E!'s The Golden Life Adds Candace Bushnell, Margaret Josephs to Cast

Jul 16, 2026 - 22:04
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E!'s The Golden Life Adds Candace Bushnell, Margaret Josephs to Cast

‘The Golden Life’ First Teaser Brings Drama, Chaos & Clashes to Florida

Housewife drama is worth its weight in gold.

Which is why E!'s The Golden Life—which sees RHONY alums Kelly Bensimon, Luann De Lesseps, Dorinda Medley, Sonja Morgan, and Ramona Singer reunite in sunny Florida—has officially been greenlit for more episodes for season one. 

Plus, Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Margaret Josephs and journalist Candace Bushnell—whose work inspired Sex and the City—will also be joining the crew.

“We're incredibly encouraged by what we’ve seen so far on The Golden Life and are thrilled to expand the season with additional episodes and to welcome Candace and Margaret to E!,” President of Entertainment at Versant Media Val Boreland said in a press release. “We can't wait to see what unfolds as the ladies take over the Hamptons this summer."  

And if the season’s teaser in any indication, The Golden Life won’t be all sunshine and rainbows.

In fact, despite Sonja’s claim that the women “don’t stir things up anymore,” the sneak peek begs to differ. In fact, in one scene, she and Luann go head-to-head.

"He wanted to marry me, not you,” Luann claims, to which Sonja fires back, “He asked me to marry him, too."

And men are clearly top of mind, with Dorinda hilariously advising Ramona in one clip, as only an old friend can, "Don't let a boyfriend get in the way of finding a husband."

But that candor and closeness—and eagerness to make it nice—is part of what drew Dorinda back to the screen.

"You know what the fun thing is about us? We've never not been united," she told E! News earlier this year. "I just love these ladies because they take a licking and don't stop ticking. They're always busy, going, doing."

And, as she revealed, the Florida heat only fanned the flames of latent tensions.

Instagram/Sonja Morgan

"I'm going to be honest with you, we all have very strong personalities," Dorinda admitted. "If you put us in a room long enough together, there's always going to be something that bothers someone. That's just the animals we are."

But, as she noted, “I think that makes us kind of great.”

So don’t miss The Golden Life when it premieres on E! this fall. 

In the meantime, relive the glories of Housewives from years past with E!’s official ranking.

Adam Olszweski/Bravo

175-178. The Real Housewives of D.C.

Bravo's ill-fated attempt at highlighting our nation's capital brought together four women so forgettable you'd be forgiven for erasing them from your memory—though their names are Mary Amons, Lynda Erkiletian, Cat Ommanney and Stacie Scott Turner—and one so desperate for fame that she gate-crashed a party at the White House. More on her later.

Chris McPherson/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank

174. Kimberly Bryant, The Real Housewives of Orange County

Who?

Matthias Clamer/NBCU Photo Bank

173. Tammy Knickerbocker, The Real Housewives of Orange County

Vaguely familiar, but...

Virginia Sherwood/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank

172. DeShawn Snow, The Real Housewives of Atlanta

Once upon a time, DeShawn starred on the same TV show as NeNe Leakes. Surprising, we know.

Yavir Ramawtar/Bravo

171. Elizabeth Lyn Vargas, The Real Housewives of Orange County

This one-season Housewife brought nothing to the Orange County table.

Chad Kirkland/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank

170. Jennie Nguyen, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City

Utah's newest season two Housewife went out with a bang (and not in a good way). In January 2022, Jennie was fired after "offensive" and racially insensitive old Facebook posts resurfaced online. Jennie later apologized but the damage was done.

Kelsey McNeal/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank

169. Quinn Fry, The Real Housewives of Orange County

Her defining trait was "cougar."

Tommy Garcia/Bravo

168. Jen Armstrong, The Real Housewives of Orange County

The Orange County doctor was never a source of drama during season 16 and her brief marriage troubles with eternally shirtless husband Ryne (or Ryan?) were less than riveting. However, we will never forget Dr. Jen getting absolutely wasted on wine during the Dubrows' insanely awkward—yet wildly entertaining—dinner party.

Bravo

167: Annemarie Wiley, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

The nurse anesthetist's flop first season can be summed up in one cringe-worthy word we hope we never hear again: Esophagus-gate

Tommy Garcia/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank

166. Katie Rost, The Real Housewives of Potomac

Katie loved to talk about her charity work, but...didn't do much else on screen. She was one and done, only to come back and not contribute much as a friend. Leaving the cast trip early? A Housewives no-no.

Tommy Garcia/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank

165. Charrisse Jackson Jordan, The Real Housewives of Potomac

Her marriage problems were on full display the two seasons she was a full-time Housewife...that and her champagne room are the two memorable things about Charrisse.

Alex Martinez/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank

164. Shamari DeVoe, The Real Housewives of Atlanta

A one-and-done Housewife, Shamari was at least fun?

Tommy Garcia/Bravo

163. Peggy Sulahian, The Real Housewives of Orange County

While it was nice to see some diversity in the lily-white O.C., Peggy ultimately proved to be a frustrating presence in season 12. The fights she chose to pick were bizarre, and often involving someone using a word she simply didn't understand, and her decision to simply hide out in her room for an entire day during the trip to Iceland proved that she wasn't really cut out for this Real Housewives life.

