In the past 20 years, Bravo has created celebrities out of some otherwise fairly ordinary people. Reality TV has been around since at least the 1970s, when PBS’ An American Family made stars of Santa Barbara’s Loud family. But it wasn’t until The Real Housewives of Orange County came along that some of those so-called ordinary people were launched into the stratosphere.
From Beverly Hills to Dubai, these Bravo stars have flaunted their expensive homes, designer clothes, fancy cars, fabulous holidays and outrageous lifestyles. They claim to be friends, while they’re incessantly screaming at each other.
Very often we suspect these folks of purposely stirring up drama for the cameras or attempting to make themselves relevant. These are the people we all love to hate (complimentary). Scroll down to see if your favorite Bravo villain made the cut.
5. Lala Kent
Lala Kent, whose real name is Lauryn, arrived on Vanderpump Rules in Season 4. At the time, she was an aspiring actress, singer and model, marking time as a SUR hostess. But Lala had big dreams and bragged about trading “BJs for PJs,” as she worked her way into the life of a Hollywood producer, with whom she now shares a child.
After her arrival at SUR, Lala wasted no time stirring things up and causing controversy. Though Jax Taylor denied anything ever happened between them, Lala told Brittany Cartwright that she and Jax were flirtatious, and her boyfriend “cheated” on her. She also allegedly had a fling with James Kennedy while he was dating Rachel Leviss.
Admittedly, Lala had a big issue with alcohol back in those days, but now that she’s been sober over five years, she’s a much more balanced person. These days, Lala’s a single mom of two young girls and has relocated to The Valley.
4. Jax Taylor
When Pump Rules premiered in 2013, Jax was dating SUR server Stassi Schroeder. Fortunately for Stassi, she’s since moved on from Jax, who cheated on her repeatedly. Married with two children, Stassi now stars in Hulu’s House of Stassi.
A notorious womanizer, Jax eventually married Brittany, and they had a son, Cruz. But after suffering years of verbal and sometimes inadvertent physical abuse, she finally divorced him. He did, however, finally face up to his drug and alcohol addictions and is now reportedly sober.
Recently, Jax achieved even more notoriety by dating his and Brittany’s former publicist, Lori Krebs. No doubt Bravo is now trying to find a way to bring him back into the fold, with Lori on his arm…
3. Kenya Moore
Former Miss USA 1993 Kenya Moore joined The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 5 in 2012. Though she was arguably entertaining, Kenya was also one of the most controversial cast members on the show.
Despite gaining viewer sympathy with her backstory of her mother abandoning her, Kenya could be very abrasive with her co-workers. Despite being something of a fan favorite, the self-proclaimed “Gone with the Wind, fabulous” beauty queen was unceremoniously axed from RHOA in 2024 after displaying a sexually explicit photo which she claimed was of rival castmate Brit Eady.
This took place in her hair salon, and led to a huge investigation. Kenya hasn’t been seen on Bravo since. Bring her back!
2. Teresa Giudice
The Real Housewives of New Jersey OG Teresa Giudice was originally portrayed as a dutiful Italian wife and mother. Though she’s authored several cookbooks, Teresa might be most famous for her table-flipping temper. In Season 3 when her brother Joe Gorga invited her to his infant son’s baptism, Teresa really started to go off the rails.
Later, both she and then-husband Joe Giudice both went to jail for tax evasion, after which he was deported to Italy, since he never became an America citizen.
Following a years-long feud with her only sibling, Teresa and Joe finally reconciled and are currently filming RHONJ Season 15. Love her or hate her, you can’t argue that Tre’s definitely a polarizing figure.
1. Tom Sandoval
Whether or not you agree that he deserves the #1 spot, Tom Sandoval just might be Bravo’s biggest villain. In 2023, he got caught cheating on his girlfriend of a decade, Ariana Madix, with one of their closest friends. Arguably, it might just be the best thing that ever happened to her, since not only did it free her from an unhealthy relationship, but Ariana went on to bigger and better things.
The ensuing scandal, known as Scandoval, propelled Ariana into stardom. Not only did she get commercial offers, but she was cast in movie and TV roles, as well as Dancing with the Stars. These days Ariana is hosting Love Island USA.
Meanwhile, the Scandoval fallout played a part in the shuttering of his and Tom Schwartz’s bar Schwartz and Sandy’s, as well as the failure of their Lisa Vanderpump partnership Tom Tom. Furthermore, Tom believes the whole kerfuffle prevented him from becoming a rock star. Poor Tom.
TELL US – DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS LIST OF BRAVO’S TOP 5 LOVE-TO-HATES? WHO WOULD YOUR LIST INCLUDE?
