- 22 minutes ago
Gizelle Bryant ('Real Housewives of Potomac'), Kyle Richards ('Real Housewives of Beverly Hills'), Lisa Barlow ('Real Housewives of Salt Lake City'), Luann de Lesseps ('Real Housewives of New York City'), Porsha Williams ('Real Housewives of Atlanta'), Teresa Giudice ('Real Housewives of New Jersey') and Vicki Gunvalson ('Real Housewives of Orange County') join THR to dish on life inside TVs most enduring franchise, Bravo's 'The Real Housewives.'
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PeopleTranscript
00:00When you experience certain things together, like on our show, like Jen got arrested, like,
00:05I mean, you go through these somewhat traumatic things and only you can...
00:10Somewhat. This is the bar these days.
00:12I know.
00:14I mean, only security and the FBI showed up.
00:18Woo! We're in a party!
00:20The name is Mrs. Delisette. Countess.
00:24Constitution or you are f***ing gay 19 times?
00:28Whatever I sit, it's the baddest place in the building.
00:31It is the 20th anniversary of The Real Housewives.
00:38So I guess let's start with the fact that you were celebrating the 20th anniversary, which is like a huge
00:43deal.
00:44I read this New York Magazine story yesterday that talked about how much the housewives have empowered them and made
00:50a difference in their lives.
00:51And some people are like, they've ruined American culture, they're consumerists and they have crazy fights.
00:57And I wondered if this auspicious anniversary gives you a feeling about this is an institution, the housewives is an
01:07institution.
01:09Do you think in general the housewives have been good or bad for American life?
01:14Listen, those people who aren't making those comments, all are fighting, you know, they're screaming at each other.
01:19They're watching and, you know, it's been 20 years.
01:23I think people are realizing that the housewives are here to stay.
01:26Those are the closet watchers.
01:28Yeah.
01:29The closet watchers too.
01:30The wife watches the show.
01:31Like when I first started, you know, we have some socialite friends, right, who are like, oh, you know, how
01:36could you do that?
01:37How could you do that show?
01:39And I was like, well, because I need to work.
01:42I need a job.
01:43You may have, you've got a husband, you've got whatever.
01:45But it was always like kind of poo-pooed and I felt like, you know, I had no respect for
01:51doing the show.
01:52And then all of a sudden they're getting divorced, right?
01:55We've seen that happen on the show.
01:57And, you know, and I have my own life, my own TV show.
02:02I have my own way of income.
02:03Yes.
02:04And those tides have turned, you know, the tide has shifted.
02:08The game has definitely changed with the housewives.
02:11It's not, yes, you know, drama is at the forefront of this, but it has completely changed.
02:17I think that, you know.
02:19We show our lives.
02:20I mean, I know I've shown so much.
02:23Yeah, I'm going to ask you about that.
02:25Like the last 20 years, I mean, it's been a lot.
02:27I mean, I think it takes a lot for, I think it's, a part of the job is knowing that
02:33you're going to be judged.
02:34A part of the job is knowing that people are going to try to scale it to a certain extent.
02:37And most of the time that's down.
02:39Because if you watch the show, we're supposed to be showing you how fabulously we are.
02:44You know, how great our friendships are, how great our personal lives are, how great our marriages are.
02:48And in reality, some of those things may not be true.
02:52We are just all brave enough to have done it on TV.
02:55So, in the beginning, yes, people are like, you're doing that or that show is bad for America.
03:00But I have had so many fans.
03:02I don't know about you ladies, but I've had a lot of people come to me and thank me for
03:06some of the darkest times I've had on the show.
03:08Yes.
03:08And they appreciate that we shared that.
03:11So, it's kind of a different take.
03:13Yes, but not even, but on the other side, the fans have dark times.
03:17And they look for our show for entertainment.
03:19I can't tell you the number of people, Potomac's on Sunday nights, and they're like, I can't wait for Sunday.
03:23I can't wait for Sunday.
03:24Right.
03:25Because it's helping them get through their life.
03:27So, that's humbling.
03:29How many people stop you on the street and say, I can't thank you enough for getting me through this
03:32difficult time when I was sick or my mother was sick and we would watch this together?
03:37Everything from cancer to law school to, you know, helping bridge the gap between mother and daughter, mother and son.
03:45Yeah, so more positive than negative, right?
03:48It's the relatability that the show offers, which keeps fans from the first year that Vicky started the show until
03:56now.
03:56We just wrapped season 20 and I was with Scott Dunlap the other day and he said, you know, 21
04:02years ago we filmed this.
04:03I was 42 at the time.
04:05I just turned 64.
04:06So, you know, you look at two decades of your life and the things that I've gone through, not always
04:11good, but really it's my life.
04:14And he said, you know, Vicky, when I approached you with this in our community of Cota de Casa, he
04:19said, it was just going to be a social experiment.
04:21It was going to be something that we were going to bring back, you know, pull back the gates and
04:26just say, what is it like to live in Cota de Casa?
04:28As a working woman, when 99% of the women in Cota de Casa do not work.
04:33And I'm like, well, what do they do during the day?
04:34And he's like, we got a TV show, you know.
04:38So, because I was like, how does this work?
04:40They play golf, they play tennis and they go to the doctor for their Botox and stuff.
04:43I said, well, I got to do all of that plus work and be the breadwinner.
04:47So, it was, he said, we got a TV show now.
04:49I'm glad you brought that up.
04:50We're simpatico here because I was going to say, I was thinking you and Kyle Sturnex had started when there
04:56was no model for what this looked like.
04:58Right.
04:58Yeah.
04:59And I feel like we've now gone to the spirit where, like, we kind of all know what roles everyone's
05:03going to play.
05:05When you started, what were you expecting and how has it changed in a way that you did?
05:09I never had any idea it was ever going to be on TV.
05:11We were just handicams filming us in our house working.
05:14Where do you think it would be?
05:15Well, we didn't know what was ever going to be picked up.
05:17It was just a pilot.
05:19It was just four weeks of filming and then, you know, they sold it.
05:22But I had no idea, we had no idea, our family, about it really being a TV show.
05:28I had no desire to be on TV.
05:29So, I'm like, I got to work.
05:31And they're like, okay, well, we're going to film me working or such.
05:33But, you know, being in a second marriage and being the breadwinner, I didn't have any choice.
05:39So, it was a different phase of my life.
05:42And my kids were, you know, still in high school.
05:45They're now 30, 9, and 40.
05:46So, you look at that, wow.
05:48Right.
05:49It's been a long time.
05:49Well, others, what about you, Kyle?
05:51When you didn't really have that much of a playbook?
05:54No, you know, when I came into this, I had been an actor since childhood my entire life.
05:59So, I didn't know anything about reality television.
06:02And I wasn't working at the time because Portia was one and turning two.
06:07Oh, was I?
06:08No.
06:09My Portia was one turning two on the show.
06:12Now, she's going to college in the fall.
06:13So, that whole life that happens in between there is so much.
06:16But I thought, okay, well, my kids are little.
06:19You know, they're just following me around with a camera playing with my kids and having fun.
06:22One, I really did not know what I was getting myself into.
06:25You still don't.
06:26I certainly did not think I would be here, you know, with that baby who was sleeping in
06:30the crib going to college and still here.
06:32It's amazing.
06:33Well, others of you don't have that excuse.
06:35You knew exactly what you're doing.
06:36I had no idea either.
06:37I mean, I didn't know what reality was.
06:40You know, for me, I wasn't even watching TV, really, 20 years ago.
06:44I wasn't really watching TV.
06:45I was too busy with the kids.
06:46How many years ago did you start?
