Ten minutes into my call with Ramona Singer, she wants to hop on FaceTime. “Want me to show you my refrigerator?” she asks in complete sincerity after I ask what she, her daughter Avery, and ex-husband Mario are snacking on while self-isolating in Florida. But fans of The Real Housewives of New York City shouldn’t be surprised by Singer’s openness here—she’s been putting it all out there since 2008, when the Bravo show began and catapulted her to reality TV stardom. That’s since morphed into full-fledged stardom—”reality” caveat not necessary—because these days people consume the Housewives and HBO prestige dramas with equal, unapologetic fervor.
RHONY has endured as long as it has because the show is more than just a Pinot Grigio-soaked romp of Manhattan’s matriarchal glitterati. It offers unflinching—and, at times, uncomfortable—insight into what so many women deal with. Infertility, infidelity, tumultuous friendships, divorce: It’s all represented on RHONY. The stakes on TV are higher and more glossy than real life, sure, but the emotional core is always there.
As is Ramona Singer. She’s the only woman in RHONY history to be a main cast member for all 12 seasons. The latest begins tonight, April 2, and her signature, take it-or-leave-it honesty is on display like never before. We see that immediately in episode one, when she expresses very real fears about never finding a partner.
I saw this honesty throughout our conversation too, where no topic was off-limits. Truly. She dished on everything: Dorinda Medley, who seems to be the source of major drama this season; Bethenny Frankel, who isn’t returning for season 12, something Singer says is for the best; and Mario, her ex-husband, who she’s on good terms with now but was understandably not for a few years. How did she end up quarantined with him, you ask? Find out the answer to that and much more in our full, very candid chat, below.
Glamour: In the season premiere, you have an emotional conversation in which you talk about how you’re afraid of being alone. What happened there?
Ramona Singer: Well, not feeling alone, because I’m never alone. I’m very social. I had this fear that I won’t find a partner who would be compatible for me. Dating is easy for me. I could be in a relationship. But I don’t want a relationship. I want the relationship. All of a sudden I was feeling, “Will I ever find that again?”
Can you talk to me a little bit about why you think that conversation bubbled up when it did?
I was hiding from going into my new apartment. I was avoiding it. I sold my apartment in June, and here it was now September, and I only spent five nights in my new apartment. The reality of moving into my new apartment was like, “Oh my God, I am single, I am divorced, I am on my own.” I believe staying in my existing family apartment cocooned me and isolated me from facing, “You know what, I’m on my own. I’m a single. I’m an empty-nester with no partner.”
What’s your story arc like this season? Does it build on that conversation you had in the first episode?
Basically you’re going to see me on my journey of [being an empty-nester], what I’m going through, and what I do to try to make it better. You’ll have to see if I come out the end feeling better or not. Everyone can relate to that. At that point, I felt lost and had no direction. Every viewer is going to relate, because when something major happens in your life—you lose your job, you lose a husband or a sister or brother—it shakes you to your core. You’re like, “Oh my God, what does it mean with everything? Where do I go from here?” I think it was just a huge wake-up call for me. I had a breakdown, to tell you the truth. I had a breakdown. I always have a direction. I always have a purpose. I always have a plan. All of a sudden, I felt lost.