Chanel Ayan quickly became a fan-favorite in the Bravoverse when she joined The Real Housewives of Dubai back in 2022. With the show’s second season finally here, Ayan is looking forward to fans seeing the creation of her latest business venture: Ayan Beauty, which she started with the goal of someday becoming “Rihanna rich.” The supermodel even got the green light from the Grammy Award-winning Bravo superfan herself!
“When Rihanna came to Dubai, I was her model for Fenty Beauty,” Ayan told DECIDER ahead of the Season 2 premiere. “Rihanna follows me [on social media] so I sent her messages like, ‘I’m starting a makeup line because of you, because I love you and I’m obsessed with you.’ And she was like, ‘Whatever you need, let me know, girl.’”
Rihanna is hardly the only A-lister Ayan has close connections with. The reality star is also cousins with Sabrina Elba, the wife of Idris Elba, which is how she got invited to hang out with Jay-Z and Kendall Jenner in the VVIP section of the much-talked-about Beyoncé event. Plus, Ayan is cousins with Real Housewives of New York City star Ubah Hassan, who has been keeping her up to date on everything going on in the Big Apple as she films her sophomore season.
“I talked to her and I literally feel like I know the whole show – you know, what’s coming and stuff like that,” Ayan said. “She was telling me they had a cast trip. It was so fun. It’s so juicy.”
As for The Real Housewives of Dubai, fans are probably surprised to see how close Ayan has gotten with Caroline Stanbury despite going through their ups and (mostly) downs in Season 1. While Ayan often finds herself equally as surprised by how far they’ve come in their friendship, she feels as though she did Stanbury “a favor” by putting the past behind them.
“I think it was in her favor to be my friend because now I just like her and I’m not that mean to her all the time,” Ayan said, noting that Stanbury is a “supportive” friend who “wants to see [her] win.”
However, some of her other friendships within the group seem to be on the chopping block. In the first episode of Season 2, Ayan confronts Sara Al Madani for accusing her of using her childhood trauma to “victimize” herself. Their conversation doesn’t make much progress and instead ends with Ayan telling Al Madani she needs “soul surgery.”
“I was very shocked,” Ayan said when asked how she felt when Al Madani didn’t immediately apologize for her remarks. “I felt like she should have apologized to me because I’m a very forgiving person. I don’t hold grudges for long … I just wanted her to say I’m sorry.”
DECIDER caught up with Ayan via Zoom, where we talked about her friendship with Lesa Milan, her iconic fashion, and the heartbreaking aftermath she faced after opening up about her experience with female genital mutilation (FGM). Check out the full interview below.
DECIDER: Everyone absolutely loved you last season. How are you feeling about going into your second season?
CHANEL AYAN: I’m gonna be honest. I was really scared to film Season 2 because I was just going through a lot of things in my life. I was going through depression because of my story that I opened up about FGM [female genital mutilation]. I was being bullied a lot and I understand that because I come from a culture that is very closed. We marry each other, we’re 100% Muslim, nobody talks about FGM like it’s something bad. It’s normal and stuff. But then I was talking about things that I’m not supposed to talk about. So I got a lot of backlash from that.
I got so depressed. I wasn’t leaving my house. I was really in, I would say, the darkest moments of my life before we started filming. So when I got the call back, like, “Hey, we’re filming Season 2,” I was excited but I was also telling Lesa, “I don’t think I’m ready because I don’t want to deal with the pain and stuff on camera and speak about it because I don’t know how people are gonna take it.” They’re gonna take it like, “Hey, here she is again talking about stuff that she’s not supposed to talk about.” I have to talk about them because it’s my life and it’s something that I’m going through. So yeah, it was hard.
We get to see you working on Ayan Beauty this season. What made you decide to start your own line and how has business been?
To be honest, I was like, “I want to be Rihanna rich.” When Rihanna came to Dubai, I was her model for Fenty Beauty. Rihanna follows me [on social media] so I sent her messages like, “I’m starting a makeup line because of you, because I love you and I’m obsessed with you.” And she was like, “Whatever you need, let me know, girl.” So I was really excited to do it.
A lot of people don’t know this [but] I grew up in a village with 1,000 people. I grew up with, like, 10 siblings in the house and my dad left so I was the child that had to take care of the family so I used to carry bananas on my head. I grew up on the border between Kenya and Uganda [and] I used to sell bananas to the truck drivers and to the buses that pass around to go through. So I’ve always wanted to have my own business that was worldwide, because I have this opportunity to be here. I can change the world. I can change my family’s lives. I can change everybody’s life around me. So I was like, “What can I do that I love?” And I was like, “I’ve always loved makeup.” And then my business partner that I’ve known for 15 years, she’s always done my makeup for magazines and everything. So I was like, “Do you want to go into business together?” She goes, “Yeah.” So that was it. It was that easy how it was created.