06:4720 years ago.
06:48So, you were right behind Vicky?
06:49I was right behind Vicky.
06:50Okay.
06:50And I got to say this, they called the show Manhattan Moms, right?
06:55They didn't tell me it was The Real Housewives for New York, right?
06:58So, because, you know, quite frankly, if I watched your show, I would be like, no, I'm
07:02not doing that.
07:03I know.
07:04You know what I mean?
07:04Because that's just not my lifestyle.
07:06Do you know what I'm saying?
07:07So, for me, I didn't know how popular it would become, right?
07:10I didn't know reality, how popular it would be, or how many of us would have mug shots.
07:14Yeah.
07:16But I think they do that to all of us, because when Potomac came along,
07:20which was so many years later, we filmed the first season.
07:24They didn't tell us we were going to be housewives.
07:25They actually told us we weren't going to be housewives.
07:27We were going to be ladies of Potomac.
07:29Oh, fun.
07:29Who is they?
07:30I'm seeing a pattern here.
07:31We're going to be the only one who wasn't tricked.
07:38You know, speaking of probably being the only one who wasn't tricked, I probably, like, fooled
07:44myself.
07:45Because even though I was a big fan of Atlanta, for sure, NeNe, you know, Sharae, Fage, all
07:52of them, I'm a big fan, I was a fan, watching the show, as a real housewife.
07:56I did not work.
07:57I was literally the quintessential housewife.
07:59And I thought, in my mind, oh, I'm going to be different from them.
08:03They're so messy.
08:04Like, I don't live like that.
08:06That's a newbie.
08:07There's no way I would handle that situation that way.
08:09So I genuinely thought when I came in that I could just lift the veil and show a young
08:14black family, and I could make it look perfect, and that nothing could pierce that.
08:19Completely the opposite.
08:21Like, literally the opposite.
08:22And I, because I thought it was more produced.
08:25And then once you get behind the camera, you realize, oh, no, this is just me.
08:30Yeah.
08:31And it got real.
08:32Yeah.
08:33So obviously you kept coming, though.
08:35So something kept getting you back.
08:36It's lots of time, investment of energy, extreme loss of privacy.
08:41What did keep you coming back?
08:43First of all, you become so close with the crew.
08:47They become your family, these people.
08:49And it becomes such a part of your everyday life that, for me personally, it would have
08:55felt like another, I didn't want to come back, you know, last year, but it would have
08:59felt like another loss after going through a separation and my daughter moving out.
09:03And I was afraid, because it really is such a part of my life now.
09:07Yeah.
09:08But also, going back to what we said initially, it really has changed so much, you know, what's
09:12happened, you know, with the housewives.
09:15It used to be, I think, people would think, oh, these people, they would assume automatically
09:19if you're a housewife, oh, they're not honest.
09:20They have no morals.
09:22You know.
09:22They're all broke.
09:23If you actually play your cards right, you can really do great things with this.
09:27Yeah.
09:27You know, and not just drawing attention to charities and things, but, like, really good
09:32things.
09:32You know, I remember when CAA called and was reaching out to me and wanted to sign me, I
09:36thought, okay, the game has changed.
09:37Yes.
09:38And when was that?
09:38That was reserved for, like, Oscar winners.
09:40Right.
09:41Yes.
09:41And, you know, we have really big businesses now.
09:43The agency was building.
09:44When did that happen for you?
09:45How far in?
09:47A couple years ago now, but it opened doors, and I don't mean just, like, doors, like,
09:51I mean, like I said, we started the agency on the housewives.
09:54I started my production company because it opened doors that, you know, that we can really
09:59do great things with, and that really is inspiring to other women that can see that we're also.
10:05I think that's the part people miss, too.
10:07Yes.
10:08Right?
10:08Yes.
10:08They look at the negative, not, like, all the positive things we've done for me, Cabaret.
10:13Yeah.
10:13For, you know, everybody's got their business.
10:15The opportunities that it brings.
10:16The opportunities there.
10:17But if you're an OG, like, you started with that franchise, it's personal.
10:23Like, I feel like Potomac is my baby.
10:25Yep.
10:25And now, you know, we're 11 seasons in, so we're mature now.
10:30Congratulations.
10:31Right.
10:31So it's kind of like, I don't want to leave my baby.
10:34Right.
10:34At first, every year I wanted to leave the show.
10:38I was like, what am I doing?
10:40Like, this is not it.
10:41And then something happens early on.
10:44I'm sure it happened for you all a little later because I, you know, came in kind of
10:47knowing what this was already.
10:49It was like, you know, I got to monetize this.
10:52Having this opportunity, you know, Instagram.
10:54I wasn't even on Instagram before I started.
10:56The numbers were going crazy.
10:57I'm like, no, I got to monetize this fame.
10:59So I started my business, Go Naked Hair.
11:02But then purpose started arriving.
11:04After I had been through so much, you start to get to know the fans.
11:07They're like really on a journey with you.
11:09Then it's like, oh, I want to use the platform and insert different things.
11:12Maybe social issues.
11:15Maybe private things as a woman that we deal with, like me for one, fibroid issues.
11:19Different things like that.
11:20You realize I can use this platform for the better for women, even though we're going
11:25to fight, you know, sisters fight.
11:26But I can also insert some things that are meaningful to me to those fans, you know.
11:31And I think I'm probably one of the only ones who took a break.
11:34I was gone for three years.
11:37And what brought me back after that, I have to say, we did Ultimate Girls Trip Thailand.
11:43And it's similar to this.
11:45That's my girlfriend.
11:46She was on here, Giselle.
11:47It was similar to this experience for me.
11:49Now, the break was great.
11:50The peace, bar none.
11:53But during that break, and I came back and I did Ultimate Girls Trip, I remember telling
11:58my manager, and I told some of the executives, I said, I miss the sisterhood.
12:02I miss, you know, in normal, in everyday life, we go through things.
12:06You can talk to your friends.
12:06They can relate.
12:07No one knows what we know.
12:09No one has felt what we have been through.
12:12And when you look in another woman's eyes, and we can say, you know what, I remember
12:16when it happened to me, and I remember it happened with a million people watching.
12:20I remember when I had to survive this, where I wanted to be under a rock, and I was in
12:24front of a camera.
12:25And so, like, when I saw that, yes, we can talk to each other.
12:30So when I experienced that, after those three years, I said, I'm ready to come back.
12:34It's something I can do.
12:35So the fact that this thing happened makes it more real to you in a weird way.
12:39Twice it does, because we film it, right?
12:42And then we watch it.
12:45And actually three, because then we have to deal with the real guys.
12:47We've got to talk about it.
12:48We've got to talk about it.
12:49Six months later, we've got to talk about it.
12:51It's a year-round thing.
12:53It's like a living photo album of our lives.
12:55And, you know, I don't own the house anymore in Bridgehampton, where I used to live in
12:59the Hamptons.
12:59I've got a new house.
13:01So I get to see that house.
13:02I get to see my dog, Aston, who's died, you know, a couple years ago now.
13:06And you think that gives you a connection that other people don't have to other people?
13:10Oh, 100%?
13:11Amongst ourselves, there's, like, no...
13:13We've got each other's backs.
13:14Yeah.
13:15It's a sisterhood.
13:16It's like being part of an NBA team.
13:19And a lot of us...
13:20Very few are on it.
13:21A sorority or a fraternity.
13:22Yeah.
13:23So how do you get into this?
13:24And a lot of us watched our kids...
13:26We could go back and hit On Demand and watch kids grow up on the show.
13:31But I've watched your kids grow up, too.
13:33I'm not part of this.
