For years now, fans of the Real Housewives franchise have talked about a curse among the husbands of the show. Despite vow renewals and televised date nights, couples keep getting divorced after appearing on the reality tv shows.
Of all the series, the Real Housewives of Orange County has had the worst luck with the curse, with over half of the women who have appeared on the show getting divorced from their husbands. Throughout the 18 seasons of the show, fans have witnessed far more marriages crumble than succeed. These are some of the most intense divorces that played out in the series.
Updated August 2024: The article was updated to reflect the most recent information regarding which women on “The Real Housewives of Orange County” have gotten divorced.
9 Tamra Judge Got Divorced While On The Real Housewives Of Orange County
Tamra Judge got divorced from Simon Barney in 2011
Tamra Judge started RHOC as Tamra Barney, married to salesman Simon Barney. Fans were treated to the demise of their marriage throughout her first three seasons on the show. Simon wanted a woman he could control, and it became clearer that Tamra was anything but that.
Tamra is a free spirit, a woman full of life, and she needs someone who wants to live with her. She and Simon parted ways after multiple screaming matches captured on the show. She’s now married to Eddie Judge, who she’s been married to for nearly ten years.
8 Shannon Storms Beador Got Divorced While On The Real Housewives Of Orange County
Shannon Beador got divorced from David Beador in 2019
Fans were counting down the days until Shannon Storms Beador and her now ex-husband David Beador finally got divorced. Since their first moments on the show, it was clear something was incredibly off with the couple.
David admitted to cheating on Shannon during her first season on RHOBH, and fans followed the couple’s journey through couples therapy. They were really trying to make things work, or at least Shannon was until they pulled the plug on their marriage in 2017.
Two days after the couple called it quits, Shannon found out David was dating someone 20 years younger than him. He and his new girlfriend Lesley would eventually go on to get married and welcome a daughter together.
However, a tiger does not change its stripes, as Lesley and David announced their divorce in 2022. Something tells us there’s no chance of reconciliation between David and Shannon, however.
7 Vicki Gunvalson Got Divorced While On The Real Housewives Of Orange County
Vicki Gunvalson got divorced from Donn Gunvalson in 2014
The OG of the OC has not been lucky with love during her time on RHOC. When she first joined the series in Season 1, she was married to Donn Gunvalson. The pair bickered throughout the first few seasons, but their divorce surprised viewers. Thus began Vicki’s tumultuous journey to fill up her “love tank.”
During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Vicki admitted that she regrets divorcing Donn.
“I think if I had to do it all over again, I would not have divorced Donn. I know that for a fact. In hindsight, if we could do things differently. He was a great man, great husband.”
The divorce was finalized 2014.
6 Noella Bergner Got Divorced While On The Real Housewives Of Orange County
Noella Bergner got divorced from James Bergner in 2021
Despite only being on the show for one season, fans were still given a front-row view of Noella Bergner’s crumbling marriage. Before she could finish bragging about her husband to her fellow co-stars, she was being served divorce papers by him. Noella’s cast mates had a hard time believing Noella’s shock over the ending of her marriage.
Noella’s storyline quickly became clouded by the drama surrounding the divorce.
5 Alexis Bellino Got Divorced While On The Real Housewives Of Orange County
Alexis Bellino got divorced from Jim Bellino in 2018
Alexis Bellino desperately wanted RHOC fans to believe she was happy in her marriage. Despite portraying a happy front while the cameras were rolling, she and her now ex-husband Jim Bellino were in couple’s counseling throughout their entire 14-year relationship.
Alexis admitted that it was not RHOC that caused the marriage to fall apart. It was something that Alexis had been struggling with for some time.
“I don’t think Housewives was the reason because I had already been having feelings before Housewives that I was fighting back. I was, like, I can’t, you know, we got to work this out.”
The couple split in 2018, and Alexis is far happier now. She’s also got a new guy, John Janssen, who happens to be the ex of her costar, Shannon Beador. John and Alexis announced their engagement in late August of 2024.
4 Meghan King Edmonds Got Divorced While On The Real Housewives Of Orange County
Meghan King Edmonds got divorced from Jim Edmonds in 2019
RHOC fans met Meghan King Edmonds fresh off the heels of her marriage to baseball player Jim Edmonds. Throughout her three seasons on the show, Jim was portrayed as anything but a loving husband. He frequently begged Meghan to leave him out of her RHOC drama and was out of the picture far more than he was in it.
The couple survived multiple cheating allegations surfacing in 2018, but Jim filed for divorce from Meghan in October 2019. The divorce turned nasty after Meghan accused Jim of having an affair with the couple’s 22-year-old nanny.
3 Gina Kirschenheiter Got Divorced While On The Real Housewives Of Orange County
Gina Kirschenheiter got divorced from Matt Kirschenheiter in 2019
Fans were curious about Gina Kirschenheiter’s relationship with her now ex-husband Matt from the get-go. He wasn’t interested in being filmed for the show, and Gina spoke about him pretty minimally throughout her first season. Now we know it’s because there was trouble afoot.
During the Season 13 reunion, Andy Cohen questioned if Gina came on the show as a way to escape her marriage.
“A hundred percent honest, I started this show knowing that Matt and I had been in a down, but I didn’t know that down was actually going to make me pull the trigger to get a divorce.”
Despite denying allegations of an affair during the reunion, it was later revealed that Matt had an affair while he and Gina were still married. The couple would have to go through some incredible lows before getting to the good place they are in now.
Not only can they be in the same room with each other now, but they also do things with their kids together, Gina told People.
“We have entered into a new phase of life, and we’re good at it.”
2 Dr. Jen Armstrong Got Divorced While On The Real Housewives Of Orange County
Jen Armstrong got divorced from Ryne Holliday in 2022
Dr. Jen Armstrong is another one-season-wonder housewife who still managed to get bitten by the reality tv curse. From the moment fans were introduced to Dr. Jen and her husband, Ryne Holliday, they weren’t convinced the couple would last. Jen’s nagging got so bad that fans actually felt bad for Ryne, which is quite a rarity among housewives fans. They almost always side with the housewife.
Shortly after the season wrapped filming, Jen filed for divorce. The show “put a magnifying glass on what was going on in our marriage that we had ignored for so many years when both of us were not happy,” Jen admitted while speaking with UsWeekly in January 2022.
1 Braunwyn Windham-Burke Got Divorced While On The Real Housewives Of Orange County
Braunwyn Windham-Burke got divorced from Sean Burke in 2022
Two years after Braunwyn Windham-Burke came out as a lesbian, she filed for divorce from her husband of 23 years, Sean Burke. The couple shared many of their ups and downs during her time on the show, and even with Braunwyn’s new discovery about her sexuality, the two were trying to find a way to make their marriage work.
Despite their best efforts, the two realized they’d be happier apart, Braunwyn told People.
“Those who have followed our story probably aren’t surprised to find out how difficult attempting to create a ‘modern family’ is. For the protection, integrity, and love for my children, that’s all I will share as I navigate this new chapter.”
The two filed for divorce in 2022.
