Brooke Shields gave her daughter, Rowan Henchy, some sage advice when she joined the cast of the second season of the Bravo reality show “Next Gen NYC.”
During a May 21 appearance on “Watch What Happens Live,” the actress, model, and entrepreneur revealed she first told her 23-year-old daughter “no” when she expressed an interest in joining the reality TV show. Once she realized she didn’t have a say in the decision, Shields, 60, gave her daughter an important tip—one that came from her own mother, Teri Shields, back in the day.
“She’s been in the public eye since she was in utero,” Shields noted of Rowan. “So, that is one thing. I said, ‘Look, don’t be the girl throwing up. Be the one holding the hair back of the girl throwing up.’ …My mom used to say, ‘Don’t be the girl that, as you’re being carried out, you hear, Did she have a purse?’”
“Next Gen NYC,” which premieres June 24, follows celebrity children as they try to make their way in New York City. In addition to Rowan, fellow newcomers Liam Obergfoll and Kendall White will join the cast alongside Season 1 regulars Ariana Biermann, Riley Burruss, Emira D’Spain, Brooks Marks, Ava Dash, Gia Giudice, Georgia McCann, Charlie Zakkour, Shai Fruchter, and Hudson McLeroy.
Brooke Shields Agreed to Appear on ‘Next Gen NYC’
Earlier in the week, Shields told Entertainment Weekly that while her daughter’s plunge into the reality TV world was not easy for her, she has tried to be supportive.
“This has been a really difficult journey for me because I would say to her, ‘We’re not a reality family. That’s just never been our MO,'” Shields admitted. “I said, ‘Look, I will do one, maybe two episodes for you, but nobody’s putting any words into my mouth, and I don’t want them to let you put any words into your mouth, And I don’t want you to try to morph into somebody with bad behavior just because it’s going to create ratings.'”
Shields added that her daughter maintained “grounded” and professional during filming.
“I said, ‘If this is a world you want to be in, parlay that,” Shields revealed. “Find out who those executives are, send them a thank you note, talk to them, make sure you are the professional in the room because you’ll have a better chance having a second shot at something if you are a pro.'”
Brooke Shields Has Not Watched ‘Next Gen NYC’
On WWHL, Shields admitted she has not yet watched the first season of “Next Gen NYC.” “I have yet to see it,” she told host Andy Cohen. “Because if I had seen it, I might not be as open to her doing something she obviously really wants to do. And she’s 23, not 17, 18.”
Shields noted that she’s “actually less of a stage mom” than she thought she would be. “So I’m not like in the uber helicopter,” she said. “I’m more in the like don’t [expletive] up.”
She also shared that she hopes the reality TV move will help Rowan, who graduated from Wake Forest University, with her future career.
“She wants to be in broadcast journalism, she likes being on camera, she works for other news stations. And I said, ‘Parlay this into something,’” Shields shared. “And be right to the right people. And be the hard worker.”
“And hold the hair of the person barfing,” Cohen chimed in.
