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‘Real Housewives of New York City’ Newbie Leah McSweeney Reveals Which Housewife Was ‘Cold’ to Her (Exclusive)

Leah McSweeney
Leah McSweeney of 'The Real Housewives of New York City.'Sophy Holland/Bravo

Not all new Housewives are welcomed equally. Real Housewives of New York City newbie Leah McSweeney told Us Weekly exclusively that she struggled to bond with Dorinda Medley and Sonja Morgan while filming season 12.

Related: 'RHONY’ Season 12 Trailer Breakdown

“Dorinda was definitely the hardest on me in the beginning, but it didn’t last long. And then once I got past this — she was a little cold to me — but once you get past that she’s actually the warmest of everybody,” the new Bravolebrity told Us Weekly exclusively on the new Getting Real with the Housewives podcast ahead of the Thursday, April 2, premiere. “It wasn’t really joining the group that was intimidating it was more the, ‘OK, I’m going to be on TV now and I’m not an anonymous person going through the world anymore,’ which was kind of a mind F.”

Leah, 37, added that she was surprised her and Sonja didn’t become fast friends.

Leah McSweeney
Leah McSweeney of ‘The Real Housewives of New York City.’ Sophy Holland/Bravo

“I think the differences, you know there’s some similarities with me and her and there’s some differences, but the differences are so different like that that made it difficult,” she explained. “She lives the little in the past and, like, that was like an issue for us.”

Related: 'RHONY’ Season 12: What We Know

Bravo confirmed Leah joined the cast of the hit reality show after Bethenny Frankel’s exit. The fashion designer was friendly with Tinsley Mortimer before the cameras started rolling.

“Tinsley [gave me advice], for sure. And honestly even throughout the filming process the women were … It’s like a sisterhood,” she told Us. “It really is. I did not feel any kind of malice or anything like that. They want to see me win. They want to see me fit in with a group. They want to see it work out with a group. And they were nothing but helpful, to be honest. They were giving me a lot of advice, all of them.”

Sonja Morgan, Tinsley Mortimer, Leah McSweeney The Real Housewives of New York City
Sonja Morgan, Tinsley Mortimer, and Leah McSweeney on ‘The Real Housewives of New York City.’ Heidi Gutman/Bravo

Leah added that she has a “special place” in her heart for all of her new costars, including Ramona Singer and Luann de Lesseps.

Related: Biggest ‘Real Housewives’ Feuds Ever

“Some it took a little longer to warm up to me and for me to warm up to them. And obviously there’s a big age gap between me and them, and sometimes that, I feel like, maybe with Ramona was like a mother-daughter situation where we were hard on each other, actually,” she said. “But for the most part, I adore them. I really do.”

The Real Housewives of New York City airs on Bravo Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.

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