The Real Housewives Retro Recap: Orange You Glad We Have the Housewives?

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This article first appeared in Brian Moylan’s newsletter, The Housewives Institute Bulletin. You can subscribe here to get the next issue delivered directly to you.

Finding the perfect gift for the Real Housewives on their 20th anniversary is a challenge! Real Housewives of Orange County first aired on March 21, 2006—exactly two decades ago today (or on that date if you’re reading this later). The show didn’t immediately become a sensation, with only 430,000 people watching the premiere. To put that in perspective, the season finale of Project Runway a few weeks earlier drew 5.4 million viewers. Initial reviews weren’t great either. As Charles McGrath of the New York Times put it, the show was strangely captivating but also made viewers feel better about their own lives—mostly because they wouldn’t dream of being on it.

Everything shifted after the first season became a surprising success, paving the way for countless similar shows. Hundreds of women willingly appeared on the program, using it as a launchpad for fame, wealth, and endless internet notoriety. To mark the 20th anniversary of the franchise, I revisited the very first episode with the benefit of everything we’ve learned over the years.

Have you ever rediscovered an old home video – like a high school musical – and then had to dig up the equipment to watch it? Watching the first episode of Real Housewives of Orange County feels a bit like that. The opening scene, where the women pose with oranges, doesn’t feel nostalgic – it feels like a low-budget imitation of the show itself. And Kimberly Bryant, who only lasted one season, stands out in the middle, looking like a classic ‘cool mom’ in her leopard-print top.

Though Andy Cohen is often credited with the success of the Housewives franchise today, the original concept actually came from Scott Dunlop, an advertising executive from Orange County. He initially envisioned a reality show similar to Curb Your Enthusiasm, filming the residents of his gated community, Coto de Caza, with loosely scripted scenarios. While Bravo ultimately took the show in a different direction, Dunlop’s initial vision heavily influenced the very first episode. (I detail the full story in my book!)

People always wonder how genuine reality TV shows actually are, especially when they first became popular. Now, I think shows like the Housewives franchise on Bravo are as real as they can be. While producers might suggest storylines – like asking Kyle to discuss Dorit with Amanda – the women are saying the words themselves. Any fakeness usually comes from the cast members trying to fit into what they think a Housewife should be, as seen with Stacey Rusch and her boyfriend on the first season of Potomac. But when you rewatch these early episodes, it’s clear when things are manufactured – and that’s down to the producers. In the beginning, the idea of what a ‘Housewife’ even is hadn’t fully formed – it really didn’t come together until Tamra Barney joined in season three. So, the women weren’t acting like Housewives yet, and the scenes often feel more artificial than the perfectly styled homes on Selling Sunset, and frankly, even more so than the entire show Selling Sunset itself.

One scene shows Kara Keough, Jeana Keough’s daughter, joining her brothers and their friends for a basketball game. They tease her, so she impressively makes a shot, turning the tables on them in front of their friends. It feels like something straight out of The Brady Bunch – very staged. Then there’s the well-known ending with Jo De La Rosa, then 24, attempting to surprise her fiancé, Slade Smiley (before his later struggles), by trying on revealing outfits and ultimately seducing him while dressed as a French maid. It all feels incredibly artificial, even more so considering the show, The OC, frequently focused on appearances – a point even highlighted in Lauri Peterson’s introductory line.

Let’s talk about the Housewives! First up is Jeana Keough, a real estate agent and former Playboy bunny who’s friends with Dunlop. We meet her while she’s trying to sell a $10 million house – the wine cellar is surprisingly small! She married her husband, Matt, a former baseball player, when she was just 18. He spotted her in a magazine and had his lawyer ask her out. Jeana jokes that he and his mother essentially chose her as a wife, looking for someone with the right physical traits. It seems to have worked out, though – their 18-year-old son, Shane, is incredibly handsome, and honestly, I first got hooked on this show because of him! They also have a 16-year-old daughter, Kara, and a younger son, Colton. We see them shopping for a new Mercedes for Kara, and learn that Shane initially got a BMW, but a friend teased him about it being a “girl’s car,” so Kara ended up with it. Now, Kara is hinting that a new car from her mom would prove she’s loved – it makes you wonder who put that idea in her head!

Putting the introduction aside, this episode centers on Shane being drafted into Major League Baseball. There’s a lot of pressure on him to continue the family legacy as the third Keough to reach the big leagues. His parents even spent $780,000 on a house in Irvine for him and his brother, hoping it would allow Shane to play for a more competitive high school team. Looking back, it feels like a huge expense for something that ultimately didn’t work out – Shane struggled with his grades and never even got to play on the team.

We then meet Jo and her husband, Slade, who I still find surprisingly attractive, even though I’m a little embarrassed to admit it – especially when I remember his old, black-and-white modeling photos. Slade expects Jo to support him financially and act as a stay-at-home stepmother to his two children, both from different relationships. However, Jo seems uninterested in traditional domesticity, preferring to spend her time chatting on the phone while a large Chef Boyardee statue looms in her kitchen. She expresses feeling bored and unsure of what to do with her time. Later, she goes out to a nightclub in a Newport Beach strip mall, much to Slade’s disapproval. He wants her at home with the kids, but she wants to socialize with her friends. We see her calling Slade on her flip phone, professing her love for him, and realizing it’s very late – first two, then three in the morning. Because we don’t hear Slade’s side of the conversation, it feels like the whole call might have been for show.

