The Real Housewives of New York has made history by casting their first ever openly queer housewife on the show.
Jenna Lyons, the former president and creative director of J.Crew, confirmed on Instagram that she will be part of the upcoming reboot of The Real Housewives of New York. She will be the first openly queer housewife on that specific show and only the second openly queer housewife in the entirety of the Real Housewives franchise.
Lyons found success in her position with J.Crew after rebranding their style guide to feel more akin to a fashion magazine. In this, she included details and photos of her personal life, including painting her then three-year-old son's toenails pink. This led to some controversy in the US, but did raise her profile.
Lyons recently starred in the reality show Stylish with Jenna Lyons, which debuted on HBO Max in December 2020. With her profile significantly raised, Lyons was announced as one of seven stars for The Real Housewives of New York, which will kick off with a rebooted 14th season in 2023.
Lyons was previously married to Vincent Mazeau, with whom she shares her child with. They married in 2002 and divorced in 2011, the same year she was publicly outed after a New York Post article reported that Lyons was dating a woman. Lyons was 43 at the time.
In an interview with The Cut in 2021, Lyons said that J.Crew received a call from the New York Post asking her to confirm or deny the story. She confirmed the story.
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"I heard the word ‘confirm’ come out of my mouth… and then it just kind of snowballed. I would have wanted to have a more elegant, certainly more private, approach," Lyons said.
The other stars joining the series are creative director Sai De Silva, model Ubah Hassan, Erin Dana Lichy, influencer Lizzy Savetsky, publicist Jessel Taank and Brynn Whitfield.
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