7 Dark Conspiracy Theories I Totally Believe About Bravo’s ‘Real Housewives’
Bravo’s Real Housewives franchises are true reality television. The shows capture some incredibly fun moments as well as some deeply upsetting events in the lives of several cities’ most delusional women. Both casual fans and Bravo historians have noted some things that aren’t shown over the years and recently discussed them on one of the many subreddits dedicated to the shows.
Here are some of those conspiracy theories I personally believe to be true:
Conspiracy: Dorit’s robbery was faked to some degree
Context: In October 2021, Dorit Kemsley was alone in her Beverly Hills home with her two young children when she was robbed by three armed burglars. This was a major storyline for the next season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Some people believe that the facts Dorit has given about the robbery do not add up.
(Alleged) receipts, proof, timelines: The robbers left Dorit with her engagement ring and phone. Castmate Garcelle Beauvais has noted in an onscreen confessional that Dorit still had other jewelry afterwards. Dorit’s husband, PK has never taken her PTSD after the home invasion seriously. It’s also weird that Dorit was robbed AGAIN the next year while carrying $10k in cash “to buy Christmas presents”. As the couple has been having financial issues for decades, there’s an easy to understand motive for faking the robberies.
Dorit responded to Beauvais claim that she still had jewelry after her robbery on Watch What Happens Live:
Conspiracy: The Real Housewives Dubai franchise was paid for by Dubai
Context: The Real Housewives of Dubai aired for two seasons beginning in 2022. It has been speculated that the short-lived series was paid for by the city to advertise itself to westerners.
(Alleged) receipts, proof, timelines: Dubai was a bizarre location choice for a network whose public face, Andy Cohen, is gay (as gay people can be imprisoned in Dubai). Some fans, including myself, boycotted the entire show for this and other reasons related to Dubai not being a place to pretend is aspirational. The way Dubai was discussed by Andy and the cast was weird. No other city has been treated with such deference. The housewives themselves came out and said Dubai was not sponsored by Dubai, which is even more suspicious. What would the cast members know about the business dealings of the show they appear on? It’s not adding up.
Conspiracy: The proliferation of Meredith Marks is because she orchestrated the Jen Shah sprinter van spectacle
Context: Meredith Marks is a boring, monotone, somewhat creepy cast member who has inexplicably lasted five seasons on Real Housewives of Salt Lake City despite giving… nothing. Additionally, her (to be fair, slightly more interesting) son was given a role as a main cast member on a new show, Next Gen NYC, which frequently features the Marks family (Meredith, her husband and her daughter). Some fans believe this is a reward for Meredith tipping production off to castmate Jen Shah’s federal investigation for wire fraud and money laundering, which was captured in one of the franchise’s most salacious episodes as the ladies sat in a sprinter van.
(Alleged) receipts, proof, timelines: Why else would Meredith continue to be on the show???
Conspiracy: Diana was a Madame
Context: Sanela Diana Jenkins was a cast member on season 12 of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Once a Bosnian refugee, Diana acquired big time wealth through her 1999 marriage to Roger Jenkins of Barclays Bank. On her season, it was alleged that Jenkins was once a madame involved in arranging escorts for her wealthy social circle.
(Alleged) receipts, proof, timelines: Diana’s evil energy oozed off the screen. Her vibe really gave “I don’t care if I hurt people as long as I get/maintain power.” The show referenced allegations that Jenkins’ book, Room 23, was a sort of catalog of who could be purchased for sex. Jenkins left the show after the rumors became a storyline and subsequently sued several bloggers who repeated the madame claims. Diana’s current relationship also has a troubling age/power gap. The couple met at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show (if you know, you know) when Asher Monroe, an aspiring musician, was just 22. Jenkins was 36.
Conspiracy: Phaedra’s bombastic lie about Kandi may have had some truth to it
Context: The dramatic four-part reunion for Real Housewives of Atlanta‘s ninth season included a shocking bombshell. It was revealed that Phaedra Parks fabricated a story to Porsha Williams that their castmate Kandi Burruss wanted to drug and rape Porsha with the help of Kandi’s husband, Todd Tucker. Everyone was on Kandi (and Porsha’s) side, Phaedra was fired from the show and everyone moved on accepting that this was a complete lie.
(Alleged) receipts, proof, timelines: Kandi and Todd are openly freaky, which I never took to mean they did anything illegal or immoral — until I saw Kandi defending the behavior of fellow freak Diddy after a jury found him not guilty of sex-trafficking. Then I remembered how Kandi pressured her castmates to wear vibrating panties (with some of the husbands given a remote control that would work for any of the panties) on a 2022 episode of Atlanta. Kandi did not respect the unwillingness of the others to engage in this public group sex act which rubbed me the wrong way at the time, but her defending Diddy gives a whole new, disturbing, flavor to this storyline.
It makes me wonder whether it was truly an arbitrary lie Phaedra plucked out of thin air or if Kandi did mentioned something like wanting to party/imbibe with Porsha in the hopes that lowered inhibition would grant her sexual consent, which Phaedra exaggerated into the version we heard on the reunion. It’s not as if it is uncommon in our culture to make jokes about getting someone drunk for this reason. It’s just that when you state the implications of the joke in black and white, suddenly people understand the gravity of what is being discussed.
Conspiracy: Producers tipped off Meghan King Edmonds about Brooks’ fake cancer
Context: On the 10th season of Real Housewives of Orange County, one storyline was about Vicki Gunvalson and her boyfriend Brooks Ayers as they struggled with Brooks’ cancer diagnosis and treatment. Castmate Meghan King Edmunds (who now goes by just Meghan King) spearheaded an investigation into the supposed diagnosis which eventually revealed that Ayers was faking it.
(Alleged) receipts, proof, timelines: Fans have speculated that the initial impetus for Meghan to look into Brooks’ story was a tip given by producers. This would allow Meghan to give herself a solid storyline and cement her role on the show while also producing a ton of drama for the season. Plus, production would have had enough insight into Vicki and Brooks’ schedules and personal lives to catch plot holes in the cancer story. Meghan had such limited information as a casual “friend” of Vicki that she may not have become suspicious on her own.
No disrespect to the incredible detective work of Megan King, either way she really held her own on this season:
Conspiracy: Ken Todd is Max Todd’s biological father
Context: Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills have been married for over 40 years and have two children together: Pandora Vanderpump-Todd and Max Todd, who are both in their 30s. On the show, Lisa explains that Pandora is her and Ken’s biological child while Max was adopted. Lisa says she was able to have more biological children, but wished to adopt. Fans have said that Max looks like his adopted father, Ken Todd, and wondered whether Ken is actually his biological father.
(Alleged) receipts, proof, timelines: In addition to the visual similarities between Ken and Max, fans have pointed to Lisa’s dismissive attitude towards men cheating on their partners as evidence she may have adopted her husband’s son from an affair. To end on a lighter note, this conspiracy isn’t necessarily “dark” as there’s nothing wrong with adopting your partner’s affair child and not publicizing their parentage. Max seems like a well-adjusted adult and the family as a whole seem like they love each other. It’s the family’s business, but this does seem like an entirely possible conspiracy theory.
