Andy Cohen marked a “Real Housewives of Orange County” anniversary on March 21.
“On this day 19 years ago, ‘The Real Housewives of Orange County’ premiered — making an indelible impact on pop culture… and my life! This was me then. What a ride! Thank you Vicki, Lauri, Jeana, Kim & Jo — the OG’s, and Scott Dunlop who delivered us gold!” he wrote on Instagram while sharing a throwback photo of his earlier days.
Melissa Gorga of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” replied, “Wow 19 years ago… crazy!” Sai De Silva from “The Real Housewives of New York” wrote, “An icon was made.”
GettyThe cast of “The Real Housewives of Orange County” Vicki Gunvalson, Tamara Barney, Lauri Waring, and Jeana Keough arrive at the NBC Universal 2008 Press Tour All-Star Party held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 20, 2008 in Beverly Hills, California.
When the very first season of “The Real Housewives of Orange County” debuted in 2006, Cohen didn’t think it was going to make it.
“The rough cuts sucked. I wanted it to go away. We were ready to kill the show,” he said in the tell-all “Not All Diamonds and Rosé: The Inside Story of the Real Housewives From the People Who Live It,” (via the New York Post).
The “RHOC’s” first producer Scott Dunlop recalled moving to Orange County in 1986 and seeing housewives shopping after their husbands left for the day.
He met Jeana Keough and her family, and revealed, “They were perfect for television, really.”
Dunlop continued, “Jeana came from Hollywood — she was a Playboy Playmate of the Year, she had been one of the muses in ZZ Top’s music videos, but she was now working as a real estate agent.”
“Her husband, Matt Keough, was a retired baseball player. They were always gone, and their three children sort of roamed the streets of Coto de Caza wild,” he added.
With Keough in the cast, the “RHOC” producers added Vicki Gunvalson, Lauri Waring (now Peterson), and Jo De La Rosa.
The show did well but wasn’t a hit until Tamra Judge came on in season 3 and brought the drama. “Tamra was the first one to voice an opinion about another Housewife. Her words created conflict. Conflict matters; conflict moves the story forward. We didn’t really know that until Tamra came on the show,” Dunlop shared.
GettyThe cast of “The Real Housewives of Orange County” arrives at Bravo’s 2nd annual A-List Awards held at the Orpheum Theater on April 5, 2009 in Los Angeles, California
“The Real Housewives of Orange County” was a trailblazer for other “Real Housewives” franchises and fans gave credit to the OG Bravo reality show.
“Real Housewives of Orange County officially turns 19 today! First episode aired March 21, 2006. The series that started it all,” a fan wrote on Reddit.
Another replied, “Brings me back to the time I was pregnant and chasing a toddler. I saw the ads for this show and thought, ‘Who the hell is going to watch this garbage?’ ME. Since day 1! All I could think about was giving birth and losing weight so I could wear a ‘Sky Top.'”
One viewer shared, “I can’t believe it. Where did the time go? Thank you so much to Andy Cohen, Scott Dunlop and their team for coming up with ‘The Real Housewives’ franchise, particularly ‘The Real Housewives of Orange County.’ I’m so happy it’s still going strong to this day.”
