Part one of the Real Housewives of New York City reunion was emotional for Brynn Whitfield and costar Ubah Hassan.
During the first half of the two-part season 15 reunion, which aired Tuesday, January 28, Brynn, 39, opened up about why she chose to share her experience as a survivor of sexual assault with the Bravo cameras.
“I’m still healing from something,” Brynn explained, noting that when she has previously discussed other tough topics on the reality series — such as her family life — it felt “like 17 years worth of therapy.”
Host Andy Cohen praised Brynn’s “brave” decision to speak out about her experience, before asking about the response she’s received from viewers. “[People have talked about] the shame of it all and living with the day to day,” she said, referring to the prevailing stigma associated with experiencing a sexual assault. “Just how it’s not one of those things you can go around and tell. And to have everyone know something so personal as a woman, it’s just different.”
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Brynn struggled to hold back tears as she confessed to feeling a similar sense of shame. “I suck things up. I move on,” she continued. “Because if I don’t, I never get out of bed. So you just keep going.”
She went on to reveal that the alleged perpetrator was “someone who was courting me” and that she still sees the person now. “I understand why people commit heinous crimes,” she said.
Throughout the emotional conversation, Brynn’s costars were shown grappling with her revelations. At one point, the camera panned to Ubah, 41, who mouthed, “Oh, my God.”
Tensions were high between Brynn and Ubah during the season 15 finale, which aired January 21 and showed the dramatic end to the cast’s Puerto Rican vacation. Ubah alleged that Brynn slept with someone to get on RHONY, prompting Brynn to come forward to her costars about her assault. Brynn claimed that she had told Ubah about the incident already, but Ubah denied ever hearing the story. Eventually, Brynn admitted that Ubah might not have “clocked it” during their previous conversation.
The conflict caused the remaining Housewives to question other events that occurred throughout the season, calling out Brynn’s apparent tendency to bend the truth. She spoke to Rolling Stone after the finale aired and doubled down on her side of the story.
“It’s not right to assume that everyone remembers everything that you say all the time and then hold them accountable for that,” she claimed. “I know for a fact that I said it [to Ubah], but when someone’s screaming into the phone, the other person might not necessarily hear them.”
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During the reunion, Brynn revealed that she considered pressing charges against her alleged assailant following the assault. “But it’s so hard … unless you literally go and walk into an emergency room and say, ‘Hi, I’m here because I just got sexually assaulted. Let’s do the rape kit,’” she added, adding that her first instinct was to “go home and shower.”
Brynn said that in the moment she just wanted to “forget that it happened,” which caused Ubah to get emotional. She silently wiped tears from her eyes before being handed a tissue.
“It’s hard if you know the person,” Ubah said. “Like, she said you could commit a crime.”
Getting choked up, Ubah whispered, “I’m sorry,” to Brynn, who replied, “I know you are. I know.”
The Real Housewives of New York City reunion continues on Bravo Tuesday, February 4, at 9 p.m. ET.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
