REALHOUSEWIVES NEWS

The Real Housewives Of Atlanta Returns Oct. 4th
The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills Premieres Oct. 14th
The Real Housewives Of Orange County Returns Jan.'11

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Stacie Turner-RHODC

Post from Guest of a Guest.

By Gabrielle Bluestone
In our fourth installment of the Real Housewives of D.C. bio series, we take a look at Stacie Turner, the only actual D.C. housewife (well, real estate agent) who lives in Northwest D.C. with her husband, Jason, who worked in Mayor Fenty's administration.

Photo: Bravo
As the only black cast member, Turner brings more to the show than just D.C. residency. Turner was born into foster care, then adopted into a loving family in Alexandria, VA. She did well in high school and attended Howard University before earning her MBA at Harvard.
Age: 42

Family: Married to husband Jason. The couple has two children:

Jacob and Catherine.

Catchphrase: "Most people don't know D.C. was called the 'chocolate city.'"

Furthermore, Turner strikes us as the most "real" of the Real Housewives. Like the other cast members, Turner works closely with charities -- in her case, Extra-Ordinary Life (whose website is currently down) which works with teenage foster children. But Turner goes above and beyond.

She recently took eight girls in foster care on an all-expenses paid trip to South Africa. Turner has cited her charity work -- she also works with Jack & Jill of America -- as her primary motivation for appearing on the show, which we find commendable.

Turner is also the only real D.C. fixture. The housewife renovated an old church into her home in NW D.C. and has said in interviews she loves Ben's Chili Bowl and Oya because it has "a sexy bar" (disclaimer: we LOVE Oya), and enjoys shopping in Georgetown at Hu's Wear and Hu's Shoes.

We're excited to see Stacie bring some "real" D.C. (as well as a little sanity) to the show.

Save Teresa Fund Started

 Post from Examiner.com.

By:Jodi Jill
Fans of Teresa Giudice and 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' can now come together and help the reality star save some of her earthly possessions. Philo has just put the help back into reality television thanks to fans of the 'Housewives'.

Photo: Bravo
It’s no secret that Teresa Giudice, the table-flipping star of Real Housewives of New Jersey, has recently run in to some financial trouble. The Italian family is $11 million in the hole and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last year. On August 22nd, the Giudice family is set to auction off all of the contents of their 16-room, 10,000-square-foot Towaco mansion.
Philo is a iPhone app and website makes TV social (again) by letting you connect with your friends and watch, chat, score points, and win awards and credits together. You can browse around television shows and see what your friends are watching and saying, what's popular, what's on that you may like based on what you've watched, or scroll through a guide to see what else is on.

Effective immediately through August 21st, when you check-in to Real Housewives of New Jersey, Philo will donate $.01 to the Save Teresa Fund. 100% of proceeds will go towards helping Teresa reclaim what is rightfully hers and buy her possessions back at auction.

So what are you hesitating for Teresa needs her stuff back and you can help! Go to the Philo website and get started.

More Videos Of The RHODC

The RHODC were interviewed by Access Hollywood.




Whoppi Responds To The Salahi's

Post from the Examiner.com.

Thursday LIVE on The View, Whoopi will respond to the unfounded and erroneous accusations made by Michaele and Tareq Salahi. Tune in Thursday on ABC at 11a/10a pt/c.

Here's the official response from ABC regarding today's broadcast of The View:

"At one point during Michaele Salahi’s appearance on The View on Wednesday, Whoopi lightly touched Ms. Salahi to get her attention and said to her “Excuse me, can you get back to the White House, please,” meaning could Ms. Salahi return to the original subject of the conversation. After the show, Ms. Salahi and her husband accused Whoopi of hitting Ms. Salahi. As the broadcast clearly shows, the accusation was completely unfounded and erroneous. After the show and after being told she was being accused of hitting Ms. Salahi, Whoopi proceeded to defend herself verbally from this baseless claim in a heated exchange with the Salahi’s."

