After binge-watching Vanderpump Rules last summer — and forming some pretty strong opinions about its final season — I decided to head to the source of Lisa Vanderpump’s Bravo stardom: The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (RHOBH). I was immediately enthralled by not only the intense drama, but the true sisterhood cultivated on this show. For some women, though, their tenure on the show is cut short (either because they choose to leave or are asked not to return by production). Among the fallen Beverly Hills housewives, there is an even more exclusive group: the single-seasoners. These ladies are not only no longer on the show; they didn’t even make it to their second season! Let’s dive into a ranking of the single-season cast members based on their onscreen (and offscreen!) behavior to assess whether their swift exits from the show were justified.
A note before we begin: I have only seen seasons 1-12 of RHOBH. This means that AnnMarie Wiley (whose lore I am eager to dive into!) will not appear on this list. However, based on the discourse I’ve seen about Wiley online, I don’t anticipate being her biggest fan …
- Diana Jenkins (Season 12)
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When entrepreneur and socialite Diana first appeared on my screen, I found her strange but endearing. She engaged in some subtle drama with castmate Sutton Stracke, but health complications from her then-recent miscarriage prevented her from attending some of the most eventful group outings (aka, group screaming matches). The real Diana emerged, though, after filming stopped and episodes began to air. Diana caught a ton of heat for her controversial and raunchy book, Room 23, offensive social media comments, and photos from the 1990s that supposedly link her to Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein (not a good look, I know). The real kicker, though, was her treatment of castmate Garcelle Beauvais and suspected connection to the racist bots who attacked Beauvais’ 14-year-old son on Instagram. Diana was relentless in her crusade against Garcelle, repeatedly making posts mocking and belittling her castmate. In response to Garcelle rightfully calling her uneducated, Diana proceeded to brag about how many “millions of dollars” she’d given to Garcelle’s “home country” (Haiti). Talk about a white savior complex … All in all, Diana was a menace whose luxurious lifestyle couldn’t outweigh her thiny-veiled hatefulness.
- Carlton Gebbia (Season 4)
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Carlton was … a character. If I had to describe her in one word, it would probably be “provactive.” I am a firm believer in a woman’s right to exist as a sexual being, but the way Carlton behaved in front of her children (and even her mother-in-law) was truly off-putting. While on RHOBH, Carlton’s main “arc” dealt with her overt hatred for castmate Kyle Richards. Now, I want to clarify — it is normal not to get along with people. Some personalities and worldviews just don’t mix, and that’s okay. But as a viewer, it truly felt like Carlton was out to get Kyle from the moment she met her. The two are introduced during a party at Kyle’s house, and Carlton immediately writes Kyle off as “rude” based on a joking comment Kyle makes about her friend Lisa Vanderpump posing in the nude (a comment Kyle borrowed from Vanderpump herself). Carlton’s resentment toward Kyle builds when, while out to lunch, Kyle kills a bee. Carlton says this makes her very uncomfortable, as her Wiccan faith prevents her from participating in the killing of any living creature. The most significant moment of tension between the two, though, comes during a pool party Carlton throws at her Victorian mansion. She shows off her new tattoo to all of her friends — a pentagram to represent the fact she is a Wiccan. When she shows it to Kyle, Kyle offhandedly queries, “Is that a Jewish star?”. Kyle herself converted to Judaism soon after marrying her husband Mauricio, and undoubtedly didn’t mean it as an insult. Carlton, though, took this as evidence of Kyle being intolerant toward her religion and a “bigot.” Kyle then ventures to call Carlton an anti-semite (a wild jump on Kyle’s part), cementing the two’s relationship in its nastiness and hatred. Do I think Kyle Richards does no wrong? Absolutely not. But I think Carlton’s inability to give Kyle a chance spoke to her character (or lack thereof) more than it did to Kyle’s.
- Kathryn Edwards (Season 6)
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Kathryn Edwards was absolutely hilarious. Her carefree nature and lack of fear about arguing with some of the more intimidating women in the group made her tremendously compelling to watch. Kathryn was certainly messy during her time on the show; she all but promised castmate Erika Jayne she wouldn’t repeat Erika’s assessment of Lisa Vanderpump as a “sniper from the side”, only to parrot the comment to Vanderpump less than a week later. There was also her epic showdown with the morally corrupt Faye Resnick (IYKYK). Let me break it down: Kathryn was once engaged to Marcus Allen, NFL running back and good friend of OJ Simpson. Faye Resnick was a close friend of the deceased Nicole Brown Simpson, OJ’s wife. In a book she wrote after Nicole’s untimely death, Faye alleged that Nicole and Marcus had been having an affair during her separation from OJ. Faye didn’t leave it there, though; she claimed that Kathryn had known about the affair and “turned a blind eye” to it. Kathryn took extreme offense to the idea of her being the kind of woman to ignore infidelity, leading to a blowout fight between she and Faye at mutual friend Kyle Richards’ dinner party. I thought Kathryn brought just the right amount (and intensity) of drama to the show, so I never understood why she wasn’t brought back for season seven.
- Joyce Giraud De Ohoven (Season 4)
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Joyce Giraud deserved better. The first woman of color to join the RHOBH cast, Joyce was subjected to a disgusting display of racism during her time on the show. A Puerto Rican runner-up in the 1991 Miss Universe pageant, Joyce was (and is) undeniably gorgeous. I don’t mean to insinuate that her castmates weren’t good-looking, only to point out that Joyce’s youth and beauty set her apart from the start. Joyce seemed to strike a nerve for cast member Brandi Glanville in particular, as Brandi had been the “young and pretty one” just two seasons before. When that role was bestowed upon Joyce instead, Brandi’s true colors shone through. I’ll set the scene: Joyce has invited the entire cast to Palm Springs for a weekend away. When the group arrives at Joyce’s villa, Brandi begins drinking heavily. They gather around the pool and several women get in, while others (including Joyce) claim to prefer their lounge chairs. Brandi insists that Joyce get into the pool because she is the “host”, and Joyce responds by admitting she cannot swim. Brandi’s retort? “You’re a Black person.” Yep, that’s what she said. In 2014. While being filmed for a reality television show. And she thought it was funny. She even hits the audience with a covert-racist-classic in her confessional: “But I have Black friends!”. Joyce did not respond well to Brandi’s jab and became visibly uncomfortable in her swimsuit. In her own confessional, she said this: “Yes, I’m Black, what’s your problem? I am Black. Puerto Ricans are Black, they’re Indian, and they’re Spanish, so I am a mix of three cultures and I’m very proud to represent all three.” Brandi’s castmates justified her behavior, citing how hard her divorce had been on her. Cue eye rolls all around! Joyce was a ray of light on this show, and the fact that Brandi snuffed that light out with her bitterness and racism was an absolute travesty.