I am a native New Yorker. I love my city so much it’s actually quite weird and that’s why my favorite Real Housewives franchise has always been New York, until unlucky 13 (don’t tell Mother Swift I said that). I’ve never quit a housewives season mid season before but New York Season 13 was the first (and not the last). I simply could not watch Eboni and Leah, and I had grown tired of Ramona’s antics (I’ve always been a Ramona hater and never want to see her on my TV again), so I gave up.
I didn’t really care that they were rebooting the show, I was excited… delighted in fact! I thought the idea was genius and honestly, needed to be done. No one wants to watch a 60+ year old woman shit in a driveway, be racist, or talk about her husband that divorced her over a decade ago.
There wasn’t much storyline left to squeeze from the apple and we needed fresh meat.
When Bravo announced the cast, I was not impressed because I didn’t know anyone aside from Jenna Lyons and Sai, but of course I was going to give them a chance. Once the trailer was released and the first episode was watched, I was giddy.
These women were New York! They felt like home and I looked forward to them every week. Aside from Salt Lake City, I’ve never loved a Housewives show or cast as much as I loved nuRHONY. I’ve never been so excited to watch a show every week. It was light and airy, Manhattan was the 7th housewife and it felt like a true return to our roots.
As much as I adore Bravo, sometimes the shows can stress me out a bit (see Vanderpump this season), and when they get too dramatic it doesn’t feel like an escape…it feels like work. Sometimes we need a lighter show, lighter drama to indulge in. Not every season of Housewives needs a Jen Shah arrest or a Scandoval…sometimes I just want to watch rich women fight over cheese and an outdated restaurant.
New York felt like meeting new people who you know you’re going to get along with and when it ended, it made me sad. I usually don’t go back and watch seasons after they air but just like with Salt Lake, I rewatched RHONY quite a bit during their downtime.
I waited with baited breath of the news that my ladies would return; I dealt with the rumors that Luann and Sonja were going to join the cast, that Jenna wouldn’t return, and that the show was going to be permanently canceled.
However, Deuxmoi and other Bravo accounts eased my worries last week when it was revealed that everyone would be back, including Jenna. That news was confirmed by Bravo and the ladies today on Instagram and through Variety…everyone is back, including Jenna FUCKING Lyons!
I thought I would cry tears of joy I was so pleased. Brynn speaks to me on a spiritual level, the way Heather Gay does and I can’t wait to see her again.
And of course, because as much as Bravo is fun it’s also not fun because no one is ever completely happy…people are already complaining.
They’re complaining that Sai is back, that they needed more women (which we don’t know if they are going to be…I’m pretty sure the rumors are that there are a few more wives being added), or that they want old RHONY back.
If you are one of those people I need you to listen: OLD RHONY IS OVER. THEY ARE NOT COMING BACK. GET OVER IT.
RHONY Legacy Ultimate Girls Trip was a flop; people who were clamoring for the return of drunk, older white women were left feeling deflated and though it’s fun to see the ladies together for a week, they cannot hold an entire season in New York anymore. The torch has been passed and you need to let it burn out.
There’s another big compliant and that’s the fact that Jenna Lyons says her relationship with her girlfriend won’t be on camera. ‘How can you be on a reality show without showing your relationship?!"‘ — I don’t know, but I don’t care.
Housewives has gotten too complicated; the show is about the cast, not their families or relationships. I watch Housewives for the dynamics between the women, their careers, their lives…but I don’t necessarily care if their partner is on screen. We have been flying too close to the sun lately when it comes to spouses; the Jersey men were fun for a while but now it’s tiring.
I also think it’s important to note that every Housewives franchise is different and serves a different purpose. Jersey has always been about family, New York has been about status (aside from Mario, Simon and Bobby, there were never any husbands on the show so this shouldn’t be very different), Beverly Hills about Hollywood, Salt Lake about religion, so if New York doesn’t fit in the same box as everything else, that’s ok.
Bravo fans need to start understanding that they’re not going to be happy with everything and if you don’t want to watch, that’s ok, but stop complaining. Stop ruining it for the rest of us.
Also there needs to be a level of understanding that for a new person, for a fresh cast, they need time to warm up. You need to give people a chance before you write them off.
When someone signs up for the show, it’s THEIR show, it’s THEIR life… it’s not their partner’s life. I think it’s different when you’re married but if you’re freshly dating someone and you want to take a beat, you have to be shown that grace. RHONY isn’t The Bachelor, it’s not a dating show.
I also don’t think Jenna is going to pretend her girlfriend doesn’t exist, I think she means it just won’t be a storyline and if Bravo was ok with that to get her back on the cast, then everyone needs to suck it up.
Jenna Lyons is a huge get for the show; she is a big deal and if she has that one stipulation, let her have it. She is good for the show, she brings legitimacy (she’s the new editor in chief of Coveteur) and she has incredible style. She has an interesting story…we don’t need to hear about her love life.
Women are more than their partners.