She certainly has some experience dealing with difficult people! Countess Luann de Lesseps guest-stars on Difficult People‘s Tuesday, August 16, episode, and she tells Us Weekly how she got involved with the Hulu show — and why its over-the-top main characters reminded her of her Real Housewives of New York City pals.
The reality-TV mainstay, 51, tells Us that she connected with Difficult People creator Julie Klausner after the comedy star revealed in an interview that de Lesseps is her favorite Real Housewife. This led to the countess and costar Sonja Morgan landing roles as friends of main character Julie Kessler (Klausner) in the series’ August 16 installment.
“I’ve had a lot of good one-liners on the Housewives of New York, so Julie’s always appreciated that and always found me very humorous, and so she wanted me to be funny in this,” de Lesseps tells Us.
The countess adds that there are some similarities between herself and her Difficult People character: “I think it’s pretty true to how I am and how I might react — except for [causing a commotion] in public! [In one scene, our characters are] out watching a show in a theater, and [they’re] talking loud — that’s more Housewives than it is me. But it’s comical!”
De Lesseps points out with a laugh that Klausner and costar Billy Eichner‘s characters reminded her a bit of her Housewives cohorts. “Absolutely — they’re self-absorbed!” the Bravo star says. “They’re funny, and they’re characters that [made me] feel like, ‘I know them! They’re familiar to me!'”
Her role in the series isn’t the only reason why this is an exciting time for de Lesseps, as she is in the process of planning her New Year’s Eve nuptials to fiancé Tom D’Agostino Jr.
“I just reached out to all my bridesmaids to get their sizes,” de Lesseps tells Us. “I’m working now on wedding dresses and getting our formal invitation out. So this is really the fun planning part, figuring out what I’m going to wear for the night. … I’m looking at dresses for every occasion for that evening, and then letting my bridesmaids know, ‘It’s time, girls — it’s time to get fitted for our dresses!’ It’s getting closer, so it’s getting more and more exciting.”
She confirms that both RHONY costar Dorinda Medley — who set up the happy couple — and series alum Jill Zarin will be in the wedding party. But which other Housewives will nab a spot on the guest list? Apparently, that still has yet to be finalized.
“I always say, we’ll see after the reunion who’s going to be invited — who behaves or who doesn’t,” the bride-to-be says. “I’m still working on my invites.”
De Lesseps’ episode of Difficult People, titled “Carter,” is now streaming on Hulu. The Real Housewives of New York City airs on Bravo Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
