A “source” has informed Radar Online that Tinsley Mortimer, fallen NYC socialite, will join next season of the Real Housewives of New York. Please let this be true.
Tinsley used to run these parts in the mid-aughts, until the recession made the world briefly less enamored of New York’s ostentatious one percenters; her last reality show, High Society, was a chaotic and occasionally racist trainwreck, and was cancelled after eight episodes.
She separated from her husband Robert “Topper” Mortimer in 2009, and decamped to Palm Beach to hide out for few years before returning to the Upper East Side to write a book (Southern Charm) and sell a housewares line. Earlier this year, she appeared in headlines following a series of incidents and arrests involving her ex-boyfriend Nico Fanjul, with whom Page Six reported she was in an allegedly abusive relationship.
What’s always been kind of funny about RHONY is that the cast is not remotely representative of the Manhattan social elite; the show is more like a shared delusion, although some of them used to be more central players—such as Sonja “my ex-husband’s yacht” Morgan, or Carole Radziwill, whose late husband was a prince, or Luann de Lesseps, who still refers to herself as a “countess.” Apart from Carole, most of them seem to live in a fantasy world where living on the Upper East Side still means something.
I’ll refer you to this quote from Tinsley, from New York magazine’s 2014 profile of her:
When the opportunity to work with [the website] Pop Culture Living came up, she jumped at the chance and used the momentum to move back to New York. She thought about trying out a different part of the city, away from her old life. “I had thought, Well, maybe I’ll go to Brooklyn, because it’s young and cool. But I didn’t want to feel lonely or scared or like a fish out of water.” So she went back to the Upper East Side.
I believe I’ve made my case.
I’ve reached out to Bravo for comment and will update if we receive a response.