Madison Bontempo, one of the stars of Hulu’s upcoming Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County spinoff, just revealed she was approached multiple times to join the Real Housewives franchise before ultimately saying no to Bravo.
During the Wednesday, May 13 episode of the Unplanned podcast, Madison revealed she was approached for multiple franchises, including The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and The Real Housewives of Orange County.
“For years when I lived in Los Angeles, they asked me to be on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and I turned it down,” Madison shared.
She also hinted at a possible audition process for The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City before later receiving offers tied to RHOC after relocating to Orange County.
According to Madison, producers continued pursuing her even after she moved again from Utah.
“I took the interview and then they wanted me to meet up with the other women, and they really wanted me to do it,” she explained. Madison states her nerves kicked in, and she decided to turn it down.
Now, Madison is heading to Hulu instead.
The influencer and content creator has officially joined the cast of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County, the California based spinoff following the breakout success of the original Utah series.
And for Madison, the Hulu series simply felt like a better fit.
“This felt more right because the girls are my real friends. I am LDS,” she explained. “I felt like it wasn’t as scary because I knew everybody on it, and we were all doing this for the first time together.”
She continued, “It’s not like you’re jumping into a cast that’s already been there for so long and you’re the new girl. We’re all starting it at the same time [and] it is this new thing for all of us.”
The new Orange County cast includes Aspyn Ovard, Avery Woods, Salomé Andrea, McCall DaPron, Ashleigh Pease, Chandler Higginson Brooks, and Bobbi Althoff.
The series is currently filming, though Hulu has not announced an official premiere date.
With Bravo reportedly pursuing Madison for multiple Housewives franchises over the years, fans are already wondering whether passing on RHOBH and RHOC will end up being the right move.