 Below is  an excerpt from Radar Online that gives a few more details of the exchange

When the segment ended Michaele burst into tears backstage and several people came up to talk to her and she found an office,” Bloom said.

At that point, Whoopi unleashed a few f-bombs on her morning show guest, says Bloom.


“Whoopi came in and according to Michaele said, ‘I don't think I f**king hit you. What the f**k is this.’”


Michaele responded, according to Bloom, “What are you talking about?”


And Whoopi said, “Someone said that you said I hit you,” Bloom recalled to RadarOnline.com of the chain of events.


“Whoopi berated her and dropped the f-bomb many times,” Bloom said. “Michaele was devastated.”


Bloom said Michaele thinks she has been treated badly by the show.


“She is not asking for apology, but Bloom said, "I think they deserve an apology. It’s outrageous and I’m surprised this would happen.”

Joe Giudice May Appeal His DUI Sentence

Article from The Daily Record.

By Peggy Wright
MORRISTOWN -- The husband of ''Real Housewives of New Jersey'' star Teresa Giudice will feature in his own drama on Aug. 20 when he is expected in Superior Court to appeal the sentence he got for driving while intoxicated.

Montville resident Giuseppe ''Joe'' Giudice, 40, was found guilty in March by township Municipal Court Judge Seth I. Davenport of driving while intoxicated on Jan. 14 on Jacksonville Road.

He also was found guilty of careless driving and failure to maintain a lane after the 1:47 a.m. accident in which he flipped his truck.

The husband of the Bravo Network reality TV show star is fighting the sentence that Davenport imposed, arguing it is too harsh by unfairly including 30 days of community service. If Giudice fails to complete the service, a 30-day jail sentence would be imposed, under Davenport's order.

In court papers, defense lawyer Joseph T. Afflitto Jr. argued that Davenport abused his discretion and that Superior Court Judge Philip J. Maenza, upon his review on Aug. 20, should amend an alleged excessive sentence.

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Matheu Nunn, in court papers, said the imposition of community service or 30 days jail time was fully within the judge's discretion. Nunn noted that Giudice has an abysmal driving record and that Davenport rejected his defense in municipal court that he drank alcohol at a neighbor's house only after he flipped his truck.

Afflitto was not available for comment and Giudice could not be reached as his published home number has been disconnected.

Over the past 20 years, Giudice's license has been suspended for 9.4 years and at the time of the municipal court trial he had 39 points on his license. The sanctions were for such offenses as speeding, leaving the scene of an accident and careless driving. Afflitto contends the DWI was Giudice's first and that he was cooperative with police and didn't harm anyone by flipping his truck.

On the DWI, Davenport imposed $864 in penalties; revoked his driver's license for 12 months; and ordered him to perform 30 days community service. A 30-day jail sentence was suspended, providing the community service is completed.
The judge separately fined Giudice $236 for careless driving and failing to maintain a lane.

The Giudices are facing another real life drama: their personal belongings and contents of their lavish mansion in Towaco are scheduled to be auctioned off on Aug. 22 to pay creditors. The Giudices filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, with reported debts of $11 million and income of just $80,000.

Police investigating the crash located Giudice at his neighbor's house. At trial he tried to use what is known as a ''glove box defense,'' or claim of drinking after an accident so a blood test reading would be invalid.

His blood-alcohol content after the crash was .11 percent, or above the .08 percent at which a motorist is considered intoxicated in New Jersey.

Nunn also said that Davenport determined that the witness Giudice called to support his claim of drinking only after the crash ''completely lacked credibility'' and ''was out and out lying.'' The judge wanted Giudice to get the message that he had to respect motor vehicle laws, Nunn wrote.

Lynn's Mid Week Blog

Click HERE to read Lynn's latest blog.

The RHODC On The Today Show





Kelly At Tao Beach Club

Pics./Tweets from Kelly in Vegas.

