Everyone was shocked when Bethenny Frankel announced in August of 2018 that she was done with Real Housewives of New York. It turns out that before Bethenny’s departure, there were some casting changes in the works, and the skinnygirl mogul had a role in it.
In November at BravoCon, Leah McSweeney was introduced as the newest RHONY cast member. Leah is a businesswoman with her own clothing line, Married to the Mob. She also hosts a podcast, Improper Etiquette, and writes a monthly column for Penthouse Magazine.
According to People, Bethenny was reportedly instrumental in getting Leah cast on RHONY. A source who is close to Bethenny said, “Bethenny introduced her to the show and recommended her.”
Another source stated, “Bethenny really knows what makes great TV. It’s her superpower. She saw a lot of potential in Leah. The two have a lot in common; they’re both single moms and strong businesswomen,” the insider said. “She would have been a strong ally to Bethenny, which she hasn’t had on the show since her friendship with [Carole Radziwill] fell apart.”
A source close to casting reported that Leah was never meant to be Bethenny’s replacement. “Leah was in talks to join the show before anyone knew that Bethenny was leaving. Bethenny was the one who made the introduction to casting.” With Bethenny’s surprise exit, the show needed to try and find a way for Leah to be connected to the other New York Housewives. An insider close to Bethenny stated that Leah had only met the other ladies through “test filming.”
“The plan was to bring Leah on with Bethenny and introduce her to the group as Bethenny’s friend,” a show insider said. “But with Bethenny out and Leah already cast, they were stuck and needed to find a reason for Leah to make sense on the show. The truth is, Leah really didn’t know anyone one coming into filming.”
And so, it was decided that Leah would join the group as Tinsley Mortimer’s friend. The way that Leah entered the group caused some friction with the New York Housewives. Oh, the perils of being a new Housewife!
The show source said, “Some were warmer to Leah than others. She’s made real friendships now but it’s not easy for her right away. Most of the anger went towards Tinsley, though. Producers thought it would help connect her to the group, but it only isolated her more.” The insider added, “Leah is a great addition to the group, and really holds her own.”
(Warning- there is some rough spelling ahead.) On February 5, Bethenny spoke out on Twitter when a fan commented, “Yes. We need Bethenny back!” Bethenny tweeted, “NO. You do NOT wish that. I’ve payed it forward & put others into the mix for you. Just wait.”
I am excited to see how Leah fits in with her co-stars when Season 12 of RHONY returns on April 2. I hope that Leah likes cabaret.
TELL US- ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT BETHENNY HAD A HAND IN CASTING LEAH? ARE YOU EXCITED TO WATCH SEASON 12?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
The post Report: Bethenny Frankel Helped Leah McSweeney Get On Real Housewives Before She Left appeared first on Reality Tea.
I already told you guys how Ashley Martson and Jay Smith from 90 Day Fiance are one of my least favorite couples that came from the crazy train that is the show. The make ups and break ups, along with mudslinging on social media and GoFundMe requests popping up left and right, they are truly easy to hate.
So where does their relationship stand now? We know that they are estranged from one another and have been for quite some time, but their divorce isn’t completely finalized yet. We know that Jay had a brief relationship with some rando who we don’t even have to name because that’s how quickly it came and went. So he’s single now (hear that, ladies?) and supposedly so is Ashley. I’m not even sure how these two have time to date with all the talking they are doing to different media outlets.
In case you missed it, the latest in the saga was when Jay told In Touch Weekly that he regrets going on the show and it wasn’t even his idea. He also tried to claim that his cheating was staged for the cameras, with “friends” being paid off to make him look bad. Now that Jay is done trying to fully gaslight Ashley and anyone else who has eyes and watched him on the show, Ashley is responding.
Ashley tells In Touch Weekly, “For the same reasons Jay is talking to you now is the same reason he got caught cheating while filming a reality show about his relationship, he is young and thinks he’s able to manipulate everyone.”
She goes on to say, “Plain and simple: Jay cheated.” Well, duh. As for his claims that the whole Tinder cheating scandal was a set up, Ashley says, “He believed he was going to get away with the cheating in that situation, just like he’s convinced that you all will believe him now.” Except we don’t believe him. Not at all.
Despite everything Jay has put her through, both in their marriage and in the media, Ashley sounds less angry than she should be and admits she doesn’t believe Jay is an evil person. She’s just not happy about how he has handled himself with regards to their relationship.
She tries to give him some credit (that he doesn’t deserve IMO) by saying, “I think he’s young, and has never had anyone hold him accountable or give him direction. I loved Jay for god knows why and became more of his stability and parent than his wife and partner.”
Something tells me this won’t be the last we hear from either of them.
TELL US – WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON? TEAM ASHLEY OR TEAM JAY?
[Photo Credit TLC]
The post 90 Day Fiance Alum Ashley Martson Responds To Claims From Jay Smith That Cheating Story Was Fake & He Regrets Doing The Show appeared first on Reality Tea.
The upcoming Season 15 of Real Housewives of Orange County is going to be very different. Gone are two of the tres amigas. Last season, the “OG of the OC,” Vicki Gunvalson, was demoted to be a Friend of the Housewives. After having a melt-down during the reunion, she quit after she learned that she would not be getting her orange back. But don’t worry–Vicki is getting her own podcast.
