What better time to recap the Real Housewives of New York City season 14 than after its final reunion episode and social media frenzy? The reboot has been a big change for Bravo TV and the season was certainly full of drama that needs to be unpacked.
Coming off of Bravocon in Las Vegas this past weekend, there is a lot of buzz about the RHONY season 14 cast, including criticisms of their season’s authenticity and rumors about which cast members will be returning for season 15.
Keep reading for the breakdown of everything that happened throughout Real Housewives of New York City season 14, the cast members, and our hot takes on what will be coming next for this powerful group of women.
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RHONY Season 14: Where It Started
When the reboot and new season of Real Housewives of New York City was first announced, there were mixed feelings from New Yorkers. How could we possibly begin to say goodbye to the “Ramonacoaster,” Sonja Morgan, Luann De Lesseps, and the countless memories they made on Bravo? It was certainly the end of an era, which shocked and disappointed many old-school Bravo fans. However, other viewers could see that these women played out their stories on television for far too long and the show felt like it was coming to a dead end.
As a result, Bravo cast six new female New Yorkers to take over an iconic reality franchise: Ubah Hassan, Erin Dana Lichy, Jenna Lyons, Sai De Silva, Jessel Taank, and Brynn Whitfield. Let the controversy begin. Even though fans had a lot to say about an influencer (Sai De Silva), “social climber” (Brynn Whitfield), and fashion industry giant (Jenny Lyons) being thrown together, the cast met up and the first reboot episode aired July 16, 2023. Now that we’ve made it all the way to the “Reunion Part 2” episode, which recently aired on October 29th, it’s time to recap the 16 total episodes and overall Real Housewives of New York City season 14.
RHONY Season 14 Cast
The RHONY season 14 cast is the most diverse cast that we’ve seen thus far in all aspects like culture, race, family, relationship status, and careers. After recent backlash on Bravo’s discriminatory practices and racist cast members, it seems like this was a necessary step forward to reflect the spirit of New York accurately on a reality TV show. But, back to the women who made it all possible.
Sai De Silva
Sai is a content creator and fashion influencer who has a successful social media following. She’s married with two kids and lives in Brooklyn. Her role in this season was the brutally honest friend who does not put up with bullshit. Her ally? That’s clearly Erin.
Ubah Hassan
Ubah is a Somali-Canadian who is known for her modeling career and hot sauce company: Ubah Hot. She was single for most of the series, or so we thought. Recently, it was revealed that she has been secretly dating Oliver Dachsel, a German investment banker. Her role on the show was the feisty yet loyal friend and Jessel was always in her corner.
Erin Dana Lichy
Erin is a mom of three, real estate agent, and wife of many years. She is extremely family-oriented but takes her career seriously coming from a family that worked in real estate. On the show, she seemed to stir the pot and enjoy the drama more than most. However, she is surprisingly one of the housewives closest to Jenna.
Jenna Lyons
Jenna is a household name in the fashion industry who also happens to be the former president and creative director of J. Crew. Even the other women on the show admitted to finding this intimidating. She has one son with her ex-husband and now is openly dating women (and possibly even engaged to Cass Bird). On the show, she served as a friend who likes to avoid drama at all costs. This also makes it hard to tell who she is closest with, but I’d argue Erin.
Jessel Taank
Jessel is a fashion publicist who recently had twin boys with her husband, Pavit. While she may have had hardships growing up, it seemed to pale in comparison to the other women in this group and got her into trouble. She’s by far the most positive presence in the franchise who clearly wants to be a good friend. She and Ubah developed a strong bond this season.
Brynn Whitfield
Brynn works in public relations and freelances her services. This is important because many people accused her of being a “social climber” or even a sex worker on the reality show. She’s the only single cast member (based on how the season unraveled), but has a history with wealthy men. She’s the raunchy, fun-loving friend of the group who always kept things interesting. She seems closest to Sai because they had similar upbringings and childhood trauma.
Real Housewives of New York City Season 14 Recap: What Went Down
From arguments about cheese to criticizing each other’s marriages, there was certainly a lot of drama during this season of RHONY. In the beginning, it felt like there were growing pains between the new cast as they tried to cultivate friendships. It says a lot that right off the bat, Erin was offended that Sai and Brynn wanted to eat dinner at a hip restaurant rather than spend time getting to know the group. However, the truth is that this group of women come from different backgrounds and social circles, so they needed time to get on the same level of familiarity as past RHONY cast members.
In true RHONY fashion, let’s break down the season by the trips they took.
Hamptons
It’s lucky that the trip to Erin’s house in the Hamptons was early on because it gave us a good glimpse at the group. A few things became very clear on this trip: Sai is kind of high-maintenance, Jenna isn’t sure about being in a girl group, Jessel is easy to gang up on, and Brynn and Ubah are just there for a good time. It’s not even worth making a crack at Erin’s hosting skills because she truly felt like the mama bear in this scenario trying to bring everyone together with open arms.
