It’s a big weekend for Real Housewives fans as Bravo gears up to celebrate two decades of the beloved franchise with the premiere of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th this Sunday, August 9.
The nine-episode special will bring together The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’s Lisa Barlow, The Real Housewives of Potomac’s Gizelle Bryant, The Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Teresa Giudice, The Real Housewives of Orange County’s Vicki Gunvalson, The Real Housewives of New York City’s Luann de Lesseps, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Kyle Richards, and The Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Porsha Williams for a girls trip throughout their respective cities.
In addition to the cast, Nene Leakes is also expected to make a surprise cameo, marking her official return to Bravo since exiting The Real Housewives of Atlanta after Season 12 wrapped in 2020.
To commemorate the momentous occasion, we’ve curated a list of our Top 20 most iconic Housewives moments from the franchise’s two-decade run that have become a permanent part of reality TV history.
1. Nene Leakes Visiting Kenya Moore Temporary Rental Home
The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 5
Nearly everything Nene Leakes has said or her facial expressions on The Real Housewives of Atlanta have become a meme at some point. One of her most iconic lines comes from Season 5 when she visited Kenya Moore’s temporary rental home before later purchasing her permanent fixer-upper home, Moore Manor.
While exiting her car to enter the home, Leakes famously said, “Whew chile, the ghetto.” After entering the home and doing a quick inspection, she revealed in her confessionals how she wasn’t impressed, saying, “I was shocked, honey. I was in tears almost. And it had a white refrigerator. I was like, ‘ugh not a white refrigerator.”
White refrigerators haven’t recovered since that unforgettable moment.
2. Shereé Whitfield’s Spat With Her Party Planner
The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 2
It was in the second season when Shereé Whitfield muttered one of her most iconic quotes, “Who gon’ check me boo?” following an argument with her party planner Anthony Shorter. After he told Whitfield to “watch yourself before you get checked,” that’s when she delivered her now viral comeback.
3. Porsha Williams Thinking The Underground Railroad Was A Real Train
The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 6
During a cast trip to a historic church on the Freedom Trail in Savannah, Georgia, Porsha Williams expressed her confusion about believing a physical train and driver were involved with helping enslaved individuals escape after learning about the hidden crawl spaces in the church. It didn’t help that Williams’ grandfather was Hosea Williams, a civil rights leader and activist who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
4. Kenya Moore and Her “Gone With The Wind Fabulous Twirl”
The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 5
As the ladies questioned Kenya Moore’s relationship with her then-boyfriend Walter Jackson on the cast trip to Anguilla, Moore was compelled to remind the women who they were in the presence of. Thus, Moore’s famous, “I’m still fabulous. Gone with the wind fabulous, okay?!” followed by her twirl, was born.
5. Shereé Whitfield’s “September, Spring/Summer Response
The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 10
When Andy Cohen and her cast members questioned Whitfield about the ongoing delays and timeline for her clothing line “She by Shereé,” Whitfield famously defended the release with the hilarious response, “September. That is, spring/summer.”
6. Aunt Bertha’s “A Scheme That Todd Set Up” Catchphrase
The Real Housewives of Atlanta: Kandi’s Wedding
“A scheme that Todd set up” has made its rounds across the Internet, cementing itself as a viral pop culture meme. From the RHOA spinoff for Kandi Burruss’ wedding in 2014, Aunt Bertha delivered the memorable quote after suggesting that Burruss’ then-husband Todd Tucker manipulated a situation by having her receive false information.
7. Phaedra Parks Not Knowing Her Due Date
The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 3
During a Mother’s Day meal with Leakes, Whitfield, Cynthia Bailey, and Burruss, Parks expressed her confusion over her pregnancy due date with her son Ayden, answering, “I don’t even know what I am,” to their line of questioning.
8. Kandi Burruss Throwing Shade Toward Nene Leakes
The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 2
After a dramatic argument with Leakes after Whitefield’s fashion show event, Burruss claimed that Leakes thought she owed her an apology. In her confessional about the situation, Burruss shared how she felt about that, in which she said, “It’s a good thing she don’t get paid for thinking.”
