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It’s the most magical time of the year — Us Weekly’s Reality Stars of the Year issue, celebrating all of the best personalities, moments and one-liners across your favorite nonscripted television programs. And in the year that gave Us “gout d*** sucker,” how can we not honor the cast of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City?
“We all have very strong personalities, and we’re all very different,” Lisa Barlow, who issued that instantly infamous phrase to Bronwyn Newport, says in the issue. “I think we fill voids for each other in different ways. As ugly as things can get, we still, at the end of the day, remember we’re friends and want each other to win. We keep choosing each other, even when it’s ugly, even when it looks like you can’t recover.”
Whitney Rose insists, “You may not always see it, but we really do love each other, and there’s a sisterhood that’s unexplained. Even when someone’s coming after you or you’re going after someone else, there is an indescribable bond.”
And while the women of RHOSLC star in the issue, getting together for an iconic photo shoot that serves as a parody of Vanity Fair’s infamous Desperate Housewives cover, they aren’t the only ones Us is celebrating. Scroll through to see Us’ Top Reality Stars of the Year and pick up the Reality Stars of the Year issue, on newsstands now.
“It’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever gotten to be part of. I don’t want to leave. I want to be part of the furniture!” Robert Irwin is, of course, talking about Dancing With the Stars. (He’s partnered with Witney Carson.) Season 34 is shattering voting records, and we have to believe one reason is the Aussie’s infectious energy and enthusiasm, his jaw-dropping moves — and, OK, that shirtless moment. The wildlife conservationist, 21, is following in the footsteps of sister Bindi, who won the mirrorball trophy back in 2015. “It’s a big, strange new world. [I’d] never been in a ballroom,” he tells Us. “It’s been really cool to have her advice.” For his part, the competition has been a “beautiful” experience, Robert says. “It’s almost like you feel everything tenfold, because you’re expressing it through music and through dance.” You get the feeling he could be voted off tomorrow and would still be thrilled he had this platform “to amplify a bit of good into the world.” Everything he does, he adds, is with late dad Steve and mom Terri in mind: “To honor the legacy my parents created is such a privilege.”
Maddi Reese: The Life of The Party
When Vanderpump Rules announced a cast shakeup, some Bravo fans panicked. Not Us. Southern Hospitality was already serving up the same level of chaotic restaurant drama at Republic in Charleston. Standout Maddi Reese deserves a lot of the credit for the show’s momentum: “I came in guns blazing,” she tells Us. Three seasons in, fans have seen a “very fired up and reactive” Reese, 28, confront boyfriends for cheating — and confront costars for lying to her about said alleged cheating. Yet she’s also the one who recognizes when the group is piling on. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes, so I can’t judge anyone else, especially if I’ve done the same thing. That’s where my empathy comes from,” she says. Adding an extra layer of depth: Reese has been sober for more than 10 years. On camera, she’s the perfect example of “enthusiastic” sobriety. “I’ve had fans who went to the same treatment center [I did] come to my [DJ] shows and say, ‘We’re still here and we’re sober and we’re having a good time,’” she says. “That’s the stuff that blows my mind.”
Easygoing, funny and genuinely sweet, Nic Vansteenberghe quickly became one of those rare men on reality TV whom fans actually root for. “I don’t take life too seriously,” he tells Us. “I think it’s a breath of fresh air for people.” Plenty of them fell for him on Love Island USA, which racked up 8.8 billion minutes of streaming in six weeks. With season 7’s racy challenges, Vansteenberghe, 24, surprised even himself with his ability to let loose in Fiji: “After twerking on national TV [in front of Megan Thee Stallion], you just don’t care what anybody thinks.” That said, he’s reconsidering one thing. “Maybe not do any bedroom activity on [camera],” he muses. “It’s a bit too authentic.” He and villa partner in crime Olandria Carthen definitely got viewers excited — watch-party videos document them screaming over every “Nicolandria” interlude. The response has been “fully unexpected,” says the Miami model, who’s now hoping to boost a DJ career, “but it’s been so positive and exciting to experience so much love.”
Fans likely expected Next Gen NYC — with Real Housewives kids making up half the cast — to deliver drama, shade and a touch of spoiled energy. But instead, the show impressed Us with the enviable and real bond between Riley Burruss and Ariana Biermann, who reconnected for the first time since their moms, Kandi Burruss and Kim Zolciak, famously fell out on The Real Housewives of Atlanta when the girls were just 10. “I’m so happy we can show the world that it doesn’t matter when you stop being somebody’s friend or what happens between your families — you can still pick up and have a friendship outside of all the bulls**t,” Biermann, 24, tells Us. Filming Next Gen, about their moves to the Big Apple, the two just clicked. “I was nervous, but we spent the day together, even outside of the cameras,” Riley, 23, recalls. “We became best friends in two hours.” Riley also had one of the show’s most powerful moments when she called out costar Charlie Zakkour for a microaggression — and later learned the impact of her words from one fan. “She [felt] really proud as a Black woman, seeing another Black woman speak in a very nice way about all the things [she’d gone] through,” Burruss tells Us. As for the future? They plan on avoiding the same fate as Kim and Kandi. Says Biermann: “If I’ve got anybody’s back in the room, it’s Riley’s.”
Dylan Efron: The Fan Turned Favorite
Dylan Efron seemed harmless enough when he first set foot in the Traitors castle, but he was one step ahead of the competition the entire way. Thanks to his effortless charm and swift strategic sensibility, Efron, 33, shared the season 3 victory — and more than $200,000 — with fellow Faithfuls Dolores Catania, Gabby Windey and Ivar Mountbatten. Though not an actor like older brother Zac, Efron possesses a different kind of star quality. “I’m trying my hardest, a little goofy, shy and easily embarrassed — and people can relate to it,” he tells Us. Long before he faced off against Survivor and Big Brother legends, Efron followed them on TV — just like Us. “Somehow, [I got] a chance to play,” he marvels, proud of the “genuine connections” he formed (yes, that bromance with “Boston Rob” Mariano was totally “authentic”). Efron is now taking on a new challenge on Dancing With the Stars. Would he go back and change anything about this “surreal” year? “Is it cheesy to say ‘Nothing’?”