13:34Like, but you have a special thing, a born of experience.
13:37When you experience certain things together, like on our show, like, Jen got arrested.
13:42Like, I mean, you go through these somewhat traumatic things, and only you can...
13:48This is the bar these days.
13:50I know!
13:51I mean, only security and the FBI showed up.
13:56But y'all went through it together.
13:58But we went through it together.
13:58Even the way we still showed up for Jen, because innocent until proven guilty, the way we still
14:04showed up for the Jen, and the way we still, like, fought for her and, you know, wanted
14:09her to win, I think that those are experiences that we had together that only we can understand.
14:15Whether I'm getting along with someone or can't stand them, I feel like there's a bond
14:21there.
14:22There's still a bond there.
14:23And I like that the show pushes me.
14:25Well, it depends.
14:26It depends.
14:26It depends who the person is.
14:27It depends if that bond stays there.
14:29It depends what they do to you.
14:30Do you talk about things you normally...
14:31It depends.
14:32Yeah, the bond may not stay there if you're not really cool with that person.
14:35But I tell you what stays there.
14:37And if they hit below the belt.
14:38It's that vein of, I know what you're going through.
14:40Yes.
14:41Yes.
14:41Like, I don't...
14:42I know that you were at my throat this whole season, but if someone is going through a
14:46divorce on TV, I promise you, we're going to take that person.
14:49Yeah.
14:49If no one has a death in a family, we're going to be there for you.
14:52I love that.
14:52Like, it does not matter.
14:54And I don't think the fans really get to see a lot of that part.
14:56Yeah.
14:57But that's what we should.
14:57If you're going to jail, we're coming for you.
14:59Yes.
15:00I mean, we're good to know.
15:01We'll talk about you a little bit.
15:02Not always.
15:03How many of you ladies have, like, watched the show and, like, seen things about yourself
15:07that you were like, oh, I wish I didn't handle this like that and change and have, like,
15:12over these years grown?
15:13Oh, yeah.
15:13Oh, yeah.
15:14That was one of my questions.
15:15That's one of my great questions.
15:17Yeah.
15:17Yeah.
15:18You know...
15:18For sure.
15:18Of course.
15:19You say, oh, why didn't I say that?
15:22Yeah.
15:22Or why didn't I say that?
15:24You know what I mean?
15:25So, but you can't take it back.
15:26No, you know.
15:27But you change from it.
15:28But you can learn and grow and get better.
15:31And that's really the most important thing is, like, okay, I've got that lesson.
15:34Yeah.
15:35I think what Kyle was saying was a little, like, do you, when you're doing the show for
15:39a long time and see yourself as a character, you're like, I don't like this character.
15:44I think this character could be different.
15:47Or does it inspire you to change in a way because you see yourself from...
15:51Well, I can say, going back to, like, season one, the back of the limo with my sister,
15:57that, you know, the world watched a family dynamic that had been, you know, traumatic
16:03for our entire family.
16:04And we had been going through a very difficult time.
16:06I mean, but I would never, today, sitting here, handle that the way I handle that, ever.
16:14And so many things.
16:15What would you do differently?
16:18Um, I would not have lunged in the back of the limousine, even though I've, that's, I
16:23just felt that, you know, I would, I saw, I also looked at alcoholism differently then
16:27than I do now.
16:28Yeah.
16:28So that's, but I, I learned from that and so many things, even learning to speak up.
16:32I used to not be able to have, handle any confrontation.
16:34It gave me anxiety.
16:35Yeah.
16:36Now, I know to speak up, but to do it in a constructive way.
16:39Right.
16:39That's taken me 15 years of being able to get to that place.
16:43Also, watching you lunge in the limo, I, I'm one of five girls.
16:47I was like, I totally feel that.
16:48Exactly.
16:49But you're not thinking that moment that millions and millions of people want to see that.
16:53You're not.
16:53But as a sister, you got, I think I felt the emotion behind it and it was like out of
16:58love.
16:59Yeah.
16:59And I think I'm like, I would have done the same thing.
17:02I don't know if I'd do it today, but at that time watching you, I'm like, I would have
17:06been, I probably would have pulled her hair too.
17:09And I think, I didn't do that.
17:10We forget the camera's there.
17:12Yeah.
17:12Oh, you know, oddly enough, people don't understand that about us is that we live our
17:17lives out loud and we forget the camera's there.
17:20So there is no.
17:20How long does it take?
17:22You must have a period where you don't forget the cameras are there, right?
17:25Well, you forget.
17:26For me, I feel like within my first two weeks of filming, I like forget they're there.
17:30I mean, and I love the show because it pushes me so hard as a human being to like, like,
17:38stick up for yourself.
17:40And I think like there are times where I'm a Sag and I'm kind of like, oh, she said that.
17:44That's crazy.
17:44But I don't need to comment on that.
17:46And now I'm like, you know what?
17:47I'm comfortable saying hard things and hard situations that benefit everybody.
17:53And I also think one thing that I have never let myself do is like, I don't let the noise
18:00affect who I am as a person.
18:01Like, you're loved one day, you're hated the next.
18:04And it's in big droves of people and they're loud and they're vocal.
18:09Totally.
18:09And I have never let myself feel a certain high about things or a low.
18:15I just try and.
18:16And I think that that helps you to stay in it and to be able to stay on this without
18:21wrecking yourself.
18:22But it doesn't work.
18:23If you know the cameras are there, it doesn't work.
18:25No.
18:26And that goes for everybody.
18:27Anybody in the scene, if you're concerned about the camera, that scene does not work.
18:31But by the way, there are Housewives that you realize and see that are very aware of.
18:37It doesn't work.
18:37Spot those a mile away.
18:38I feel like.
18:38I wanted to follow up with Kyle.
18:40Like, she said this scene that she remembers that she would like to change.
18:45Are there scenes that you watch back on?
18:48Oh, yes.
18:49Oh, yeah.
18:49Of course.
18:50Oh, yeah.
18:50Oh, my God.
18:51But what I was going to say that my.
18:53Oh, it's time to you now.
18:54For me, there's.
18:55Right.
18:55I mean, each season.
18:57There's a scene that we would like deleted or to have never happened.
18:59But when it comes to the growth of the show, I don't.
19:02I'm sure you ladies can relate.
19:04When it comes to.
19:06Can you grow on the show?
19:07Have you grown on the show?
19:08Where.
19:08At what point do you allow yourself?
19:10You allow.
19:11I allowed myself to do it when I realized I'm just human, you know.
19:15Yeah.
19:15And you have to forgive yourself almost every season because you're watching yourself.
19:19But the audience doesn't let you.
19:20No, no.
19:21But that's where.
19:22Now, when it comes to the audience.
19:24Back into the class.
19:24The way you deal with the audience is.
19:26I no longer at a certain point.
19:28I would have to say probably my sixth.
19:31My second to third season.
19:33I stopped deciding to see myself through the audience eyes.
19:36I realized that they were watching the situation.
19:38Sometimes they will judge you in the first.
19:40A couple episodes and you're like, damn, this is going to be a hard season.
19:44But by the time they get to see the story play out, it's totally different.
19:47By the time they see the reunion, it's totally different.
19:50And as a former people pleaser, the way I found myself worth is to say, you know what?
19:55I want to see myself through how I feel.
19:57I know I have a good heart.
19:58I know I didn't mean it like that.
20:00Maybe I just need to explain a little more.
20:01Oh, you meant it like that.
20:02Yes.
20:04Sometimes I do mean it like that.
20:05But I decided not to see myself through the commenter's eyes.
20:09I let them be the spectators and me just provide the show or me just provide the story.
