Although Ramona Singer has been in front of a camera for nearly 20 years, she wasn’t always so comfortable with the attention that came with it.
“I think when we first started, [reality TV] was a little more lighthearted,” Ramona, 69, exclusively reveals in Us’ Reality Stars of the Year issue, featuring the former Housewife and the rest of The Golden Life cast on the cover. “I think sometimes now it gets too drama oriented and fake oriented.”
The former Real Housewives of New York City star was part of the original cast of the New York iteration of the Bravo series, which premiered in 2008. RHONY was only the second Housewives franchise following The Real Housewives of Orange County, which premiered in 2006.
While Bravo has since created Housewives franchises in 12 U.S. cities and more internationally, Ramona and her RHONY castmates were thrust into the spotlight without much guidance.
“I sometimes personally never would accept how popular [and] so-called famous we were,” Ramona says of the beginning of her reality TV career. “I used to really not embrace it. It kind of frightened me and scared me. But now I can embrace it.”
The businesswoman points to her “genuine” friendships among the Bravoverse — which have continued onto her new E! series, The Golden Life — as the reason she is no longer scared of the limelight.
“We are real friends. We fight sometimes really badly. But we do make up. We have resolution, but we’re real,” Ramona tells Us of her former RHONY costars and present Golden Life counterparts Luann de Lesseps, Dorinda Medley, Sonja Morgan and Kelly Bensimon. “There’s nothing fake about us, you know? And we’re inspirational to [fans]. I mean, look at us all.”
While sitting next to her castmates all dressed up as the goddesses they are, Ramona notes, “We’re all at a certain age,” and that isn’t holding them back.
“I never thought when I was younger [I’d] ever looked like this at this age,” Ramona beams. “And let me tell you out there, life just gets better. My life is just beginning.”
Ramona has captivated audiences since her reality TV debut in 2008, earning herself the nickname “the maven of a good time” and making viewers laugh with her signature catchphrases.
After 13 seasons on RHONY, which concluded in 2021, Bravo took a two-year break from the franchise. When it returned in 2023, there was a completely new cast — but fans have never forgotten the OGs like Ramona.
Viewers will get to see exactly what Ramona is up to these days when The Golden Life premieres on E! later this month. This time, however, the pressure is seemingly off as the cameras document Ramona and her longtime Housewife pals living it up in Palm Beach, Florida.
“I think fans will be so delighted because we are more lighthearted. We’re genuine,” Ramona tells Us of the new series. “Nothing is fake. Nothing is made up. We don’t have a script. That’s what makes us so unusual.”
The Bravo personality admits that the New Yorker fans have come to know and love is still there — but with a twist.
“The viewers will see a different Ramona from the standpoint that I’m really much calmer now. Do I still get hyper? Yes. Do I still have a disagreement like I did with Dorinda? Absolutely,” Ramona teases. “But there’s more of a zen to me, more of a calmness to me.”
Ramona says she has “more patience” and she has “evolved tremendously” over the past two decades, but her costars know her spicy side is still right below the surface.
Luann, 61, jokes that Ramona “still has the stinger,” poking fun at her friend’s “Singer Stinger” nickname, admitting, “You cannot change the leopard’s spots.”
Ramona laughs it off while insisting to Us, “I’m just living my best life. And I never felt better.”
The Golden Life premieres on E! Tuesday, October 20, at 10 p.m. ET with a special 90-minute episode. The series will continue to air on E! Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET.
For more from Ramona and the rest of The Golden Life cast, pick up Us‘ Reality Stars of the Year issue, out this week.
