Jenna Lyons is officially returning, along with the rest of her castmates, for another season of The Real Housewives of New York City.
Bravo made the announcement earlier today in a cheeky promo clip in which stars Erin Lichy, Sai De Silva, Brynn Whitfield, Ubah Hassan, Jessel Taank and Lyons hint that Season 15 is “there.” The news comes more than five months after Season 14, which first introduced this cast of newbies, finished airing.
The most surprising part, however, is that Lyons chose to sign up for another season of reality TV. The often-reclusive former J. Crew exec — who fans have since dubbed “Jenna Effing Lyons” — has been open about her discomfort with the gig, previously telling The Tonight Show that she “genuinely” didn’t know if she would come back to the series.
Lyons also skipped last year’s BravoCon, joking to Entertainment Tonight that she had “some really important things to do, like twiddle my thumbs.” And when she appeared on Watch What Happens Live, she told host and RHONY executive producer Andy Cohen that the “whole show” was her “thorn,” adding, “It was hard! It’s shocking how, when the camera’s actually on you … I thought I could handle it and, you know, I couldn’t,” per People.
But it looks like this time around, Lyons is setting some boundaries. For instance, she told the New York Times that she would not be filming with her girlfriend in Season 15.
“I have a relationship, but I would like to not name her,” Lyons said. “I want to keep her out of the press. That is my commitment to her. It’s off the table. I joined this process. She did not.”
Lyons also requested that cameras spend less time around her family.
“There was a lot of filming in the home, and it was just exhausting. It’s so disruptive,” she said. “They were very open to reducing that exposure and not having so much ‘home time.’ My son is prepping for college. It’s a very intense time.”
Aside from the positive outcome the show has had on her business, Lyons had another reason for wanting to come back.
“I will say, what is consistently surprising to me, and such a tender moment, is the number of people that either DM or come up to me on the street and are like, ‘It’s amazing to see an openly gay woman on national television being themselves,’” she said. “I know that seems trite. It’s not the reason I’m doing it, and I wouldn’t lie to you and say that it is. I don’t think I’m here to be the spokesperson. That has been a really nice side effect of the show.”
A release date for RHONY Season 15 has not yet been announced, but you can stream Season 14 on Peacock.
