Brynn Whitfield offered more details about her decision to exit The Real Housewives of New York City after two seasons.
“I decided at the reunion that I wasn’t going to do it,” Brynn, 39, shared during the Wednesday, June 18, episode of her “Please See Below” podcast. “I was like, ‘This is too much.’”
Brynn chose to leave the Bravo show after having conversations with her brother, Daris, and her therapist.
“My brother and my therapist were like, ‘We’re not allowing you to do this ever again,’” Brynn recalled. (Her departure came after a RHONY season full of ups and downs, culminating in a blowup with costar Ubah Hassan.)
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Despite her definitive “no” to coming back in a full-time capacity, Brynn started to wonder whether she could get something similar to the Kathy Hilton “deal,” referring to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star only appearing in a “friend of” role.
“That’s perfect to me because I’m like Kathy. I’m just a young, more lame version of Kathy. [A] less rich version of Kathy,” Brynn added. “I just want to show [up] a couple of times. I don’t need to hold an apple or a diamond. I just want to come in. Let me just be my dumb self, enjoy it, [then] bye guys. See you later.”
Earlier this month, Brynn officially announced her exit via social media. She explained on Wednesday’s podcast episode that her post wasn’t “planned” beforehand.
“I knew I just wasn’t going to do it,” she said. “I was hoping that they would either fire me, or I was hoping that they would cancel the show. Or they would be like, ‘Hey, we’re done casting, we signed everyone. Sorry, Brynn. Thank you so much.’”
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In her announcement, Brynn cited her business endeavors as part of the reason why she would not be returning to RHONY.
“After a lot of thought, I’ve made the decision to walk away from reality TV. For now,” she wrote on June 9. “Last week, Hoppy — the dating app I co-founded and proudly serve as Chief Marketing Officer — hit a massive download milestone. I can’t even put into words how surreal it feels. All I want to do now is pour every ounce of energy into building Hoppy into the #1 dating app in the world.”
She recalled the experience as “one of the most fun, chaotic, and magical chapters of my life” and noted that it was “the honor of a lifetime” to help reboot RHONY in 2022.
“From day one, I’ve believed RHONY is a fan’s show — we’re just temporary custodians of something that truly belongs to the viewers. I hope I made you laugh (a lot), cry (a little), and more than anything — I hope there’s a TV in heaven so that Mimi (who LIVED for her shows) could watch me and be proud,” her statement continued. “To every person who gave me a chance, cheered me on, and afforded me love and grace — thank you.”
