Erin Lichy is playing coy about what’s next for The Real Housewives of New York City amid their ongoing hiatus — but Brynn Whitfield leaving the show is set in stone.
“I don’t think you want to get me started here,” Erin, 38, said with a laugh while talking with Us Weekly about Brynn’s exit in June following a controversial season 15 of RHONY. “Let’s just leave it.”
Erin exclusively told Us on Thursday, October 9, while promoting her new book, She’s a Host: An Unbuttoned Cookbook for Elegant Entertaining, “It was definitely the right decision” for Brynn, 39, to step back when she did.
“She’s removed herself,” Erin explained of her former castmate, noting she hasn’t really spoken with Brynn since the season 15 reunion, which aired in February.
Brynn made waves during season 15 of the Bravo series — which was the second season with an all-new cast consisting of Brynn and Erin as well as Jenna Lyons, Racquel Chevremont, Sai De Silva, Jessel Taank and Ubah Hassan — while on a girls’ trip to Puerto Rico.
During the explosive finale, Ubah, 42, claimed Brynn slept with someone to get cast on the show, which led Brynn to share that she had been sexually assaulted in the past. Brynn later claimed that Ubah knew about her traumatic experience and was upset she would make such a crass remark.
Ubah, meanwhile, insisted that she had no prior knowledge of Brynn’s assault and started to break down.
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Brynn later told Erin that she didn’t know if Ubah had “clocked it” when she spoke about her trauma during an emotional phone call between them, which caused the rest of the cast to question whether Brynn was lying about her entire conversation with Ubah to begin with.
“You told us that she might not have clocked it and that felt careless,” Jenna, 57, said during the reunion. “Because we had then realized at that moment … the implication.”
Brynn began to cry, saying, “Just because I don’t f***ing fall on the ground and scream … and cause a scene and say, ‘F*** you, bitches,’ just because I keep my s*** together, you’re all holding me accountable for every single goddamn word. … When I say something to someone, I assume that they know it.”
Ubah remained adamant that Brynn “never said it,” referring to her sexual assault revelation. However, Ubah and Brynn made amends before the end of the reunion, but the damage was done between Brynn and the rest of the cast.
“That whole thing was so — how are we supposed to all move on from that? It was just a lot. It was too much,” Erin told Us on Thursday, reflecting on the explosive end to the season. “It was heavy.”
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Following the reunion, Brynn confirmed her departure after two seasons.
“After a lot of thought, I’ve made the decision to walk away from reality TV. For now,” Brynn wrote via her Instagram Story in June, calling her time on RHONY “one of the most fun, chaotic, and magical chapters of my life. It was the honor of a lifetime to help reboot such an iconic franchise.”
Since then, the fate of RHONY has been in limbo as the network has yet to announce season 16.
“We’re going to BravoCon. So, we’ll be there. I think we’ll be just fine,” Erin teased to Us when asked about what’s next. She revealed if the show does come back she wants it to highlight “the true dynamic that we have, which is we have a lot of fun together.”
In the meantime, Erin, who is a mother of four, is focused on the release of her new book.
“I just feel like there’s such a barrier to entry when people are thinking about hosting or having people over, and it seems like so overwhelming to people. And I just want to simplify it,” Erin said of her inspiration for the book. “I think community is so important, especially since covid. I feel like people realize how important it is to be together, and it’s at the forefront of really everything I do. So, I wanted to share like, how I do it easily, while still being beautiful, and it’s just a great part of life.”
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She told Us that her “top tips,” including how to get guests to come over — and how to make them leave — are all featured in her writing.
Erin explained, “We always joke that, like, the hardest part is getting people out,” which is why she switches up the timing of her celebrations.
“A brunch, for example, I have a whole chapter basically on brunch, because brunch I love, especially having small kids. They can all play, and everyone gets together, and it’s daytime and it’s easier,” Erin said. “I like to day drink more.”
She’s a Host: An Unbuttoned Cookbook for Elegant Entertaining hits bookshelves on Tuesday, October 28, via DK Publishing.
