All Real Housewives Deaths, Confirmed

Real Housewives is a long-running reality TV show with no shortage of fun cast members. That being said, it can be easy to forget that these are real people with actual lives, and some participants have passed away over the years. Here are all the people who have appeared on Real Housewives that have passed away.

Every Real Housewives Death

Matthew Byars (Real Housewives of Potomac)

• Passed in November 2024

Matthew Byars was a talent manager who first made his debut in the third season of Real Housewives of Potomac. He died on Nov. 21, 2024 of suicide.

Gregg Leakes (Real Housewives of Atlanta)

• Passed in September 2021

Gregg Leakes was featured prominently during the early seasons of Real Housewives of Atlanta, alongside his wife NeNe. He passed in September 2021 after a long battle with cancer at 66 years old.

Ashley Jewell (Real Housewives of Atlanta)

• Passed in 2009

Better known to viewers as AJ, Jewell died from a head injury after getting into a fight at a strip club in Atlanta in 2009.

Dennis Shields (Real Housewives of New York)

• Passed in August 2018

Dennis Shields was featured in Real Housewives of New York, and also prominently dated fellow cast member Bethenny Frankel. He was found dead in his apartment at age 51.

Bobby Zarin (Real Housewives of New York)

• Passed in 2018

Bobby Zarin was married to Jill Zarin. After a long battle with cancer, he passed in 2018 at the age of 71.

Rosanna Esteban Cristobal (Real Housewives of New York)

• Passed in July 2019

Better known to viewers as Rosie, Cristobal was the housekeeper in the first few seasons of Real Housewives of New York. Her son announced online that she had passed away in 2019.

Russell Armstrong (Real Housewives of Beverly Hills)

• Passed in August 2011

Russell Armstrong was married to fellow cast member Taylor Armstrong. About a month after she filed for divorce, however, he passed by suicide at age 47.

Josh Waring (Real Housewives of Orange County)

• Passed in April 2024

It’s no secret that Waring struggled with substance abuse, and it was a major talking point on the show itself. Unfortunately, he passed in April 2024 at the age of 35.

Lou Knickerbocker (Real Housewives of Orange County)

• Passed in 2007

Lou Knickerbocker is the ex-husband of Tammy Knickerbocker, and was featured in the second season of Real Housewives of Orange County. Unfortunately, he died before Season 3 of a heart attack at age 67.

Elsa Patton (Real Housewives of Miami)

• Passed in May 2019

Possibly one of the most notorious mother figures in Real Housewives of Miami, Elsa Patton passed away in May 2019 at the age of 84.

And those are all of the confirmed Real Housewives deaths at the time of writing. Be sure to search up The Escapist for more news and information on the show, as well as our other reality TV coverage, including all contestant deaths in Survivor.