Fans criticize 'downer' RHONY cast: 'Everyone is out to out-tragedy each other'

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Viewers are calling out the new RHONY cast for "trauma dumping."

RHONY cast members Sai De Silva, Ubah Hassan, Brynn Whitfield, Erin Lichy, Jessel Taank and Jenna Lyons attend The Real Housewives of New York Premiere Celebration at The Rainbow Room on July 12, 2023 in New York City
Sai De Silva, Ubah Hassan, Brynn Whitfield, Erin Lichy, Jessel Taank and Jenna Lyons attend The Real Housewives of New York premiere (Image credit: Bryan Bedder/Getty)

"We have so much fun together!" Erin Lichy had teased in the RHONY cast trailer but you wouldn't know it from recent episodes of The Real Housewives of New York City season 14.

The Sunday, September 10, edition saw Jenna Lyons, Sai De Silva, Brynn Whitfield and the rest of the New York housewives vacationing in Anguilla. Despite the beautiful beach setting, the vibes were less than sunny. 

"Is it me or does it feel like every conversation is about 'tell me your deepest trauma'?" one RHONY fan posted on Twitter. Another replied: "It's not just you. We can't even get a brunch buzz before they wanna trauma dump."

Indeed, it does seem like every time the show's six women gather around a table for a meal, at least one cast member is left in tears after revealing a raw layer of emotional hardship. And this episode was no exception. First, you had Jenna tearfully discuss her social anxiety and why it's hard for her to emotionally open up to the other women, which she said was rooted in her mother's Asperger's diagnosis. 

"I think this concept of like opening up, it's not easy for me. I grew up in a quiet house, my mom grew up with really severe Asperger's... my mom didn't have any friends, I didn't grow up like that," Jenna revealed over dinner. "I'm not trying to paint a sob story, I'm really not."

The next morning at breakfast, Sai continued the solemn atmosphere by detailing her own mother's alcoholism and eventual death. 

"My mother was an alcoholic for a long period of time. Growing up and watching her morph into someone that I don't even know, it was very hard for me," Sai told the women. "She would wake up and drink and she would drink all day and she just became this person who was no longer my mother."

As Erin, Ubah and the rest of the cast listened on and openly wept, Sai continued: "Anyway, fast forward, she died. She had a heart attack in a park by herself."

It was clearly an emotional conversation, one that Bravo fans felt was far too melancholy over breakfast on a luxurious island vacation. 

Fans criticize the RHONY cast for 'trauma dumping'

New episodes of The Real Housewives of New York City air on Bravo Sundays at 9 pm ET/PT, then are available to stream the next day on Peacock.

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Christina Izzo
Christina Izzo

Christina Izzo is the Deputy Editor of My Imperfect Life. More generally, she is a writer-editor covering food and drink, travel, lifestyle and culture in New York City. She was previously the Features Editor at Rachael Ray In Season and Reveal, as well as the Food & Drink Editor and chief restaurant critic at Time Out New York. 

When she’s not doing all that, she can probably be found eating cheese somewhere.