Tao beach club. The dry heat feels soo good

Eres bikini at taobeach

Will Alex/Simon Return To The RHONY

Post from Crushable.com.

By: Erin Carlson
Will Alex McCord – and her uber-metrosexual husband Simon – return to The Real Housewives? We’ve heard rumblings that they won’t come back to the New York edition since April.


And now there’s chatter that money – and Bravo’s alleged stinginess with reimbursing their Housewives for baiting viewers with intense drama - might be a factor in such a decision.

“Bravo hasn’t decided yet whether season four is coming back,” Simon told Crushable at a GLAAD rooftop party and benefit last night. “It probably will and if we’re invited back, we’ll probably go back. Maybe.”

“We’ll see,” said Alex.

Alex, looking sleek in a turquoise dress, said she wasn’t sure that she would return to the show if BFF Bethenny Frankel dropped out.

“I don’t know,” she told Crushable. “I mean Bethenny’s a friend. We’re both crazy busy ,so we hardly ever see each other. But we were together this weekend. And she and I are good.”

A Bravo representative did not immediately return a request for comment on reports the Housewives are not happy with their paychecks.

Meanwhile, Alex and Simon mingled and partied on the roof of New York’s 230 Fifth nightclub, alongside Bethenny, Johnny Weir, Jill Zarin’s interior designer and various drag queens from RuPaul’s Drag U series on Logo.
“It’s important to support organizations like GLAAD or marriage equality or anyone that’s working for the LGTB community,” Alex said. Because the thing is, ’til it’s no longer an issue, you have to keep talking about it.”

Given the popularity of Housewives among the gay community, would Alex and Simon consider themselves gay icons?

“I would never consider myself an icon – be it gay or anything else!” quoth Simon.

To that, Alex responded: “I would never consider myself a gay icon either. Although, I’ve been surrounded by gay men since I was about 13. So whether it was my cousins or my friends in high school or my friends in college, you know, it just is what it is.”

Michaele Salahi Is Going To Auction Off Her Red Sari She Wore To The White House

Article from The Huffington Post.

By: MICHAEL WEINFELD
Michaele Salahi is going to auction off the red sari she wore when she and her husband allegedly crashed a White House state dinner last November.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Salahi said she plans to put the dress up for bid around the time the scandal is addressed in "The Real Housewives of D.C."

There's no airdate yet for the episode. Salahi said the auction proceeds will go to victims of the Haitian earthquake and people with multiple sclerosis.

Salahi is one of five women starring in the series that premieres Thursday night on Bravo.

Much of the first episode features the other four housewives criticizing Salahi behind her back for being too skinny and allegedly not paying her bills.

Salahi said watching the episode hurt for "a minute," but she got over it.

Tension On The View

Video of the RHODC on The View.

Danielle Tells Teresa To Live Within Your Means

Post from People.com

By:Shruti Dhalwala
This should come as no surprise: Real Housewives of New Jersey‘s Danielle Staub has something to say about costar Teresa Giudice‘s financial troubles.


“I’m going to tell her what I told her before — your house is in foreclosure,” Staub says. “I wasn’t lying and you did know.” Staub, who spoke with reporters at the Casio Shock the World event in Manhattan Monday, is referring to an explosive argument that happened on a recent episode of the show, when she accused Giudice of having a home in foreclosure.

But Staub is no stranger to debt herself. “Divorce put me in debt. I didn’t lie about that. But we’re talking $100,000. We’re not talking $11 million,” she says. “I think people need to spend within their means and if you don’t know what you have, you need to communicate with your husbands.”

Giudice appeared on The View Monday, repeating her denial about having a home in foreclosure and telling the show’s co-hosts that her husband, Joe, kept her in the dark about their finances.

That’s no excuse, according to Staub. “One thing that comes with marriage is that it’s fifty-fifty,” she says. “It is your responsibility to know these things. You can’t just throw him under the bus … That’s not cool.”

