Saying Real Housewives stars being arrested is normal is like saying the sky is blue.
Honestly, it’s more like The Real Hot Messes of Prison, amiright?
Over the years, many, many, MANY stars from Bravo’s most successful franchise have been handcuffed for various offenses including DUIs, domestic abuse and assault and battery.Â
Heck, Josh Waring from The Real Housewives of Orange County, was actually charged with attempted murder, which kind of takes the cake.
Who else ran afoul of the authorities, though?
Let’s look back at some Housewives history…
Kelly Bensimon ‘The Real Housewives of New York’ star was arrested in 2009 for punching her then-boyfriend, Nick Stefanov in the eye. Stefanov, according to People, allegedly fled the apartment and ran to the nearest precinct to press charges.
Sonja Morgan
Morgan was arrested for driving under the influence in 2010, after partying in the Hamptons over Memorial Day Weekend. She went through a stop sign and refused to take a Breathalyzer after failing field sobriety tests, so the officer on duty handcuffed the reality star.
Josh Waring
Waring, son of former Orange County star Lauri Peterson, was arrested on seven counts in June 2016, including attempted murder. Sadly, he died in 2024 of a drug overdose.
Joe Giudice
Where to begin? Giudice is currently serving time for tax fraud, but his previous arrests include a DUI and impersonating his brother in order to get a driver’s license. In 2015, he was caught driving with suspended license. Upon Giudice’s release from prison, he could face deportation, as he is not a US citizen (he was born in Italy, but moved here when he was very young).
Peter Thomas
Cynthia Bailey’s estranged husband was arrested for simple assault on a woman in 2008. He was arrested a year later on the same charge, along with “battery with visible harm.”
Marysol Patton
The Real Housewives of Miami star was arrested for a DUI in 2010. According to Radar, Patton was able to plead guilty to a lesser charge of Reckless Driving, having to pay only a $1000 fine, plus $581 in court fees.
NeNe Leakes
Leakes got herself in trouble with the law in 1992 when she stole from the phone company where she worked. She faced three felony counts and one misdeamenor of “theft of services. She was put on probation for two years and ordered to repay the amount she stole.
Slade Smiley
Slade “Slimey†as Tamra Judge and Vicki Gunvalson have called him, was arrested in 2013 for failing to pay child support. His son, Grayson, has been battling brain cancer.
Brooke Ayers
Ah, Brooks. The biggest POS there ever was. Not only was he arrested for a DUI in 2009, but twice again a year later for failing to pay child support.
Peter Rosello
Rosello is the oldest son of The Real Housewives of Miami’s Alexia Echevarria. In 2012, he was charged with battery in 2012 after punching a homeless man in the crotch and then running away.
Apollo Nida
Nida was arrested for stealing millions in a fraud scheme, and spent previous time in jail for auto title fraud.
Danielle Staub
The former ‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ star was arrested in 1986 for extortion and posession of cocaine (at the time, she was allegedly working as a “high-end prostitute.â€Â).
Simon Barney
Barney was arrested in 1997 for domestic violence after hitting ex-wife, Tamra “so hard that she had black eyes and a busted lip,†according to the Daily Mail.
Kim Richards
Ah, Kim. The recovering alcoholic was arrested at the Beverly Hills Hotel in April 2015 for trespassing, resisting arrest, battery on a police officer and public intoxicantion. She was arrested again in August of that year for shoplifting at a Van Nuys Target.
Jen Shah
Real Housewife of Salt Lake City Jen Shah was sentenced by a federal judge to 78 months, or six and half years, in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Luanna de Lesseps
Luann de Lesseps was going through it when she was arrested in 2017. She was put in cuffs after reportedly refusing to leave a hotel room and shoving a police officer who responded to the call in Palm Beach, Florida. She was charged with disorderly intoxication, battery on an officer/firefighter/EMT, resisting arrest with violence and threatening a public servant, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.