On March 4, Bravo will premiere, "Real Housewives of New York City," the hyped spinoff of its "Real Housewives of Orange County" reality series.
Five New York women will bask in the spotlight: Bethenny Frankel, LuAnn de Lesseps, Ramona Singer and Jill Zarin of the upper East Side and Alex McCord of Cobble Hill, the sole non- Manhattan show subject and the bambino of the New York "housewives" at 34.
Bravo producers started filming the series began last summer with cameras spending one to five days a week following the women.
The question looms, will Bravo's East Coast version of "Real Housewives," serve up a similar feast of shameless materialism and surreal age-inappropriate behaviors?
"Real Housewives of New York City" premieres March 4 at 11 p.m. on Bravo, then moves to 10 p.m. on Tuesdays.
ALEX McCORD
BETHENNY FRANKEL
LUANN DE LESSEPS
RAMONA SINGER
JILL ZARIN
Monsters and Critics -along with other online journalists - had a chance to speak with two of the housewives, Alex McCord and LuAnn De Lesseps.
LuAnn, Mel Brooks once said it’s good to be king and it seems to be pretty good to a Countess, too.
LuAnn de Lesseps: I must say it is good to be a Countess. I’m very lucky and very proud.
In the mornings, do you have a special wave for the Statute of Liberty across the Harbor? If there’s a special relationship you feel that you have with her?
LuAnn de Lesseps: Oh absolutely. We, you know, wave to each other. We don’t have a view right on her, but I feel her and I know that she’s got her arm up there and that torch. So yes, I have a strong connection to the Statue.
Your husband has a long family history and I’m just wondering if you feel there’s a special responsibility that comes with such regalness?
LuAnn de Lesseps: Well, you know, obviously there is a sense of responsibility. You know, as a Countess it’s really a title that was bestowed upon my husband’s family so it’s kind of a gift, you know, for me. And of course, you feel special and you feel, you know, that it is an important title - which it is very much so.
And there is a certain sense of entitlement, but I’m really an American Indian from Connecticut. So, you know, I’m just, you know, happy every day opening my eyes and I have the Count next to me.
When you see yourself onscreen and you see what you go through, what kind of life you live do you think it’s somebody else?
LuAnn de Lesseps: No, I think you can relate to me because I’m not the high, almighty Countess. I’m a very personable person and I live like a lot of people do, raising children, you know, managing a household, managing a husband, managing children, managing a social life.
So I think that people from all walks can relate to that.
One of the other people on the show said that it takes about $1 million to raise a child in Manhattan. Do you think that’s an accurate figure?
LuAnn de Lesseps: You know what? I moved to New York last year so I’m new to the city. So I haven’t really started counting how much. My husband might be able to answer that better.
You seem to have these wonderful lives and sort of whatever you want, where does being on a TV show fit in? Why would you want to go through putting your family on camera all the time?
LuAnn de Lesseps: I’m going to let Alex start with that.
Alex McCord: It was not a decision that we took lightly and it did require almost a year and a half of persuasion by the production company, Ricochet, of constant calls and calls, and meetings. And do we really want to do this?
How long were they around you - for what period of time?
Alex McCord: I kept a spreadsheet of the times that they filmed us and I believe it was something like 27 or 28 days.
That was any part of a day. My husband is a trained accountant so we keep spreadsheets for everything. And that was time spent with us on vacation, time spent with us in New York attending various events.
And all in all, it didn’t impact our lives all that much, with the filming. One thing that we did have to do is we definitely found ourselves being the go-between people producing events we were attending and the film crew because if the film crew wanted to film something, generally we were the ones who would go in and smooth the introductions, and obtain permission to film.
How much of this is in the Hamptons versus in the City?
LuAnn de Lesseps: Well I’ll take that because I have a house in the Hamptons. This is LuAnn. And I don’t know - Alex, I don’t think you have a house in the Hamptons?
Alex McCord: No.
LuAnn de Lesseps: Okay.
Alex McCord: We actually prefer the Caribbean over the Hamptons because Simon and I both spent our childhood in very tropical climates, on beaches. So we just find the water too cold.
LuAnn de Lesseps: Well so we spent, I think, only about a month filming in the Hamptons in August. So - and then the kids had to get back to school in September. So it was brief.
How much money does it take to live happily in New York City and comfortably?
Alex McCord: Well, New York is definitely its own planet in terms of the cost of living. But also, salaries are higher in New York compared with the rest of the US, and a lot of different places in the world.
Yes, it is expensive and yes, salaries are higher to offset that. I think that we certainly spend quite a lot of money on housing, on schooling. Car insurance, things like that are more expensive in New York. And that’s just the basics.
That’s not getting into the shopping, the money spent attending social events. It all adds up absolutely. Do I have a full figure in my head? Not really.