Staub also shared some advice for ostentatious Housewives everywhere. “If you have it, don’t flaunt it because it will come back and bite you,” she warns. “Be very humble, be grateful for the opportunities that have been given to you and try to teach your children that hard work is definitely something that becomes lucrative to you in the end.”

Danielle's Twitter Follower Wishes Ashley Dead

Post from Crushable.com

By: Erin Carlson
Photo: Bravo
Danielle Staub has hit an all-time low. In a report of a creepy Twitter exchange given exclusively to Crushable by Life & Style, Danielle replied with glee to a fellow tweeter’s wish to see rival Ashley Holmes commit suicide.


“No matter what happened between Danielle and Ashley, Danielle is the adult,” an insider close to Ashley’s mom Jacqueline Laurita tells Life & Style. “She’s a mother. What if someone said something like that about her kids? How would she react then?”

Remember: Ashley is 19. She hates Danielle, who no longer speaks to Jaqueline, her castmate on The Real Housewives Of New Jersey. And Danielle – an adult with two kids (and a sex tape) – took the drama too far by continuing an inappropriate relationship with Ashley, who had been taunting her via text.

Now! For the offending tweets, scouted by Life & Style. On July 30 a 21-year-old model, actor and prolific Twitterer named Edwin Orocho – or @PriinceEdwiin – tweeted at Danielle: “ItsMyBDAYToday AndIWant @_ashleyholmes 2 kill herself & videotape so I can sit back, relax, & share the popcorn w/ @DanielleStaub.”

Minutes later, Danielle responded with this:










Sweet! Shouldn’t Ashley be the one with the bodyguard.

Lynda Erkiletian Talks About The RHODC

Post from the Washingtonian.

By Alyssa Rosenberg
In the first episode of the Real Housewives of Washington, DC that will air tomorrow night at 9 PM on Bravo, Lynda Erkiletian wields a tart tongue and a keen social sensibility. Washingtonian.com caught up with Erkiletian, who runs T.H.E. Artist Agency, to discuss Washington style, how Washington treats working women, doing a reality show with her best friend, and why Andy Cohen will never talk her into taping a single—though she's got the skills to do it. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

You and Mary have been friends for a long time, what was it like doing the show with her?
Well, it was absolutely fabulous. I mean, that’s one of the reasons I signed up for the show, is I felt like Mary was really into it, and she was like, we’re going to have a great time, and I thought, she’s absolutely right. And we have had a wonderful time.

You’re expanding your social circle and you’re doing it on camera. Can you talk a little bit about what that experience was like?
I felt like certainly meeting Cat [Ommanney], who was from England, I certainly spent enough time in England, I felt very comfortable with her sense of humor and who she is, and just absolutely loved her. Stacie [Turner] is someone I very much enjoyed getting to know because I personally am a real estate junkie, I love real estate, so we had something in common. I felt like doing a show with five women is always going to be expanding my experiences in Washington, period.... In the end we embraced each other’s charities, we embraced each other’s causes, and we respected each other. The challenge of being mothers, and working women. There was really a lot of mutual respect between us.

Did you feel that there were some ways that you helped Cat get to know the city? In the first episode she talks about how Washington is something of a social adjustment.
My advice to her, as a new person, because when I came to Washington over 33 years ago, I felt that it was a very difficult city to meet new people because it is a very closed, small city. I saw Washington, DC as an incredible opportunity when I arrived. I thought this is an untapped city in my industry. There’s so much focus on politics, there’s so much focus on what’s going on in the political arena, but when you look around, Washington DC is one of the most beautiful backdrops in the world for any type of business. I just really focused on my career. And I said to Cat, it is a difficult city in that there’s niches of people and you kind of have to find your niche. My niche was much more of the creative side, the beauty side, the fashion side, the style side. And I said just follow your heart, what you love, and you’ll meet the right people, and you’ll know who’s your friend, and you’ll know how to prevent those who just have an agenda. 33 years later, I think I’m kind of an experienced Washingtonian at this point. And you know who your friends are.