Is there another celebrity with a makeup line that you’d like to team up with for a potential collab with Ayan Beauty?
Yeah, Huda Beauty. That’s my girl.
You are known for your iconic fashion ensembles and it definitely looked like it was no easy task to walk on sand in those wedges in the first episode. What was the most difficult (but worth it) fashion look you’ve ever worn?
Ooh, that is coming up in Ayan Beauty. It is insane. I can’t wait for people to see it. It was in the trailer, where I look like Nefertiti – Queen Nefertiti. That look was in a museum in Egypt. It was displayed in a museum in Egypt as the Queen Nefertiti. Girl, I’m a big supermodel. Designers love me. They did a whole look for me. It was amazing.
The beach one – Lesa did not tell me we were going to the beach. So with my 12-inch high heels, I was not prepared for it. But the good thing is I can’t wait for people to see my fashion because I’ve been a fashion model my whole entire life. I get dressed by the best designers. I get gifted a lot of clothes. People get to see my fashions and I work with a lot of them as a job, so I can’t wait for people to see what I’m wearing. Also, did you see? Some of my cast members had to step up.
You definitely have the best fashion on Bravo.
This is the “Ayan Effect.” Like, they had to step up. But they’re still not me because I’m a model but they look cute. Some of them were in couture and I’m like, “Really girl? You’re gonna wear what I wear too? … It’s not giving.” Am I being a bitch? Maybe I am.
In the first episode, you and your castmates gush over this event where you were partying with Kendall Jenner and Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s mom. What was that like? Can you share any juicy tidbits from that night?
Oh my god. So this was a very, very exclusive VVIP event. Trust me. There were maybe 500 people invited. Beyoncé spent like $24 million an hour … It was like super, super VIP.
I got invited to view the Beyoncé event and then I got Lesa invited through me, because you know, I get invited everywhere. So she came with me and my cousin was there – Sabrina Elba, who’s married to Idris Elba. Idris has done movies with Beyoncé and stuff like that. So I got to meet Jay-Z because of her. She took me to all these VIP places. I got to party with Jay-Z at an after party – like, literally, it was like 10 people in this party. You couldn’t even walk in. I don’t think I would have even walked in. I only walked in because my cousin brought me with [her].
It was just so much fun. Ayan Beauty – my business partner, Toni, got to do all the makeup behind the scenes. Beyoncé’s mom reached out to us to do her makeup [from] my business partner Toni. That was amazing. I was just like, “Oh my God.” And then all the models for Ivy Park for Beyoncé were booked through me and makeup. So I was having the best time of my life there. It was epic. I was dancing. I got to dance with – I didn’t know these boys, One Direction. Now I know him. One Direction guy. I was partying with him and I was asking my cousin, “Who is this boy?” She was like, “Ayan, he’s One Direction, like, a really famous band.” I listen to Rihanna so I didn’t know, but it was so much fun. What else? It was just so exclusive. With Kendall it’s different because I modeled with Kendall in Dubai so I already knew her. But everything was just fabulous.
That’s so cool.
I know in the video [Brooks and Stanbury] were like, “We were so close to Beyoncé.” No, we were close to Beyoncé, honey! I was in a [room] with Jay-Z. None of you were! I was. I went to a dinner that was VIP [with] only 20 people. I was with Chloe [Bailey] and her sister, my cousin Sabrina, Jay-Z, Jay-Z’s daughter, like, only us, so come on. I’m the VVIP girl.
You and Stanbury seem to be getting along much better this season. Are you ever surprised by how far your friendship has come?
I’m not gonna lie – every day. I feel like I did a favor for her. Now we’re really good friends and I’m really happy about it. People don’t get to see the sides of her that I get to see lately because I didn’t know her that much. It’s so funny because we actually share a best friend. So recently, she was like, “My friend who’s coming to Dubai, I need you to do her makeup.” And I was like, “Who’s your friend?” She goes, “Nicole Scherzinger. You need to do her makeup. I want you to do her makeup.” I was like, “That was so sweet.” She’s so supportive like that. She wants to see me win. She wants Ayan Beauty out there and bigger and better. So stuff like that is really cute. And also I think it was in her favor to be my friend because now I just like her and I’m not that mean to her all the time.
At this point in the season, you and Lesa are very close – but things seem to take a turn in the trailer. What can you tell us about that? Was it Stanbury who came between you two?
