12 Real Housewives We Can All Relate To

Whether you're a committed Real Housewives viewer or you've watched an episode or two, you know it can be hard to relate to what they're going through or how they simply live their lavish life. We just like to watch them for pure entertainment and live vicariously through them every once and while.

However, aside from all the glam and petty drama, there are some women who balance it all out by being a little more toned down than the rest of their cast mates. Ironically, some of these housewives are usually in and out of the series because they're not as appealing and entertaining as the other housewives. That's because they actually come off as “normal”, and housewives viewers tune in for anything but normal.

Regardless if they make for good T.V, it's nice to watch them and feel like nothing is wrong with us. So we counted down these 12 real housewives that we can all relate to somehow. Even though, they still live in these big mansions and go out to lunch to these restaurants that look like vacations to us, there's something relatable about them that we enjoy. Take a look at the following housewives and see who you can relate to the most.

12 Lydia McLaughlin - Orange County

From the Orange County franchise, Lydia McLaughlin only lasted one season, but her let off was mostly due to her normal life and personality. She's the mother of two adorable children and resides in Dana Point with them and husband, Doug. The two run a magazine together, which highlights the fun lifestyle of Southern California. When she's not working, she likes to spend it with her family and devotes the remaining time to her faith. So when does she have time for all the drama that her Orange County cast mates bring? Never, really. If you watched season 8 of the series, you noticed how Lydia was just completely in awe of all the nonsense going around her and had no idea how to react to the situation. That's why she and the producers figured she's better off without the show. She just had her life together that she couldn't be a part of the Housewives series. Plus, even though she's easy to relate to, the audience preferred to see more drama. So they weren't too fond of her either.

11 Dolores Cantania - New Jersey

Along with Siggy Flicker, Dolores Cantania was one of the new cast members for the Real Housewives of New Jersey, and housewives viewers couldn't help but relate to her. She definitely stands out from her cast mates as not only a mother of two, but also a member of several charitable organizations. She also keeps a close, healthy relationship with her ex-husband. The New Jersey housewife has been divorced for 15 years, but the bond between her and her ex-husband can't be any closer as they're both business partners to multiple fitness centers. If you watched the last season of New Jersey, you can't even tell the two are separated by how cordial they are to one another. A little boring for a housewife TV show? Maybe. But that's a good thing if you consider everything else besides the series. She is also very straight forward and doesn't beat around the bush when it comes to drama. However, she does so in a mature manner. Again, maybe a little dull to be a real housewife, but viewers loved her.

10 Eileen Davidson - Beverly Hills

Although, she is always a part of the drama, there's something warm about Eileen Davidson that we can relate to. She has proven herself to be a good friend by being apologetic when she sincerely feels it and not let her ego take over. From daytime soap opera to reality TV star, Davidson has won her own fans for being on the show. Perhaps it's her ability to share some of the toughest times with the audience (like losing her sister to cancer) or it could be her unique sense of humor. Whatever it may be, we can all see ourselves being friends with Eileen considering how modest she can be. The Beverly Hills cast member even admitted she doesn't bother purchasing the most expensive items like some of her cast mates like to do. She doesn't need over the top bags or shoes. We definitely don't mind hanging out with her after knowing that.

9 Caroline Manzo - New Jersey

Caroline Manzo was always well-spoken and straight-forward when she was a cast member of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. She made it clear that she wasn't going to put up with any of the unnecessary drama or anything else that didn't benefit her. Her main focus? Her family of course. It seemed like every time we would catch Manzo smiling or laughing, she was with her husband and three kids. In contrast, any time we caught her with a frown would be when she was hanging out with her cast mates, some of which were also family. Finally, Manzo just decided she spent too much time being on the reality show that it was time for her to do something else with her life. However, she did like the whole reality TV environment since she went on to pursue her own reality TV show, Manzo'd with Children. This time with her intermediate family, so there was barely any drama, and if there was, it was something we can all relate to.

8 Yolanda Foster - Beverly Hills

For being one of the richest housewives, Yolanda Foster is super nice and sweet, not only to her friends on the show but also to everyone in general. That's just how she is as a person. Yolanda always keeps everything cordial between her and her friends, or at least she tries her very best (rather than stirring up the drama even more). But even if she is the sweetest, she doesn't let anyone walk all over her. Last season, she was being attacked by some of her cast mates, but we watched her handle the drama with grace and knew what her priority was. It was obvious how over-protective she was of her children and her overall reputation. While starring on a reality show, being in the middle of a divorce, and dealing with Lyme disease all at the same time, Yolanda carried herself quite well. She behaved like such a good role model to all of us watching the show.

7 Kelly Dodd - Orange County

Last season of The Real Housewives of Orange County, we all got a special surprise from a new cast member. Her name was Kelly Dodd. Kelly was such a breath of fresh air for the Orange County series, even though she would act out a couple of times. Her fearless attitude and ability to take all the ladies to task are what attracted us to the mother of one. It was as if the producers put her on the show to speak for all of us. As said before, even though she might have explained herself in not the most cordial way, it was still relieving to watch her tell those Orange County wives what we've all been wanting to tell them.

