The Real Housewives of Melbourne (abbreviated RHOMelbourne) is an Australian reality television series that debuted on February 23, 2014, on Arena. Developed as the third international installment of The Real Housewives franchise (American originated), it is the first Australian addition.
The first season’s cast consisted of: Jackie Gillies, Chyka Keebaugh, Gina Liano, Andrea Moss, Janet Roach and Lydia Schiavello. Subsequent 'Housewives' included: Pettifleur Berenger, Gamble Breaux, Susie McLean, Venus Behbahani-Clark, Sally Bloomfield, Cherry Dipietrantonio, Simone Elliott, Kyla Kirkpatrick and Anjali Rao.
The success of the show allowed for the developments of The Real Housewives franchise by Matchbox Pictures and similar spin-off series based in Sydney and Auckland, New Zealand.
As of January 2024, a sixth season was reported to be in development with a brand new “revamped and younger” cast.
Overview and Casting[]
Seasons 1–4[]
The Real Housewives of Melbourne was first announced by Matchbox Pictures as The Real Housewives of Australia and was set to air in 2013. On July 28, 2013, it was announced that the series had been renamed The Real Housewives of Melbourne, along with the full cast of the six women for the inaugural season. The six women include Jackie Gillies, Chyka Keebaugh, Gina Liano, Andrea Moss, Janet Roach, and Lydia Schiavello. They were handpicked by the producers, from over one hundred women during an eight-month process. Filming for the series began in July 2013. On January 21, 2014, the official cast photo and premiere date of February 23. 2014 were announced. The series at the time was the second biggest local series launch following SoHo's Wentworth.
Moss departed the series after the first season. On May 8, 2014, the series was renewed for a second season. Brian Walsh, an executive director of Foxtel, discussed the renewal, "there is no doubt that The Real Housewives of Melbourne has been a game changer for Foxtel. The incredible reaction to our 'Housewives', including the blockbuster ratings, the huge social media impact and the overall buzz surrounding the series has meant the decision for another season was a very easy one." In the second season, two newcomers joined the show, Gamble Breaux and Pettifleur Berenger, and premiered February 22, 2015. Manuela Pless-Bennett joined the series in a recurring capacity as a friend of Roach’s. Pless-Bennett was featured in interviews and attended the Reunion Special. In addition to this, Lisa Tonkin made more frequent 'Guest Appearances' throughout the season and was credited as a 'Friend of the Housewives' before returning to a 'Guest' role for the third season.
The series was subsequently renewed for a third season. All the 'Housewives' returned from the previous season, along with newcomer, Susie McLean, joining the cast. The third season premiered on February 21, 2016. Prior to the conclusion of the third season, on May 8, 2016, original 'Housewife', Keebaugh confirmed that she would not be returning to the series.
On May 11, 2016, Schiavello revealed there would be a fourth season but filming may be delayed to film The Real Housewives of Sydney first. A month later, in June 2016, Liano also confirmed there would be a fourth season and the filming delay for the Sydney series, adding that "the original girls are out of contract now. They haven't approached us to renegotiate contracts yet." In December 2016, the fourth season was officially confirmed by Foxtel, also being reported that filming is set to begin in early 2017. On April 29, 2017, it was announced that Berenger would not return to the series. On May 17, 2017, the fourth season’s cast was announced, with Venus Behbahani-Clark and Sally Bloomfield joining the cast. This also confirmed the departures of Keebaugh, Berenger and McLean. However, Keebaugh did make a 'Guest Appearance' during one episode in the fourth season.
Season 5–present[]
In September 2019, Foxtel announced a fifth season, set to premiere in 2020. Foxtel Executive, Brian Walsh, also confirmed the upcoming fifth season would include 'a big cast shake up'. In February 2020, Bloomfield, Gillies & Behbahani-Clark announced they were departing the show, while Schiavello confirmed her return. On February 19, 2020, the cast was released, confirming the return of Liano, Roach and Breaux, alongside the previously confirmed Schiavello, as well as the addition of Anjali Rao, Kyla Kirkpatrick and Cherry Dipietrantonio. According to Roach, Gillies was set to return to the show, however by deciding to leave and to start a family, she was replaced by Schiavello who wasn’t originally set to return to the series.
On March 18, 2020, Foxtel has announced that filming for the fifth season had temporarily been paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement released by Foxtel and Matchbox Pictures, "The Health and Safety of our cast and crew is our top priority".
On June 11, 2020, it was confirmed by Roach that filming was set to resume in July, however, she announced that Foxtel had decided to push the filming dates back to January 2021.
