What Only Huge Real Housewives Fans Know About Brandi Glanville
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Former model, mother, and author Brandi Glanville has been steadily working her way up the reality television ranks to reach royalty status. One simply can't discuss this genre without her name coming up from time to time. While she has appeared in shows like "Celebrity Apprentice," "Famously Single," "My Kitchen Rules," and "Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars Family Edition," she is best known for her explosive appearances on Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" where she boozed and brawled her way into fans' hearts. Glanville is one of those characters viewers can't stop watching and, man, do they often love to hate her!
She isn't only explosive in front of rolling cameras, though — her personal life has been proof of this. Aside from her career, Glanville is known for her tumultuous divorce from actor Eddie Cibrian and her long-time feud with Cibrian's current wife, LeAnn Rimes, as reported by Us Weekly. Glanville is unapologetically and authentically herself, forever speaking on whatever pops into her mind. Because of her free-flowing train of constant thought (we never know what will come flying out of her mouth) and her raw and honest demeanor, the public knows much about Glanville — but not everything! These juicy tidbits are ones only Glanville and her most devout fans will know about.
Brandi Glanville had a less-than-glamorous upbringing
Brandi Glanville is a California girl, born and raised. While fans of the reality star have grown accustomed to seeing her strutting around Beverly Hills, rubbing elbows and clinking glasses with the rich and famous, her childhood was a far cry from the life she lives these days. Glanville grew up in a part of Sacramento known as South Sac. The reality star described her hometown to Sactown Magazine as rough neighborhood, where gang violence was common.
Glanville wasn't born with a silver spoon, and her parents worked hard to support their three children. Her mother, who Glanville described as a hippie, worked as a housekeeper. Glanville's father held down several honest jobs as a janitor, a gas station clerk, and a grocery store employee. According to Glanville, he also worked a less-legal gig. "He grew [marijuana] in our backyard and gave it to the dealers to deal. It was a means to an end and a way to make ends meet. We had a lot of bills, and there were always a lot of financial issues." Glanville continued, saying, "[My parents] sent us to private schools — I went to Willow Rancho Baptist School and Gloria Dei Lutheran — because other schools around us were dangerous."
While Glanville isn't ashamed of her roots, even describing her parents as some of the hardest working people she's ever known, her tell-all attitude in her book "Drinking and Tweeting" caused friction between the actor and her father (via Bustle).
She started her career in modeling
Bravo is known for turning out some of the very best reality TV stars in all the land, and many of our favorite Bravo stars got their starts working runways and walking catwalks. Like Cynthia Bailey, Kenya Moore, Kristin Taekman, and Yolanda Foster, Brandi Glanville had her first taste of fame thanks to the fashion industry. She started working as a model at 16, signing with Elite Model Management and networking in major industry hubs across the states and Europe. Per Us Weekly, Glanville even lived in Milan and Paris for six years while working for high fashion designers.
Even with her modeling career miles behind her now, Glanville still takes to social media to reminisce about those days. In 2020, she shared a group photo of herself with a gang of beauties on her Instagram, captioning the post, "Modeling days with my girls!" She also tweeted a throwback pic of herself along with fellow housewife and former model Kristen Taekman, as the two go way back to their runway days. Glanville also couldn't help but tweet an image of her glory days from 1992, when the reality star rocked an animal print get-up and her trademark smirk. She tagged Bravo's Andy Cohen, noting her very real cheekbones, which she is clearly proud of. Should anyone ever question her booming modeling days, Glanville has posted plenty of evidence reminding us all that she was an icon long before "Housewives."
Brandi Glanville terminated a pregnancy in her teens
Brandi Glanville knew that motherhood during her teenage years wasn't going to be the best course for her, and she isn't the only housewife to reveal she once chose not to see an unplanned pregnancy forward. Glanville and "Real Housewives of New York" OG Jill Zarin both revealed they had abortions during their late teenage years. On "Watch What Happens Live, they discussed their decisions, as well as how grateful they were to have had the ability to legally decide what to do with their bodies (via People). Both reality stars reflected on how different their lives could have been had they decided to have babies before they were really ready. The conversation, sparked by host Andy Cohen, came on the heels of the Supreme Court ruling dismantling a woman's right to a legal abortion.
Glanville later expanded on her experience on Twitter, writing, "I don't have any shame about my abortion &thank God I had a choice.I was 17 a senior in high school I was in an emotionally abusive relationship and I was on birth control pills and I still became pregnant. I had a choice & I was still a child myself." Glanville, of course, went on to have two beautiful, healthy sons, Mason and Jake, with her ex-husband, Eddie Cibrian.
