When The Real Housewives of D.C. debuts Aug. 5, viewers will already be well acquainted with one of its stars. As suspected, Michaele Salahi, who attended a state dinner at the White House with her husband last fall, allegedly without an invitation, has secured a spot on the Bravo reality show.
Michaele and Tareq Salahi stirred up plenty of drama in November by making it through Marine guards, Secret Service details and White House staff to rub elbows with the country's top politicians at President Barack Obama's first state dinner, in honor of the Indian prime minister. A Bravo camera team reportedly trailed the couple that evening. Immediately following the security breach, the Salahis were widely vilified as attention-seekers, though they have insisted they were invited to the function.
Bravo annonced the full D.C. cast in a press release Tuesday, calling the five women, "connected D.C. power players," who "have their pulse on the most important cultural events, political galas, gallery openings, and fundraisers in Washington society."
The other castmates include Mary Schmidt Amons (described by Bravo as "the true Washingtonian and granddaughter of radio and TV personality Arthur Godfrey"); Lynda Erkiletian ("the mother hen and owner of D.C.'s top modeling agency"); Catherine Ommanney (a "feisty Brit" who is "married to a White House photographer"); and Stacie Scott Turner ("Harvard grad, active political fund raiser").
The Real Housewives of D.C. began production shortly after the election and inauguration of Obama, according to the release.
"We wanted to dive into the Beltway subculture as it underwent an historic shift, one that previously has not been readily accessible or portrayed, and look at the political hierarchy and definitive social circles that make up D.C.'s unique society,” Bravo exec Andy Cohen said. "We knew this was going to expose a different social narrative from any of our other Housewives series – provocative and engaging in a whole new way.” –Tim Nudd
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