Jenna Lyons, who served as president and executive creative director of J. Crew, has been tapped to head the new season of The Real Housewives of New York.
The Queer icon was famously outed in 2011, and promises to bring the drama as a historic Housewives cast member. At the time, the New York Post reported that after Lyons split from former husband Vincent Mazeau, she “fell in love” with a woman.
Meet Jenna Lyons
Lyons was the creative director and president of J. Crew from 2008 and 2010, respectively. In April 2017, her departure from J. Crew was announced after declining sales.
In September of 2020, Lyons launched LoveSeen, a beauty company with a focus on fake lashes.
Lyons is also no stranger to reality tv. The star of the HBO Max series Stylish With Jenna Lyons, she is used to documenting her life with cameras.
The former J. Crew president returns to TV in 2023 alongside new RHONY cast members Brynn Whitfield, Sai De Silva, Ubah Hassan, Lizzy Savetsky, Erin Dana Lichy, and Jessel Taank.
Queer Icon Jenna Lyons
It’s important to draw attention to the fact the Jenna Lyons is the first openly queer cast member of Real Housewives of New York. After a public outing by the press in 2011, the star has been vocal about her queer identity.
Jenna Lyons writing for The Cut about her experience:
The heads of marketing were on the other end, and they said, ‘We have a call from New York Post. There’s a report that you’re seeing a woman — should we confirm or deny?’ You have to imagine: I’m standing on the phone with a whole room full of people and I can feel their eyes on me. And I’m like, literally six weeks into this totally new relationship. I heard the word ‘confirm’ come out of my mouth. It wasn’t like I was confirming that I was gay or that I was bi. The truth was, I was seeing a woman, so yes, confirmed. I wasn’t going to lie about it. And then it just kind of snowballed.
In 2012, she publicly acknowledged her relationship with Courtney Crangi with whom she split with in December 2017.
Reaction to the RHONY reboot
Fans are torn on what to expect out of the RHONY reboot. First announced at BravoCon 2022, the series has a few skeptics already.
We don’t want influencers who will be WAYYYYYY too cautious about getting cancelled. We want REAL housewives. The #RHONY reboot is going to SUCK.
— KM Lover (@LoverKM90) August 23, 2022
Why is it so hard to fix #RHONY ? Like .. what is the show without the people we have watched for years and grown to love or hate 😂 #RHONY without Ramona, Luann, Sonja .. it just doesn’t sit right .. okay there’s legacy but meh .. I ain’t feeling that .. or this reboot 🥹 🍎 pic.twitter.com/ev9SmgVvse
— Real Housewife Polls (@RHOPolls) September 22, 2022
Critics aside, turns out there are many who are excited for the addition of Jenna Lyons.
Agreed. Jenna Lyon is the real deal. The girl made jcrew in its heyday
— Doubles (@Doubles20222022) October 17, 2022
Jenna is easily the most recognizable name on this cast for one. 2: everyone would’ve complained if there was no older women anchors because that’s what the show started as. 3. Nobody even knows what this is going to be like why is everyone convinced it’s gonna suck. #rhony
— Reality By Ashley (@RealityByAshley) November 12, 2022
Hear from Lyons herself on the amazing reception she’s been receiving.
The Real Housewives of New York reboot will be airing on Bravo and Peacock. For those craving the old RHONY, stars Luann de Lesseps and Sonja Morgan are currently filming a spin-off series similar to The Simple Life.
Ashley Marie is a writer for Starcasm and the personality behind Twitter’s @RealityByAshley. You can contact Ashley via Twitter or email at realitybyashley(at)gmail.com
