Since 2006, The Real Housewives franchise has taken over pop culture. There have been series in several major cities, like New York, Atlanta, and Beverly Hills. And if that wasn’t enough, Bravo hit it out of the park when they cast an international version in Dubai, too.
As of April 2023, 154 women have been featured in full-time roles on Bravo’s iterations of the Real Housewives. Most are married, some are single, and only a handful are part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Braunwyn Windham from the Real Housewives of Orange County stated in a 2020 interview that she’s a “proud lesbian.” Also from the Orange Country crew is Noella Bergener — who has been open about her identity as a bisexual woman. And Julia Lemigova from the Real Housewives of Miami is their group’s first bisexual Housewife.
Now, adding to that list is Jenna Lyons — the newest cast member of the Real Housewives of New York City. And in a recent interview with GLAAD, the fashion icon spoke about being the series’ first openly queer Housewife and what that means to her.
Jenna is proud to represent the LGBT+ community on RHONY
While at the season premiere of RHONY, Jenna chatted with several publications about how her experience as a Housewife has been thus far. Regarding her position as New York’s first openly gay cast member, the former J-Crew president couldn’t be happier.
“I’m proud. I didn’t realize how much it meant to people,” she said while sharing that several queer fans have expressed how much her position on the show means to them. “I’m so happy to hold the torch.”
Outside of some of the Housewives, another openly gay character on Bravo is none other than their boss and host, Andy Cohen. When he spoke with GLAAD, he gushed over Jenna’s involvement in the new RHONY era and teased her performance in the coming season.
“It feels great to have a gay woman on The Real Housewives of New York,” he said. “She’s a player, she’s aspirational, she’s a name, she’s funny, and she’s someone that you want to watch.”
TELL US – ARE YOU HAPPY TO SEE MORE LGBTQ+ REPRESENTATION ON HOUSEWIVES? DID YOU ENJOY JENNA’S DEBUT ON RHONY?