20:13If you know you made a horrible and cyclist, a scene that you're like, shit, I wish this
20:18didn't happen, how much power do you have to ask for that to be?
20:21None.
20:21Zero.
20:23At the reunion.
20:23I'll tell you something.
20:25I mean, I had the same situation like Kyle.
20:28Like, I had to, you know, I didn't get along with my brother and his wife on the show.
20:35You know, not that I, I didn't even want to go through that.
20:38I mean, I'm.
20:38And we're the only ones with sisters or brothers that are actual, you know, housewives.
20:43Right.
20:44I mean, it's like, it's like I would never want to be on a TV show with my family, but
20:48it happened.
20:49And, you know, we fought on the show for a while.
20:52But a lot of people, a lot of fans that come up to me, they're like, oh my God, I
20:56don't
20:56talk to my brother or I don't get along with my sister.
20:58So, so a lot of people could relate to what they were seeing me go through.
21:03But now I'm so happy to say that, you know, we, we have made up.
21:08Life moves up.
21:08That's awesome.
21:09So, yes.
21:10So, yeah.
21:11So I'm happy about that.
21:12So you decide to go on the show.
21:13Obviously, you make a decision for yourself, but you're making a decision for your, your family
21:18and your children.
21:20Yeah.
21:20What are those conversations like and how, how do you worry about how they're impacted
21:25by your choice to be in the public?
21:28Well, my, Portia was so little, she didn't really have a choice.
21:31And I do actually think about that now.
21:33We actually talked about it on camera on the Ultimate Girls Trip because she wrote something
21:38in her personal story, you know, when, what do they call it?
21:42Her essay for college.
21:44Yeah, her essay for college, her just applying to colleges.
21:46And it really hit me like, oh my gosh, you know, I've, this child has no memory of her
21:53life before the show.
21:55Yeah.
21:55Right.
21:56Yeah.
21:56I mean, I always tell the story.
21:57She once asked me, mom, when she was like five, she asked me, do we do this show until
22:00everybody dies?
22:02And I told Andy that he goes, you know, she may not be wrong.
22:06But, um, you know, it's a sit down conversation, you know, with, with, at the time, you know,
22:11Mauricio and my daughter saying, are you guys on board?
22:13What do you think?
22:14And they were all up for it.
22:15So yeah, my kids were, I asked my kids, they were so little.
22:19They just were like TV.
22:20Yay.
22:22But now they could take it or leave it.
22:28Um, pretty much now they're 21 and the twins are 20.
22:32Um, but they don't really remember prior to the show and it's okay.
22:38I think that they look at us, they like, they look at mommy and they're like, we're so proud
22:43of you.
22:44So it's supersedes how they feel.
22:46Right.
22:46They, they, they do know that, you know, we some bad bitches over here.
22:51Like we, we are, we're strong.
22:53We're confident.
22:54We've gone through a lot and they're very proud.
22:57So when I started my family that was shown was my mom and my sister, the majority of the
23:02time and, um, my daughter's father.
23:05And then we did a family show, but that's separate.
23:08Um, so, but I, I don't, I honestly now I feel a little selfish cause I don't remember
23:12just asking them.
23:13But you had a baby on the show.
23:15I felt like they were doing to support me.
23:17Yeah.
23:17You know?
23:18Yeah.
23:18Yeah.
23:18And when it comes to Pilar, she, you know, when she was a baby, of course, no, but now
23:22she asked for the mic.
23:24Of course.
23:25Are they gonna mic me?
23:25I love her.
23:26I love her.
23:27We saw your child grow up.
23:29Yep.
23:29So my children are now 39 and 40.
23:32My son did, um, he did film this year.
23:35My daughter wants nothing to do with it.
23:38She's 38.
23:38She's got four kids and actually she's 39 now.
23:42And there was some really bad filming that her husband and he just got back from the Marine
23:49Corps, six times served overseas and he's got some PTSD and it really, he, they really showed
23:56a bad light of him and she just was like, mom, I want nothing to do with it.
24:01I'm like, can you do like a cameo?
24:02Can you come on for a little bit?
24:03Andy even called her for this season.
24:05She's like, please lose my number.
24:07What the show did to their family, um, was not good.
24:11And do you tell them to sometimes as mothers to just get on the sidelines and not, or is
24:16it part of the imperative of the show for you to have family?
24:18I mean, they had, they're, they're of age.
24:20I meant earlier.
24:21But earlier they were, they were part of the show.
24:24I mean, they were 18 and 17.
24:25But when they hit a certain age, when they're like a teenager, they'll walk in and see
24:28the cameras and try and walk right back in.
24:30Yes.
24:30And I'm like, could you come in please?
24:32Want to talk to my plant over here?
24:34I need to download for you.
24:35Yeah.
24:36They get, they go through a phase where they want nothing to do with it.
24:38I have, I have four daughters like Kyle and two of my daughters like it and two of my daughters
24:44don't.
24:45Yeah.
24:46And now like with the other ones, I don't like, yeah, I mean, it's like whenever they're
24:50in the mood to do it.
24:51Yeah.
24:51And I don't force my daughters to be on TV.
24:54Like I'll ask them, I'm doing this.
24:56They would like for you to be, do you want to be on it?
24:59Yes or no.
24:59And I give them the choice.
25:01I don't tell them they have to do it.
25:03Yeah.
25:03Same here.
25:04You know, my daughter's been on to be supportive, you know, through all the, can I say shit?
25:09Yeah.
25:09Through all the shit that happened in my life.
25:11So she's always been there.
25:12My son, he just, since the break dancing moment, he'll never forget me as a teenager.
25:18He's like, mom.
25:20So, you know, for Noel, he's an artist and it's just not a part of his life.
25:24And, you know, he is very proud of me, like you were saying.
25:27You have to respect that.
25:27And I respect that.
25:29You know, my kids, you know, do as they like and I would never force them to be on the
25:34show.
25:34So I think it's pretty much the same for all of us.
25:36When there's fighting going on on your shows and the group, do your children get very defensive of you?
25:42Yes.
25:43My girls get really worked up when they watch the show.
25:47Gia got involved in certain situations.
25:49Mine don't watch the show.
25:51Right.
25:51So it's so maddening for them if they think, you know.
25:53Yeah, mine don't watch.
25:54Exactly.
25:55Mine don't watch.
25:57Well, you know, we're talking about kids, but we also have spouses and boyfriends and husbands.
26:02And how do those relationships actually grow or change in the spotlight?
26:08Are they?
26:09Mine failed.
26:09So when Scott Dunlop approached myself and Don at the time about doing this pilot for a reality show, Don's
26:18like,
26:18there's no way we're doing this in our family.
26:20We're from the Midwest, Rockford, Illinois, and Barrington, Illinois.
26:23Like, we don't know anybody that's ever been on TV.
26:26I didn't know you at the time, Kyle.
26:28But he was like, we're not doing this.
26:29Anybody that goes on TV is going to get divorced.
26:30I'm like, we're not going to get divorced.
26:32We're not going to get divorced.
26:33We're fine.
26:34And obviously, we, fast forward, we got divorced.
26:37And I think if I look back, 100%, the show had something to do with it.
26:44I think our marriage had cracks.
26:45But, you know, I was, Michael Brown, we're seven and eight when I married Don.
26:50And we were married, you know, 15 years.
26:53It took us four years to get divorced.
26:54But, you know, I would have never projected that we would ever be divorced.
26:58I just thought this was my forever man.
27:00We were going to be together for forever.
27:02But I know I changed.
27:03I got busy.
27:04I was traveling to New York.
