The Most Shocking Breakups in Real Housewives History

As far as RHOBH couples went, David and Yolanda were #couplegoals. They always seemed as happy as could be and shared a ton of mutual interests… until Yolanda was diagnosed with Lyme Disease and started a very lengthy recovery process. The inevitable separation was hinted at in season five as Yo constantly referred to herself as a “lemon” of a wife, and their split was finally confirmed by the finale. To this day David has never revealed why he left Yolanda, but she seems to hold no ill will towards her famous ex.

Of all the RHONJ couples, Teresa and Joe seemed destined to be together forever. But when they pled guilty to fraud in 2014 everything changed. By the time Joe was sent back to Italy and Teresa found a new normal post-prison, the pair just couldn’t do the long-distance thing anymore and so they decided to call it quits.

This RHOA original and her husband have had lots of ups and downs over their 25-year history, including a 1997 wedding, a surprising 2011 divorce, and an even more surprising 2013 remarriage. At this point, nothing they do should shock us anymore, but rumours that the pair have split and/or are in an open marriage have been running the Internet. As for what’s true? That’s hard to say, since NeNe herself hasn’t exactly updated fans, other than to continue calling Gregg her husband. Looks like whatever is going on behind-the-scenes, these guys are in it for life.

We’ve been rooting for Kenya and her quest to find true love for years on RHOA. So when she found it with restauranteur Marc Daly and tied the knot in a 2017 wedding, her win really did feel like a collective one (even if the sudden nuptials took us all by surprise). Things seemed especially great between these two a little over a year later when they welcomed baby Brooklyn, so it was shocking when, another year later, Kenya revealed she and Marc had split due to “recent and ongoing circumstances.”

Remember way back in the first season of RHOBH when Camille was the villain? It later came out why: her husband Kelsey Grammer had been having an affair with a woman in New York, and Camille eventually suspected that he encouraged her to do the show to keep her busy. That realization came about towards the end of the season, when Kelsey called for a separation, and Camille definitely earned some sympathy points from fans as a result.

Even though we never saw Tommy on RHONJ, Dina was always pretty positive about her man to the cameras. In fact, we dare say she even seemed to adore him. So it was shocking when, in 2016, the pair claimed they had different ideas of what a marriage should be and officially divorced. Perhaps even more shocking though? Recent claims that Tommy allegedly hired a member of the Lucchese Crime Family to beat up Dina’s new beau, Dave Cantin.

No one really knew what to make of Luann’s confusing marriage to the Count in the earlier seasons of RHONY, but it was still shocking when reports surfaced that he had left Luann in order to pursue love with an Ethiopian woman in Geneva. Luann later revealed that she and her hubs of 16 years had been separated for about three months at the time, but secretly she had been hoping that they would reconcile.

One of the most romantic moments in RHOC history had to be Vicki and Donn’s vow renewal in Turks & Caicos. The January 2010 ceremony featured the pair writing their own vows and basically gushing over each other, so it came as a pretty big shock when, 10 months later, Vicki filed for dissolution of marriage. According to Donn, he found out about the divorce when the process server showed up at his office. Ouch.

Fans everywhere were shocked earlier this year when Dorinda opened up about her seemingly sudden split from John in an episode of RHONY after news of their separation hit the tabloids in September 2019. While things seemed to be going really well on the surface, Dorinda revealed that they’d been growing apart for a while, and she needed someone who suited the person that she’d developed into.

After 17 years of marriage this RHOC duo announced their official separation during the season 12 reunion in November 2017. While their relationship had been tumultuous at times (how else do you describe an affair and a vow renewal?) it came as a bit of a shock because as they approached nearly two decades together many of us truly thought that these parents of three would get through anything together.