Meet the Woman Who Turned Down a Role on The Real Housewives of Dallas

By now, we’re familiar with the five women (plus a friend) of The Real Housewives of Dallas. They have seemingly formed two teams and this season is basically just about who will come out on top. We’ve been told that this cast had all the characteristics to make Bravo green light the production.

But what about the other prominent (and charitable) women in Dallas? Are there other Dallas women who decided being a part of the Housewives franchise — which regularly features yelling and wine-tossing — wouldn’t best suit them and their reputations?

Meet Robin McMonigle, a Dallas real estate agent who says she turned down a spot on The Real Housewives of Dallas.

While living in Orange County, McMonigle and her ex-husband were high-profile real estate agents, sometimes selling $75 million homes. Because of her relationships with the people purchasing these homes — also high-profile and wealthy, McMonigle says the Housewives casting agents would regularly call her for help casting people.

Once she moved to Dallas, the phone calls continued. But instead, casting agents wanted her in front of the camera.

“Originally, I talked to Rich Bye who has Goodbye [Pictures] and they’re play on the show was that it was women and inspiring women who had lost it all and come back and how they juggle career and family,” she says. “And so that’s how the show was pitched to me, not pitched to me as Housewives. So I entertained that because I’m a single mom with four kids and I sell residential real estate, so I thought that might be helpful to other people to kind of hear my story and encourage them and all the single moms out there who work and have kids."

"And then as it evolved, I quickly realized what it was. And I even Googled some of the producers and people involved with the show and realized they were involved with the Housewives division and so at that point, it just didn’t make sense for me to pursue it any further.”

Born in Dallas and an alumna of SMU, McMonigle says she had never met the other castmembers before continuing further in the casting process.

Another woman, who seems to be real-life friends with the Housewives castmembers, Cynthia Smoot, has been more vocal about her involvement with the show. She's the blogger behind ohsocynthia.com, which was described by Housewife Stephanie Hollman as the “TMZ of the charity world” on an episode of The Real Housewives of Dallas.

Smoot blogged about her involvement with the show, but says the title was for marketing purposes.

“Well, first I wanna clarify. I titled that post ‘Why I Declined a Role’ primarily for SEO purposes. Like, I am a marketer. I know how to get things read and found on Google, but to clarify, I never declined a role because I never went out for casting to even go through the process to be offered a role,” she says.

“I was not interested in ever being full cast. I’m a huge fan of the Housewives franchise and reality TV programming in general. That’s kind of what I enjoy. I also love Survivor. That doesn’t mean I want to go on Survivor either. So for me, there’s a big difference [between] being a fan of the show and being a fan of what I think it can be for Dallas. So I never had an interest in being cast. I’m just a fan of the franchise and I was thrilled when several of my friends did make it on to the show.”

McMonigle says while she watches the show and thinks it’s highly entertaining, it’s not something she would choose for her and her family. Smoot, who has been seen — not heard — in a few episodes, says she is fine with her role and not interested in being a full cast member — offered it or not.