'Real Housewives' Stars Who Left For Legit Reasons

It's hard to believe, but there are more important things to the women on Real Housewives than doing reality TV. And there have been some Real Housewives stars who left the franchise for important reasons. Nevertheless, these women will always remain a part of the Real Housewives family. Plus, plenty of them have made cameo appearances, which is probably the best thing to do: They still get the attention from being on the show without the regular headaches from drama.

In all honesty, many of the women who have left Real Housewives live for being on reality TV and the reasons that they leave the show are not always clear (Did they choose to leave? Were they asked to leave?), but there have been exceptions over the years. There are just some things in live that are a lot more important than being a reality television star. There's only so much that a person can share about their lives in front of the cameras.

The women below left the show for a variety of reasons. They had children that they wanted to take care of away from the spotlight. They had health concerns that they wanted to address without the distraction of Real Housewives drama. There are some ladies who wanted to wrap up their divorce in private. Here are nine Housewives who left for important reasons.

1. Kimberly Bryant

Kimberly Bryant appeared on Real Housewives of Orange County's first season, during which she had her second skin cancer scare. After her son was diagnosed with a pre-cancerous mole, Kimberly and her family wanted to get away from the California sun and moved to Chicago, according to Bravo. And you can't be a part of a show that has Orange County in its title if you don't live in California.

3. Tammy Knickerbocker

Tammy Knickerbocker appeared on RHOC's second and third seasons. She was not one of those Housewives who feuded with the other ladies a lot, but her life was always super interesting. Sadly, after her ex-husband passed away, Tammy stepped away from the reality show to focus on her children and her marketing company, Veriya, Bravo reports.

4. Peggy Tanous

In an interview with Reality Tea, Peggy Tanous revealed that she left RHOC because being on the show gave her anxiety. That sounds like a pretty legit reason to me. The attention and money are not worth feeling anxious or uncomfortable. Good for her.

5. Lydia McLaughlin

Lydia McLaughlin only lasted on RHOC for one season. In an interview with Bravo, Lydia said, "My true motivation for doing the show again was based more on the worldly benefits… I had gotten a taste of fame and recognition, and it was fun... The dresses and makeup and all things girlie were tempting." So why did she leave? Apparently Lydia didn't make the decision to quit RHOC alone. She wrote in her book, "I sensed the Holy Spirit inside me saying, 'You don't have to be here. So I stood up and walked off the set." Well, listening to God is definitely a fair enough reason to stop participating in reality television.

6. Bethenny Frankel

Bethenny left Real Housewives of New York City for her spinoff series that focused on her own life. She got to escape the drama (for a little bit), but still got the attention of being on reality TV.

7. Kim Zolciak

In an interview with HLN, Kim Zolciak said that she left Real Housewives of Atlanta because of "the violence." Kim said, “I never grew up around that. For me it was really harsh.” Kim was also pregnant with her second son Kash at the time and added, “I knew that my blood pressure was fine until I started filming that season and then it was through the roof. My doctor’s like, ‘You’ve got to chill out.’ I had to choose my child over all of this and I just walked out." It all worked out for Kim since she ended up with her own spinoff, Don't Be Tardy, and she doesn't have to deal with Real Housewives drama.

8. NeNe Leakes

During NeNe's last season on RHOA, she was at odds with all of the women. They even had a therapy session to resolve their issues with NeNe, so it made sense that the star would want to peace out. Plus, she had so many other projects going on. From her stint on Broadway to her role on Fashion Police, NeNe was way too busy to be arguing at themed parties with the ladies.

9. Dina Manzo

Back in 2010, Dina Manzo told E! that she left Real Housewives of New Jersey to get away from Danielle Staub. Dina said, "The only way I can truly get Danielle out my life is to not be in contact filming with her. That way I don't have to talk about her, and I don't have to be around her." And I'm sure that her feud with her sister Caroline Manzo also kept her away from the show.

10. Caroline Manzo

As per usual, Caroline Manzo had a lengthy and philosophical reason for leaving RHONJ. Caroline explained why she quit the reality show in a Bravo blog:

Over the past few years my outlook on the show has changed from something I couldn't wait to show my future grandchildren to something I hope my future grandchildren never see. I've always prided myself on being a good example for my children and my decision to leave is based on advice I've always given them: "Be true to yourself and be proud of who you are, you are born with a name and you die with a name, don't dirty it up."

Plus, I'm sure that getting a spinoff show focused on her family soon helped persuade her to move on.

Believe it or not, there are more important things to reality stars than being on reality TV.

Image: Bravo (1)