The Real Housewives Universe Has Doppelgängers, Too
If there's one thing humans are more obsessed with than themselves, it's things that might be different but remind them of themselves nonetheless. A doppelgänger is a genetically unrelated but eerily similar counterpart to a person — a double, often depicted as an evil twin. Movies about doppelgängers have typically been dark, not humorous, like Natalie Portman vs. Mila Kunis (or Natalie Portman vs. Natalie Portman, depending on your read) in Black Swan. Jordan Peele and Ryan Coogler took the haunting concept of doppelgängers to even more disturbing territory by bringing to life the lore of the tethered in horror thriller Us. Lupita Nyogo's underground tethered isn't a mere mischievous twin; she's a manipulative mastermind who stole her life — like a single black female identity assassin.
The Bravoverse has the tendency to be just as chaotic as a Jordan Peele flick — usually with high-decibel exchanges instead of murderous chase scenes, though those still sometimes happen too. And it's just as supernaturally creepy when it comes to ghostly doubles, too. Across franchises and facelifts (or alternatively 12 threads on each side), these Real Housewives doppelgängers prove the phenomenon has no limit to its reach.
Teresa Giudice and Alexia Nepola
It's almost frightening to look at pictures of Teresa and Alexia side by side, but you can easily do so, since the pair are good friends (confirmed by Alexia's tearful car call to the Jersey girl about Todd in season 7). Upon inspection they're like cousins, or even sisters, in a big (Italian or Cuban) family. But beyond appearances, their spirits' kindred nature is impossible to deny. They're both self-described pitbulls (never chihuahuas), outwardly aggressive alphas, who are obsessed with getting the first, middle, and last word. Alexia is the blonder, bouncier yang to Tre's more ill-tempered yin. While Teresa is known to hulk out when she hits her emotional breaking point, Alexia might be more prone to cry — and then start yelling. Thank God these two embraced each other, because at odds, only mutually assured destruction would await.
Ramona Singer and Adriana de Moura
No Housewives friend group is complete without a wild card who never knows when to stop talking, and, lucky for us, one who still wouldn't stop if they did. Adriana has carried so many scenes of The Real Housewives of Miami on her back that she doesn't need to exercise, just like Ramona's unpredictable self-involved behavior has seasoned hundreds of OG RHONY episodes (especially international ones) to perfection. These two petite dramatists are brazen with their insults but still somehow ultimately harmless, loud but not dominant, intelligent but not always especially wise, passionate and thus easily fired up — a woman you want to watch 24/7, but might be slightly afraid to go on a trip with yourself without a buffer friend. Adriana's worldly, youthful, big-hearted affinity for the finer things in life is parallel to Ramona's more juvenile, unabashed American desire for expensive, shiny perks wherever she can find them. They'd tear each other apart, but then finish a priceless bottle of white wine — wait, several — in the end.
Sutton Stracke and Shannon Storms-Beador
Shannon is the slightly more loose side of the conservative-blonde-with-big-emotions coin that she shares with Sutton, but the word slightly is doing a lot of work here. Sutton is deep fried in strict Southern manners, while Shannon's West Coast social cues are a little more flexible depending on how done she is with the situation. I suspect if Bravo swapped their closets without their talent's consent, it would take fans a few episodes to notice the difference in shift dresses and loafers (though Sutton surely would feel the loss of her wall-to-wall Dolce designer collection immediately).
When it comes to the art of a meltdown storm off, no one does so flavorfully than Sutton and Shannon, managing to make us break for laughter as their tempers rise higher because of the unorthodox verbiage and gesturing that comes to them inherently. They are both walking storms — of sweeping winds, sometimes thunder, and often heavy rain — and that's why they've both fought the label of "sad soul" but every downpour is balanced with heart and silliness and honesty that makes both of these women worth sticking around for.
Margaret and Marysol
Margaret and Marysol face the same accusation from jilted viewers and scorned cast members alike: they are apparently master manipulators pulling puppet strings behind the scenes. Whether that's true or if these tiny women are just smart enough to keep tabs on shit-talk after drinking their weight in martinis is up for debate. But what is for sure is that both firecrackers are mommy's girls who are deathly loyal to their inner inner circle. It wouldn't even be surprising if both stars got the same physicians for their facial work, because Marge and Marysol share the same mind-blowingly youthful snatched face in recent seasons. M and M even have equally salt-of-the-earth-type husbands, with filler names (Joe and Steve, respectively).
Carole and Crystal
The soft-spoken vibration of Carole and Crystal made some of their televised frenemies underestimate them, only making the moments when the pair individually held their own all the more sweet for fans. Both were odd women out when they entered the reality TV game in that they entered with lush, full lives in private, prestigious circles, very different from the day-to-day of the bubbly socialites that would become their co-workers. And both were far too humble to brag about their access to those worlds, despite the fact that 25% of any Real Housewives episode is set aside for boastfulness. They are cool, understated, and latent with magnetizing quiet confidence (Carole more detached, Crystal more coy). Not to mention a casual resemblance; Carole would love Crystal's ugly leather pants.
Lisa Hochstein and Stephanie Hollman
Lisa is what Stephanie would look like if Travis Hollman were a plastic surgeon instead of a workspace manufacturer. Stephanie was sweet as pie on The Real Housewives of Dallas' five-season run, and so is Lisa, just maybe an extra tangy key lime slice instead of something more traditional, like apple. If Stephanie is the organic untethered, then Lisa is her glamorized, larger-than-life tethered who, like Lupita, would never settle for life underground. They're both a dazzling breath of fresh air, floating above the shadows of their own struggles under the surface, between Stephanie's mental health and Lisa's childhood. Lisa and Stephanie would play with each other like Barbies (until Lisa eventually talked Steph into playing her assistant instead).
Gizelle and Denise Richards
Who would think Gizelle Bryant had another blue-eyed bandit who favors her even more than Robyn does, in Hollywood, no less? Denise Richards is a type of Gizelle from an alternative universe, one where Gizzy remained a strong mother of strong girls, kept her questionable taste in men, but this time wasn't too modest to become a movie vixen for a few glorious decades instead of a pastor's wife and possessed a sailor's mouth. Both are prone to wielding an awkward laugh in a tense exchange as often as releasing a hearty few when in the company of true friends; they're known to be women of few words when it comes to heated confrontation, but have proven, when backed into a corner at a reunion, they're not afraid to eventually scratch back.
Lisa Vanderpump and Karen Huger
Perhaps the only degree of difference between LVP and La Grande Dame's nature of grandiosity is the former's tangible legitimacy (sharply marked by LVP's lack of investigations by the IRS). There are probably 10 bottles of Vanderpump Rosé for every LD by KH candle currently in use, but it feels safe to bet the largest inventory holders of both lines are the founding momtrepreneurs themselves. Both queens run their empire with a cheshire grin; they love shepherding young prodigies, and hate when those prodigies show the first sign of disloyalty. A piece of frizz fears their bouncy blowouts, a floppy pussy blow flocks to their chests, an elderly husband waits at their hand and feet. Life is ornate whether you're Karen from Potomac or Lisa of Beverly Hills — you just have to decide if you want to live in Villa Rosa or be able to visit the White House.