Jai Lennard/Bravo

162. Nneka Ihim, The Real Housewives of Potomac

Instead of bonding with fellow Nigerian costar Wendy Osefo during season eight, Nneka's first season storyline centered entirely around her allegedly accusing Wendy's mom of being a witch (yes, seriously). We wish we could have seen the two bond over their shared culture rather than fighting with no resolve.

Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank

161. Noella Bergener, The Real Housewives of Orange County

Noella spun through season 16 like a tornado of frantic energy. While her personal struggles were somewhat compelling (her husband James up and left the country and asked for a divorce right before filming started), it was her constant drama with queen bee Heather Dubrow that helped her not land completely at the bottom of the list. Maybe with more time and another season, we'll warm up to Mrs. Bergener.

Tommy Garcia/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank

160. Siggy Flicker, The Real Housewives of New Jersey

From peacekeeper in her first season to unrelenting complaints about a thrown cake and unfounded claims of anti-Semitism in her second (and last) season, we're not sure we've ever seen a quicker Real Housewives fall from grace than this one.

Alex Martinez/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank

159. Amber Marchese, RHONJ

Everything Amber and her husband Jim did seemed to reek of desperation. Plus, he was involved in more of the drama than she was. Not a good look.

Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images for Allied-THA

158. Karent Sierra, The Real Housewives of Miami

All we remember about Karent is that she was a dentist and none of her co-stars seemed to like her at all. Next!

Alexander Tamargo/WireImage

157. Cristy Rice,The Real Housewives of Miami

This was a real person with a show on Bravo. We promise.

Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank

156. Jules Wainstein, The Real Housewives of New York City

As one of RHONY's more recent one-and-dones, Jules' tenure was too brief to rank any higher. However, she sure did deliver her fair share of drama. 

Phylicia J.L. Munn/Bravo

155: Amanda Francis, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Hate is a strong word, but it's hard to remember anyone who was as swiftly disliked by Bravo fans as RHOBH's season 15 newbie Amanda Francis.

The author, financial advisor and self-professed "Money Queen" rubbed not only her castmates the wrong way, audiences were also put off by Amanda's obsession with material things and questionable career advise.

But it was her refusal to engage in any sort of confrontation with her castmates that truly signaled she wasn't made out to be a Housewife. It's a hard job, and not everybody is meant to do it.

Mike Pont/Getty Images

153-154. Teresa Aprea and Nicole Napolitano, RHONJ

So unnecessary they couldn't even get individual taglines.

Chris Haston/Bravo

152. Nina Ali, The Real Housewives of Dubai

Much like co-star Sara Al Madani, Nina exemplified a multidimensional, successful Arab woman who is blending modern life with centuries-old cultural traditions. She avoided most of the season one drama and was sometimes overshadowed by her co-stars' bigger, louder personalities.

Bravo

151. Taleen Marie, The Real Housewives of Dubai

Taleen was a nice addition to RHODubai's sophomore season, but we only have one season to judge her on.

Phylicia J.L. Munn/Bravo

150: Angel Massie, The Real Housewives of Potomac

To say Angel failed spectacularly at being a Housewife would be an understatement. With one miss after another, the WAG and wife of retired NFL star Bobby Massie fumbled her way through season 10 as her more seasoned and shadier costars relished in her unsuccessful attempts to fit into the friend group.

Despite her shortcomings, it is pretty epic that her Colorado glamping excursion ended with the cast lost in the wilderness and eating fast food from a roadside gas station.

Definitely a first for the Housewives.

Tommy Garcia/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank

149. Eva Marcille, RHOA

The America's Next Top Model veteran picked up a peach for seasons 11 and 12, but never really made an impression in the world of RHOA, aside from being pregnant for what felt like her entire tenure. Points for that epic read of Marlo Hampton while in Tokyo, though.

Bravo

148. Katie Ginella, The Real Housewives of Orange County

Per usual, we typically need to see more than one season to place a first-time Housewife higher on our list. But Katie came in swinging during RHOC's 18th season, immediately going up against veteran Housewife Heather Dubrow. It takes a brave woman to call B.S. on Ms. Fancypants.

Clifton Prescod/Bravo

147. Stephanie Shojaee, The Real Housewives of Miami

We'll be honest: Stephanie is not our cup of tea. While her vast wealth had the makings of a great Housewife, the fact that she continuously used her private jet as leverage to hold power over her new costars during season seven left an icky raste in our mouth.

Maybe Steph can redeem herself if she returns for season eight.

Rich Polk/Bravo

146. Sara Al Madani, The Real Housewives of Dubai

Sara's positive, enlightened outlook on life was certainly pleasant, but didn't provide for much drama (besides that one time she offered co-star Caroline Brooks some not-so-well received parenting advice). However, the tech entrepreneur shattered stereotypes of what it means to be a modern Muslim woman in the Middle East and for that we applaud her. 

Andrew Eccles/Bravo

144-145. Rachel Fuda & Danielle Cabral, The Real Housewives of New Jersey

RHONJ's season 13 newbies certainly fit the mold of your typical Garden State Housewife and quickly found themselves in a season-long fight over literally nothing that Andy Cohen deemed pointless at the reunion. The former friends unfortunately didn't bring much more substance during season 14.

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