Real Housewives Get Real

5 things you never would have guessed about the Real Housewives of Dallas

In advance of their April 11 premiere on Bravo, the Real Housewives of Dallas stopped by the CultureMap offices to sip pink champagne, show off their style, and dish about life in front of the cameras.

LeeAnne Locken, Tiffany Hendra, Brandi Redmond, Cary Deuber, and Stephanie Hollman are representing Big D on the cable franchise, and we got to know the ladies a bit better before the rest of TV land does. They arrived straight from a promotional event at Mi Cocina (too early for Mambo Taxis, they lamented), and immediately started taking selfies and chatting with the video crew (so you know there's more to see).

Here are five things we learned about Dallas' newest — and hottest — reality TV stars:

1. Some of them were friends before filming. Brandi and Stephanie have been close friends for years, and LeeAnne and Tiffany were both fixtures on the Dallas social scene long before the cameras started rolling.

Does that make Cary feel like the odd woman out? Not at all. She's gotten close to the other four during the last year of filming and now counts them among her closest friends.

2. Don't judge a book by its cover. Host Dawn Neufeld remarked on Brandi's quiet demeanor and questioned how the soft-spoken redhead handled the often loud and boisterous world of the Real Housewives. Everyone quickly jumped in to testify to Brandi's wild and crazy side — she was a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, after all — even hinting that we'll see her "flipping on tables" during one episode.

"She has lady balls the size of Texas," Tiffany added.

3. LeeAnne Locken, however, is well aware of her outgoing personality. "I'm like an onion," she mused. "The first layer will make you cry, the second a little less so, and as you go deeper, you'll find I'm sweeter than you would expect."

4. Cary Deuber doesn't normally wear makeup. The nurse works side-by-side with her plastic surgeon husband, and therefore spends a lot of her time in the operating room. Getting so dolled up on a regular basis took a little getting used to, but she was already familiar with one beauty ritual: "I do my own Botox!" she said.

5. Most of the 'wives have kids, and we can expect to see a fair amount of family time in addition to galas and cocktail parties. Dallas might also be a little more low-key than, say, Beverly Hills or New York City, but there will still be plenty of drama. "People will watch us, or they will hate-watch us, but they will watch us," Cary said.

Dawn Neufeld with the Real Housewives of Dallas.

Photo by Hoyoung Lee

Dawn Neufeld with the Real Housewives of Dallas.

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Phone Flip

Alamo Drafthouse makes big change to ordering food in DFW theaters

Alamo Drafthouse/Facebook

Alamo Drafthouse will allow phones, but only for one reason — so far.

Despite Alamo Drafthouse’s famously strict no-phone policy, the dine-in movie theater chain soon will require customers to use smartphones to order food and beverages via QR code.

Austin-based Alamo says that beginning in mid-February, it’s ditching its longtime old-school ordering system — jotting down your order on paper, then pressing a call button that summons a server to grab your order and then deliver it.

“Yes, it means you’ll need to use your smartphone and a custom-built 'dark screen' to order food or drink during the movie,” Alamo says in an FAQ post on its website. “This doesn’t mean we’re changing our rules on talking or texting during the movie.”

Variety reports that mobile ordering has already been tested in several Alamo markets and is expanding to certain other theaters this month, with plans to roll out the system to every theater throughout the year.

Forty-four Alamo theaters operate nationwide, including five in Dallas-Fort Worth, five in Austin, one in Katy, and two in San Antonio. The chain’s 45th location is opening soon in Bentonville, Arkansas.

The theater chain says the new digital ordering system — enabling guests to use a smartphone to browse a digital menu, place an order, and pay for the order — will improve the Alamo experience. A dark-screen QR code lets you scan the code to tackle ordering tasks while keeping your phone screen extremely dark or mostly black. This prevents “screen glow,” which can annoy others in a darkened theater.

“Putting ordering control directly in our guests’ hands allows us to move faster and more efficiently, creating a smoother, more responsive experience without added distraction,” Alamo says.

According to Variety, servers will still bring food and beverage orders to guests. And the chain says if you run into a problem with your phone or order, a greeter or manager will be ready to help.

“There will be newly structured roles for hourly staff at theaters, but this switch to mobile won’t take away any jobs,” Variety reports. “Alamo isn’t implementing any layoffs, and all base wages will remain the same.”

“It’s worked great in testing so far,” according to Alamo, “and we’ve been pleased that the vast majority of guests use the system quickly and efficiently.”

Alamo stresses that the new ordering system won’t kill the chain’s firmly stated no-phone rule. Therefore, you still won’t be able to scroll social media posts, make or take a phone call, or send a text once Alamo’s no-phone-zone warning pops up on the movie screen. If an Alamo worker catches you violating the policy, you’re ejected immediately without a ticket refund. Alamo says its employees are trained “to distinguish between a dark ordering screen and disruptive phone use.”

The move to mobile ordering is one of the biggest changes at Alamo Drafthouse since Sony Pictures Entertainment bought the chain in 2024. Sony didn’t divulge the purchase price, but media outlets estimate it was anywhere from $174 million to $258 million.

Another major change happened in early 2025, when Alamo laid off 15 corporate employees and an untold number of hourly theater employees.

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