Her divorce was devastating
Brandi Glanville was with her ex-husband, actor Eddie Cibrian, for 13 years. During the course of their relationship, the pair built a life together and welcomed two adorable sons into their family. Per The Sun, Glanville's life seemed pretty perfect. She was wild about her husband and adored her children, but it turned out that their fairytale family was a smoke and mirror show.
While Glanville was basking in her dream life, her husband was falling in love with country singer and actor LeAnn Rimes. Rimes and Cibrian had taken their professional filming relationship and turned it very personal. Glanville had her suspicions, and unfortunately, those suspicions were confirmed when she saw photos of her husband and his new lady plastered across tabloids. Glanville was devastated, admitting that had she not needed to care for her children, she might not have weathered the storm.
The road that followed was a very public and messy one that included divorce, bad blood, wars over the children, and more. Thankfully Glanville is enjoying brighter days now and has moved past the hurt and anger that resulted from her split — but that isn't to say all is forgotten. She explained to Entertainment Tonight, "I'm 100 percent over him, but it changes your life forever. You'll never be the same person you were before. You change into a person that has to grow from their experience before. Heartbreak sucks, and I'm a different person now."
Brandi Glanville is an author and has a podcast
Brandi Glanville is well known for her good looks that helped her achieve model status and her outrageous reality television behavior, but there is far more to this lady than what cameras capture. Glanville has the brains to back up her beauty. Like many other Housewives, she is a successful, published author.
Glanville first penned The New York Times Bestseller, "Drinking and Tweeting: And Other Brandi Blunders" and then followed it up with "Drinking and Dating: P.S. Social Media is Ruining Romance." While both books touch on different aspects of her life and her experiences, they have a commonality of realness and rawness that characterize the reality star's approach to life. As for how she tackles the creative process, Glanville admitted in an interview with Popbytes that she does a "brain dump," writing whatever comes to mind. She then hands her thoughts over to her co-author, who makes everything flow together. She also always has a recorder handy just in case she says something mind-blowing that she doesn't want to forget. How very Brandi of her!
In addition to writing, Glanville has decided to put her thoughts out into the universe in the form of a podcast. "Brandi Glanville Unfiltered" is where the reality star dives into everything pop culture, leaving nothing off the table and making just about everything fair game to discuss.
She has 'a dependency on Del Taco'
Brandi Glanville is a girl after our own hearts for so many reasons, and one of those reasons is her unwavering love for a good taco. The reality maven and mother of two works hard to maintain her statuesque build, insisting to NW Magazine (via Daily Mail), that while she has good genes, she still has to work out, especially when it comes to her midsection. So yes, she pays close attention to her fitness, but you won't ever see this girl turn down Mexican food, especially if it's from Del Taco. She told Us Weekly that she's a fan of Del Taco's burritos, in particular.
Glanville further also praised the fast food chain when speaking to Bravo. "I have a dependency on Del Taco," she admitted. "My order is always fried jalapeños with two small red burritos, extra red sauce, extra cheese, easy on the bread, add onions. I know if my order is right immediately by the weight of the burrito."
Brandi Glanville regretted getting fillers
Brandi Glanville doesn't strike us as a woman who lives life with many regrets. And while her list of take-backs might not be a mile long, there are a few past moves she wishes she could erase completely. One of those is overdoing it with fillers.
In 2014, Glanville revealed in a candid interview with Entertainment Tonight she admitted that she didn't realize she had done so until she watched herself on television. Glanville went on to explain that she would stick to Botox from then on.
This wasn't the first time Glanville changed her stance on beauty alterations. She has also shifted her perspective on liposuction. When appearing on "Watch What Happens Live" (via Page Six), she admitted that while she once said no way to lipo, she has since changed her tune, admitting to having some parts of her body laser liposuctioned. The reality star has also admitted to having her breasts augmented and a vaginal rejuvenation in the past. One thing about Glanville: she owns all of herself, the natural and the altered.
Her furbabies have been under attack
Hollywood has gone to the dogs, and many celebs downright adore their furbabies! Over the years, Brandi Glanville has shown her precious pooches just about as much love as she has shown human children, so when terrible things have happened to her canines, the reality star found herself devastated. Unfortunately, mishaps with Glanville's pooches have not simply been a one-off.