27:05I was busy with my insurance business, growing it.
27:07And he was a nine-to-fiver.
27:09Comes home and his wife's not there.
27:11And so, the insecurities started happening.
27:13And we just grew really apart.
27:16And I couldn't figure out a way to get us back together.
27:18And it was easier to separate and divorce.
27:21And looking back, that was not the easiest.
27:23And Kyle and I have talked.
27:24I said, you know, the pressure of being on TV, the temptation out traveling and doing life was tough for
27:32both of us.
27:33And then, you know, we got, I asked Don one day, I said, do you want to get divorced?
27:37He goes, no, I just want you off the show.
27:39I want our marriage back.
27:40I want our family back.
27:41And I was like right in the middle of filming.
27:43I'm like, are you kidding me?
27:44You said the show.
27:45You regret that.
27:46I regret it.
27:47Because my family is so important to me.
27:49And it broke apart.
27:51But at that moment, you thought the show was important.
27:52Yeah.
27:52Because we were fighting too much.
27:54And we were not connecting.
27:55I was like, I don't want this life forever.
27:57Do you all, do any of y'all think that it warps your relationship?
28:00Not warps, you know.
28:01I mean, I've seen it happen in terms of, you know, certain housewives.
28:08It becomes their life instead of following their life.
28:11And I think that is also like, listen, I'm not perfect by no means.
28:16That's for sure.
28:17But I always like, Jill would get the screener for the first season and want to watch it at
28:22night.
28:22And I'd be like, no way.
28:24No way.
28:24Because I know I won't sleep well.
28:26I'll watch it tomorrow, whatever.
28:27I always had a hard time watching myself back because there were so many things I wanted
28:31to fix.
28:33Do you know what I mean?
28:34So, but I feel like that's, that's also a big problem.
28:37And, and I see that over and over, especially with, with, you know, the new shows that are
28:43coming out and, and women, et cetera, that it's all about the glitz and the glam and the
28:47makeup artist and the clothes and things.
28:49And they're poor, poor guys, you know, are sitting over on the sidelines, you know, on
28:53the red carpet.
28:53I want my wife back.
28:54I want to feel me back.
28:55And they're kind of forgotten about.
28:57So I feel like definitely that is a problem for a marriage.
29:00I think it's really hard to stay married on reality TV, especially on a show like this.
29:04Statistics haven't made it.
29:05But sometimes it's, yes, this is, two things can be true.
29:09You know, the, the, the show can be hard for a marriage because it can reveal certain
29:14things that you probably needed to know or some things, maybe reveal some things about
29:19yourself that you need to know.
29:20If your marriage is weak, it's going to fall apart.
29:22But the thing is that it's not always just the poor guy and the wife has gone off to
29:26stardom and she just wants to be a star.
29:27It's not always the case.
29:29It, it, the show has a tendency to reveal the person to themselves is a true mirror.
29:34And so not only are our husbands looking at the show and you practice a different dynamic
29:40at home.
29:41I may be very submissive and not say anything, but your husband is saying something to you.
29:46You may not say something on camera, but the audience is speaking for you.
29:49The other girls are speaking for you.
29:50He's, he's, uh, he's abusive or he is controlling or whatever.
29:54And that made me something you never even thought of because you're like, I'm just being a submissive
29:59wife.
29:59Like I didn't even, I'm actually telling my story.
30:02If you didn't know.
30:03But it's like.
30:04Are you projecting by anything?
30:05A little, a little.
30:06But I, I know that the men aren't necessarily victims at it.
30:10I think, uh, with the situation.
30:12I think at a certain point they don't want to support if they see you becoming somebody
30:16else.
30:17Because this is, this show is a huge vehicle for single women or, you know, single mothers
30:22or even wives who are divorced and it may end up with nothing.
30:25It's a great vehicle.
30:26And when the men see that coming, they want to stop that.
30:30And, and for me, I, I started out single.
30:32Like I was divorced and have been ever since, but it's difficult to find a man that wants
30:40to participate.
30:41Yeah.
30:42And, and, and it's okay.
30:44Cause I feel like if a man really does want to participate, he's not for me because he's,
30:50you know, it's, he's here for different reasons.
30:53He's not here for the right reasons.
30:55So, you know, the men, unfortunately, whoo.
30:58I don't, I don't think it's the show that breaks marriages.
31:01I think it's the people that break marriages.
31:03Reality TV, how much is reality and how much is TV?
31:07To what extent when you're on there, is this the true you?
31:12And to what extent are you playing a role that you've come to inhabit?
31:16I, I think the beauty of this show, Ultimate Girls Trip, is that all seven of us are authentic.
31:22Yep.
31:23We're living in our skin.
31:25We are proud of who we are.
31:26It's going to be a great show.
31:27Now, our, our cast, I can't speak for my cast and say that everybody is authentic.
31:33Correct.
31:34It's not true.
31:35Same goes for mine.
31:36No, it does.
31:37Like, I think the reason why.
31:39You can name names, by the way.
31:41Yeah.
31:41We don't want to name names.
31:43We don't want to name names.
31:46She said her.
31:46She said her.
31:47Yeah, we don't want to name names.
31:48My cast.
31:48They're my cast.
31:49What's coming?
31:50Yeah.
31:51No, even on my show, like when you say if you're being authentic, there are people that
31:55place, you know, like, yeah, they, they, they're very, um, strategic, very calculated.
32:01Or they've already watched the shows.
32:03Exactly.
32:03They know.
32:04Like, I, I can't be that way.
32:07I'm like, what you see is what you get.
32:09Yeah.
32:09The camera doesn't lie.
32:11I mean, you can play to the camera a little bit.
32:13Like, sure.
32:14If you want to.
32:15Well, it's dangerous.
32:16You cannot play to the camera if you are being yourself.
32:19Right.
32:19Let me tell you why.
32:20Whenever I have played and I, I mean, I've done this for 10 years.
32:23I've made mistakes.
32:24I have played to the camera and I thought to get my way out of a situation.
32:28Maybe I'll go with what I think the commenters say.
32:30Maybe I'll go with him.
32:31Every time I did that, I lost.
32:33You lose.
32:34I would get to that reunion.
32:35You lose.
32:35I would forget the play.
32:36Yes.
32:37Okay.
32:38Contrary to what people think we're not great liars.
32:41Yes.
32:41So I would sit there and do the most in the scene and then get to the reunion and you
32:46can't stand on it.
32:47You cannot stand on it.
32:47Once I realized that, I said, oh, I got it.
32:49If I am owning my own thoughts and producers don't give you anything to say, but they can help
32:55guide you.
32:56Yes.
32:56Once I decided I don't need any of that, I'm just going to be me.
32:59If I want to react, I react.
33:00Yes.
33:00That's what I say.
33:01And then you don't have to worry about remembering.
33:03You can get to the reunion.
33:04Yes.
33:05You can remember.
33:05You can stand on it.
33:06And the fans can read that.
33:08They love it.
33:08They read when we are being ourselves and they know we are not.
33:12And that's why we're still sitting here at the 20th anniversary of Real Housewives.
33:16The truth is always harder.
33:18Exactly.
33:18It's always easier to remember the truth than it is the lie.
33:21That's right.
33:21I can't remember a lie.
33:22That's why I can't lie.
33:23I don't know if anybody else here, I've had a hot, hot, hot mic moment.
33:27You know what that is?
33:28Yeah.
33:28Yeah.
33:29So I've had that.
33:29A little hot mic moment.
33:31That, I was like, shit.
33:33Which mic was that?
33:34Sorry.
33:35No problem.
33:35Yeah.