The main takeaway from this trip is Jessel’s postpartum struggles. She admitted to not having sex with her husband since giving birth to their twins and not feeling sexy in the lingerie gift that Jenna shared. I found this plot line interesting because her new “friends” expressed very little empathy for the situation and went a step further to make her feel bad about it.
Similarly, as Jenna revealed her rare genetic disorder, the girls didn’t seem to understand how serious her condition was and made her continually express discomfort in showing her skin. No one is saying Jessel and Jenna are perfect, but this was not a supportive start.
Anguilla
In between the Hamptons and Anguilla trips in RHONY season 14, the main plot points to note are that Erin begins stirring the pot with gossip and Jessel’s struggles with her husband become more apparent. What better time to take a trip?
Sai hosts all of the women at a villa in Anguilla, which sets the perfect paradise backdrop for a few women who did not grow up with such vacations. This could be why Sai, Brynn, and Jenna open up so much while on the trip.
In an emotional dinner, Sai shares more information about her mother who battled with alcoholism until the day she died. Sai was even homeless at one point trying to stay afloat in New York City. Brynn, similarly, was raised by her grandmother because her parents abandoned her at a young age, making it difficult to understand her biracial identity. These moments are important because they help us learn more about the cast and how the tensions begin to bubble. Specifically, Jessel tries to relate to them and it doesn’t go as planned.
Jenna’s condition is spoken about a lot on this trip because she wants to cover her skin as opposed to being in a bathing suit. She also opens up about her mom having Asperger’s, which made Jenna feel distant from her mother, especially when she came out publicly.
So, what does it all mean? These women are different. Maybe most clear when Erin and Ubah got into a huge fight over an iPhone, these women have different values. However, you can’t help but come away from this vacation feeling bad for their childhood struggles and admiring how far they have come.
New York City
Once back in New York City for the final few episodes, the story shifts to reveal Jessel as the real victim. She asks Sai to grab lunch to settle some of their tension, which ends up making everything worse. Sai basically decides that she and Jessel do not vibe together and therefore, shuts down the chance of a better friendship.
Then, she and Erin start to gang up on Jessel as they learn more about her marriage to Pavit. They think their bedroom troubles, attitude towards each other, and separate vacations are red flags. They even imply that Pavit is planning to go to Vietnam for 24 hours to cheat on her. This goes far beyond what has happened in past Housewives seasons. While marital issues tend to come up in Real Housewives franchises, neither she or Pavit plan to separate or divorce. Jessel said it best, “this is mean girl behavior.” It’s a line in friendship that you should never cross (maybe not even if you’re invited).
Not to mention, Sai also betrays Ubah by telling Erin about her budding relationship that was meant to be on the down low. Right before the reunion episodes, Jessel and Ubah are pissed at their supposed friends’ behavior. Ultimately, there doesn’t seem to be true loyalty and respect among this group yet.
Will Real Housewives of New York City Season 14 Cast Come Back?
While critics and fans had a lot to say about the Real Housewives of New York City season 14 cast, the reboot was successful and deserves a second chance in my opinion. While I’m not confident in the group dynamics yet, these women were honest about the fact that they are a new group of friends, which will come with growing pains. Only another season can truly show us how their relationships will fare. Plus, they brought us Bravo TV fans what we love: lots and lots of fashion and drama.
In an Access Hollywood interview at 2023 Bravocon, Sai, Ubah, and Erin discuss whether they, and specifically, Jenna, will come back for another season. The group seemed to be on good terms (although a bit fake) since they aired their grievances at the two-part reunion. Ubah was surprisingly fine being around Sai and Erin, but added a caveat that “Jenna has to come back because she’s the bridge of us.” Even so, they all seemed positive about a Real Housewives of New York City season 15 and want Jenna to stay in the group.
We’ll have to wait for an official Bravo announcement to know who of the RHONY season 14 cast is coming back to film. However, based on my intricate knowledge of the season and Bravo dynamics, I am going to predict who will be returning.
RHONY Season 15 Predictions
I’d say that we’ll see Sai, Erin, Brynn, and Jessel for season 15, but not Ubah and Jenna.
Sai, Erin, and Brynn can bring the drama without hurting their relationships, which is key. I’m not sure that Ubah’s hurt feelings and isolating end to the season can be recovered. I think Ubah’s new relationship and budding hot sauce business will whisk her away from the “lack of loyalty” she experienced.
Additionally, I think Jenna had fun but is not in a rush to come back at all. She missed Bravocon for more important meetings and events. What does that tell us? Even if she wants to come back, I don’t know that Jenna can help foster a strong connection. Her status and cool-girl attitude seem to make the girls nervous to offend her.
Lastly, Jessel left season 14 as the underdog star and needs to come back with a vengeance. She gained a huge fan following towards the end because she had the best intentions and was ganged up on everywhere she turned. It would be a missed opportunity if we don’t get to see how the dust settles here.
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My final word on the Real Housewives of New York City season 14 is that this group could become the next great Housewives franchise. However, we need some closeness to develop between the women first and that may not mean picking up right where we left off.