Real Housewife Janet Roach: the No campaign was bulls**t

Gays at large can finally rejoice, with news that the Real Housewives of Melbourne is gearing to premiere its fourth season. Matthew Wade caught up with Janet Roach to chat about drama, marriage equality, and the two new housewives.

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Throughout the Real Housewives of Melbourne series, Janet Roach has been outspoken and unafraid to call her castmates out, both on and off the screen.

Whether she’s labelling one of the women “Lydiot” in a series of online tweets, or flipping the bird with a smile on her face during a tension-fuelled reunion episode, one thing is clear: where others might back down from conflict, Roach rises to the occasion.

However, since the last season aired in 2016, a lot has changed for the headstrong housewife.

“I was resigned to the fact that I was a bit older and probably wouldn’t find a partner, and I was happy with that,” she says.

“But since filming the last season I’ve met someone and started a new relationship.

“It’s so fabulous, being in love makes everything better.”

One might surmise, then, that the upcoming season will see Roach in a happier and less confrontational place, but she’s quick to assure me this isn’t the case.

“I always say look, I’m not going to get embroiled in a situation that’s going to cause me grief, but unfortunately that’s not what happens, and I get dragged in,” she says.

“I was trying to keep my nose clean because I’m in a happy place, having a partner.

“But I found myself in an awful situation where all of the girls had an opinion about my relationship and it was really painful – I thought, mind your own business.”

The new season, which premieres on December 6, will see two new housewives grace our screens, Sally and Venus.

Roach has nothing but praise for the former, and essentially nothing to say about the latter. She says she’d rather not comment on Venus.

“With Venus… the jury is still out, let’s leave it at that,” she says.

“But Sally is divine. She often couldn’t get a word in, and I said darl’, you’ve just got to push, get in there, and not get talked over.

“She found her voice later on.”

The hit franchise, which has iterations in Atlanta, Beverly Hills, Sydney, and Melbourne, among others, has a loyal LGBTI following, something Roach attributes to the drama in every episode.

“I think a lot of the girls are very supportive of that community and I have many gay friends that I worship and adore,” she says.

“They’re honest, open people and I think they love a bit of drama.”

When it comes to the current postal survey on marriage equality, Roach feels the issue has nothing to do with marriage. Rather, it’s about equality for everyone.

“I’m happy to go on the record and say that I think the arguments by No voters are bullshit,” she says.

“It’s nonsense we’re going with this postal vote, even though most people have made it clear that they’re in support.

“A friend of mine said, why shouldn’t they be able to suffer like the rest of us?”

With a new season on the horizon promising to expose her dramas on national television, Roach is nervous.

“My heart always starts to beat a bit faster around this time,” she says.

“Because the world is going to see me behaving worse and worse.

“It’s okay when you’re filming, but when you know it’s coming out it’s scary.”

Despite the inevitable fights and tension that permeate the Real Housewives franchise, Roach says she gets along with most of the women off camera.

“I see Jackie all the time, we’re very tight, and Gamble is such a character, I see her as well,” she says.

“There are obviously some girls I avoid, because when I’m off camera I might run and strangle them.

“But the whole experience is just so damn fun, it’s rollercoaster ride.

“Every season I say I’m not coming back, I’m out of shit to say to the girls, but it’s such an extraordinary experience, it completely takes over your life.”

The fourth season of the Real Housewives of Melbourne will premiere on Wednesday 6 December at 8.30pm on Foxtel’s Arena.