Jenna Lyons.Photo:Bryan Bedder/WWD via Getty
Bryan Bedder/WWD via Getty
Jenna Lyonswill be back for a second season ofThe Real Housewives of New York City, though she says she won’t exactly be revealing all for the reality cameras.
In a fun video shared to social media Thursday,Bravoannounced that the former J.Crew executive would be returning to the franchise in season 15, alongside costarsJessel Taank,Sai De Silva,Ubah Hussan,Erin Dana LichyandBrynn Whitfield.
“It’s there,” the New York City Housewives say in the clip.
All sixhelped reboot the longtime franchiselast summer when season 14 premiered. But since the season wrapped in October 2023, viewers have wondered whether Lyons would do the show again.
“I really thought I was going to have an easier time,” she toldRHONYexecutive producerAndy Cohenduring an appearance onWatch What Happens Livethat month, calling “the whole show” her “thorn” of the season. “It was hard! It’s shocking how, when the camera’s actually on you … I thought I could handle it and, you know, I couldn’t.”
Questions only continued during a November appearance onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallonwhen Lyons said her future onRHONYwas still undecided. “I don’t know, what do you think?” she asked hostJimmy Fallon. “I don’t have an answer. I genuinely don’t know.”
Lyons then was the onlyRHONYhousewife to be absent fromBravoCon 2023in Las Vegas. Asked why she missed it, she joked toEntertainment Tonightonthe red carpet of the CFDA Fashion Awards, “I had some things to do; some really important things to do, like twiddle my thumbs.”
Jenna Lyons.Michael Loccisano/Getty
Michael Loccisano/Getty
Though she’s now signed on to film again, it appears Lyons is putting up boundaries. In an interview withThe New York Timesposted Thursday, she made it clear she’s going to keep her loved ones — includinggirlfriend Cass Bird— off camera.
“I have a relationship, but I would like to not name her,” Lyons said. “I want to keep her out of the press. That is my commitment to her. It’s off the table. I joined this process. She did not.”
This isn’t the first time Lyons has made that call. She was in a relationship her first season butnever revealed her girlfriend’s name or discussed their romance, explaining the woman was private and uncomfortable being in the public eye. The two later broke up.
She and Bird have been much more public, however. Lyons revealed she was dating the acclaimed photographer and filmmaker in aNew York Timesfeature published in June 2023. Bird, 50, has since made appearances on Lyons' Instagram. In September 2023, Lyons even showed off a sparkling ring Bird gave her in acozy snap of the two.
“My girlfriend, who I adore, kept telling me that I had to button my shirt, and I said, ‘If you want me to button my shirt, you have to put a ring on it,’ " Lyons explained of the ring, while chatting withAndy CohenonWatch What Happens Livein October 2023. “We’re just really happy and she gave me thering that I wanted.”
Viewers will have to wait to see if that happened to Lyons. Last season, she did get flack from her fellow New York City Housewives for not opening up enough and for moving with what some perceived as an air of superiority.
The cast of ‘The Real Housewives of New York City’ season 14.Gavin Bond/Bravo via Getty Images
Gavin Bond/Bravo via Getty Images
For what it’s worth, fans embraced Lyons for beingso candid about her health and insecurities around her appearance. And the Loveseen Lashes founder — who has since become the chief editor at large of Coveteur, and the executive creative director of FundamentalCo — said she’s grateful for the passionate Bravo fans she’d gained along the way.
“What is consistently surprising to me, and such a tender moment, is the number of people that either DM or come up to me on the street and are like, ‘It’s amazing to see an openly gay woman on national television being themselves,’ " she told theTimes. “I know that seems trite. It’s not the reason I’m doing it, and I wouldn’t lie to you and say that it is. I don’t think I’m here to be the spokesperson. That has been a really nice side effect of the show.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
And as for those aforementioned boundaries, Lyons says producers have been “very amenable” and “very open to reducing that exposure.”
“Testing the waters of what you can say ‘no’ to is just something you have to do,” she said.
The Real Housewives of New York Citycan be streamed in full on Peacock.
source: people.com