Like Heather Dubrow, she is a stay at home mom but only to one child. But she still maintains a busy household with her younger brother and mother staying with her in her 4-story oceanfront mansion. Despite the unpopularity surrounding cast mate Vicki Gunvalson, it didn't stop Kelly from befriending her. That was just another thing we all liked about Kelly, she always stood up for herself and never went along with what the word on the street was.

6 Siggy Flicker - New Jersey

Siggy Flicker came on to the real housewives scene for season 8 of the Real Housewives of New Jersey, and the whole audience just fell in love with her. Perhaps the producers weren't so fond of her, though, because she was too cordial for the series. It is unsure if she will return back for season 9 of the reality show. Regardless, we all appreciated Siggy and how she was always trying to help her friends out and make the best of each situation. She is so warm-hearted that she knows how sensitive she can get. She even admitted that she cries for almost everything and sometimes doesn't even know why. That's just how warm she is. She was a good addition to the cast that is known for crazy family drama. Yes, we're talking about Teresa Guidice, Melissa Gorga, and Jacqueline Laurita. We're sure a lot of mom viewers could relate to Flicker since she was such a hands on mother while being such a hands on friend all at the same time.

5 Erika Jayne - Beverly Hills

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills introduced us to Erika Jayne last season, and they could not have chosen a better addition to the cast. Even with all the glam she's not ashamed to show, she is one of the most down to earth housewives as of yet. She's not exactly about the rich life like her cast mates and not your average girly girl. But even if she stands out with her easy-going ways, the audience loves her. She definitely lights it up with all that Beverly Hills drama going on around her. On a recent episode of The Real Housewives, though, she explained how she's not as open to everyone like she comes out to be. And even if some of her cast mates have a problem warming up to her, she can't help but be closed off. She said it's just how she grew up and how she turned out to be. Who can't relate to that? At first glance, it'd be hard to believe you can relate to this housewife, but underneath it all lies someone we can all see ourselves be friends with.

4 Heather Dubrow - Orange County

From The Real Housewives of Orange County, Heather Dubrow is one of the most well-known housewives. But as popular as she is, she still carries herself well that sometimes might bug her cast mates as well as some of the audience. Heather is known to be witty, classy, and just the right amount of charming. But underneath all the glitz and glamour, she is a stay at home mom and wife who handles everything from her children to her husband's business, with some help, of course. Heather always comes in knowing what she wants and knows how to prioritize her life, which we can all relate to. Rather than putting the drama and girl's night first, she knows what's most important. On top of that, she knows what she doesn't associate with, and that's something the audience likes about her. Just because there's a fight going on and she's on TV, she's not going to put up with it if she doesn't want to. With that said, Heather made the announcement about not coming back for the next season of Orange County because she felt it wasn't for her anymore. But she did leave us with a little hope of returning back later.

3 Kathy Wakili - New Jersey

As a New Jersey housewife veteran, Kathy Wakili has always shown humbleness and modesty throughout the series. She is one of the cast members who went through the most challenging times in New Jersey, dealing with so much family drama. Kathy is just another housewife who has money, but doesn't go around and telling everyone about it like her other cast mates do, especially her cousin, Teresa. The two cousins don't really get along, which has created some of the most entertaining drama in New Jersey. But even if her family problems were bringing her fame, that didn't stop the Jersey housewife to walk away from the show. She decided to skip out on the last season but still made a few appearances. Kathy explained she didn't need all of that toxic and negativity in her life when all she wanted was to enjoy the time with her loved ones. We could all relate and look up to that for sure.

2 Kyle Richards - Beverly Hills

This might come as a surprise to some of you, but when you really compare Kyle Richards to the rest of the Real Housewives Beverly Hills cast, you'll realizes she doesn't come off as high maintenance as you think. Kyle is a mother of four beautiful daughters and has a handsome husband, who owns one of the biggest real estate companies in the industry. They're overall a traditional family and Kyle always puts her family first, especially when considering the messy drama with her sister, Kim Richards. From just the outside, it might seem like Kyle has every reason to be snobby, but she's not. Another reason why we like Kyle is because she might get into the drama, but she always tries to be reasonable about everything, rather than just throw things out there. She puts others into consideration, and that's a lot for a real housewife to do.

1 Shannon Beador - Orange County

Shannon Beador came on to join the cast of The Real Housewives of Orange County in season 9 and has stayed as one of the originals at this point. At first, Shannon portrayed this vibrant housewife that the cast members enjoyed, but then her baggage came out. She started losing her temper and some of the ladies, as well as the audience, would question why she was losing control out of nowhere. Well, it turns out she was going through a lot with her husband after finding out he had an affair. It was pretty brave for Shannon to be so honest about her feelings when it came to her family on television. She was vulnerable no matter what anyone would say, especially knowing her husband cheated on her. But like a trooper, she stayed true to her values. And rather than jumping onto the divorce bandwagon, like a bunch of these housewives do, she decided to work it out with him. This proved that true love was there. Even if it wasn't perfect, that didn't mean it should have immediately be over. It was nice to watch a housewife give it her all even if it wasn't the most traditional thing to do in the world of real housewives.

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