One of the things that I’m really excited about for the show, is I think you in particular do provide a look at another Washington. We have a very fashionable first lady. Washington has a kind of dowdy reputation. Do you think that's fair?
Washington, for some reason, people like to think of Washington but nothing as a political city. They don’t think of us as a city that has any sense of fashion whatsoever. I disagree and I’ve always disagreed with that. I think fashion is a personal choice and it is about style. And I’m a mother of four, I have a wardrobe that spans from what used to be a soccer mom to going to Scotland to hunt. People play tennis. You have wardrobes that are just made up of multiple things....My lifestyle, and so many women in Washington, have so many different roles that they play, that it just depends on where you happen to see that person. Are they at a black-tie event, or are they at the grocery store? I think Washingotn, DC has a lot of culture. I think because we have people who are living in our city from all over the world, it represents the culture and the art of the entire world. I find Washington’s fashion to be beautiful, and certainly diverse.

I think you raise a great point about Washington women, and Washington women wearing a lot of hats and having a lot of roles to juggle. Does that come out in the show?
I’m a huge fan of Washington, DC. That’s my home. I made it my home by choice. I think it’s the most beautiful, powerful city in the world. However, I think in Washington a lot more is expected of women who choose to be mothers and work. I think in some ways Washington is like a small-town city. So the difficulty lies within what people think. I personally had to make a choice a long time ago not to be concerned about what people thought, but to be true to myself, and to be true to my family. And I loved and had an extreme passion for my work, and my children understood that and they supported that. Years later, when they got older they shared with me many things, like ‘Gee, we wish you could have been at every soccer game,’ this and that. But in the end, they were very proud that I made the hcoice to maintain and continue working in a career that I loved, even though I had a choice. I think I was in a very blessed place where I had a choice to work or not work. In Washington, it’s frowned upon if it’s something you don’t really need to do or choose to do. But in my heart, I know I was true to myself and true to my family, and we’re happier for it.

You didn’t mention the Salahis. What was the experience of having them on the show? Did you interact a lot, a little?
I really didn’t have a lot of time to spend with them, because I am very busy. I work East Coast, West Coast, having my four children, I also sold my apartment and moved during the show. So I was very, very busy.

One thing I thought was interesting about the first episode and the casting in general, is Washington has a long-term reputation as a very segregated city. In getting to know Stacie, did that open up any social circles you hadn’t spent time in before? Was there a conversation about race and the city’s history at all?
My first six months that I arrived in Washington, DC., I auditioned and started singing backup for Candi Staton, who is an R&B gospel singer. I was raised in the South, but I was raised by a family that was basically color-blind....[I came] to Washington and went on the road with Candi Staton, singing backup with predominantly all-black bands, Teddy Pendergrass...There were three white backup singers and the rest of the band was entirely black. It was interesting for me to see from that point of view to see what it’s like to have someone treat you differently. If I didn’t already feel comfortable within my own skin, I certainly felt more sympathetic to what it must be like to be born into life where people judge you based on what you look like or the class that you’re born in.

Do you still sing?
I do not. I gave up singing. Andy Cohen’s just going to have to wait for another Housewife to record a song. My family, they’re musicians, my son has a band, it’s in their blood. One thing I can tell you from being on the road as a singer. I was out there 28 days out of the month. I knew someday I would want to be married and have children, I grew up very old-fashioned in a Southen world, and I thought this has been fun, but it’s not for me. I came back to Washington and decided to really focus on what seemed like a reasonable career choice.

Bethenny On The Larry King Show

Video of Bethenny on The Larry King Show.

Peggy Tanous Is Joining The RHOOC

Post from the OC Register.

BY: RICHARD CHANG
The Real Housewives of Orange County” has just added a new cast member for season 6, celebrity gossip website Radaronline.com is reporting.