It depends where you want to live, you know. I think to live on the Upper East Side or Upper West Side is more expensive than - well actually downtown is catching up totally with the Upper East Side and so I think they’re pretty comparable…
LuAnn de Lesseps: To a lot of people it’s very comfortable to live with a million. And, you know, $100,000, it’s - you know, it depends on the life that you lead and what your expectations are really.
Did you two watch the original show and do you have any thoughts on the Southern California experience compared to your own?
Alex McCord: I hadn’t seen it at all until after Bravo announced that they were changing the name of our series to get in with the Real Housewives brand, at which time I thought okay, I’d better see what we’re in for.
LuAnn de Lesseps: You know, not really. I had - I think my first experience, I caught it on the website, on the Internet. And I was, you know, I think they have a totally different life than we do. Obviously living in New York City and living in a gated community are different.
Alex McCord: Yes.
LuAnn de Lesseps: And I think the difference between us and those girls is that, you know, we have to dress for four seasons.
Alex McCord: That’s a very good point. And also, touching on the gated community aspect, when LuAnn and I walk out of our townhouses, we are surrounded by the people of New York City. There’s no separation there.
There’s sort of a historic, fun rivalry I think, between New York and Southern California. Do you guys sort of feel that as you go into this project?
LuAnn de Lesseps: I don’t feel a sense of rivalry now, you know. I’m all for women.
Alex, how did you and Simon meet?
Alex McCord: We actually met online nine years ago, back when hardly anyone was doing it. We both happened to be on an international site for similar reasons. Simon, at the time, was working as a consultant and literally shuttling between Sydney, London, China and New York.
And I was at a point where I had sort of already dated all the people that I knew and wanted to. And we each had profiles up, both with very big disclaimers saying we’re not looking for partners, just looking for fun.
And we met very quickly - no protracted correspondence. We just emailed each other and decided to meet for a drink. And really, neither of us were looking for anything, but we found each other.
So you did ultimately find the fun partner you wanted - a shopping partner and someone you could have pedicures with?
Alex McCord: Oh, that’s very easy. Before I met Simon, I shopped by myself and I didn’t really have girlfriends who shared the same taste. No girl friends, guy friends or gay friends, really. So I flew solo in the shopping department.
And then when Simon and I met - we still pinch ourselves to this day that we found each other because we were so similar and have such similar tastes. And it was just something that we spontaneously started doing together.
I think we had known each other for about a month and we were going out to an event that we needed new clothes for. And it just took off from there.
Let’s say you guys decided to go to St. Bart’s instead of the Hamptons, you live in Brooklyn, not the Upper East Side - are these decisions you need to think about seriously because you guys are more nouveau riche? Because you’re still aware of how you’re perceived by old money?
Alex McCord: It’s interesting. You know, we’ve - I’ve lived in New York for 12 years and Simon’s lived in New York for nine years. I actually lived on the Upper East Side when he and I met and I came from a fairly well-off background.
Simon had mentioned in the show that - well, we’re not old money…
Alex McCord: Right. I think that - no, I mean, we’ve - we both came from families that were very active in social and intellectual circles. But, you know, the two of us moved to New York separate from our families and began our life together here.
As far as Brooklyn goes, we definitely made a decision that we would rather live in a $2 million house than a $10 million house because, you know, we can spend that capital elsewhere.
LuAnn- in a preview for upcoming episodes that you had told Bethenny that this is how I should be addressed if you introduce me to a driver; how should I address you?
LuAnn de Lesseps: Well you can call me Countess any time you want.. That’s a joke. No. I feel, you know, when someone - I mean, I wouldn’t say you’re working for me. Are you working for me? No, not really.
So the driver is helping me out, but I think when you first meet someone that you should, you know, that you should be called by - not in my case, Countess but Mrs. de Lesseps.
You know, it is a sign of respect and I think that there’s not enough of that around these days. It’s like children calling their teachers by their first name, you know. I just prefer to be called by my proper name.
How natural was it for you to pick up the habits and etiquette of being a Countess when you first met, because you were a model in Milan? Is that correct?
LuAnn de Lesseps: Yes I was. So I had learned a lot along the way, having lived in Europe. And - but I must say, I think, you know, manners and class a lot of people are just kind of born with.
I think that you can learn a lot, but I think people that have class are people that make each other feel comfortable. And I don’t think you have to have money to have that.
Have you ever encountered any Americans who have some sort of mixed resentment, yet also fascination with aristocracy?
LuAnn de Lesseps: I haven’t really. I think people are fascinated. Yes of course, because the whole Countess thing is like, you know, so mythical almost. You know, they don’t really understand it, you know.
I’ve even gone on morning talk shows because, you know, I work in television before this show and explained aristocracy to people because they don’t really understand the whole hierarchy, although, you know, the aristocracy doesn’t existing anymore.
