It’s the franchise that has brought us epic catfights, drinking, and drama, courtesy of names including Bethenny Frankel, Luann de Lesseps, Lisa Vanderpump, Teresa Giudice, Dorit Kemsley and so many more.
But “Real Housewives” fans are missing out on even more star power, The Post can reveal: Several big names have turned down the opportunity to bear their Botox, Birkins, and Bentleys on Bravo’s juggernaut franchise.
Bravo’s “Holy Grail” of “Real Housewives ” — aka Andy Cohen’s wish list — includes Vanessa Bryant, Chrissy Teigen, Julia Fox, Jana Kramer, and Ayda Field Williams.
As far back in 2012, Bryant — the widow of Lakers star Kobe Bryant — was rumored to be joining the “Real Housewives” franchise, with the speculation running hot again in 2014.
Alas, Bryant, now 40, repeatedly told the producers to point their cameras elsewhere.
Casting director Jennifer Redinger confirmed Bravo’s obsession with Bryant in Dave Quinn’s book, “Not All Diamonds and Rosé, The Inside Story of the Real Housewives from the People Who Lived It,” saying, “Kobe Bryant’s wife, Vanessa Bryant? We pursued her every year, and she was a no. She passed.”
A rep for Bryant told The Post, “Vanessa has never been asked nor does she have interest in being on the show.”
Next on the list are Ayda Field Williams, the wife of British pop star Robbie Williams, and Chrissy Teigen, the model and TV personality married to John Legend.
Both names have been bandied about as replacements for Lisa Rinna, who dramatically quit the RHOBH franchise after eight seasons.
Teigen, 37, is Kyle Richard’s top choice to succeed Rinna.
And while Teigen is a self-professed super fan of the show, she reportedly wants to keep her involvement on the viewer level, telling ET Online last year, “A lot of people think that I, like, love conflict or I’d be so good on, like, ‘Real Housewives’ or something…I’m always like, ‘No, no.'”
Although Teigen has seemingly taken herself out of the running, a production source said she has “never been in casting consideration,” leaving the door open to her changing her mind.
Field, 48, checks a lot of boxes: She’s stylish, entrepreneurial, and is already good friends with cast member Crystal Kung Minkoff.
And she and Williams, 49, moved their three children to Los Angeles from Switzerland this year, presenting a new plotline for the show.
But The Post can disclose that for now, she is beyond Cohen’s grasp — and her reasons offer insight into why not every celebrity wants to be a Housewife, despite the fame, diamond, and $150,000 paycheck.
“Ayda didn’t think it was the right time to start filming the ‘Real Housewives’ this year because it would have gone very deep into the family’s private life,” a production source told The Post.
“There would have been filming of the ins and outs of their family life. Cameras would have been in the home almost every single day. People don’t really realize but the cast film for six-eight months solid for each season. Each housewife has a cameraman with them almost every day.
“Both Robbie and Ayda didn’t think letting the cameras in as they were just settling into their new life was the right time.”
For viewers, the appeal is obvious, but Housewife stardom is a double-edged sword, the source said.
“When Housewives sign up they have to agree to show all of their life — marriage ups and down, the arguments, the fights, the children’s lives, all of it. Ayda and Robbie just didn’t want to give that out,” the source said.
“Robbie is actually a fan of the Housewives franchise himself but had second thoughts about becoming the focal point himself. He sees his home as his sanctuary.”
There is, however, a chance of an appearance from Field in the future.
“Ayda might consider joining the next season, but because of everything that she has to agree to, the amount of access the cameras need, I can’t see her becoming a main Housewife,” the source said.
“She might agree to becoming a ‘friend’ to Crystal. That would mean less commitment but she still secures a great deal of screen time.”
Another starlet who was in the mix for RHOBH, in 2020, was country singer and actress Jana Kramer, 39.
The One Tree Hill star was interviewed to be a “friend” of Teddi Mellencamp but it didn’t go any further when Mellencamp was axed from the series.
A production source confirmed Kramer had not received an offer.
On the East Coast, actress Julia Fox joked “never say never” to Cohen on “Watch What Happens Live” this past January regarding joining the rebooted “Real Housewives of New York.”
In fact, during her good friend Leah McSweeney’s tenure on RHONY, Fox claims she was approached to be on the show.
“A producer did call me,” she said on WWHL, “but I had a lot going on in that moment, so it just wasn’t the right time.”
Fox’s rep had no comment about whether Kanye West’s one-time-girlfriend would ever really join the cast, and a source close to Bravo said she was never in casting consideration.
Which begs the question: How far into the Bravo casting process does one have to be considered part of the “casting consideration?” Does being contacted by a casting agent or producer count? Going on an audition? Receiving an offer?
Many of the big-game names in this article didn’t receive auditions or offers, but they are definitely personalities who could slide right into the RH universe.
Across the George Washington Bridge, Gia Casey, wife of DJ Envy (aka RaaShaun Casey), vocally declined the bravo-tunity to appear on RHONJ.
The power couple and high school sweethearts seem ideal for the show; they reside in New Jersey and are friends with one of the stars, Teresa Giudice.
But a production source confirmed the couple’s message had been heard, saying Gia, like Fox, was “never in casting consideration.”
DJ Envy told Page Six in April, “We have been asked a couple of times about joining the ‘Real Housewives,’ but I don’t think that’s for us. I don’t know how we would fit into all of that. I will be honest, I don’t see myself hanging out with [the cast] so much. When they go out and do certain things, it is just not my vibe.”
A source at Bravo cautions that many rumored names are just that, rumors.
“There are a lot of people who put their names out there that we’ve never talked to,” the source said.
Kate Casey, the podcaster behind the hit “Reality Life with Kate Casey,” concurs that some people are shamelessly self-promoting.
“Some of the women and their teams purposely drop the names of potential cast members to the media with the hope they will be considered,” Casey said.
“This actually does the opposite. If you hear about someone being considered as a housewife, it’s a surefire way to be eliminated from consideration.
“Bravo does a very good job of keeping their identities quiet before they are revealed just before the season airs.”
Such was the case with actress Kristy Swanson, according to the book, “Not All Diamonds and Rosé.”
Dawn Stroupe, a casting director with Evolution, revealed that the original “Buffy the Vampire” star tweeted that she had been contacted to do season 12 of the “Real Housewives of Orange County.”
This was a huge breach of protocol, and the tweet was frantically deleted.
However, it was Swanson’s fashion faux pas that ultimately did her in.
In Stroupe’s recollection, the Playboy centerfold wore a puffy vest, sweater, and jeans for a meeting, which was far from the high-glamor look the producers require for the Housewives.
But why do some of the women who are Housewives material say no to Bravo?
“Spouses are a big factor,” Casey said. “If the husband is unwilling to participate it pretty much ends the conversation with production. Also, not everyone is willing to open up their lives for the world to pick apart, especially if they have secrets they want to keep hidden. Lastly, putting your home and lifestyle on display could make you a target.”
Others prefer to shape and monetize their image themselves, without the vodka-soaked lens of Bravo.
Take the Skalla sisters — Rachel Parcell, Amy Skalla, Megan Hunsaker, and Emily Jackson — four very photogenic entrepreneurs and influencers in Salt Lake City.
Nicknamed the “Mormon Kardashians,” they’ve reportedly been on the radar for the “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” for a while but make more money through their various business and social ventures than they would on the show, according to Casey.
A production source said they too were never in “casting consideration.”
“Influencers can carefully curate their image on social media,” Casey said. “Participating on a reality show puts you at the mercy of editing.”
Additional reporting by Nicole Lampert
