MEET THE NEW HOUSEWIVES!

Anjali Rao, 47, journalist

Single mum-of-one Rao is no stranger to TV. For 20 years she’s worked as a TV news journalist, as an anchor at CNN and fronted her own weekly chat show, Talk Asia. She settled in Melbourne nine years ago and now regularly appears on The Project, Studio 10 and Dateline. She wants to highlight “body image issues” during her time on the show.

Cherry Dipietrantonio, yoga teacher & PT

This Brit native settled in Melbourne when she met her Australian Italian husband Andre more than 20 years ago. They married when she was 21 and now have three children together. “I’ll bring the daytime glamour to this show,” she says. Dipietrantonio is a close friend of fellow cast mate Kyla Kirkpatrick.

Kyla Kirkpatrick, 43, champagne importer

Known as the “Champagne Dame”, the glamorous and hardworking Kirkpatrick runs a successful import and export business with her fiancé Kyri. The pair share a “sassy and smart” 7-year-old daughter, Arlington Rose, who’s named after the area of Scotland that Kirkpatrick’s family comes from.

Simone Elliott, 41, businesswoman

This marketing and management exec prides herself on being always impeccably turned out. “I do the school run in Christian Lou’s whilst everyone else is in sportswear,” the mum-of-two laughs. As for why she became a Real Housewife, she says, “I want to represent the women who are hustling, leading and managing.”