Finding her zen. Ramona Singer opened up about life post-reality TV — and said she’s “never been happier” since her exit from the Real Housewives of New York City.
“I’m 60 something now, I worked hard my whole life. It’s time for me just to enjoy myself,” Ramona, 66, told the Daily Mail in an interview published on Thursday, January 26. “And doing the show is not easy. I mean, people think it’s easy. [But it’s] very stressful, very stressful.”
The Life on the Ramona Coaster author — who was part of RHONY since its premiere in March 2008 alongside Bethenny Frankel, Alex McCord, Jill Zaren, Kelly Bensimon and Luann de Lesseps — said that she’s “happier” and “calmer” now that she can “control [her] own narrative.”
While Ramona shared that being on the show was a “great experience” that she “wouldn’t trade for anything,” she added that viewers were seeing a more exaggerated version of who she really is.
“I just knew how to create [drama],” she explained. “Was that the real me? Not really. Was it me on steroids? Absolutely.”
The New York native announced she was leaving the Bravo series in November 2022 after Bravo exec Andy Cohen previously revealed plans to revamp the RHONY with a brand new cast – and add a spinoff for the fan-favorite NYC Bravolebs.
“I do not want to do the show any l longer. It’s not for me at this time,” the reality star told Page Six at the time, confirming she would not be a part of RHONY: Legacy.
As for the new crew, the TV network confirmed during BravoCon in October 2022 that Sai De Silva, Ubah Hassan, Erin Dana Lichy, Lizzy Savetsky, Jessel Taank, Jenna Lyons and Brynn Whitfield would lead season 14 of the OG series. The Legacy cast, however, has yet to be revealed.
“I don’t really want to get into specifics about specific women. Because then it’s like, ‘Oh, well, he said yes to these two.’ The answer is: Sonja [Morgan] and Luann [de Lesseps] have been a part of the show — for Luann, from the beginning, and Sonja since season 3. So, I think, in theory, sure,” the Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen host, 54, told Variety earlier this year. “I could talk to you about hypothetical situations involving a lot of people that used to be on the show. I think the good news is, that’s a group that’s all still in each other’s lives.”
While Ramona may be moving past her time on reality TV, the 57-year-old Class With the Countess author is more than happy to continue on with Bravo as it moves in a new direction.
“I did not see that coming, but after learning about it, I was really happy about it,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in March 2022. “I’m thrilled about them bringing back the OG cast, because you can’t fit a square peg into a round hole. I say that because sometimes you bring new girls on and they don’t really fit in into your group, and I think it feels awkward.”
She added: “An all-new cast and the OG cast is the perfect solution. I feel like they got that from seeing how well the Ultimate Girl Trip works and how much the fans and people loved seeing the OGs from every franchise together. … If they’ll have me back, I’m totally on board, because I think it’s a lot of fun to be back with all our old friends!”