You know, I go by Countess of course in Europe and not so much in America because, you know, people aren’t used to titles in America and nobody does use them in America.
I use my title a lot more in Europe than I would in America, you know. So I haven’t come across, you know, too much of that - no.
How in the world did you find (Rosanna) and how long has she been with you?
LuAnn de Lesseps: Oh, thank god for (Rosanna). (Rosanna), I found actually through a mutual friend who was looking for help and she had found two people. So she called me up and - because she knew I was looking for some help and, you know, a mother’s helper.
And she called me and gave me (Rosanna)’s number. So I found (Rosanna) like two years ago now. And she is a great help to me. The kids love her. You know, she’s my, you know, mother’s help and, you know, she’s a part of our family.
If she falls sick, is there anyone as backup?
LuAnn de Lesseps: No. Me. I’m it. No, I really don’t have anybody else that I could rely on apart from, you know, a couple of friends - very close friends that would, you know, help me out if I needed to.
Do you think that the Housewives of Orange County could survive in New York City?
LuAnn de Lesseps: Well, I think they could absolutely survive, you know. Women are pillars of strength and it’s amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it.
Weather-wise, what would you recommend if they were to hit the big city, you know?
LuAnn de Lesseps: Weather-wise, just bring a lot of clothes - a lot of variety.
Alex McCord: Yeah, layers.
LuAnn de Lesseps: Are we talking about packing for New York? I mean, it’s one of my favorite things to do is to help people pack because, you know, I travel so much that, you know, literally I - you have to get savvy about it because it drives you nuts otherwise.
So I always start - and I actually did a show about this on CBS, which was - or actually for Fox which was to start with the outfit you’re wearing and go from there.
Alex McCord: Yeah, I would second wholeheartedly what LuAnn says. There was a time when we were traveling constantly, and also with children. And you learn how to pick pieces that work.
I tend to suggest layers as well and then there’s nothing that you can beat with great accessories, too, to make pieces look different.
Do you ladies have any guilty pleasures or anything that you blow money on that you wish you didn’t, but you just kind of can’t resist?
Alex McCord: Well I never feel guilty about anything. Don’t do it if you’re going to feel guilty about it.
LuAnn de Lesseps: Guilty pleasures? The only thing I ever feel guilty is eating too much chocolate.
What are your favorite buys? Like when you go shopping, what do you always, you know, go towards at a store?
LuAnn de Lesseps: Favorite buys - I would say probably, you know, staple pieces. meaning, you know, the little black skirt, you know, the blazer or the little blazer that you can travel with, or trench. Trenches are great. And just kind of simple signature pieces.
That’s, you know, that I think always looks very chic too when you, you know, you don’t go for too much and you just, you know, travel with the pieces that, you know, that you know look great and can combine well, and mix well.
And again, what Alex said - accessories.
What about you, Alex? What are some of your favorite buys?
Alex McCord: Well I am a sucker for shoes.
I love pairing say a suit jacket that’s formal with jeans or a bulky sweater with a short skirt. I like to create interesting looks with lots of different pieces. I like to mix up my designers and just have fun with it because what is fashion if it isn’t fun?
What do you perceive to be the differences between Southern California affluent women and women that would run in your New York circles?
LuAnn de Lesseps: I don’t really know, to tell you the truth, that much about California girls. All I know is that I love the Beach Boys song. I wish we all could be
You know, I love to sing too. So I’m going to let Alex answer that. But I, you know, I think, you know, women today from East Coast to West Coast, are pillars of family and strength. And I feel like, you know, there are differences.
But I think in the end that, you know, that we’re a lot alike and we all go through the same thing.
Alex McCord: Yeah, I would agree. And I would also agree - I don’t really know a lot of women who live in California. To illustrate the differences between New York and California would really only be to jump on the old stereotypes. And I don’t think that that’s interesting.
LuAnn de Lesseps: That I think that, you know, in New York we have - I think the social life and going out is a lot more demanding. It seems like in California it’s more laid back, kind of barbecue, hang out at home kind of thing.
Alex McCord: Yeah, I think that New York City is the biggest difference in that there’s a huge history of cultural resources, all concentrated in a small area that we have not only access to, but that we are confronted with on a daily basis. It’s right here and we’re right here with it whereas California, it does seem to be a bit more spread out…
LuAnn de Lesseps: And laid back. Obviously, and I think it, you know, that you have to run a little bit faster in New York than you do in California.
Alex McCord: Certainly New York City is fast-paced, absolutely. And I don’t think people choose to live here if they can’t keep up.
I noticed in the promo shot you - three of you out of the five, I believe, were wearing fur coats or fur-embellished coats. What do you say to PETA or animal activists who might give you some lip about your choice of wearing fur?
LuAnn de Lesseps: Alex?
