In today's media environment, it can be difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. People spread conspiracy theories on TikTok, AI can generate images of events that never happened, and some celebrities claim to be "obsessed" with Bravo when they may have only watched a few episodes of Housewives , or maybe none at all Watched "Bravo". The internet... absolutely none .
Yes, there are stars whose Bravo fandom is both real and well-documented: Rihanna, Jennifer Lawrence, Chrissy Teigen. But what about the others—Michelle Obama and his wife, who are said to love Potomac , or Jon Harms, "whom my wife and I watched together?" Are they just claiming their status as a “wonderful audience” in order to appear likable and relatable to the masses?
Until Andy Cohen installs a polygraph at the Watch What Happens Live club, we may never know for sure. But we can make wild guesses based on intuition and feeling.
Jon Hamm
Let’s start with Jon Hamm. During a press tour for the 2023 film Maggie Moore , Hamm spoke multiple times about what he calls the Bravo fandom — specifically on Today , The Howard Stern Show , and, of course, There's Watch What Happens Live . In every interview, he sticks to the same story: While cooking and eating dinner, he and his wife, Anna Osceola, sometimes watch Housewives movies ( New Jersey , Beverly Hills or New York ) or Vanderpump Rules .
The fact that the sound bites are so similar in every retelling usually leads me to believe that at least part of the story is wrong. Hamm's claims aren't hard to believe, however, and he backs them up with specific points, one of which landed him in a feud with fellow Beverly Hills housewife Erica Jayne. Plus, his impression of James Kennedy is impeccable. so.
Verdict : Jon Hamm is telling the truth: He sometimes watches Bravo with his wife.
Zooey Deschanel
To my knowledge, New Girl 's namesake first mentioned her alleged Bravo fandom in a 2011 interview, answering a question about what TV she watches. “I love a lot of reality TV,” she said. "I love ' Real Housewives ' — especially 'Housewives of Beverly Hills' - and I love 'Top Chef' and 'Intervention .'"
I already know what you're thinking — "Beverly Hills" isn't really what Housewives viewers would call their favorite series. (The preferred nomenclature is simply " Beverly Hills .") But this is only a year into the franchise's existence, so its status may not have been solidified yet. We need more information to determine whether Deschanel was dishonest.
Luckily, she mentioned Bravo again in March 2023 on her podcast Bitch Sesh . "This quickly became my life," she reportedly said. "That's all I cared about. If there was, like, a new meme, I'd be like, 'I can't wait to see it.' "Unfortunately, full episodes of Bitch Sesh are not available to listen to online. But I will point out that Deschanel seems to have an alien idea of how humans talk about and encounter memes, which is interesting.
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What’s even more interesting is that she made at least two Bravo-related TikToks of her own: this one, she mentioned the idea of watching Bravo when you’re bored; #teamAriana's identity emerges. Neither is particularly specific. In an August 2023 interview with People magazine, she mentioned Vanderpump again: "I'm not even a Vanderpump person, but this season has been so great that I became one."
The season she was referring to was Season 10. Was this season "great" except for the hastily shot final episode? In my opinion, this is not the case. I don’t think real Bravo viewers would say that.
Verdict : Zooey Deschanel has definitely seen some Bravo and hired a social media manager who knows how powerful this can be. But she doesn't want us to believe she's a major Bravo fan, probably because all the TVs in her house are permanently tuned to Property Brothers and she doesn't know how to adjust them. If it's any consolation, though, she nods enthusiastically whenever Bravo is discussed.
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Meryl Streep
While promoting climate apocalypse movie Don't Look Up , Meryl Streep told People magazine that she watches Bravo to escape the sheer horror of climate-related news. "This is life. This is now. This is now," she said. “What do I do? I go in and watch ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills .’ That’s what I do.” The confession sparked countless breathless headlines — and Meryl Streep seemed Really just like us.
Jennifer Lawrence, her " Don't Look Up " co-star and a huge "Housewives" fan, also participated in the Zoom interview. Lawrence gasped and clutched her chest at Streep's admission. interesting. If you ask me, if Streep actually watched Housewives , Lawrence would know. They would talk about it in detail. Plus, like...this is Meryl Streep. hurry up.
Verdict : Meryl Streep won’t watch Bravo.
Florence Pugh
This is a strange situation. Florence Pugh and Lisa Rinna met at a fashion show in 2023. There, they told interviewers that while it was the first time they'd met in real life, they'd actually struck up a DM friendship on Instagram over the past three years, prompted by Pugh's "Housewives" fans. .
Verdict : I guess Florence Pugh has to watch Beverly Hills , otherwise why would she reply to Lisa Rinna's DM?
Harry Styles
Speaking of Lisa Rinna, during the 2021 Beverly Hills reunion, the actor told Andy Cohen that Harry Styles “loves the show. In fact, he loved the show so much that co-star Dorit Kemsley said he asked some of the cast members to play a video in which Kemsley said: "Heard you've had yourself Quarantined and binge-watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills , this is pretty much the best news I’ve gotten.”
In return, Harry Styles sent a birthday message to Lisa Rinna on Instagram.
Verdict : I mean, I guess he had to watch? Then again, why would he DM Rinna? What influence does Rinna have on celebrities, especially those who star in Don't Worry Darling ?
Michelle Obama
Former US first lady Michelle Obama took the stage with Gayle King at a promotional event for her 2022 book The Light We Carry and she admitted Made American history by watching the Real Housewives ( Atlanta and Potomac series). "Oh, man, you know, I want to say Potomac ," she said, preferring that word. "I just don't like it when sisters fight with each other, and I just don't like seeing that on TV." (She added that it's okay for white women to fight.)
This is hard, because I can imagine two universes: one in which Michelle Obama loves both Potomac and Atlanta , and one in which she just hired a savvy publicist who knew that such a confession would be critical 's book sales period makes headlines. I also believed she would have a bad reaction to combat - and her chosen franchise city of Potomac tends to have less combat than other cities, so that part was put to the test. Reaching a verdict here is difficult, but not impossible.
Verdict : Michelle Obama is not actively keeping up with any of the Housewives franchises. If housewives were brought up in conversation, she would avoid mentioning anything specific by saying she was "up to date." However, she has watched the series she references—perhaps even entire seasons—and enjoys discussing her opinions with friends.
Taylor Swift
As far as I know, Taylor Swift has never publicly mentioned anything about watching Bravo. But we've all seen the recent Coachella photo starring Swift and fellow New Jersey housewife Teresa Giudice. According to gossip outlet Deux Moi, Swift allegedly did not allow any housewives to enter the VIP tent during the Eras tour. If this were true, it would prove that she at least knows what a Real Housewife is—and isn't.
Verdict : I believe Taylor Swift viewed the Bravo reality show as something she "didn't like or understand" when she was younger. As she matures, I'm sure she'll start watching some of it, if only to have a more relaxed conversation with her friend Selena Gomez, who apparently also watches Vanderpump Rules . If Taylor Swift hasn't watched the Real Housewives series yet, she should; she wants all the shenanigans. I recommend Orange County .