Peggy and Micah
Peggy Tanous of Irvine has signed a deal with producers of the Bravo reality TV series, Radaronline.com states. The blond, 41-year-old mom, model and infomercial host will join a cast that already comprises four blondes — Vicki Gunvalson, Tamra Barney, Gretchen Rossi and Alexis Bellino.

Peggy is married to Micah Tanous, 37, also of Irvine. They have a daughter together. He’s an Internet marketing entrepreneur. The couple are friends with Jim and Alexis Bellino, current cast members of the show. They’ve known the Bellinos for 15 years, and attended a “Housewives” viewing party at the Winery restaurant in Tustin last November.

“We all got married at the same time,” Peggy said at the party. “Their twins were born the day after our daughter was born, in the same hospital. Alexis is real. If she doesn’t like you, she’ll let you know.”

At the time, Peggy commented that she was “very excited for (Alexis) to take on this new challenge.” Her husband Micah said he was glad someone from Newport Coast was “representing the real Orange County.”

“Coto de Caza is not the real Orange County,” he remarked. “Newport Coast is the real Orange County.” When the show premiered in 2006, it focused primarily on women living in the gated community of Coto de Caza. It has since expanded to other Orange County cities, but maintains a focus on the well-to-do lifestyles in the southern half of the county.

Peggy said at last year’s event that she and her husband actually were asked to be on the show. “We felt it wasn’t something for us,” she said. Apparently, she has changed her mind.

Radaronline describes Peggy as “feisty” and an “attractive blonde.” The site says the couple have already filmed some scenes for season 6. Radaronline also reports that the Tanouses have already appeared in previous episodes of the popular reality TV series, but I can’t recall seeing them before on “Real Housewives of O.C.,” and I (unfortunately?) have seen every single episode.

At this juncture, it’s unknown whether Lynne Curtin of Aliso Viejo will return for season 6. Simon Barney, who filed for divorce from Tamra and expressed displeasure with being on the show, is not expected to return. However, Eddie Judge, Tamra’s new boyfriend, is expected to make some onscreen appearances.

Incidentally, Micah Tanous has a talent for performing perplexing, mind-boggling card tricks. One of them even involves burning the unknown card symbol (3 of hearts, for instance) onto his fingertips with a lighter.

We’ll see if he does that trick on season 6 of “Housewives,” which is expected to premiere in January.

RHONJ FILMING THE REUNION TODAY

Tweet from Andy.


BGM Sneak Peek

Bethenny May Have Another Child

Post from US.com

Since giving birth in May, reality star Bethenny Frankel says her 2-month-old daughter Bryn is "the perfect baby" -- even though she's starting to pull her mom's hair!


"She's absolutely beautiful and so she's so sweet," Frankel, 39, told UsMagazine.com at the GLAAD Summer Rooftop event in NYC. "She's a doll -- like you opened up a box and a doll came out."

And though the new mom is reveling in Bryn's latest milestones -- she's "giggling, smiling and making lots of noises right now" -- the Bravo star isn't in any rush to add to her brood.

"Jason wants to have one more," she tells Us of her husband's plans to make Bryn a big sister. "No plans right now, but conversations [are happening]."

For now, Frankel's Real Housewives of New York co-star Alex McCord and her her husband Simon van Kempen say the new parents are doing a fabulous job of raising their daughter.

"We were with them on Sunday and they're still in the coo-coo parent modes and they were loving her," van Kempen told Us.

Added McCord: "She was snuggling on Bethenny's chest. So adorable!"

The Real Housewives Want More Money

I also saw that NBC is syndicating the RH and none of the housewives will see a DIME.



Article from Popeater.

'Real Housewives' Tired of Being 'Used' By Bravo
By:Rob Shuter
If you think being the star of a hit TV series with millions of viewers will make you rich, think again. Just ask the ladies of Bravo's 'Real Housewives' franchise.