@mereyspice Good thing she don’t get paid for thinking #rhoa #kandiburruss #kimzolciak #realhousewives #bravo ♬ original sound – RealSprousewives
9. Cynthia Bailey and Nene Leakes’ Friendship Contract
The Real Housewives of Atlanta – Season 3
After getting into a rift with Leakes, Bailey handed the OG housewife a candle and a lengthy friend contract with bullet points for how to move forward in their friendship. By Season 7, their friendship had dissolved, prompting Bailey to burn the contract.
10. Porsha Williams’ “Who Said That” Moment
The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 9
After Marlo Hampton brought up a rumor that she heard from Whitfield about Burruss being a “lesbian in the closet” during a group dinner, Burruss demanded to know who was spreading the gossip, causing Williams to express her confusion and repeatedly say, “Who said that?”
11. Karen Huger’s Wig Shift
The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 5
In mid-conversation with her castmates, the “Grande Dame” casually adjusted her wig in the most chaotic way possible.
12. Monique Samuels’ Reunion Binder of Receipts
The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 5
In her last season with the franchise for a few years, Monique Samuels exited The Real Housewives of Potomac with a bang. During the Season 5 reunion, she came prepared with a binder full of receipts and famously read her co-stars, particularly Gizelle Bryant, to filth.
13. Karen Huger’s Pizza Delivery
The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 3
Bryant, Ashley Darby, and Robyn Dixon dressed as pizza delivery men, driving to Huger’s home to see if she and her husband, Ray, actually lived there, will remain one of the top funny moments in Housewives history.
14. Karen Huger’s Press Conference
The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 3
When Huger attempted to address rumors regarding her and Ray’s tax debt, Gizelle Bryant famously trolled the event by showing up in a custom T-shirt with hashtags stating #FreeKaren, #FreeUncleBen and #TaxReform.
15. Candiace Dillard Bassett vs. The Butter Knife
The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 4
One of the most dramatic moments in Housewives of Potomac history happened at Candiace Dillard Bassett’s family home. After inviting the women over for dinner, a heated exchange broke out between Darby and Bassett when the topic of conversation fell on Michael Darby and questionable comments he made at a previous event. The end result? Bassett ominously waving a butter knife.
16. Ashley Darby and Katie Rost “Apology”
The Real Housewives of Potomac – Season 4
During a cast trip, a heated back-and-forth took place between Darby and returning cast member Katie Rost. Afterward, the two women exchanged barbs, with Rost quipping to Darby, “I’m sorry if I said that you’re dumb. Maybe I meant you’re stupid.” Darby quickly clapped back with a remark about Rost’s hair resembling a toupee.
@hayusocial I’m sorry if I said you were dumb, maybe I meant you were stupid. #RHOP #RealityTV #Hayu ♬ original sound – Hayu
17. T’Challa Attacking Wendy
The Real Housewives of Potomac – Season 5
T’Challa, Monique Samuels’ pet African Grey Parrot, was an unofficial member of the cast. One of his funniest moments is when he caused a little bit of chaos by attacking Wendy Osefo. Her reaction as the bird fluttered around her was worth the instant replays.
18. Mary Cosby’s Famous Hospital Line
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City – Season 1
In the season premiere of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, Mary Cosby delivered one of her most bizarre yet hilarious lines of the season, telling her castmate Jen Shah, “You smell like hospital.”
19. Mary Dismissing Whitney Rose
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City – Season 2
As an argument between Mary Cosby and Whitney Rose escalated, Cosby was clearly done with the conversation, which prompted her to tell Whitney, “You can go, little girl.”
20. Garcelle Beauvais Calling Dorit a “Karen”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills – Season 13
After Dorit Kemsley accused Beauvais of “attacking” her, Beauvais sat down with Kemsley a few days later to check her behavior, telling her she was coming off as an “unconscious Karen.”