Who Pays for ‘Real Housewives’ Cast Trips?
During nearly every season of The Real Housewives — of any city — the ladies embark on fabulous vacations. But who actually pays for those Real Housewives trips?
The destinations are usually exotic, and the cast members typically stay in ultra-luxurious homes or resorts stocked full of treats, alcohol and fancy goodies to ensure a good time.
The trips appear wildly expensive, what with the global destinations and private chefs, leaving many fans to wonder: Do the Housewives pony up the cash for their trips or does Bravo pick up the tab?
Mega-producer Andy Cohen revealed the answer in a chat with OK! magazine.
"We do," the Watch What Happens! host said when asked who pays for Real Housewives cast trips. "Frankly, we do, yeah. But you know, it depends on the vacation actually."
Cohen explained that sometimes production plan the trips, and sometimes the Housewives do.
"There have been some that have been generated by us and there have been some that have been generated by them. The women take the planning of the vacation really seriously and so it’s a case by case but we have paid for them, yes," he shared.
In his book The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives, Housewives expert Brian Moylan revealed Bravo covers the cost of the vacations. The author also dove deep into the dynamics of the trips.
"Every trip starts with the showrunner coming up with a budget,” he wrote, according to an excerpt shared by Vulture. "This has to be done for every trip, not just the glamorous international vacations but also the little jaunts out of town, the invitations to a Housewife’s second home, or even a day trip to an apple orchard in upstate New York for Sonja to pee in a corn maze."
"Along with the budget, the producers have to state the reason they’re going on the trip, what stories they hope to pursue while they’re there, and which of the women is the purported host," he continued in his book, per the excerpt.
Moylan noted the reason for the cast trips is to push the ladies out of their comfort zone, which in turn creates "a recipe for tensions boiling over and drama ratcheting up to the next level."
While most people likely prefer their vacations as drama-free as possible, reality TV sure is a different breed. But that's what makes it so fun to watch.