Season 15 of the Real Housewives of Orange County has been one of the most divisive season’s in the franchise’s history.
Not only did the cast have to find a way to continue filming amidst the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic, but the cast also faced criticism for their lack of chemistry this season.
With the season now officially over, fans are wondering if and how Bravo will alter the cast to make for a better season next go around.
After the less-than-impressive season of RHOC, who should stay and who should go?
Who should stay with the RHOC cast?
Although their first season with the show left fans calling them “boring,” Gina Kirschenheiter and Emily Simpson have come full circle in terms of their place on the show.
Both ladies joined the franchise as full-time cast members in Season 13. And in contrast to the hard-hitting personalities of Vicki Gunvalson, Tamra Judge, and Kelly Dodd, both ladies had a hard time finding their place in the group.
However, fast-forward to Season 15, and both Emily and Gina stepped up in terms of position on the show, especially in the eyes of RHOC fans.
Season 15 saw Gina moving on from her divorce from former husband, Matt, and moving into a new home with her current beau, Travis Mullen. And while she found happiness in her smaller new home, a few of the ladies found themselves being called out for criticizing Gina’s new condo for being too “small.”
Her ability to stand her ground and show more of her personality won fans over, and had many sharing that they hope to see her again in future seasons.
Emily also found herself a solid fanbase this season. Although fans haven’t seen as much growth from Emily in terms of blossoming into a full-blown RHOC Housewife, she’s come a long way from complaining about her husband Shane.
She also found herself in a stressful situation this season with Shane’s difficult battle with COVID-19. Thankfully he managed to make a full recovery.
With how difficult it was to complete an entire season during the pandemic, it seems that the newest RHOC Housewife, Elizabeth Lyn Vargas, didn’t really get a fair shake at the experience.
Fans were divided on their opinions of Elizabeth throughout the season. Some felt that she was too much and that she didn’t gel with the rest of the cast, while others felt that she was a breath of fresh air.
To that note, it may be fair to argue that Elizabeth deserves another season to see what impact she could truly make on the cast.
And after watching her go toe-to-toe with Braunwyn Windham-Burke during the reunion, it would also give fans the opportunity to see if she lives up to her larger-than-life persona.
Who should leave the RHOC cast?
Unfortunately, Season 15 was a relative dud compared to the cast’s chemistry and drama in its earlier seasons. And while many fans believe that’s due to the exit of popular Housewives, Vicki Gunvalson and Tamra Judge, after Season 14, others argue that it’s the clash of opinions amongst the cast.
Shannon Beador is the only remaining Housewife from the Tres Amigas friend group after Vicki and Tamra’s departure. And it seemed to have taken a toll on her confidence with the group.
She ultimately found herself reconnecting with longtime nemesis Kelly Dodd, which came to the surprise of both fans and her former friends. But it just hasn’t been enough to keep fans in her corner.
This season solidified Shannon’s reputation for being whiny and over-dramatic, which rubbed many longtime RHOC fans the wrong way. Many calling for Bravo to remove her.
Fans are also calling for Braunwyn Windham-Burke to be axed from the show. She’s easily the Housewife who has had the most dramatic personal drama this season, and it’s all just too much.
In addition to her RHOC relevant drama, Braunwyn also “re-defined” her marriage to Sean Burke, revealed that she’s an alcoholic, and came out as a lesbian.
And while many have attempted to show their support for the tough time Braunwyn had been experiencing, her admission to physically hitting Sean on more than one occasion was enough to have fans up in arms calling for her termination from the show.
Last, but certainly not least, is the ever-controversial Kelly Dodd. Since joining the cast in Season 11, Kelly has remained one of the franchise’s most opinionated cast members.
However, it wasn’t so much her on-screen drama that caused an uproar with fans. Instead, it was her continuous social media rants about the coronavirus pandemic that landed her in hot water.
This came to a head during the reunion episodes when host, Andy Cohen, called Kelly out for her comments, including her most infamous “thinning the herd” comment about people dying from COVID-19.
Andy ultimately asked Kelly if she was worried about ending up on the “wrong side of history” for her stance on the pandemic after she compared wearing a mask to whether or not pants protected people from their farts.
The reunion wasn’t the first or last time Andy confronted Kelly for her social media posts and it has left fans wondering when enough will be enough.
The Real Housewives of Orange County is currently on hiatus on Bravo.