On 14 April 2021, Foxtel re-confirmed the cast of the fifth season with Roach and Breaux reprising their roles as well as the additions of Rao, Kirkpatrick and Dipietrantonio (who all had been previously announced). Gillies (who had previously departed) also returned to the series with new addition, Simone Elliott. This also confirmed the departures of Liano and Schiavello (who had been previously set to return). The fifth season premiered on October 10, 2021. Following the conclusion of the season's seventh episode, Rao departed the series after one season. An all cast Reunion Special was not filmed for the fifth season, marking the first time in the series history to not feature a reunion.
In January 2024, a sixth season was reported to be in development with a 'younger and fresher cast'.
Cast[]
Season 5 Cast (Left to Right): Kyla, Anjali, Janet, Jackie, Gamble, Simone and Cherry
| Housewives | Seasons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| Jackie Gillies | Main | ||||
| Chyka Keebaugh | Main | Guest | |||
| Gina Liano | Main | ||||
| Andrea Moss | Main | ||||
| Janet Roach | Main | ||||
| Lydia Schiavello | Main | ||||
| Pettifleur Berenger | Main | ||||
| Gamble Breaux | Main | ||||
| Susie McLean | Main | ||||
| Venus Behbahani-Clark | Main | ||||
| Sally Bloomfield | Main | ||||
| Cherry Dipietrantonio | Main | ||||
| Kyla Kirkpatrick | Main | ||||
| Simone Elliott | Main | ||||
| Anjali Rao | Main | ||||
| Manuela Pless-Bennett | Friend | ||||
| Lisa Tonkin | Guest | Friend | Guest | ||
Episodes[]
Main Article: The Real Housewives of Melbourne - Episode Guide
| Season | Episodes | Season Premiere | Season Finale | Reunion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | February 23, 2014 | April 27, 2014 | May 4, 2014 May 11, 2014 |
| 2 | 13 | February 22, 2015 | May 3, 2015 | May 10, 2015 May 17, 2015 |
| 3 | 12 | February 21, 2016 | May 1, 2016 | May 15, 2016 |
| 4 | 12 | December 6, 2017 | February 14, 2018 | February 21, 2018 |
| 5 | 10 | October 10, 2021 | December 12, 2021 | N/A |
International Broadcast[]
In the United States, the series premiered on August 3, 2014, on Bravo, the same network that initiated The Real Housewives franchise. The series returned for a second season on March 5. 2015. However, unlike the inaugural season which aired during the daytime on Sunday, the second season aired during prime time – the first of the international The Real Housewives series to do so. In the United Kingdom, the series premiered November 6, 2014, and airs on ITVBe. In Sweden, TV3 started airing the first series in early January 2016. The series returned to Bravo for a third season on 22 July 2016, but now airing during prime time on a Friday. In Canada, the series started airing on Slice in August 2016. In New Zealand, the series premiered on October 25. 2016, on Bravo, the same network that initiated The Real Housewives franchise by Matchbox Pictures. On January 19, 2022, the first four seasons became available in the United States on Discovery+ with a subscription. While the first three seasons had previously aired on Bravo in the US, this marked the first time that the fourth season had officially premiered, albeit on a streaming service.
Reception[]
In the United States, the premiere episode attracted 414,000 viewers, a 39% increase to the timeslot compared to the month prior. The second-season premiere, which for the first time saw the series air in primetime, grew on the prior season's premiere scoring 534,000 viewers.
Spin-Offs[]
Judge Gina[]
In September 2014, The Real Housewives producer, Matchbox Pictures, announced that they were considering filming The Real Housewives in a second location – namely Sydney or the Gold Coast. In addition, a Judge Judy-type show has been considered starring The Real Housewives of Melbourne star, Gina Liano, with a pilot episode filmed in December 2014. In September 2015, it was again reported that producer of the series, Matchbox Productions, was possibly searching for potential candidates for a The Real Housewives installment to be based in Sydney, or the Gold Coast. On February 27, 2016 it was revealed that the producers were looking for potential cast mates in Brisbane. In June 2017, it was planned that Liano would receive a Judge Judy style spin-off entitled "Judge Gina". The series was to contain 40 episodes of 30 minutes. This series didn't eventuate.
The concept was later redeveloped into a podcast with ARN Media's iHeartPodcast Network Australia in July 2023.
The Real Housewives of Brisbane[]
In June 2023, it was revealed that a Brisbane set series of The Real Housewives had been cast. However, the series did not move forward in favour of Matchbox Pictures reviving The Real Housewives of Sydney for a second season.
Trivia[]
- This was the first Australian installment of The Real Housewives franchise.