Newport Coast ‘Housewife’ is voted best ever
With just one season under her belt, “Real Housewives of Orange County” star and Newport Coast resident Shannon Beador has won the title of “Best Housewife Ever” in online voting by fans of Bravo’s popular “Real Housewives” reality TV franchise.
Fans voted for their favorites in a six-round, bracket-style poll put on by the E! channel. Beador, 50, was chosen over 64 women who initially vied for the title.
“The Real Housewives of Orange County” has aired for nine seasons, following the personal and professional lives of several women. It has spawned similar series based in New York, Atlanta, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Beverly Hills, Miami and Melbourne, Australia.
Beador won the contest with 59 percent of the votes in the final round against “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Caroline Manzo, according to E!
Beador said she was humbled by the result. “I have been honest and I’ve been 100 percent authentic,” she said. “I also had quite a bit of drama surrounding me this season, and I pulled through it.”
The show portrays Beador as a health-conscious mom who chooses organic and other “green” options for her life at home. In the ninth season’s second episode, she and her husband of 13 years, David, are shown facing marital issues.
“We were in a rut,” said Beador, a mother of three girls. “I pulled through, my marriage pulled through. I believe … I showed that I am a strong person, and I’m going to stay that way.”
Beador said watching reruns of her life through “The Real Housewives of Orange County” has been a learning experience and a blessing for her marriage.
“I’ve learned things in every single episode,” she said. “There are things that I’ve seen and I’ve said, ‘Oh, I do that well.’ But there are a lot of things where I say, ‘Yikes, I can’t be nagging at my husband like that all the time; I can’t be screaming like that at a dinner party.’ You learn.”
E! Online senior editor Kristin Dos Santos said Beador’s storyline may have given her the edge in the competition.
“People felt like she was a breath of fresh air,” Dos Santos said. “They felt empathy toward her because she was going through a lot of marital problems, and then we saw … that she had gotten back together with her husband and things were better than ever. … People love that rookie they can champion.”
The title gives Beador some bragging rights, Dos Santos said.
“It gives her, frankly, some bargaining cred because she’s on a show that is constantly changing its cast,” Dos Santos said. “They’re really looking for the right dynamic and the right chemistry between the cast, and also someone who is going to elicit a strong response from fans. … There is a sense of power in that.”