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Credit: Danielle Levitt/Bravo
Jenna Lyons offered an update on The Real Housewives of New York City cast’s relationships with Brynn Whitfield on Tuesday night’s episode of Watch What Happens Live.
After Brynn, 37, and Ubah Hassan, 41, went to war amid their girls’ trip to Puerto Rico, with Ubah suggesting Brynn potentially slept with someone for a job and Brynn claiming Ubah was being insensitive to her past sexual assault, Jenna, 56, revealed if the cast, and Ubah, had been in touch with Brynn since they taped the reunion.
“I think that’s a no and no,” Jenna shared on the January 21 episode of WWHL.
According to Jenna, she began to question Brynn after she admitted that Ubah may not have known about her sexual assault after recounting a conversation they had before BravoCon.
“I think that there had been things along the way with Brynn that have made me unclear about her intentions, and some of the things that have been said, but I also know that she is someone who embellishes, and so I have chalked it up to that many times, and I have tenderness around that,” she noted. “[But] it’s one thing to talk about yourself and embellish. It’s another thing to embellish stories that then hurt other people.”
Also upsetting to Jenna was the fact that Brynn was so calm the next day.
“It makes you wonder … you have the entire house who is on red alert. There are tears. There’s anger. There’s frustration. There’s sadness, and someone’s leaving the actual place we’re staying, and we’re deciding that maybe we’re gonna end the trip, and there’s zero connection to that,” she recalled. “[She’s] talking about horseback riding. And at that moment, I was like, she’s not realizing what’s really happening here.”
Speaking of her own role in the drama that went on between Brynn and Ubah, Jenna shared when she realized that there was “no way” Ubah knew that Brynn had been the victim of a sexual assault.
“Ubah came running down the hall and literally was this far away from my face saying to me, ‘Not ever did, never would I ever,’ and I could see the emotion in her face, and I realized [at] that moment there is no way she knew. There’s no way she could’ve known,” Jenna stated. “The level of complete distraught … Like, she just was completely taken out, [and] I believed her in that moment.”
While some have wondered if the scene would’ve played out differently had Jessel Taank, 45, not gone to Ubah’s room to tell her what Brynn said about the sexual assault, Jenna suspected they would’ve ultimately found out, one way or another.
“I think the fact that Jessel went in and told her was just a timing issue. We would’ve found out. There’s no way it would not have come out,” she shared.
Moving on to the reunion, Jenna admitted she and her RHONY castmates were “really frustrated” and feeling “a little duped” going into filming.
“I think that when someone’s stories turn into putting someone else in a dangerous position or an unhappy position, that changes the game. That’s not what we’re here to do. That’s not what the show’s about. That’s not what we’re about. And I think we were all feeling a little protective and scared,” she explained, seemingly shading Brynn’s careless accusations against Ubah.
Regarding her look, which consisted of a Balenciaga bathrobe and head towel, Jenna confessed to stealing it from a stylist named Dara.
“[They] wore this full white robe Balenciaga thing on the red carpet, and I was like, f*ck, that’s brilliant. And so I texted Dara and I was like, ‘Do you mind if I steal this?’” she revealed. “And [they] said, ‘Yeah, by all means, go for it,’ it was blessed. I would not have done it on my own. But I definitely stole it.”
Jenna was then asked by a fan if she feels that Erin Lichy, 37, throws rocks and hides her hands.
“No one can really understand the dynamic of what’s happening when it’s happening. So I think it’s really, we all are guilty of doing things to manipulate and get through the day. I’m just as guilty as anyone else,” she reasoned.
Another fan wanted to know if Jessel changed, and if she was bothered by her need for glam and pics.
“Jessel, I have to say, from the very beginning when I first met Jessel was one of the sweetest, not a mean bone in her body from the day I met her. And she has not changed,” Jenna confirmed. “I mean that sincerely. I’ve said this before, every girl’s fantasy is to get glam and get pictures taken. Why is this a thing? Please, girl, do it all, every day.”
Later, on the WWHL: After Show, Jenna was asked if her RHONY co-stars were jealous after learning Rihanna, 36, had named her as her favorite Housewife.
“I’m just gonna with, I assume that they were jealous because I’m almost jealous of myself in that scenario,” Jenna replied.
As for whether she and Rihanna had been in touch, Jenna confirmed they had not.
“The only thing I can say is I was in an elevator with her, and she told my best friend that she loved her necklace, and that was the closest I ever got,” she revealed.
Then, after admitting she “did” rethink all her past conversations with Brynn after the drama in Puerto Rico, Jenna confirmed that Jessel checked on Ubah amid the chaos.
“That’s how it all kind of came out. Jessel went to take her food and check in on her and have a quick catch-up,” she explained.
Also on the WWHL: After Show, Jenna teased her performance at the reunion, saying she “definitely” clocked in.
The Real Housewives of New York City season 15 reunion begins next Tuesday, January 28, at 9/8c on Bravo.
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