Real Housewives of New York casts Jenna Lyons as first openly queer housewife
Jenna Lyons was publicly outed back in 2022. (Getty Images for SHEIN/Stefanie Keenan)
The Real Housewives of New York has reportedly cast its first ever openly queer housewife, Jenna Lyons.
Former president and creative director of J Crew, Jenna Lyons, confirmed on Instagram she will be joining the upcoming reboot of Real Housewives of New York, making her only the second openly LGBTQ+ Housewife to be cast in the entire history of the franchise.
Thanking people for the supportive messages she received, Lyons shared a post on her Instagram stories claiming she will “blow some fresh air in this stale franchise”.
Lyons, who also starred in the series Stylish With Jenna Lyons, was outed publicly at 43 years old in 2011, when a New York Post article claimed she had been dating a woman following her divorce from ex-husband Vincent Mazeau.
The new member of the Real Housewives cast said in an interview with The Cut in 2021: “I was the head of a huge company and a very American, classic brand. We had an intercom at the office, and I was running a pretty large meeting.
“I was standing in front of the room, and I get a call over the intercom… they said ‘we have a call from the New York Post. There’s a report that you’re seeing a woman – should we confirm or deny?’
“I heard the word ‘confirm’ come out of my mouth… and then it just kind of snowballed.
“I would have wanted to have a more elegant, certainly more private approach.”
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Lyons follows the Real Housewives franchise’s first-ever lesbian housewife, Julia Lemigova, and her wife, Russian tennis star Martina Navratilova, who featured on the Real Housewives of Miami in 2021.
While Lemigova and Lyons are the first openly queer housewives to be cast on the show, one housewife has come out as a lesbian since appearing on the reality drama.
Real Housewives of Orange County star Braunwyn Windham-Burke came out as a lesbian in 2020 at the age of 41, but said she plans to stay married to her husband Sean Burke.
Lyons’ new cast mates include Sai De Silva, Ubah Hassan, Erin Dana Lichy, Lizzy Savetsky, Jessel Taank and Brynn Whitfield.
The 14th series of Real Housewives of New York is set to debut next year.
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