Christina Haack knows firsthand that renovating houses is unpredictable, something made painfully clear in The Flip Off. The concept: her and then-husband Josh Hall vs. her ex and his wife, Tarek and Heather Rae El Moussa, in a house-flipping contest. By the time the show debuted in January, her split from Hall was public, but seeing Haack in tears as she told Tarek on camera was unexpected, as was her brave decision to carry on solo. “That scene still makes me emotional because it’s so raw and real,” Haack, 42, tells Us, “but I think people deserve to see that because, yes, we are all human.” What came next was a blueprint on how to build on a solid foundation. She says of Tarek: “I just wanted to turn it back to what really matters, and it was our friendship, our history on TV together, and how we’ve been able to work through so much stuff being thrown at us.” Spoiler: Ultimately, the El Moussas won The Flip Off (season 2 is shooting now), and as for Haack, “I’m proud of [my reality], and I am grateful to still be here.”
What’s more dramatic than a redemption arc? A redemption arc unjustly cut short. With a rep for being too confrontational and prone to tears, Rachel Reilly left Big Brother in 2010 with her future husband, Brendon Villegas, and came back in 2011 for sweet victory and $500K. This summer, the icon, 40, surprised Us as the competition’s mystery houseguest — teased as “polarizing” by host Julie Chen Moonves. “I am just genuinely Rachel,” Reilly tells Us, laughing. “Sometimes you’re going to go on an emotional roller coaster with me, but it’s going to be a fun ride.” Showing her “evolved” social game, Reilly made it to day 60 — with a good shot at being BB’s first two-time winner — before a twist elimination that outraged fans: Not quick enough to finish a maze puzzle, she was instantly sent packing, without the usual chances to save herself. “Look, I never got evicted, I never got a vote against me, I never even went on the block — and people tried,” says Reilly, an alum of The Traitors and three rounds of The Amazing Race. “Some people told me I reinvigorated their love for the game.”
The Stars of RHOSLC: Best. Cast. Ever.
Lisa Barlow
If anyone was born to be a Housewife, it’s Lisa, 50, who never met a situation she couldn’t turn into a catchphrase or a Taco Supreme she didn’t like. The last practicing Mormon on the show has a “big life,” and when people come for it, she responds with easels and insults (long live GDS). She doesn’t mince words, like in response to rumors that a man who isn’t her husband pays her Amex: “I make my own money. I don’t need to spend another man’s money.”
Mary Cosby
Mary, 53, inherited the Pentecostal church (and the husband) of her late grandmother. She initially provided comic relief — recall her happily eating a Filet-O-Fish alone in a van while everyone else partied — but became a more integral part of the cast after stepping away in season 3. There wasn’t a dry eye in the Bravoverse last year when she revealed that son Robert Jr., 22, struggles with addiction. “I pray he stays good,” she tells Us.
Angie Katsanevas
Angie, 51, was initially a divisive addition to the cast, but she’s become a fan favorite thanks to her heartwarming connection with Mary, Greek pride, penchant for enormous shades (and shade) and vulnerability. She and husband Shawn run the salon empire Lunatic Fringe, where guests occasionally seek high-body-count hair. What, pray tell, is low-body-count hair? “A little more simple, sleek, like a sweet little bob; something more innocent.”
Heather Gay
When RHOSLC premiered, Heather, now 51, had just left the church and was finding her footing as a single mom. Since then, she’s published two books, Bad Mormon and Good Time Girl, and is the gang’s resident relatable gal: She once woke up on a girls’ trip in a pile of loose Milk Duds. Business at her medspa, Beauty Lab + Laser, is booming, and she’s adjusting to life as an empty nester now that her youngest is in college. “The mom of it all really blocked out any light for dating,” Heather tells Us. “Now I feel like the lights are on and I’m ready to date and have a little me time.”
Meredith Marks
Every good Housewife has her quirks, but few have as many as Meredith, 53, whose affinity for bath tubs, bejeweled full-face masks and Bravo-merch-worthy bon mots — “I’m disengaging” — are legendary. Her latest project? A DJ tour that will take her to NYC, Chicago and more. “It’s fun and light. It’s songs you’ll know,” she says. “A lot of it ties back to little things in the show,” like a remix of Lindsay Lohan’s “Rumors” with Meredith’s iconic “rumors and nastiness” line.
Whitney Rose
Whitney, 39, is the youngest, but she’s been through just as much as her elders, leaving the church and trying to reconnect with her estranged dad. In 2022, her husband, Justin, was fired from his job, possibly because of a now-infamous sexy RHOSLC scene. More recently, she lost six figures in a failed attempt to merge her skincare line, Wild Rose Beauty, with another entity. “Justin and I really leaned on each other, and it brought us closer,” she tells Us. “You’ll see me throughout this season processing feelings of resentment and defeat. It’s really hard.” The mom of two has since reclaimed her brand and also runs the jewelry line Prism.
Bronwyn Newport
Bronwyn, 40, joined in season 5 and instantly made a splash in heart-shaped Saint Laurent fur and Moschino hot dog dress. Sometimes she’s the cool head in the room; other times, she’s grabbing the spoon and stirring the pot herself. This season, she’s opened up to show more of her family and earned praise for admitting she lied about husband Todd buying her a $4 million necklace last year: “I freaked out in the moment, and it was wrong.”
