Jenna Lyons is joining the cast of “The Real Housewives of New York City.” She will be the first out lesbian to appear in the NYC version of the “Real Housewives” franchise.
Lyons, a fashion designer and former creative director and president of J. Crew, is one of seven new cast members who will appear in the 14th season, which is scheduled to premier in 2023. She and her fellow castmates Sai De Silva, Ubah Hassan, Erin Lichy, Lizzy Savetsky, Jessel Taank, and Brynn Whitfield were announced at the BravoCon convention which took place in New York City over the weekend.
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In addition to her work with J. Crew, Lyons is also co-founder and CEO of the beauty brand, LoveSeen and previously had her own HBO Max series, “Stylish with Jenna Lyons.”
Lyons is not the first out lesbian to appear in the “The Real Housewives” franchise although she is the first to appear in the “New York” iteration. In 2021, Julia Lemigova, the wife of tennis superstar Martina Navratilova, joined the cast of “The Real Housewives of Miami.” Braunwyn Windham-Burke of “The Real Housewives of Orange County” came out as a lesbian in 2020, following the show’s 15th season.
“The Real Housewives of New York” had been placed on hold after the 13th season, which had received low ratings. The show was rebooted with an all-new cast “who really best reflect the most exciting city in the country,” series executive producer Andy Cohen told Variety in an interview back in March. “We’re looking for a group of women who are real friends, and who are of diverse backgrounds, races, and religions.”
The new season will follow the new cast of women who are “thriving in one of the most diverse and electric cities in the world,” Deadline reports. “From fashion and real estate, to philanthropy and social influence, these women have made their mark in NYC and will now share their lives as they juggle careers, family life and jam-packed social calendars in the city that never sleeps.”
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