Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda: What Celebrities Have Turned Down Joining 'The Real Housewives'?

When it comes to The Real Housewives, any woman who joins the right cast at the right time can go from the B-list to the A-list. It's also very exciting when a known celebrity joins a Real Housewives franchise. Franchises like The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and The Real Housewives of Atlanta have both had actresses and other famous women join their ranks. But what celebrities have turned down joining the popular Bravo franchise?

Actresses like Christina Applegate, Ali Landry, and Kristy Swanson (aka the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer), were all asked to join the cast of RHOBH, but turned it down. In fact, there are several more celebrities from all walks of life that were asked to join one franchise or more. Here is a list of several celebs who were asked to join The Real Housewives universe that will hopefully say yes one day.

As an actress, Jennie Garth rose to fame when she first appeared in the 90s hit series Beverly Hills 90210. Since then she's kept busy acting, as well as starting her own projects. In fact, she even had her own reality series called The Jennie Garth Project, which followed her as she renovated a house in Hollywood. During an interview with Behind the Velvet Rope, Jennie shared that while she was asked to join the series franchise, she'd never consider doing it.

'90s TV icon Tisha Campbell shared during an interview with Us Weekly that she was approached to join the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Tisha first rose to fame in classic movies like Little Shop of Horrors, House Party, and School Daze, but cemented herself in TV history on the hit series Martin, where she played the character of Gina Waters. Tisha said of joining RHOBH, “I have been asked... But right now is not the time. I’m not anti; it’s just not the time."

Fashionably quirky actress and model Julia Fox appeared on an episode of Watch What Happens Live! when Andy Cohen asked her point blank if she'd be interested in joining the RHONY cast. She responded, "It's a tough question because I don't know what the new girls are giving. So, I'd kind of have to just feel it out a little bit, and if I think we can vibe, then yeah, totally, why not?" The audience, on the other hand, voted in a poll, and only 39% of the audience wanted her in the RHONY cast.

While on the Breakfast Club, actress LisaRaye McCoy shared that she was asked to join The Real Housewives years prior, but turned it down. She said, "That’s not my brand. That’s not what I wanna do. I’m not interested in that at all. And so I declined..." adding later, "And the way that reality TV is going on, you don’t even want your kids to watch it because you don’t want it to dictate or rotten their mindset in thinking this is cool – to be disloyal, dishonest…I’m too grown for that.”

Reality TV is not new territory by any means for Paula Abdul, so it's no surprise that she'd be asked to join The Real Housewives. Paula shared during an interview with ET at the Vanderpump Dog Foundation's 2023 Gala, "I’ve been humbled... I got a kick out of it that I was ever even asked. However, I like to be the one on the couch with the popcorn, watching with my dogs.” No one can blame her for choosing to be a fan; it's certainly more fun.

Jonas Brothers fans of yesteryear would probably love to see Danielle Jonas as a Real Housewife. She's married to Kevin Jonas and shared on a podcast that she was asked to join the Bravo-verse. She shared this during an episode of The Lady Gang Podcast in 2023. She said, “I was asked [to join RHONJ], but I think I would die. I think they would like; they would kill me.” This is a very fair assumption to make, especially with the animosity that currently exists within the cast.

Going from being The Bachelorette to being a Real Housewife would be iconic, so it makes sense that Bravo would ask Rachel Lindsay to join the cast of RHOD or RHOM. While on a podcast, Rachel said, "I could never be a part of it, but I love confrontation. I’m watching, and I’m like, ‘Ooh, if I could just get there I’d have a thing or two to say to this one.’ If I could step outside of my body and be a part of a franchise, I totally would. But I can’t do it, though."