A Bravolebrity-Approved Psychic Turned Me Into A Believer

Remember when Summer House stars Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo said a psychic slid into their DMs to rat out their fellow castmate Lindsay Hubbard for definitely hooking up with another housemate, Luke Gulbranson, cheating on her then-boyfriend in the process? Entirely false, albeit great television.

Or how about the spiritual adviser who told Southern Charm’s Craig Conover that he would ultimately own a law firm and marry his ex Naomie Olindo? That didn’t happen, either, as evidenced by his throw pillow business.

Psychic readings are essentially baked into the drama of all of my favorite Bravo shows, though the accuracy of the predictions is hit-or-miss at best. The one possible exception might be the medium Allison Dubois, who told Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards during the iconic “Dinner Party From Hell” that her husband, Mauricio Umansky, would no longer emotionally fulfill her once their children were grown. (Thirteen years later, the couple did indeed separate, though the jury’s still out on what caused their split.) Still, is the demise of a reality star’s marriage really that wild of a guess?

On a scale of one to 10 on the woo-woo scale, I fall somewhere around a six: I take my monthly horoscope as gospel and once saged my new apartment on moving day. I’ve thrown away a piece of clothing due to its nefarious energy, and I make a wish and kiss my phone (ew, honestly) every time I notice it’s 11:11. But psychics have always felt like a bridge too far. That is, until I got a reading from Karyn Reece, a celebrity psychic and medium.

Psychic Karyn Reece’s Bravo Connection

Although Reece keeps most names on the DL, she says she’s read unnamed Housewives and other Bravo stars, including DeSorbo and Berner. (But she’s not the one who slid into their DMs in Season 5, and is not to be confused with the Salem, Massachusetts-based psychic, Angel, featured on the first episode of the duo’s new YouTube series, Hannah & Paige Try New Things.) Reece has appeared on TLC, Discovery, Lifetime, The CW, and A&E, and her Instagram bio boasts “98% Accuracy.”

Being a Bravo superfan and psychic skeptic, I have a healthy amount of incredulity when I log onto my Zoom with Reece, who’s based in Williamsville, New York, and has five cats. But from the jump, her comforting, almost maternal vibe strikes me, and I find myself wanting to ask for a tutorial on her monochromatic pink makeup look. The first thing she says to me, with a smile, is that I have an “amazing aura.”

Like a therapist, a good psychic won’t divulge confidential details about their sessions.

“I already see spirits coming through for you. Oh, we’re going to have some fun,” she adds sweetly. I am a little nervous — what spirits, exactly? Whomst?! — but I am reassured by what seems like genuine excitement on her part.

Reece was born with her ability, she says; it runs on her mom’s side. “Ever since I can remember standing in my crib, I would see dead people,” she tells me, nonchalantly. “It was at age 7 that I predicted my father’s passing, and then he dropped suddenly.” Two years ago, she realized that her mother had died when her spirit showed up in her kitchen. Several hours later, her premonition was confirmed.

Reece’s Otherworldly Abilities

Reece spent five years as a stockbroker before starting her own business as a psychic-medium in the mid-2000s. Word spread about her abilities, and soon enough, she says, she became a go-to soothsayer among Bravolebrities. “I just read a Housewife the other day. I can’t tell you who, of course,” she tells me over Zoom, with a playful tone. Today, she offers 45-minute virtual and in-person readings to stars and normies alike for $300 a pop.

Reece’s reality star-approved reputation is likely due to her ethics: She’ll schedule a reading for a client no more than once every six months, because “not much is going to change between sessions otherwise.” Any psychic who tells you to return too frequently, she explains, is probably scamming you for cash. Reece stresses that, like a therapist, a good psychic won’t divulge confidential details about their sessions.

Reece insists that her insights are based on what comes through via spirits — never by what might be happening on her clients’ shows or social media. “I have no control over what comes in,” she says. “Maybe it’s a dead family member who wants to give advice or it’s something about the past.”

Still, she recommends taking her predictions with a grain of salt. “Here’s the information,” she says. “Take a lighthearted approach, and don’t get too razzed about it.”

My Bravolebrity-Approved Psychic Experience

Once we are acquainted and it is time for my reading, Reece immediately guesses my husband’s name. Sure, she could have found this from my social media, but things escalate from there as she inquires about my grandmother Joanne and how she is doing.

When I reply that she has actually just been diagnosed with cancer, Reece says my great-grandparents are encouraging me to tell Jo to stay strong. She asks about a Michael on my husband’s side — boom: my father-in-law. Something with his shoulder? Yeah, he dislocated it just last year. My mom’s friend Lori? Yes, that’s her best friend. They go way back, right? They grew up together. What about a father figure named Steven? That’s my husband’s Poppop.

Could these all be coincidences? Sure. Could some of the more vague predictions apply to anyone? Of course. I’m not saying that “you and your husband will go to Italy one day” is a groundbreaking insight. But the granular details — things that are not searchable, like my husband’s TMJ issues and a recent ankle injury — add up to make me a believer.

Above all, I find Reece’s reading to be life-affirming. She goes on to tell me there’s an afterlife, that my lost loved ones watch over me, and that the universe has a plan for me. Sure, this is a psychic for hire, but it feels good. In a flash, it becomes clear why those who live in the public eye, often on the receiving end of fans’ scrutiny and hostility, would want to book time with this nurturing woman. “I like to tell my clients that, even though fate is real, nothing is set in stone. You have the power to change your circumstances,” she says, clinching my understanding of why she’s so beloved in the Bravoverse.

I find myself feeling at once lighter and more grounded. Also, happy that DeSorbo and Berner graduated to a seemingly legit psychic — from where I sit, a far cry from the one they used on Summer House Season 5. Oh, how much drama could have been avoided — accusations of a “character assassination,” a melodramatic season reunion — if they used someone as warm and knowledgeable as Reece. We would have missed some classic reality TV dramatics, but maybe, just maybe, Berner would still be on the show.

Reece ends our session by telling me things you might suppose she tells all of her clients — you know, if you’re a skeptic like I was (emphasis on was). I’ll live a long, happy life with career and financial success, for example. According to her, my husband and I have been married in multiple lifetimes. Regarding whether he’d emotionally fulfill me in 13 years — cough, Mauricio — she says nothing. I’ll assume no news, on that front, is good news.

“Want to know something?” Reece says as our time together winds down. “Most people on the other side are having a darn good time.”

A darn good time? The afterlife has Peacock, confirmed.