Apples up! Kelly Killoren Bensimon, Luann de Lesseps, Dorinda Medley, Sonja Morgan, Ramona Singer and Kristen Taekman are set to star in season 5 of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, dubbed RHONY Legacy.
After opting to reboot The Real Housewives of New York City for season 14, Andy Cohen revealed plans to spin off the OGs with a new series.
“I think that we’ve put last season of RHONY under so much scrutiny and trial that I hate to rehash. When we were shooting, we only had five Housewives, we were shooting during COVID, we were tremendously limited as to where we could shoot. And this was a show that was really shot differently than all the other cities, because New York City is very much a huge character in the show,” Cohen told Variety in April 2022. “That all aside, I think that if you look at any series, where the ratings are declining week to week as the series goes on, and the viewer feedback is growing disenchanted on social media, etc. — I think that was a big red flag for us. Because this is a beloved show. And that’s part of the reason why it’s taken a bit for us to just sit with this and figure out how we want to make this right, and make it a gift to the fans, which I think this will wind up being.”
While Bravo cast a new group of women for RHONY season 14 — the women were introduced at BravoCon in October 2022 and the series will premiere in July 2023 — contract negotiations stalled the RHONY: Legacy plans.
“Bravo is a genius at reinventing the wheel,” Luann told People in January 2023, confirming the various reports about the new show falling through for the first time. “They’re breathing new life into RHONY right now and I have no doubt they’ll find a way to bring the OG’s and beloved New York City Housewives back together again. It may be not right now, but I have faith in Bravo and trust that they’re going to create something really spectacular that the fans will love in the near future.”
Months later, Peacock announced the New York-themed cast for Ultimate Girls Trip season 5. Noticeably missing is Jill Zarin, who admitted to Access Hollywood in March 2023 that she wasn’t happy about the network offering different salaries to the women. She later told Page Six that RHONY: Legacy “just wasn’t meant to happen.”
“It has nothing to do with me,” Jill said in April 2023. “It has to do with the producers and what they decided to do. I don’t really know.”
Kelly, Luann, Dorinda, Sonja, Ramona and Kristen, meanwhile, will be filming on St Barts and the trip’s location will serve as deja vu for Luann, Sonja and Ramona as the three women vacationed there during season 5 of RHONY in 2012. (While Kelly had already left RHONY, Kristen first appeared in season 6 and Dorinda joined for season 7.) During the infamous trip, Luann brought a Johnny Depp private look-alike — Tomas — home and was accused of cheating on then-boyfriend Jacques.
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