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Why Are Bravo Reality Shows Plagued With Medical Mysteries?

By Amy Feinstein
Published on: 12:01 PST, Jul 18, 2016

The case of the ill cast member is becoming a trend on Bravo reality shows from Shahs of Sunset to almost every Real Housewives location, which then leads to suggestions of either faking or exaggerating the illness. Is this all a Bravo coincidence, or is this the new go-to storyline treatment that fans will see more and more of. Sure, medical emergencies and accidents happen, but fans are starting to feel like Quincy trying to solve a medical mystery rather than watching some escapist television, generally involving women with too much money and not enough sense. It seems that this is also a Bravo formula.

According to the Inquisitr, the case of Yolanda Hadid, formerly Foster and formerly of Bravo Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, is still brewing, as now, Hadid’s soon-to-be-ex-husband David Foster’s daughters are coming forward to claim that Yolanda Foster exaggerated exactly how sick she was with Lyme Disease. Sara and Erin Foster kept their thoughts about their stepmother and her Lyme Disease to themselves for years, but are now calling foul on Hadid’s degree of suffering. They claim that if you are well enough to be on a Bravo reality show and shoot scenes, you weren’t exactly dying.

Jezebel pondered the topic of odd illnesses and injuries on Bravo shows, and wondered if it is a trend that fans will see more of, and how much of it is real. Perhaps the biggest medical scandal on a Bravo show, and one that just won’t go away, is Bravo TV’s Real Housewives of Orange County Brooks Ayers, and the suggestion that not only was he faking cancer, but cast member Vicki Gunvalson was in on it with him as well, and he tried to use Dr. Terry Dubrow, the husband of another cast member Heather Dubrow, to cover for him by saying that Dr. Dubrow treated him in an emergency situation surrounding his “cancer.”

Perhaps it was RHOC that caused so much doubt about illnesses on Bravo and reality television, but next came Yolanda Hadid on Bravo’s Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and the suggestion that she was faking her illness for attention, or that maybe instead, she had a mental illness. The latest target is GG on Bravo’s Shahs of Sunset, who has rheumatoid arthritis.

For GG on the Bravo show Shahs of Sunset, much of the confusion for cast members and fans came when GG opted to use chemotherapy drugs to treat her RA instead of the more conventionally used meds. The drug Rituxan is used for more than one illness, but in lower doses, it can be used for autoimmune diseases like RA. There has been so much doubt aimed at GG that recently, she posted an Rx bottle with her name and the name of one of her drugs on Instagram.

“Bring on the nausea lol! It’s M-day… To my fellow warriors y’all know how this sh*t feels. But, the relief that I’ve been getting from Rituxan and Methotrexate is worth the nausea. Thank you all for the love and support and believe me I read your messages. I’m proud of all of you for your strength. We are in this together. And yes, I take prescription folic acid.”

Perez Hilton said that Bethenny Frankel of Bravo Real Housewives of New York finally shared what was going on during her recent medical crisis, which ironically coincided with Jules Wainstein’s medical emergency. Bethenny Frankel was suffering with non-cancerous fibroids which caused uncontrollable bleeding and cramping.

The condition became so severe that it is still possible that Bethenny may need to get a hysterectomy.

Only time will tell if the medical mystery will continue to be a go-to on each season of the Bravo shows, but it’s a good guess that Bravo will continue to milk a variety of illnesses for ratings.

Do you think that all of the illnesses on Bravo shows are the real deal, or are some of them exaggerated?

[Image via Bravo TV]

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