33:36So that, I was like, oh my God.
33:38Yeah.
33:39There were times I've said things and I'm like, it's a hot mic.
33:42And I'm like, please God.
33:45Soap operas?
33:46Soap operas?
33:47Would y'all drink and forget that you're white?
33:49No, because.
33:49Little moments.
33:50Ladies, one at a time.
33:51When I'm saying, we're like what soap operas used to be.
33:55I mean, people still love soap operas, but this is like real life, but soap operas.
33:59So when you have those little moments, because I think people get caught up and think, you
34:03know, oh my gosh, they're so caught up in the moment, they don't realize we're all really
34:06real and this is really happening.
34:07And when you have those little hot mic moments or breaking the fourth wall, like we like to say,
34:11people love that.
34:13Yeah.
34:14You know.
34:14I love it.
34:15I love it now.
34:17When I said, you know what doesn't lie?
34:18The cameras.
34:19And I was like, that moment I was very aware of the cameras.
34:23I knew I shouldn't be talking like that.
34:24Yeah.
34:25But I was so frustrated.
34:26I couldn't help it.
34:27I was like, I'm sorry.
34:28Hello.
34:29There's cameras here.
34:30What are you lying?
34:31The show has evolved though.
34:32The show has evolved.
34:33Bravo has evolved.
34:34Our audience has evolved.
34:36They know that cameras are watching the conversation.
34:38Yeah.
34:38And they, what I love about the network is that they have allowed us to change along
34:44with that.
34:45Like I can actually call on the fourth wall.
34:47Yes.
34:48I can say, you know what?
34:48I can't defend myself within the fourth wall.
34:50Can we break it?
34:51Yeah.
34:52All right, let's go.
34:52Let's go.
34:53Because that's where you're going to get the real conversation.
34:55As long as it ties into some things that have happened on camera.
34:59Yeah.
34:59I think breaking the fourth wall when you need it is the most powerful tool.
35:03Yeah.
35:03Well, that's what's great about the ultimate girls trip.
35:06Yes.
35:06We referenced, you know, being on a show like this and having that in common with each
35:10other.
35:11Throughout the whole show.
35:12Which I was like, oh my God.
35:13That's what I think.
35:14They're going to love this.
35:15How many times have you said something horrible and then you're like regretting it and then
35:20you're waiting for that episode and then they don't use it and you're like,
35:24thank you.
35:25Yes.
35:25You're like, thank you.
35:27It always doesn't happen for me.
35:28It's happened only a couple of times, but I'm just like, thank you.
35:31And then they do the flashback and do it later.
35:33Oh my God, the flashback.
35:34I guess I have a question about this.
35:35So you're all authentic.
35:37We'll take you at your word.
35:38But the show's also produced by producers who want a storyline.
35:43Yep, right.
35:43And sometimes you don't know what that storyline is.
35:45Well, that's what the relationship comes in.
35:47Yeah.
35:47So they'll be like, you know, they may know that there's been tension with three.
35:50Have you guys spoken?
35:51Well, not really.
35:52And then they're your friends.
35:53They're your family.
35:54You're spilling your guts of them.
35:55And the next thing you know, like, why don't you guys talk about what you're feeling right
35:59now?
35:59And then I'm like, oh, God, I can't even lie because I already told them.
36:02And you don't know what the other girls are saying about you.
36:05They know what's going on in your lives.
36:07So you're right.
36:08Yeah.
36:08So you all are pretty close to your producers and to, I imagine, the people on.
36:12You have to be.
36:13You have to be.
36:14But ultimately, and I'm sure there tends to want to be intimate and confide.
36:18But ultimately, are there loyalties to you or to the show?
36:21No, but some.
36:22I wasn't close to the last time.
36:23To the show.
36:24To the show.
36:24They got a job to do.
36:25They have a job to do.
36:26To the show.
36:27I'm thinking it's to you.
36:28I think for me, like, even with our production team, I don't know what any of the other girls
36:32are doing.
36:33I only.
36:33All of us.
36:34Yeah.
36:34For all of us.
36:35We don't know what they're saying.
36:37I'm only responsible for what comes out of my mouth, how I'm handling situations.
36:43And I know what I'm talking about and dealing with.
36:47I don't know what any of the other girls are, unless it's brought up in a group setting.
36:51I probably won't know unless I'm very close with someone.
36:54So it is very real.
36:56And a lot of times you have to wait and you watch it and you're experiencing, oh, well,
37:00maybe she quipped like that because she's going through this, or maybe this happened
37:04and that's why she reacted that way.
37:05And that's a trigger for her.
37:06But it's, for me, it's still like, you know, I'm the baby of this crew.
37:12I know there's like a new franchise too, but my franchise is the baby of this group.
37:16And I just think once you stop being authentic and living in it, the show doesn't really work
37:20anymore.
37:20Yeah.
37:20It just, it won't work.
37:22How much do you respond to that?
37:24How much do you listen to what the fans have to say?
37:27And are there times when it's just scary?
37:29Are we talking about social media?
37:30We don't listen.
37:32I have to say this, you know, when we started 21 years ago, there was no social media.
37:36Exactly.
37:36We had MySpace, I think was the first thing.
37:40Facebook.
37:42WWW was just being started.
37:44My insurance business was one of the first insurance businesses going online.
37:48And Scott Dunlop was like, WWW, what is it?
37:50I'm like, it's the World Wide Web and I have no idea what to do with it, but I'm going
37:54to
37:54put my, you know, insurance company on the internet.
37:56And, you know, there was no internet.
37:58There was no social media.
37:59Now everybody's making a living off of the threads and, you know, Instagram and Facebook
38:05and all these different platforms that we all had to evolve inside of that because that
38:10was not part of our life.
38:12And, you know, Kyle, probably you too, right?
38:13We didn't have all that social media.
38:15We didn't blog.
38:16Yeah.
38:17It changes to how society is now because the commenters, they are important.
38:22They're behind their computer.
38:23Like what they say is important to them, right?
38:27But they still feel like it's important.
38:30And then on the other side, you have the bloggers where they do make a living from talking
38:34about and dissecting our shows.
38:37So then once I, yeah.
38:38And once I think about it like that, sometimes when there's so many things coming and I'm like
38:42being broken down to the white meat, I'm like, oh, they're making a living.
38:46Yes.
38:47I'm providing, I'm providing content.
38:50It used to be just me showing my life.
38:52Yeah.
38:52And, you know, like, oh, my life is being shown.
38:55And, you know, think about it.
38:56We are now, do y'all realize, we're content creators.
38:59Yeah.
39:00Every week.
39:00So we are content creators for Bravo.
39:03This has all just arrived to me.
39:05Yeah.
39:05And people are being paid to comment on the content we put out.
39:08That's right.
39:09That's right.
39:09But doesn't that make you change, Teresa, your content when you know everyone's watching
39:13and commenting on if it's good or bad?
39:15Make us change?
39:16How?
39:16Well, we don't want to fight anymore.
39:18We don't want to be arrested.
39:19We don't want to, like, push you down to the ground.
39:22Not to get into religion, but I'm going to say this.
39:24I'm like a cafeteria Catholic.
39:26Okay?
39:26I take what I like from social and I leave the rest behind.
39:30Yes.
39:30Because you can't let it interfere with the way you lead your life because it will eat
39:34you up.
39:35You know what I'm saying?
39:35So I feel that's really important to separate that part from who we really are because otherwise
39:41you lose your mind.
39:42Yeah.
39:43You believe the good, then you've got to believe the bad, then you've got to, it's
39:46just a vicious cycle.
39:48So just don't even, Forsha.