First, there was the disturbing dognapping of 2013. E! News reported that Glanville's home had been burglarized, and her chihuahua mix, Chica, went missing as a result of the break-in. Glanville's assistant was let go for not keeping the reality star's home and pup safe, and sadly even with a $10,000 reward offered, Chica was never returned to her heartbroken owner.
Glanville added another chihuahua to the family, Buddy, but in 2022, this little guy also faced adversity. Glanville posted a picture of her injured dog to Instagram, writing, "My gangster pup started a fight he could not finish with a wolf. He is ok, thank God!" The incident must have brought back tons of emotions from Glanville, who revealed in a different Instagram post that she had lost another beloved animal to a coyote attack years prior. Her bad luck with dog injuries continued as she later uploaded a PSA to TikTok (via The Heavy), about keeping pups on leashes after her dog got into a skirmish with a neighbor's animal, causing Glanville to go on a swear-laden tirade.
She struggles with her skin
These days Brandi Glanville has it all — peace in her heart, healthy kids, lots of friends, and plenty of cash in her bank account. One thing she will admit to not having, though, is clear and easy skin. Glanville disclosed to Us Weekly that even in middle age, she still gets pimples. So what does she do about those pesky breakouts? The reality star told New Beauty, "I have problematic skin, so I really rely on great makeup, concealer, foundation and powder." She went on to say that her acne began in her twenties, and she has always found it a challenge to treat because of its dry and sensitive texture.
Dry, acne-prone skin isn't the only challenge Glanville fights when it comes to her face. She revealed to fans on Instagram that she also has psoriasis. "For Friday the 13th, I'm sharing something scary! Psoriasis taking over my face & I'm depressed about [it]. Thank God for masks."
Psoriasis is common — some 7.5 million Americans have the skin condition, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. One of those millions is none other than Glanville's former nemesis and wife of her ex-husband, Eddie Cibrian: LeAnn Rimes. Rimes has also battled the skin condition over the years, opening up to Glamour in a candid essay where she discussed living with psoriasis as she bravely shared her flare-ups with the world.
These days she and LeAnn Rimes 'get along really well'
Brandi Glanville once despised LeAnn Rimes, and it isn't hard to see why. Rimes fell for Glanville's husband, Eddie Cibrian, and is now his wife and stepmother to Glanville and Cibrian's children. To say Glanville was a woman scorned would be the understatement of the century. As Glanville told The Sun that following her split with Cibrian, she once walked into a sporting event only to see her 2-year-old son Jake nestled in Rimes' lap. "I had this rage in my body. I really wanted to kill her. I walked over to her, grabbed Jake and I, looked at her, and said: "I will f***ing murder you."
In the years since, the relationship between the county singer and the reality star has done a complete 180. Rimes gushed over Glanville at the 2022 CMT Music Awards telling Us Weekly, "Oh, I love her! I mean, I do. I love her. We get along very well. She's fun. We have a great time at all the holidays." Rimes continued by saying, "We are connected through the boys, and we have great respect for one another."
Glanville echoed Rimes' feelings, telling the hosts of "Hollywood Raw Podcast," "The truth is, LeAnn and I get along really well." She went on to explain both she and Rimes have grown up a lot over the last decade and have learned to put the children first, all of which has aided in their mending of fences.
Putting the Housewife dream to rest
No matter the city, the Housewives seem to come and go. From Atlanta to New York and Salt Lake City to Orange County, you never know who is coming back after another steamy season and who is getting the axe. Bravo loves to keep fans guessing at who will be holding a coveted peach, apple, snowflake, or diamond, and in recent years, the network has surprised viewers with some of its choices in housewives returning for round two. Taylor Armstrong made history with her jump from Beverly Hills to Orange County and, in 2022, Tamra Judge revealed she'd signed on for more OC drama. Will Brandi Glanville follow suit and become a Housewife yet again?
Not happening, says Glanville. She revealed in an Entertainment Tonight exclusive that she and Andy Cohen had discussed a possible eventual return, but unforeseen situations — like Lisa Vanderpump's mother and brother passing away – made a return unlikely. She also told Page Six that she no longer considers herself a good fit for the hit series and that the reality show has lost some authenticity. "Honestly, it's a different show than what I used to shoot. When we used to shoot, they would just drop us off and be like, 'You go and whatever happens, happens.'"
While a "Real Housewives" return isn't on the horizon for Glanville, we are guessing that doesn't mean we have seen the last of this charismatic lady.