Real Housewives of Dubai cast is Caroline Stanbury, Chanel Ayan, Nina Ali, Sara Al Madani, Lesa Milan Hall & Caroline Brooks REPORT
Bravo recently announced that they will be expanding their Real Housewives franchise to include The Real Housewives of Dubai, premiering some time in 2022. Bravos initial press release and trailers didn’t reveal any specifics about The Real Housewives of Dubai cast, but a reliable resource has shared a list of six women reportedly filming for the series, including a familiar face to Bravo viewers!
“I’m told the rumored Real Housewives of Dubai cast is Caroline Stanbury, Caroline Brooks, Chanel Ayan, Sara Al Madani, Lesa Milan Hall and Nina Ali,” tweeted former TMZ reporter Anthony Dominic. “I’m told they have NOT started filming yet, but the film crews have arrived in Dubai and filming will begin soon,” he continued in a follow up tweet.
The Bravo press release and promo clips for the new series teased a cast with LOTS of money, and Anthony’s source(s) concurs. “I’ve been told the cast is WEALTHY and everything is set to be over the top.”
And the cast won’t be the only ones bringing ch-ching. “This is Bravo’s first internationally produced franchise and they are going to put a lot of time and money into it, and I’m told this cast is going to deliver!” Anthony added.
Bravo fans will recognize Ladies of London star Caroline Stanbury. Anthony says that we may be seeing additional Ladies of London stars in the premiere season of The Real Housewives of Dubai. “I’ve also been told Caroline Stanbury is getting married in December and it will be filmed for the show. Some of her Ladies of London cast members like Juliet Angus will be there.”
I researched the six women mentioned by Anthony, and they are all followed by multiple producers from The Real Housewives of Dubai on Instagram. (I also discovered two other women that are very likely candidates to become cast members! I will be following up soon with more information on them, so stay tuned!)
Here is the press release announcement by Bravo, followed by Instagram links and photos from all the rumored new housewives. Plus, a brief bio for each!
Bravo stamps its passport and heads to “The City of Gold” as the network expands its popular franchise with a series greenlight for “The Real Housewives of Dubai.” The series format has been sold around the world, but this marks the network’s first original international iteration. Premiering next year as the 11th city in the franchise, the series highlights a group of women navigating their relationships, careers, and supremely lavish and ultra-wealthy lifestyles in the United Arab Emirates. With the desert paradise of Dubai as the backdrop, this billionaire’s playground is known for its over-the-top opulence, jaw-dropping modern architecture and wild nightlife scene. Whether they’re coasting on a private plane, running their own empires or hosting on a private island, these glamourous, successful women are ready to serve up scorching hot drama and unexpected twists.
“Everything’s bigger in Dubai, and I couldn’t be more excited to launch Bravo’s first international Housewives series in a city I’ve been fascinated by for years, with an outstanding group of friends as our guides,” says executive producer Andy Cohen.
CAROLINE STANBURY
From Caroline’s original Bravo bio for Ladies of London:
Caroline Stanbury is no stranger to London’s high society. Born into the Vestey dynasty, she continues to rub shoulders with royals, celebrities and the elite alike. Caroline started her career as a top personal stylist, making a name for herself dressing London’s most glamorous socialites.
In 2008, Caroline put on her entrepreneurial hat when she launched Gift Library of Caroline Stanbury, a successful luxury gifting and personal shopping service. In less than five years, Caroline has expanded her empire with three stores and over 53 employees. Her most recent acquisition, The Wedding Shop of Caroline Stanbury, is the leading independent wedding list service in the UK and Ireland and will become a one-stop destination for brides.
Caroline lives outside of London with her financier husband Cem Habib, their three children and their dog Buster.
Caroline divorced her husband of 17 years in December of 2019 and she is now engaged to former Real Madrid soccer player Sergio Carrallo. As Anthony Dominic mentioned, it is believed that Caroline’s wedding will be a central story for The Real Housewives of Dubai Season 1.
CAROLINE BROOKS
Caroline’s website looks to be new, and here is all she currently has for her “About Me” section: “My name is Caroline but most know me as ‘CarolineDXB’. Boston born real estate powerhouse, currently residing in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Full bio coming soon)”
Caroline looks to come loaded with drama to spare! She has already made headlines stirring up online drama with other Dubai socialites, and she reportedly dated the Kenyan Governor of Mombasa County, Hassan Ali Joho!
