The women of Real Housewives Of New York have been squabbling for the better part of a decade now, and over the years, viewers have seen some fights from which it didn’t look like the relationships could rebound. (That includes the Kelly and Bethenny “I’m here, you’re here” fight at Brass Monkey and Aviva throwing her leg.) Yeah, they’re contractually obligated to hang out with each other, but sometimes, getting them all in one room looked harder and more thankless than tracking down a lifesized Nutcracker figurine during the holiday season, you know what I mean? But all of that drama is no more. If anything, instead of creating more drama, Luann’s recent struggles on Real Housewives Of New York have shown a softer side to a lot of the ladies. In fact, Luann from RHONY is actually getting all of the help that she needs right now, when she needs it most, and it's so nice to see.
Luann was set to spend Christmas 2018 at her brother’s house in Jupiter, Florida. Given that it was her first Christmas since her recent divorce and the first holidays not in a relationship in general, Luann figured she’d spend it with family and it was supposed to be a safe bet. Except she didn’t even make it to the holiday table and ended up getting arrested in Palm Beach right before the holiday.
According to a Palm Beach Police report obtained by Bustle, Luann and a friend allegedly went into the wrong hotel room at the Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, and when a security guard couldn’t make the pair leave, the police were called. Luann then allegedly resisted arrest, slipped out of handcuffs, and told her arresting officer, “I’m going to f*cking kill you.” Needless to say, the charges against Luann are serious, and even though she has repented and attended rehab, Luann has been forced to look deeply at the choices she’s made.
That’s where the other women have come in. Luann and Carole fell out a number of years ago after Luann made some nasty comments about Carole and her much-younger boyfriend, Adam. Today, the two Housewives are getting coffee following Luann’s Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and burying the hatchet. Dorinda is bringing Luann to church with her — a sacred event — and lighting candles to pray that Luann finds her peace and stays strong in her recovery. Bethenny and Luann cried on the phone together when Luann was in rehab. Even Ramona, who only thinks for Ramona, authentically apologized to Luann for posting a picture on Instagram after Luann got out of rehab that reignited discussion of her arrest. Are these the same women who essentially burn the Berkshires down every year or what?
Friendships, and especially female friendships, are infinitely complicated to begin with, but when a layer of “we film a television show and we’re forced to hang out” is added, it gets even murkier. Are these women actually friends? Or just castmates? Given the behavior of the gang following Luann’s return to New York, I’m going to have to say it’s the former.
Yes, the drama is what gets the ratings going — watching eight women have dinner and pleasant conversation would be kind of boring. Watching eight women have dinner and flip tables and yell? Well, let's all just admit that that's what keeps us all hooked to the show after all of these years.
In the end, though, the women of Real Housewives Of New York are supporting Luann this season because they actually care for her, just as they all attended Jill Zarin’s husband’s funeral earlier in Season 10. It’s easy to get bogged down in the minutia of who said this about whose family crest and who is richer than everyone else, but when the going gets tough, the Housewives get going. They reach out. They support. They respect.
This is why, most likely, we’ll see Luann’s recovery on Real Housewives Of New York. She has to film with the other women, and so there has to be a degree of collective support in order to keep her feeling safe and comfortable. The women are bound to fight from episode to episode, minute to minute, breath to breath.
But when it comes down to it, they’re there for each other. That’s what ten years of filming does to a group. They’re survivors and participants in a bizarre social experiment, and if one of their own is going through something, you better believe the women of Real Housewives Of New York City are going to rally around her. They're all in this together.