Tamra Judge also walked away after she was only offered three episodes to complete her storyline. That is less than a demotion. Ouch! Now there is only one amiga left–Shannon Beador. And if Shannon returns, it looks like she will be spending a lot of time with Kelly Dodd.
According to HollywoodLife, Kelly confirmed her return for Season 15 on Instagram. She captioned a photo with some of the the crew, “Started filming today!” RHOC co-star Braunwyn Windham-Burke was also shown on the set. In the comments section, Braunwyn’s mother, Dr. Deb asked, “What will this season bring?” Kelly replied, “You my love.” Kelly later deleted the post.
Shannon and Kelly fought a lot last season. Shannon knew about the vile sex train rumor that Vicki and Tamra spread about Kelly. At the wellness retreat, Kelly smacked a bowl on Shannon’s head with a mallet. Fearing the worst, hypochondriac Shannon and Tamra decided to take Shannon to the hospital.
OK! Magazine reported that a fan questioned Kelly on Instagram about how she planned to “deal” with Shannon. Kelly responded by posting a screenshot of the
comments section from a recently deleted Instagram Story. “I’m done with Shannon! How are you going to deal with her?” one fan asked.
“Same way I have with the other 5 that got fired!! We will see,” Kelly replied. Kelly was of course mentioning former Orange County Housewives Vicki, Tamra, Meghan King Edmonds, Heather Dubrow, and Peggy Sulahian. All these ladies exited the show since Kelly grabbed her orange.
Is Kelly insinuating that she was somehow involved in all these RHOC stars ditching the show? Slow down, girl–you don’t have that much power.
Another Instagram fan asked if either Tamra or Vicki could return, who would Kelly choose? Kelly responded, “Can’t pick!! What’s the lesser of two evils … Vicki is the lesser.” That should make Vicki feel really good about herself.
I thought that maybe we would see the softer side of Kelly now that she is engaged to Rick Leventhal. Hopefully we will get to see the couple a lot during the season. But Shannon better buckle up if she is coming back. Season 15 looks like it will be a bumpy one for her without Tamra and Vicki.
TELL US- ARE YOU GLAD THAT KELLY WILL BE BACK FOR SEASON 15? DO YOU THINK THAT SHE WILL FIX HER RELATIONSHIP WITH SHANNON?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
The post Kelly Dodd Confirms She Is Coming Back For Season 15 Of Real Housewives Of Orange County appeared first on Reality Tea.
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Love her or hate her, Scheana Marie always works for her life on Vanderpump Rules. Have you seen her intro shot? She is serving that tray! Over the years Scheana has really bared all about her relationships, unlike some people we know. As we venture into Season 8 (!) of Pump Rules it’s become blatantly clear that Scheana is the favorite cast member for producers to troll. Sure, maybe it’s just too easy. But if you listen to Scheana’s podcast, she’s been open about how producers only show her issues with men. They could instead actually show her working on music, her podcast, or her show in Vegas. They’ve also never talked about the fact that Scheana bought a house in Palm Springs. Instead we’re only seeing certain cast members “grow up” (eye-roll), and buy homes, like Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright, Tom Schwartz and Katie Maloney, and Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix.
What we’re seeing about Scheana this season is not good. First, she’s still “working” at SUR. Second, she’s being framed as though she is jealous and insecure over new girl, Dayna Kathan. Third, she’s apparently obsessed with bigots Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni. On last weeks’ episode, we caught a glimpse of some remorse for treating Dayna badly. But perhaps there’s more to the story here.
A fan tweeted at Scheana recently, saying she “is the most embarrassing this season. I feel bad for her, actually.” Scheana replied directly, saying “Agreed. Thanks. I was in a very bad place personally last year. It’s hard to watch back.” We know a little from the show that Scheana was in the process of taking hormones and freezing her eggs. (Which again, is a storyline some fans in their thirties – ahem me – might want to see documented).
She mostly received messages of support from her Twitter following. This was nice to see because sometimes fan comments on social media cut deep! One follower tweeted back to Scheana that “you GROW through what you GO through,” and Scheana replied, “I am! Thank you!” She even went as far as to say, “I wish I could tell you guys all of the real things I was going through last year but I’d rather just move forward.”
“I’ve struggled w (sic) anxiety daily and depression on and off for many years now,” Scheana continued. “This season was probably the hardest to film for me yet,” and she ended that tweet with a sad face emoji. It’s interesting that producers only show Scheana as boy crazy and jealous and let Ariana be the one to share personal struggles with body image and depression. I would love it if the show got more real, and shared another side of Scheana, if only so fans could stop being so awful online.
TELL US- WOULD YOU WANT TO SEE SCHEANA IN A DIFFERENT ROLE? IS SHE BEING REAL WITH THESE TWEETS? WAS SHE REALLY ONLY JEALOUS OF DAYNA BECAUSE OF MAX?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
The post Scheana Marie Says This Season Of Vanderpump Rules Was The Hardest For Her To Film appeared first on Reality Tea.
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