Then there’s Kimberly Bryant, who recently moved to Orange County from Baltimore. One of the first things she did was get breast implants – for her husband. She’s a dedicated Pilates enthusiast and goes every day, where her instructor playfully guides her through the exercises. A lot of the episode focuses on Kimberly taking her 13-year-old daughter to get professional makeup done for what’s being called a “middle school prom.” It’s hard to believe this is a real thing – isn’t it just a school dance? They aren’t even allowed to bring dates! What kind of prom doesn’t involve sneaking around? Kimberly seems completely out of touch with everything, uninterested in gossip, and mostly talks about her surgery. It’s all a bit…flat. Where’s the fun, the extravagance, the drama?

It’s odd how these ‘Housewives’ introductions lack substance. We mostly just see them showing off and shopping, with very little genuine interaction. The only real exchange happens when Jo, feeling lonely, approaches Kimberly and her friends at a bar and asks if they’re from Coto de Caza. It’s confusing because earlier she complains about being alone, yet her relationship with Slade suffers because she supposedly wants to spend too much time with friends. That’s a basic storytelling flaw you wouldn’t see on modern ‘Housewives’ shows. The whole scene feels incredibly forced and artificial, like something out of a Chuck E. Cheese animatronic show. To top it off, all the women are wearing the same trendy ‘Sky Top’ blouses paired with the low-rise jeans that were popular around the time Britney Spears had her public struggles.

We also see a connection develop between Lauri Waring and Victoria Gunvalson, who employs Lauri at her home-based insurance business. Lauri previously lived in the upscale community of Coto, but after a difficult divorce left her with little, she and her two children are now living in a smaller townhouse. Soon, her adult daughter Ashley returns home from Los Angeles with a dog, tired of living independently and managing her own finances. Lauri tells Ashley she can stay with her sister, Sophia, temporarily while they figure out a long-term solution.

Ashley scoffs, declaring she won’t live with someone so immature. She’s easily the most unpleasant person on the show, and it’s not just her outdated fashion choices – think chunky highlights and a sparkly top paired with boot-cut jeans. She complains to the camera, mimicking Paris Hilton’s voice, that she doesn’t want to work. The whole situation feels staged, likely stemming from an early idea for the show about a naive teenager returning home. Meanwhile, Lauri complains to a friend over lunch at what looks like an Italian restaurant, then heads to a nightclub to dance with other divorced women. Her son, Josh, is briefly mentioned as being deeply affected by the divorce and starting to smoke marijuana young, and his struggles with addiction would unfortunately become a major focus of Lauri’s story on the show, eventually leading her to leave and prioritize helping him.

Vicki hasn’t changed a bit, except she had her original nose and features back then. We see her and Lauri working at home, both dressed quite brightly – Vicki in a yellow top covered in jewels, and Lauri in a wine-colored tunic with even more sparkle. They were both incredibly glamorous, even more so than the covers of the old Life of a Showgirl album! Vicki has always been authentically herself, and despite any attempts to make her conform, she refused to be anyone but who she was.

We then see Vicki take her daughter, Briana, to the salon for prom – a genuine milestone, unlike a fabricated event from another storyline. Before facing health issues, a strained relationship with her mother-in-law, and her husband’s deception, Briana is presented as an 18-year-old full of hope. It makes you want to comfort her, knowing what’s to come, and simply wish her a good time at prom. At the salon, Vicki, characteristically, hovers over the stylist, questioning how Briana’s hair is being done, and lectures her daughter about staying away from drugs and alcohol. Even this early scene clearly establishes Vicki as the central figure – compelling, driven, and unapologetically herself. Though her appearance will evolve with the show’s increasing focus on glamour, she remains fundamentally a captivating blend of ambition and vulnerability. With a personality as complex as Vicki’s, the show doesn’t need contrived storylines to create entertaining drama – it naturally unfolds, shifting between comedy and conflict like a chaotic, unpredictable ride.

The episode ends with back-to-back graduation celebrations for Briana and Shane, who live next door to each other. Vicki went all out for Briana’s party, flying in family from Chicago, including her ex, and providing plenty of food, drinks, and tropical-themed attire. It looked like a lively event. Meanwhile, Shane’s celebration was much more subdued. He admitted he wasn’t motivated by school or a diploma. His mother revealed she’d scheduled a charity event a year prior, preventing her from attending. Matt was absent. The episode contrasted photos of Briana’s bustling party with a solitary shot of Shane floating in the pool, seemingly lost in thought about his future. He’s unsure of what’s next, but feels like this moment marks the beginning of something significant—a widespread phenomenon filled with drama and attitude. In a fleeting vision, he imagines a large group of women experiencing both success and hardship, freedom and consequences, hinting at the impact this all will have. It all started with a simple image of him relaxing by the pool and a text on the screen.

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2026-03-21 19:56