No, no, the reason is not Stanbury and I can’t wait for people to watch it. I’m upset because there was so much love in our relationship. Literally, there was so much love. We’re the ones that actually [had the closest] friendship. I’m not the type of person that just throws friends away. For me, friends are like family. She’s like my family. I pick up her kids from school. We are that close. But when you watch everything play out, it’ll make sense and you will understand … You will really understand why I’m hurt but in life there’s always hope for everything.
Things are also pretty tense between you and Sara. I can’t imagine how hard it was to open up about your past last season so it’s completely understandable how hurt you felt when she said that stuff in the press. Were you shocked that she didn’t immediately apologize when you confronted her about it in the first episode?
I was very shocked. I felt like she should have apologized to me because I’m a very forgiving person. I don’t hold grudges for long … I just wanted her to say I’m sorry. It was so painful because she didn’t know that when my story aired, my dad went home and beat up my sister because of me. Yeah, my pregnant sister. She had stitches. She had broken arms because of the way I dress on the show [and] the way I talked about this stuff.
Then I was getting bullied all the time on TikTok … I was getting so much hate and on top of that, [Sara] was the one I felt comfortable with opening my story to, you know? And then her saying, “She’s playing victim.” I’m 42 years old when I opened the story. None of my close friends even knew about what was going through. When I opened the story, I had to deal with it. I went into the worst depression you can ever think of. I mean, I’m African. I didn’t think depression existed. When we would talk about depression, I just thought it was very Westernized stuff. Now I know it exists because I’ve been through it, where I’m closing the curtains and the doors and my son comes from school and he’s like, “Mom, you can’t be in the dark. You can’t be in the dark.” I’m the type of person who started drinking alcohol in my late 30s. Then my son comes home [and] I’m having a glass of wine. He’s like, “Mom, you cannot live like this. I miss my mom.” I was in such dark moments. When that episode aired, I was in the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life. I could not stop myself from crying. It was that bad to the point where I would wake up my husband in the middle of the night and be like, “I need to talk to you because I’m having really bad thoughts, like, I need to talk to you. This is really hard on me right now.”
It was something I’d hidden for 40-something years. I never even told my closest friends. Almost 95% of my friends are queer, which they are very understanding people. But I wouldn’t even open up to them. Now I have the whole entire world that knows this. And then my son goes to school, and kids are like, “Oh, we heard your mom got circumcised? Why’s she circumcised? Can you educate us more?” At that age, they literally wanted my son to explain to them and my son was like, “Mom, I’m happy you opened up but all I talk about at school is just your circumcision. It’s getting hard on me.” I just felt really broken.
Now, African countries are coming back, saying that it’s OK to bring back FGM. I’m like, “Are you kidding me?” New York Times wrote about it. I’m like, “Are you kidding me?” There’s a lot of my stuff that I talked about on the show that doesn’t air and I think it’s because it was too dark, what I was going through and they don’t want the audience to see how dark I got. And I understand that because I’m also happy they didn’t show a lot of my darkness that I went through. But it’s been really tough.
I have a son who’s graduating and then I started a makeup line. I mean, there’s more beauty in this. But then my mom has dementia and then I’m trying to start this business – Ayan Beauty – where most of the proceeds go to bring awareness to the people. I want to bring awareness because I don’t want five-year-old girls, six-year-old girls to do it. I’m talking to my aunt who’s organizing FGM stuff to stop. So I’m literally trying to put myself out there so now I feel like it’s not about me anymore. It cannot be about me if African countries are bringing it back. How can I sleep at night even if I’m in sad moments and knowing that this is happening to children that it shouldn’t happen to? It happened to me 38 years ago. It’s very hard and also no one talks about it. I feel like the first person that talks about it is the first person that always gets beat down but I’m too fragile to be beat down anymore. I just want support. I just want love. I just want care because I don’t want to be the strong person anymore. I’m done being strong. I’m fragile. Treat me how you treat fragile stuff – with care and with love.
I’m so sorry that you went through all of that. It truly is heartbreaking and I do hope that you bringing attention to it will help.
Even if it changes two people’s minds or three people’s minds, I think I’m reaching somewhere. Because otherwise I just feel like I don’t have the power that I need to have. And then I feel like this platform, I mean, I can’t be beautiful all the time. I have to use it for the greater good. This is why my brand is about helping and stuff and you get to see that on the show.
Right. Shifting gears a bit. Do you think Stanbury was just joking when she was talking about Taleen falling over and exposing herself? And what was your first impression of Taleen?
