“Tricky situation”: RHONY newbie Jenna Lyons opens up about coming to terms with her orientation

The Real Housewives of New York (RHONY) season 14 aired another episode on Sunday, July 23, 2023. During the segment, Jenna Lyons opened up to the cast members about things that are close to her heart, including the story of how she was forced to come out of the closet.

Jenna Lyons, who’s the first openly gay cast member of the Housewives franchise, recently opened up about the time when she was going through many different changes in her life, including coming to terms with her s*xual orientation.

According to Jenna, she was 40 years old at the time and married to a man. Her marriage was in its last stages when new feelings started emerging inside her while she was having dinner with a female friend. She noted that up until then, she had no idea that she was attracted to women and called it a “tricky situation.”

"I was in a tricky situation. My very close friend was gay and we were having a conversation, and my relationship was falling apart with my husband," she added.

She recalled asking her friend how it works with women out of curiosity and stated that she had no idea. During the episode, she stated that by the end of the conversation, she felt “hot” and wanted to kiss her.

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“I was completely surprised”: RHONY cast member Jenna Lyons about finding out that she was lesbian

The Real Housewives of New York (RHONY) season 14 cast member opened up about her journey of discovering her s*xuality during Sunday’s episode of the rebooted Bravo show. While in conversation with the other cast members, Jenna noted that until the conversation she had with her friend, she had no idea that she was attracted to women and recalled wanting to kiss her friend.

"I was completely surprised. We were sitting at dinner, but I wanted to. Something kind of went off inside of me. I was like, ‘Something feels different here.’ And then I started to have dreams about it," Jenna added.

The RHONY season 14 cast member stated that she was 40 years old and married at the time. She noted that she had a “beautiful boy” and a great job but an internal feeling of unhappiness that wouldn’t go away.

In a confessional, she stated that while growing up, she had no idea that women could be gay. The RHONY star added that she knew that men were, but had no idea about women since it “just wasn’t a thing.”

“The only person who was remotely gay who was not admitted was Billie Jean King,” she continued.

However, Jenna Lyons faced her fair share of difficulty and was forced to come out after being outed by a publication. She recalled that less than a month after the realization, she got a call from PR, who told her that the New York Post had reached out, wanting her to confirm or deny the information.

The Bravo star told the rest of the RHONY cast that, at the time, she hadn’t told her mother, brother, or any of her family members since she didn’t know what she was doing. However, she heard herself tell the reporter, “Confirm.”

She praised her colleagues at the time for being gracious and understanding towards her and noted that everyone but her mother was extremely supportive.

While Jenna Lyons is currently in a relationship, fans will not see her partner on the show as she wants to keep it private due to the past press. Jenna also noted in the episode that she has to respect her partner’s wishes to not be on the show since she is the one who joined the reality show and not her.

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RHONY will return with a brand new episode on Sunday on Bravo.