CHANEL AYAN
Chanel Ayan was born Pillott Ayan in Kenya. She was introduced to the world of professional modeling at a very young age when a cousin from Sweden showed her a fashion magazine. She began doing local commercials and ads in Kenya, and moved to Brazil at the age of 17 to further her modeling career.
After marrying her current husband in Brazil, Chanel joined Elite Models and moved to New York City. She later relocated to Dubai in 2005 and became the first woman of Africa descent to appear on magazine covers in Dubai and the Middle East.
Excerpt from a Punch interview with Chanel Ayaan in 2019:
“When I moved to Dubai 14 years ago there was no black modelling in Dubai. I am the first black model to ever appear on magazine covers in Dubai. I have been in Vogue countless times, including Vogue Italia and Vogue US. I did shows that were covered in CNN worldwide. I have done every brand in Dubai. I have done Prada, I’m the face of Piaget in the Middle East, face of Channel. I’m the only black girl that did Vogue. I have done big brands like Apple, Van Cleef and Piaget. It’s amazing to wear a million dollars earring and 10 million dollars chains. I was the first black to ever do all these in the Middle East. I’m booked for every job that’s in town. I love doing my job, I love being a model.
I am the muse for one of the biggest designers in the world, the Amato couture. He has dressed Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Nicky Minaj, Shakira and Jlo he says am his muse. I usually dress clothes for celebrities before he sends them to the USA for Oscars or anything. Funny thing I used to fit for Nicky Minaj and we have very different bodies but they would check colours and design that will fit her. I wore the same white dress that Beyonce wore in Grammys before it was sent to the USA, she quipped with pleasure.
SARA AL MADANI
From Sara’s LinkedIn profile:
Dr. Sara Al Madani is a well-known serial entrepreneur in the field of fashion, F&B, tech, marketing and more.
Sara was inspired to start her own business at the age of 15. Following her success as a young entrepreneur and business woman, Sara was selected to inspire women in the UAE to be more active and self-confident in order to achieve business success.
Recognized for her creativity and hard work, Sara is an honoured speaker in many universities, colleges and institutes locally and globally. She truly believes that it is important to be an active member of the community, inspiring the younger generation and continuously sharing knowledge, experience and information therefore she started her public speaking journey, speaking and giving Keynote speeches in more than 198 events globally from the year 2016 till 2019.
I could find no evidence of Sara being married, but she does have a young son.
LESA MILAN HALL
From LesaMilan.com:
Lesa ‘Milan’ Hall is a successful fashion designer, entrepreneur and television personality. She is the founder of children’s educational brand My Little Makers, which produces early development toys, books and media – also the founder and chief designer of maternity fashion brand Mina Roe, which has been worn and/or hand picked by many celebrities including Beyoncé, Serena Williams, Katy Perry, Gigi Hadid, Khloe Kardashian (and many more) – Mina Roe also has been featured in magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar and Cosmopolitan.
Lesa is a proud expat wife and mother to three little boys, Maximilian, Sebastian and Kristian. She’s also an advocate for female empowerment and has built an organic social media following to connect with women across the globe. Her blog was created as another outlet for her to connect and share her experiences.
Lesa is currently living in Dubai with her beautiful family while raising standards, creating jobs and making a difference in the community.
NINA ALI
Nina Ali is Lebanese and moved with her family to Austin, Texas when she was four. She had no intention of leaving Texas, or the United States for that matter, but her future course was altered as soon as a family friend showed her photo to Munaf Ali. From a 2016 Harper’s Bazaar Arabia article on Nadia:
“We met through my cousin’s brother-in-law, who lived in Dubai,” Nina says of her now-husband. “After seeing my picture, Munaf asked about me.” Desperate to make an impression on the woman in the photograph, “He flew all the way around the world, just to take me to dinner.” London-born Munaf’s Prince Charming-approved wooing technique worked – the pair started dating long-distance, with the Dubai-based CEO travelling from the Middle East to the United States every three or so weeks to see Nina. “He would only be there to see me for a few days, and then when we were apart we would speak daily, on the phone and Skype,” she recalls to Bazaar.
Nina and Munaf have been married nearly thirteen years and share three children together. In addition to being a mom, Nina is also the co-founder of Fruit Cake AE.
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