"All the ladies have had enough of being used by Bravo and plan to start fighting back," a friend of one 'Housewife' tells me. "They are pissed that they only get paid $3,000 to tape each episode and are furious that they get paid nothing to tape the reunion episode. It's two full days of their lives with no lunch breaks and no pay. Everyone on the set is getting a paycheck except the stars. How can that be right?"

And it's not just the reunion shows that Bravo has added to the ladies taping schedule with no extra pay. Last week, executives decided that in order to breathe new life into its troubled 'Project Runway' parrot, 'The Fashion Show,' the 'Housewives' from New Jersey should make an appearance.

"None of the housewives wanted to be on 'The Fashion Show,'" one insider tells me. "However, the network insisted they film all week for hours and hours, and to add insult to injury, they got nothing in return. Not even a thank you."

However, the ladies have decided to fight back. First, the 'Housewives of Atlanta' took a stand -- getting together before taping their reunion show and all agreeing not to fight unless they got paid. It didn't work for them, but the resulting snore-fest made Bravo change its mind when it came to taping the New York reunion.

"I don't think it's a coincidence that the New York ladies showed up to duke it out and then delivered," a source close to production tells me. "Tell me Bethenny dragged her ass to the filming days after giving birth for free. No way. Bravo got so much from them. They turned it into a three-episode special and got their highest ratings for the New York series ever. So paying those girls was well worth it."

Now, with the New Jersey reunion taping today and tomorrow in Atlantic City, let's hope Bravo opened up its checkbook, because as one Garden State 'Housewife' explains to me, "Working for them is like slave labor. They might be able to make us show up, but if they want us to put on a show they better pony up the cash."

The RHOA In The Bahamas

Pic./Tweet from Kandi, she is on vacation in the Bahamas with Sheree and Kim.
Here I am with @Kimzolciak

Here I am at the pool with @IamSheree & Lawrence
Sitting here with Riley mailto:&@Neeqsworld enjoying the Bahamas. I hate we couldn't do #KKN but enjoy the repeat!
Here's a pic of my daughter & I swimming with the dolphins

Bethenny At GLAAD EVENT

A few pics. of Bethenny when she attended The GLAAD Manhattan Event in NYC.
Bethenny with Johnny Weir
Bethenny with Sarah Huges





Kelly Talks About Training Chief

Post from PeoplePets.com

Kelly Bensimon: Big Dogs Come with Big ResponsibilitiesDogs, Celebrities

Training a new dog requires a lot of time and effort, and no one knows that better than Kelly Bensimon. The Real Housewives of New York City star, who adopted a 3-month-old Lab mix named Chief from Manhattan's Animal Haven in May, is in the process of teaching her pup the lay of the land — and it hasn't been easy.
Adam Nemser/PHOTOlink

"She's very vivacious, and she's very interested in … leaves, other dogs," Bensimon told PEOPLE on Sunday at the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in Chicago. "Training has been challenging."

Not to say that it's been impossible. With the help of her daughters, 12-year-old Sea and 10-year-old Teddy, she's been teaching Chief to sit, stay and heel. "It's been a good learning experience for them," she said. "We sat down and talked about how this is a huge responsibility. We already have two other dogs, but this is a big dog, and big dogs come with big responsibilities."

They also come with big appetites for love, too! "They need a lot of attention, and I think one of the great things about training them is that you're giving them … a lot of love when they do something good," she explained. "It's definitely translated into other parts of my life."

And though all the Bensimon ladies have puppy training on the brain, they're also having fun with their new pooch, too. "She's so funny," Bensimon said. "She thinks she's little, but she's this big Labrador around two small dogs, so she tries to hide under chairs and couches, and she physically can't do that. She has no idea of her size, which is hilarious."

But her looks? Well let's just say she takes after her model mama. Boasted Bensimon, "She's the most beautiful dog I have ever seen."

Kate Hogan with reporting by Kim Peiffer