Every city in the Real Housewives franchise has its own quirks and has generated its fair share of OMG moments. But I would venture a guess and say that since Real Housewives of Atlanta debuted in 2008, few have created as many legendary scenes. If you haven’t watched from the beginning, I humbly request you clear an entire weekend to binge the entire thing. RHOA offers the most quotable, sarcastic, and hilarious material. It also has some pretty dramatic disputes. If you’re lucky enough, sometimes all of this goes down in one scene before a commercial break.
All of the Real Housewives are wonderful, but few compare to our beloved RHOA. Let’s take a look back at how this particular show became a huge fan favorite and Bravo’s ace in the hole. Here are some iconic and memorable moments from our Atlanta ladies.
Phaedra Parks Lies About Kandi Burruss
This one stung because fans were invested in Kandi Burruss’ friendship with Phaedra Parks. We last saw Phae Phae on Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, but she hasn’t been on RHOA since she left in Season 9. Phaedra went full traitor and was complicit in a rumor that alleged Kandi wanted to “rape” Porsha Williams in her “Sex dungeon.”
To say Kandi was blown away by Phaedra’s betrayal would be a gross understatement. She was incensed by the accusations because she believed they could harm both her reputation and her personal brand. Porsha revealed who was leading the gossip pack during an incredibly heated reunion. “THE LIES, THE LIES, THE LIES” is burned in our memory banks forever. Phaedra never provided a motive for flapping her lips and crawled away into the night. Kandi said if Phaedra ever returned to RHOA, she would be out. Bravo must feel Phaedra paid her dues because she appeared on RHUGT and just nabbed a slot on Married To Medicine.
Marlo Hampton And Shereé Whitfield In South Africa
On RHOA, fights can be both vitriolic and humorous. It might sound like a fun combo in theory, but it’s a problem. When Marlo Hampton and Shereé got into a fight on a Season 4 trip to South Africa, it became quite evident. Shereé had a dinner party and left Marlo’s name off the list. It caused a huge commotion that resulted in some terrific verbal and nonverbal attacks. Although the actual battle of words took about 5 minutes to happen, its impact lasted for years.
Marlo criticized Shereé for spending time with “drug dealers” and having money issues. Shereé basically called Marlo a hooker and mocked her for “messing with an 80-year-old man.” Hands were tossed and hair was flicked. Marlo wound up saying some pretty offensive words and hopefully learned a lesson that day. Due to their friendship and apparent fondness for self-deprecation, Shereé and Marlo mimicked the famous altercation during Season 14.
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BOLO, That’s All I Need To Say…
I’m pretty sure I could just write BOLO and everyone reading could come up with their own segment to this article. Some might even include carefully hand-drawn pictures. RHOA has given us many men over the years. Sure we love Miss Lawrence. Dwight Eubanks and his dancing with Phaedra at her baby shower will live on forever. And Gregg Leakes was obviously the king over a very tumultuous group of people. Then there was BOLO. Michael Bolo Bolwaire was not a “friend” of the cast. Nor was he a relative. BOLO is a dancer, of sorts, and he has… special talents.
People weren’t talking about BOLO’s interesting Chanel interpretation wardrobe pieces. They were mostly talking about his massive personal situation and what he might have done with it during a naughty soireé. For a reality television show with multiple cameras, something happened only certain people know about. Drew Sidora, Porsha, Tanya Sam, LaToya Ali, and Shamea Morton were dancing the night away and Kenya Moore twirled herself to bed. The rumor mill was buzzing and we never heard from Tanya again.
Porsha Williams And The Underground Railroad
I know this is a heavy part of RHOA canon, but I still can’t believe it happened. I literally watched it with my own eyeballs and heard it with my own ears and still can’t comprehend it wasn’t staged. Along with natural shade and the ability to be the moment, Porsha also has a ditzy side that we love. I mean, this is literally the same person who once declared there were 265 days in a year. Look, we can either laugh or blame the school systems. But few Porsha moments stick out like the Underground Railroad. As the granddaughter of civil rights pioneer Hosea Williams, who collaborated with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., her snafu wasn’t very cute.
When the cast visited Savannah, Georgia’s First Black Baptist Church the ladies learned it was a stop on the underground railroad. Porsha proceeded to open her mouth and say, “There has to be an opening for the railroad at some point.” Our sweet summer child thought there was a subterranean choo-choo train running people back and forth. Porsha added,” ‘Cause somebody’s driving the train. It’s not electric like what we have now.”
Porsha’s co-stars were… astounded. The tour guide was… laughing in disbelief. When it was explained to Porsha there was no real train down there she responded, “Just a railroad?” Some people weren’t able to reconcile Porsha’s mistake and laugh it off like a joke. In a confessional interview, Kenya said, ”It’s almost hurtful to me to watch her be so dumb.” Thankfully Porsha has redeemed herself in recent years.
Shereé Whitfield “Shifting” Kim Zolciak’s Head
This is easily one of my most-watched moments on RHOA. I will go ahead and confess most of the moments I consider most watchable involve Shereé. I just can’t quit someone who granted the world a blessing with, “Who’s gonna check me, Boo?” But Shereé gave us that and so much more. The wigs worn by Kim Zolciak have drawn a lot of attention, especially in her first few seasons. NeNe even used to call Kim “wig” as an insult. At one point her dismissive “bye wig” became what I regularly say to my cat when he huffs out of a room. As a result, one of the most famous RHOA moments is when Kim’s wig is yanked in a Season 2 episode.
Kim met NeNe and SheBySheBroke at a restaurant. They wanted to confront Kim about some rumors she was allegedly spreading about them. Everything started out just dandy and Kim even brought a bike helmet as comic relief. She probably should have put that thing on her head after all because the dinner went from just dandy to “Oh snap.” Voices rose and other people at the eatery were staring at Shereé and Kim verbally going to town. Kim told Shereé to “go f**k yourself” and made a run for the door. NeNe’s obvious embarrassment made it even funnier as she ran after them when they took to the sidewalk. The yelling on the sidewalk jumped to Shereé pulling on Kim’s Party City wig. In her interview, Shereé denied trying to yank the hair off Kim’s head. She only wanted to shift it, you guys! Shereé later said she just wanted Kim’s attention after she walked away from her. That’s certainly one way to get it.
TELL US- WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RHOA CHAOTIC MOMENT? WHAT WOULD YOU ADD TO THE LIST? WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT NO ONE TALKS ABOUT?
[Photo Credit: Mark Hill/Bravo]