To start with Stanbury, yes, Stanbury was joking. Stanbury’s British. She has this humor that is just funny. Her humor is not deep. She called me [and said], “Oh, Taleen fell down and I saw her thing.” She was laughing about it. And I was like, “Oh my God, that is so funny. She’s perfect in our show, because we need one of them.” So she was not trying to be mean about anything. It was a joke. You know? Here we are at Beyoncé and Taleen got drunk and fell down and showed her vagina. A joke. It wasn’t that deep, but I think Brooks did not want to let it go because she’s best friends with Taleen so she felt like she needed to talk about it because she wanted to show Taleen that she cares and this was not okay. But I think if you really watch it, you’ll see that, I think, the problem was more me being in the mix with Stanbury than it was about the vagina-gate.
I’m happy Taleen is with us. I think she’s a great addition to the show. I think she brings a lot of fun, excitement, energy, and she doesn’t give a shit. And I like that. She reminds me of me. So I like that.
You’re also cousins with Ubah from The Real Housewives of New York. How has it been having her as a shoulder to lean on in the Bravoverse?
It’s so funny, she’s filming now. I talked to her and I literally feel like I know the whole show – you know, what’s coming and stuff like that. But it was also not her. [It was] also Teresa Giudice. I’m friends with her so I know what’s happening [on The Real Housewives of New Jersey]. She knows what’s happening here. But yeah, I was just talking to [Hassan]. She was telling me they had a cast trip. It was so fun. It’s so juicy.
From attending her wedding to hanging out at BravoCon, what can you tell us about your friendship with RHONJ star Teresa Giudice?
Teresa told me she never watches Housewives. She said she watched [The Real Housewives of Dubai] Season 1 and she said she laughed so hard. She loved it. So when I was in America, I met Jennifer Aydin, who introduced me to Teresa and we went out for a few dinners and stuff before her wedding. Then she invited me to her wedding and I went with my son and we had a great time. We talk all the time for hours. She’s such a girl’s girl, like, she’s such a lovely, kind, funny person.
I really believe you can put Teresa on an island on her own and put cameras and you will have the best time watching her. She’s that good. And she’s so supportive. She would call me, she’s like, “So what’s going on in your filming now?” I’m like, “This is happening to me.” She goes, “Oh, that is so normal. Don’t be too sensitive.” She’s really good.
I also have Kenya Moore who just visited me in Dubai. She just texted me. She’s like, “Can you send me Ayan Beauty lashes?” And I’m like, “Yes, I’ll send you Ayan Beauty lashes.” Because she’s filming her season [of The Real Housewives of Atlanta] now. We got so close. I feel like I’m friends with so many [Housewives]. Like, I’m friends with Kyle [Richards]. I was just talking to Kyle. I’m friends with Garcelle [Beauvais]. I’m friends with Sutton [Stracke]. I’m friends with Grand Dame [Karen Huger]. I love these girls.
I don’t know if I should say this but Kenya called me recently and said something to me that I started crying. She said to me, “I want to let you know something.” I go, “What is it?” She goes, “You are the most thoughtful friend, caring person ever. Like you’re so sweet. I just love being around you. Your energy is so good. I’m always having fun when I visit you. I love you.” And I’m crying because I feel the same thing about her. When I’m with her, I just have so much fun. She didn’t know that day when she told me that, I was going through such a hard time and it just made my day so beautiful. She was giving me love and support and she goes, “I just love being around you because you’re so down to earth and you don’t want anything from anyone. You just want everybody to be happy.” And I was like, “That is so sweet.” She made my day that day.
I love to see these strong female friendships! When there’s so much drama on Bravo, it’s so nice to see!
It’s so nice. Also, Kyle Richards – I would message her. I’ll have a question for her. I sent her an Ayan Beauty package. She posted it. She reviewed it. She was just so loving. It’s just amazing. I feel like I’ve sisters everywhere and I just love that. My phone is always ringing. The only thing I don’t know is [Real Housewives of ]Orange County. I know Heather [Dubrow]. I became friends with Heather and I’m friends with Tamra [Judge], but I feel like I need to know more about what’s happening with their filming because everyone else I really know what’s happening before it airs and I get so excited. They trust me to tell me what’s happening. I kind of know now what’s happening in [The Real Housewives of] Potomac and I’m not even there.
I love that. One last quick question: Is there anything else you can tease about the rest of the season?
I feel like people are going to see me differently than last season. They’re gonna see me being a mom, building Ayan Beauty, because I’m really excited for them to see me building my company. We were nominated actually recently as Top 10 … It’s so amazing to see all these things working for Ayan Beauty. When somebody buys something from Costa Rica, I scream, I dance in the office. I get so excited so people get to see that with me. You’re gonna get to see me go through ups and downs, friendships and stuff like that. I think that I’m hopeful about me and Lesa, and we’ll see how that goes.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Real Housewives of Dubai Season 2 premieres on Sunday, June 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. Beginning Tuesday, June 11, the series will move to its regular timeslot of Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