39:50I know.
39:50Just don't even, back away.
39:52Back away.
39:52But it's crazy because sometimes when you read the comments, they're like your therapist.
39:56It's like, how the fuck did you break me down like that?
39:58You know?
39:59But it's like, do you want to be in therapy pouring your heart out, right?
40:02And you're so vulnerable.
40:04And a normal therapist will say, and how do you feel about that?
40:06But instead, they break you down, you're breaking down, and they tell you how they feel.
40:11Yes.
40:11And it's like this point of view that you're like, damn, that's how I look or that's how
40:16the situation is.
40:17That wasn't supposed to be that way.
40:18So that's why you can't really take that deep of a dive because honestly, once we film
40:22the season, we now have to do confessionals.
40:24Yes.
40:25You can't be the victim.
40:27You know, like when my husband and I first got separated.
40:30Oh God.
40:31People were devastated.
40:33Yeah.
40:33I still am.
40:34Me.
40:35Me still am.
40:36I was.
40:36My fellow housewives were devastated.
40:39I was devastated.
40:39You're not supposed to be a statistic.
40:41I was already feeling like I let down my family, you know, and people reaching out,
40:46strangers and messaging me, please don't get divorced, please.
40:50It really did get to me.
40:52I was going to ask you about that.
40:53People were bereft about that.
40:55And so here you are having a personal thing with your husband, but also we're responsible
41:00in some way to millions of viewers.
41:03And how do you make decisions in that?
41:05I had a weird, I didn't make any decisions based on that, but I had a weird sense of disappointing
41:10them, you know, and, and an odd sense of support from them too.
41:16I have so many women say, you know, I'm so proud of you.
41:19It's so hard to do this, you know, in the public eye, you're so strong and you've given
41:22me strength.
41:23But, you know, so many people are like, how could you do this?
41:26You know, we believed in true love and you let us down.
41:28And I'm thinking, I know better, logically, not to let this affect me, but it did.
41:34Yeah.
41:35They're speaking to your heart.
41:36They've watched you grow.
41:38I mean, they're a part, you know, seemingly a part of your family.
41:41But at what point do you decide, I am going to be a little selfish.
41:45I do deserve this kind of love and I am going to break away from not only what I thought
41:49it should be.
41:50I'm not going to worry about the fans.
41:51I'm going to get love for myself.
41:52Yeah.
41:53I still have pressure.
41:54Like, why haven't you made a decision?
41:55Why haven't you gotten divorced?
41:56Yeah.
41:57I hate that for you.
41:58And I'm like, I feel like they're expecting an answer from me.
42:00Mm-hmm.
42:01And I owe this to them because they're watching on television every week.
42:05But I don't have that answer for you if I don't have it for myself.
42:08Well, it's a paradox of this thing.
42:09You give your fans what they want and they keep wanting more.
42:12Yes.
42:13Do you feel like you have the right and responsibility to say, you can't have this about me.
42:19Absolutely.
42:20There's things that I'm going to keep private.
42:21Yes.
42:21No comment is the best comment on stuff like that because it will be twisted wrong.
42:26You have the right to say, I don't know.
42:28I say that but it wasn't enough.
42:29I don't know what I want right now.
42:44That wasn't enough.
42:45Oh, yeah.
42:46And you want to be like, everybody here has something they keep for themselves.
42:49Because if it's about authenticity, then they're going to expect all of it to be authentic.
42:54But you can't get all of it.
42:56Yeah.
42:56We are only being filmed for a certain amount of time per day.
42:59Right.
42:59And it's a TV show.
42:59So if I'm doing maybe two scenes that day, I've only filmed four hours.
43:03The rest of the day, I didn't die.
43:04Yeah.
43:05I'm not just in my bed like this.
43:06I'm living life.
43:07And the show is not about one person.
43:09They have to understand they're not going to get every aspect of it.
43:11There's a lot of people on this show.
43:13But they do expect it.
43:14They do.
43:14But, you know, it's interesting because it's two minutes on TV and they think they know
43:19you.
43:19Yes.
43:20From head to toe.
43:21Yes.
43:21But the show's about eight women, seven women, six women.
43:25It's not just one.
43:25That's right.
43:26So, you know, they think that they want to know everything.
43:30But, you know, we have to keep things to ourselves and our private lives in order to sustain
43:36our lives and to survive.
43:38Because otherwise we fall victim.
43:40Yeah.
43:40I mean, it's interesting because of what you said.
43:43I thought, so you filmed under investigation in the lead up to incarceration through your
43:48ex-husband's deportation.
43:50Looking back, do you regret any of that?
43:53Or is that your authenticity and your life and that's what you showed?
43:58Would you have preferred if that never was on film?
44:02I mean, I guess for my children, that's because I'm always a mom first.
44:06I always want to protect my children over anything.
44:09But, I mean, at the time, it's like, at first I was like, okay, let's do this.
44:15Because I really didn't understand what my ex-husband had done.
44:20So I wanted to, like, go to trial and fight it and go through whatever we had to do.
44:25So I was like, all right, I guess because I'm on TV, let's just go through the process.
44:29Like, I thought I was just going, you know.
44:31To be exonerated.
44:32Yeah.
44:33Oh, yeah.
44:33I just thought we just had to go through the process.
44:36But I really never in a million years thought I would go to jail.
44:41Like, never.
44:41Like, if you said to me, like, I'll give you $40 million right now.
44:46Are you going to go to jail?
44:47I'd be like, no, absolutely not.
44:48Like, I never in a million years thought.
44:51I thought I just had to go through the process and then everything would be fine.
44:55Yeah.
44:56Part of that invincibility that you felt, was it because you were a celebrity?
45:00And it's like, you know.
45:01No.
45:02It had nothing to do with being a celebrity.
45:04Celebrity made me go to jail.
45:07Yeah.
45:08That, they made an example.
45:09I mean, no, because I know I didn't do anything.
45:11Like, I know I wasn't a criminal.
45:12Right.
45:13I went to a closing.
45:14That's all I did.
45:15I went to a refinance for a home for a closing.
45:18That's what I did.
45:20And I put my, I put my, I talked about this on the show.
45:24Yeah.
45:25I went to a closing.
45:26Tell a lot of people.
45:26I put my John Hancock on that dotted line and I went to jail because of that.
45:31Right.
45:32That's the reason why.
45:32We did a list of like all the.
45:34And I'll, like, die to, I'll, my story will never change because that's exact.
45:38And anybody, like, listen, New Jersey's a small town, meaning everybody knows everybody.
45:43Everyone knew I had nothing to do with my husband's business.
45:46Like, nothing at all.
45:47I was a housewife.
45:48I stayed home, watched the kids, that's it.
45:51Made lasagna.
45:52Yeah.
45:52Yeah, I didn't cook.
45:54And did laundry.
45:55Like, I was a real housewife.
45:56Like, it had nothing to do with my husband's finances.
45:59And that's why, like, I was like, I thought it was a joke.
46:01I really thought.
46:02Anybody.
46:03I was like, because I'm on TV, I have to go do this.
46:05But I'm like, I know.
46:06I'm like, I'm not going to go do this.
46:07I didn't do anything.
46:08And that's why people love you so much is because you went through something so awful.
46:13Yeah.
46:14And I'm sure a lot of people out there can relate to you.
46:18But you're a role model for all that.
46:19And how you persevered through all of that.
46:22Yeah.
46:23You know, and held your head up high.
46:25And look at you now.
46:26Yeah.
46:26Luann, you wrote Money Can't Buy You Class, a generational artifact.
46:31Yes.
46:31Did you understand when you were writing that it would be the defining anthem for this franchise?
