Season 16 of “The Real Housewives of New York City” premiered in September 2026, with one of the show’s former stars, Carole Radziwill, returning. In a new “Call Her Daddy” interview, former RHONY stars Sonja Morgan and Luann de Lesseps react, with Morgan recalling Radziwill’s time on the original show. This comes ahead of the premiere of E!’s “The Golden Life.”
Sonja Morgan Says Carole Radziwill Wasn’t Fully Invested in the Original RHONY
De Lesseps and Morgan were featured on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast in September 2026. During the lengthy conversation, the topic of Radziwill joining “The Real Housewives of New York City” came up, and Cooper asked for their reaction to the news.
When asked if they were surprised that Radziwill had signed on to return, Morgan immediately said, “Yes.” However, de Lessepps stated that she “wasn’t surprised because of BravoCon,” noting that Radziwill had appeared at the November 2025 convention.
Morgan then said, “I was surprised because when Carole filmed with us, she always acted like, you know, she wasn’t in 100%,” adding that the writer seemed to feel the show was “beneath” her. The “Golden Life” star went on to say she was “shocked” by Radziwill returning to RHONY after “so much time off.”
After that, the former Bravo star said she’d “heard through the grapevine” that Radziwill has been a “great addition” to the rebooted show. Cooper then asked Morgan if she believed that Radziwill was “100% in now.” The former RHONY star responded, saying she was unsure.
From there, de Lesseps brought up her earlier comments that Radziwill hadn’t been “that busy.”
Carole Radziwill Says She Cried Every Day Filming ‘The Real Housewives of New York City’
Bravo announced in March 2026 that Radziwill would return to “The Real Housewives of New York City” for the show’s 16th season as a friend of. However, months later, in July, the trailer was unveiled, along with a confirmation that Radziwill had been promoted to a full-time housewife. RHONY season 16 then premiered in September, with many calling it a return to form after two poorly received seasons.
Radziwill appeared on the September 28 episode of SiriusXM’s “Jeff Lewis Live” to discuss the show. She revealed that her return was much more emotional than she expected.
According to her, “The whole six weeks was very traumatic, really. I don’t think you see all of it on the show. There are scenes where I’m like really crying. I don’t know what gets in the show or not, but I would say for the first three weeks of filming, I probably cried every morning.”
E!’s ‘The Golden Life’ Premieres in October
As mentioned, Morgan and de Lesseps are a part of the cast of the upcoming “Real Housewives of New York City” offshoot series, “The Golden Life,” which will premiere on E! on October 20. The show also stars Ramona Singer, Dorinda Medley, and Kelly Bensimone. “Real Housewives of New Jersey” alum Margaret Josephs and “Sex and the City” writer Candace Bushnell will also appear.
Morgan and de Lesseps discussed “The Golden Life” on an episode of “Call Her Daddy,” noting they’d been working to bring the series to television “for years.” De Lesseps said, “We’ve got a lot of life left to live. We did 20 years of, you know, the OG cast.” They also revealed that they had a “say” in the cast for the upcoming show.
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Sonja Morgan And Luann de Lesseps Give Honest Reactions To Carole Radziwill Joining RHONY