This season of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is firing on all cylinders. The newbies are bringing it, including “friend of” Britani Bateman. When Season 5 kicked off, it initially seemed like Britani’s only personality trait was her relationship with Jared Osmond. Viewers weren’t invested in the on-again/off-again romance. They’re still not, but as the season went on, the fans’ opinions of Britani herself started to turn for the better.
Britani isn’t for everyone, and she definitely stands out in the RHOSLC friend group. But for some viewers, her lack of self-awareness recalls the glory days of early Real Housewives stars. Here are a few of the reasons Britani grew on fans throughout her debut year.
Britani Bateman’s antics are entertaining for RHOSLC viewers
From her constant “announcements” to failing at dressing up for an Audrey Hepburn party, Britani gives fans a lot to talk about. Perhaps her funniest moment all season was standing up and declaring, “You guys, what about me?!” But making heart hands while crying “Jared, you are my best friend” would be a close second. In an era where Housewives are criticized for holding back, Britani does the opposite, as a chronic oversharer who seems to have no filter or shame.
Britani has a lack of self-awareness that reminds many viewers of former Vanderpump Rules star Scheana Shay. I’ve also seen comparisons to the Housewives of pre-reboot Real Housewives of New York. It may be exhausting to deal with in real life, but her chaotic antics make Britani the type of larger-than-life character perfect for reality TV.
There’s something about Britani that activates her RHOSLC co-stars (and it makes great TV)
Britani may irritate her co-stars, but that’s led to many standout moments from this season. In the premiere alone, she alienated both Mary Cosby and Bronwyn Newport in one fell swoop. I still giggle thinking about Mary being afraid Britani would put rolls in her purse. Especially the observation, “She had to do it recently because when you’re little, you don’t have a purse.” Mary’s new bestie Angie Katsanevas also gave us an all-time great Real Housewives rant with the “high body count hair” moment. Which was followed by Lisa Barlow recommending a hair product. Britani sure inspires some great one-liners!
While the RHOSLC cast reactions to Britani can seem a bit overboard, she also sometimes functions as this season’s villain. For instance, she was the one who started things with Angie at Meredith Marks’ bat mitzvah. Some thought Bronwyn overreacted to Britani calling her heart coat a “costume,” but their fight in Milwaukee was definitely more understandable. Britani got so defensive over (what else) her relationship with Jared, that she came for Bronwyn’s marriage. However, she didn’t even know Bronwyn’s husband’s name, which made it easier for the fellow newbie to shut Britani down. Even when her attempted confrontations flop like that did, it produces great television.
Britani doesn’t hesitate to laugh at herself on social media
The RHOSLC newbie certainly relishes becoming a meme. She pokes fun at herself quite a lot on TikTok. Including filming in a shopping cart to recreate the moment she thought Jared made things “official.” Most recently, she posted about a hair makeover in light of the “high body count hair” moment. Before that, she made “What about me?!” sweatshirts. And her TikTok bio references the heart hands moment.
Britani’s social media posts are as chaotic as her RHOSLC persona. Continuing her feud with Bronwyn, she posted a TikTok wearing a version of the now-infamous heart coat. It’s possible there are more than three of those coats in the world, but comments were quick to point out that the coats did not look the same. Britani laughed and joked along with commenters calling it the Temu or Walmart version of Bronwyn’s look.
There’s a whole other side of Britani that fascinates viewers
Before joining Real Housewives, Britani had a career in musical theater. In other words, she’s a drama queen in more ways than one! There’s been some contention between her and Bronwyn over whether or not Britani was on Broadway. But she was on a Broadway tour of Miss Saigon, which is very impressive. And she played two Disney princesses at Tokyo Disney. She also appeared in a Christmas movie with Tori Spelling.
Since her RHOSLC fame, Britani has shown off her singing voice through her wild social media posts. She made multiple TikToks covering Defining Gravity, including one where she painted her face green. Ahead of her Watch What Happens Live appearance, she sang a cover of the classic Housewives song Don’t Be Tardy For the Party. Considering that Lisa is working on a singing side career, how long until RHOSLC fans get a duet?
Viewers can empathize with Britani
While Britani’s inability to fit in makes for funny moments, it also makes her sympathetic. Even her friend Heather Gay said she regrets introducing her to the group. When Britani thought she and Bronwyn made amends at the bat mitzvah, Bronwyn almost immediately sold her out to Angie.
On the Mexico trip, Whitney Rose observed how Britani didn’t even know she was being treated like a pawn by Lisa. Of course, Britani didn’t exactly help her case by blurting out to Bronwyn, “Maybe she likes me more.” In response to her latest announcement about making progress with one of her daughters, literally none of the women reacted much at all.
As Heather said, Britani is also deeply engrained in the Mormon mindset about dating. While former Mormon Heather is perfectly content being single, Britani makes a spreadsheet to keep track of dates. It’s one of the fascinating insights into Mormon culture that makes RHOSLC stand out from other Housewives shows.
Real Housewives of Salt Lake City airs Wednesdays on Bravo.