46:40No.
46:41No.
46:42And, you know, I didn't expect, you know, the song to be as big as it is.
46:46And, you know, and I believe it.
46:48Money can't buy you class.
46:49And it can't buy you love.
46:50And it can't buy you happiness.
46:52Or fame.
46:53Right?
46:53Because there's a lot of people with money out there, right?
46:56Women that we know.
46:57I want to be famous.
46:58That would love to be on the show.
46:59Yes.
47:00Love it.
47:00Love it.
47:01Love it.
47:01Love it.
47:02You can't buy your way in.
47:03Nope.
47:04And what's the best thing about being a housewife?
47:06And what sucks about being the housewife at the level of celebrity that you've achieved?
47:11I think the confidence.
47:12I was never one to public speak.
47:14I can public speak anywhere now.
47:15You know, 5,000 crowds, 4,000 crowds.
47:19The camaraderie we have with each other.
47:21Yes.
47:21The sisterhood.
47:23That's been a positive thing for me.
47:25I mean, the fact that, like, Lou is like, hey, I'm a cabaret star now.
47:31Like, I was a countess.
47:32Now I'm a cabaret star.
47:33It's amazing.
47:34Like, I was in London while she was performing in front of tens of thousands of people.
47:39I was, like, wanting to be there.
47:40Wait, and you're coming out with a song, right?
47:41She's coming out with a song.
47:42And then I have a song dropping on Friday that is, like...
47:45Stop it!
47:46Yeah.
47:46I don't know about that.
47:47Like, I mean, my kids, I played it.
47:50Yeah.
47:50I played my song.
47:52And I'm working with, like, the most insane people on it.
47:54And I'm like, I don't know if I would have ever done this.
47:56No, you wouldn't have.
47:57Like, I'd still be, like, just doing deals and doing paper and showing up and working my hardest.
48:02And for my family.
48:03And, like, Jack, my oldest, just heard my song and he's like, my mom is going to be a pop
48:07star.
48:08And I'm like, who does that in your, like, late 40s and 50s?
48:12Yeah.
48:13It definitely gives you a platform.
48:14Yes.
48:14It's amazing.
48:15Separated from my husband, which I never thought.
48:16Oh, Lisa, I want to hear it.
48:17You're going to love it.
48:18Hold on, ladies.
48:19Yeah.
48:19But I'm, you know, I'm all of a sudden single by myself.
48:24But yet, I'm like, I'm great.
48:27Like, I mean, I'm working.
48:29Yeah.
48:29Like I said, I started my production company.
48:31I have four shows in development.
48:32I have so many other jobs.
48:34She owns a real estate company.
48:36Yeah.
48:36We own the agency.
48:37Yes.
48:37But I'm saying, like, I'm okay on my own.
48:40Yes.
48:40And there's no denying that, you know, the Housewives had a big part in that.
48:43Like, I'm good.
48:45Yeah.
48:45Like, very good throughout.
48:47Very good.
48:48Inspirational.
48:49Inspirational and aspirational.
48:51You know, extra sense of, like, security and confidence.
48:53Yeah, it does.
48:53All the things that came with it.
48:54Yeah.
48:55And to close it on where we had started, so 20 years in, the lessons that the Housewives
49:00have imparted and what you've contributed to the culture, you'd say it's confidence and
49:06what else?
49:08Well, I think.
49:08Confidence.
49:09Resilience.
49:10I was just about to say, resilience.
49:12Resilience.
49:12For me, you know, people ask us because, like, we started, ooh, we're ending where we
49:16started.
49:17You said, what did we give to the American culture?
49:20Or what did we take from the American culture?
49:22And what would we say to our kids?
49:25For one, you can look back and see the resilience.
49:28You can see that we are not our circumstance.
49:30Yes.
49:30Like, you can honestly see we are survivors.
49:33Yep.
49:34And not only have we survived, we're thriving.
49:36And we get to do that in sitting in the seat representing our individual cities on a
49:4123rd anniversary.
49:42We get to celebrate this together.
49:44That's huge.
49:44And I hope that people don't look back and think about the fighting.
49:46They think about the fact that we are strong.
49:48We are confident.
49:49We are resilient.
49:50We are opinionators.
49:51And you're hot.
49:52We are opinionators.
49:52And we look good.
49:53And we look good.
49:54One last question.
49:55You're going to kill me.
49:56Let me ask.
49:57One more thing.
49:59I'll tell you.
50:00I had a baby on the show.
50:01I love it.
50:01I went to jail on the show.
50:03Is he listening?
50:04Yes.
50:05Yeah.
50:06Wait.
50:06I had a baby.
50:08I gave birth on the show.
50:09Yep.
50:09That's true.
50:10I went to jail on the show.
50:11Who else could say that?
50:11I'm writing my seventh book right now.
50:14My third memoir.
50:16I love you.
50:16And there is good and bad that came with the show.
50:20Totally.
50:20And I think the last 20 years everyone has gone through that ride with me.
50:25Yeah.
50:25Is there, I know there's all these celebrities who love you.
50:28Who's the most surprising celebrity that is a fan of yours that you've heard from?
50:31Oh my gosh.
50:32Mine is Angela Bassett.
50:33Ooh.
50:34Oh my God.
50:35I went to her movie premiere.
50:37And when I walked up to her, I mean, I'm a celebrity.
50:40Yeah.
50:41Just have always admired her career.
50:43And when I walked up to her, she knew who I was.
50:45Yeah.
50:45And she was like, you keep doing what you're doing.
50:48You keep your head up high.
50:49And she just spoken to me like an auntie.
50:51Yes.
50:52And I was like, wow.
50:53Amazing.
50:53So I mean, she is the pinnacle of a woman of class.
50:57And I just thought it was beautiful.
50:59Great.
50:59We'll do this fast because they're going to kill.
51:00Okay.
51:01Oh.
51:01Rihanna.
51:02Lady Gaga.
51:02Rihanna loves us.
51:04Party bomb.
51:05Naomi Campbell.
51:07Naomi Campbell.
51:08I brought her to her at a fashion show and she's like, I know you.
51:10And I was like, died.
51:11Um, I love, um, so many, uh, Julia Garner.
51:16Um, oh my gosh.
51:17I just, I like Nicola, um, Nicola, um, from Bridgerton.
51:22Nicola, um.
51:23Oh, yes.
51:24Nicola Coughlin.
51:25Nicola Coughlin.
51:26Okay.
51:26You only get three celebrities at a time.
51:28Yeah.
51:29So how do we all know who really loves us?
51:32But I was at an Adele concert in Vegas and Adele was singing.
51:34She comes down the aisle and she goes, Vicky from the house.
51:37Wow.
51:39And that's a good one.
51:40That is a good one.
51:41That was incredible.
51:42Awesome.
51:43Um, I mean, I know Jenny McCarthy, uh, went to Donnie Wahlberg's, you know, concert.
51:48And is it ensing?
51:49No.
51:49Surprising.
51:50We want surprising, unexpected.
51:51Like Jon Hamm.
51:53Yeah.
51:53Jon Hamm.
51:54He's a huge fan.
51:54Jon Hamm loves us.
51:56One, two, three.
51:58Cheers.
52:01Ladies.
52:01Cheers, man.
52:02Awesome.
52:02Congratulations on 20 years.
52:05Love you girls.
52:06Love you girls.
52:08Love you girls.
52:08Ok bye.
52:09Good boy.
52:09Okay, say goodbye.
52:11GLa Faye möchte you just touch everybody.
52:14Love you really much.
52:14Oh my God.
52:16Bye bye.
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