. 

It all boils down to the women not believing Drescher had asthma (peep the subreddit to get in on the debate). At her wit’s end, Drescher throws her x-ray and medical records — that she conveniently brought — across the table at Heather Thomson. Thomson goes back to her, basically telling Drescher she’s fake.

Drescher takes it up about 100 notches and says, with great emphasis, “The only thing that is artificial or fake about me is THIS,” and proceeds to slam her prosthetic leg on the dinner table. The entire room of spectators and you yourself at home have no idea how to react. “I’m sick of it,” she says. “Everything else is real, it’s unbelievable,” she continues as the leg is then chucked across the room. If there were any reality TV awards, this moment would win every one of them. 

4. “Let’s talk about the husband”

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Season 5, Episode 16

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Season 5, Episode 16 (hayu)

Lisa Rinna is highly deserving of a top Housewives iconic moment. Love her or hate her, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star was making a vulnerable apology to Kim Richards on the group trip to Amsterdam in season five when the night went awry.

Richards, unwilling to accept, makes repeated low blows that bring the streets to Rodeo Drive. When the other ladies try to interject, it just makes things worse (shocker). “Have a piece of bread and maybe you’ll calm down a little,” Richards says to Rinna, heating things up. 

Her second shot fired hits the bullseye when Richards utters the evocative line, “Let’s talk about the husband,” in reference to Rinna’s longtime spouse, Harry Hamlin. The room falls silent, and it’s as though you can see smoke shooting out of Rinna’s ears. 

Rinna stands and goes in on Richards with the classic pointed finger, almost as if she’s about to grab her by the neck. She then throws her wine in Richards’s face and shatters the glass on the table as well. The perfect end to this catastrophe is Kyle Richards fleeing the restaurant like she’s running from a crime scene.

5. “The tour bus fight”

The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Season 3, Episode 14

The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Season 3, Episode 14 (hayu)

This list wouldn’t be complete without a scene from The Real Housewives of Atlanta. A huge contributor to this franchise was the textbook frenemy relationship between Kim Zolciak-Biermann and Nene Leakes, which has also got to be one of the top Housewives feuds of all time.

It was back in the early days of season 3 when Zolciak-Biermann invited Leakes on tour with her. Sounds like a good idea to be trapped on a bus, driving through the south, with someone you truly can’t stand — right? It only took one wrong pull from the wobbly Jenga-like tower that was these two’s friendship for the whole thing to come crashing down.

It was when Leakes caught wind of Zolciak-Biermann talking down to her assistant that it all ramped up. It quickly becomes about who’s more successful, and ultimately better than the other, of course. A full-blown screaming match ensues amidst the poor bystanders trapped on the bus with the duo, who then have to intervene when Leakes basically climbs atop Zolciak-Biermann. This continues to escalate until the best part of the whole scene when the ladies ask the driver to pull over, who responds that the highway they are on is near the everglades, meaning there are alligators, so he can’t stop. Just really award-worthy, on-the-spot excuse-making.

With so many iconic moments throughout all seasons of The Real Housewives, it’s a good thing you don’t have to miss out on any of them with a hayu subscription.

For only $5.99/month, hayu offers thousands of hours of top reality content, all in one place including fan favourites such as Below Deck, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, and the new hayu exclusive film The Housewives of The North Pole.