Alex McCord: I actually wasn’t wearing fur. I was wearing my favorite coat in the world, which is a Louis Vuitton wool coat.
April MacIntyre: Right. No, I noticed that. you were not
Alex McCord: Right.
LuAnn de Lesseps: Right, and I have a fur collared jacket that was actually given to me by the Countess de Lesseps. So, you know, fur has a long history. I’m an Indian. You know, I don’t think, you know, that there is anything wrong with wearing fur to keep warm.
I know that PETA would not agree with me. But, you know, these coats are around. Am I supposed to burn them? You know, that would be quite a waste especially coming from hundreds of years of being there and coming from the place that they do.
April MacIntyre: You say you’re an Indian. Are you Waquoit, Mashpee, Algonquin?
LuAnn de Lesseps: I’m an American Indian. I’m from the Algonquin tribe.
LuAnn, your husband was born in Sudan and I wonder if you and your husband talk about Steven Spielberg’s recent decision to pull out of the Chinese Olympics due to a lot of pressure, especially from Mia Farrow regarding the whole Darfur tragedy? I wanted to know if you had a comment about that or if that was something that you discussed on your show?
LuAnn de Lesseps: No, we didn’t discuss it on the show. My husband’s been Obama-fied, so he’s a big Obama supporter, as well as I am. I don’t agree with Mia Farrow or Steven Spielberg pulling out of China.
I don’t see - I think that China not being involved is a statement in itself. And I don’t see what that is going to do to change Darfur.
In your down time are you guys, you know, able to watch any TV, TiVo stuff, DVR?
Alex McCord: I guess I’ll start. This is Alex. Really the only thing that I watch are Talking Heads, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News. I spread it out because I like to hear the right and the left, and the middle.
Alex McCord: To be honest, I’d never seen a reality show before this January.Unless I was channel flipping and saw something without knowing what it was. I mean, really no. I don’t watch TV. I like to listen to political commentary. That’s really it.
LuAnn de Lesseps: Oh, let me pick up on that one. Wait until she has 13-year-olds.
Alex McCord: Of course.
LuAnn de Lesseps: I have a daughter who, you know, Flavor Flav is like her favorite show, you know. So I’ve got quite a bit of reality going on in my house. And what do we like? We like Project Runway. You know, that’s one of our favorites to watch.
And America’s Next Top Model and, you know, a lot of Bravo shows actually we love.
Alex McCord: Let’s follow up on LuAnn saying that since January when we starting watching reality shows, we fell in love with Project Runway.
LuAnn de Lesseps: We went to the season finale show. I mean, and it was so exciting - the energy there and the designers, how excited they were. And I mean, it’s just amazing that they can, you know, come from total, you know, non-existence to being, you know, this kind of nationally known, you know, designer which is amazing.
So who would you guys say is your favorite character on the show, this season - this past season?
LuAnn de Lesseps: On Project Runway?
Probably the most characteristic of the whole lot are probably Christian and what is it, the other one…
Alex McCord: Chris?
LuAnn de Lesseps: …with the cockadoo hair? That’s Christian, exactly. And Chris is the other one.
Did you find that any of your friends or sort of some of the other upper crust people in your lives were sort of freaked out or repelled by the cameras?
LuAnn de Lesseps: Well, In my case, I just didn’t invite people that were repelled by the cameras. You know, I’m a television person myself so I can kind of feel out who, you know, who’d really like it and who wouldn’t like it.
Alex McCord: just seconding. That’s exactly what we did. We would - when we were throwing events that were going to be filmed, we’d sent out emails beforehand saying hey guys, just so you know this is going to be on camera.
And we would structure our parties and things with that in mind. And also, people who we are friendly with who own restaurants and own galleries, and things like that would approach us and say hey, you’re filming the show. Do you want to do something here? So of course we’d keep that in mind.
There were certainly a few people who were camera shy and we were just aware of that, and sensitive to it. And, you know, you structure what you’re doing accordingly.
What are your most over-the-top indulgences, whether it’s shopping, travel, you know, dining?
LuAnn de Lesseps: The most over-the-top? Alex?
Alex McCord: Well I don’t think that anything we do is really over-the-top. Simon and I love to shop. We love to eat. We are very much foodies. We enjoy life.
LuAnn de Lesseps: I would say good wine. This is the Countess. Good Bordeaux red wine and, you know, very good champagne. There, you know, we tend to get a little excited.
You know what? As the wife, as the honey, I don’t look at the bill. That’s the man’s job.
Favorite NYC restaurants?
LuAnn de Lesseps: Oh yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Serafina, Brio. I have a great restaurant that I love in the Hamptons called Alison’s by the beach and that’s one of my favorites. So there’s three for me.
Alex McCord: We do like a lot of French. We also like eclectic fusion. It’s interesting - I know we talked about the show - we talked about on the show, fashion being wearable art and sometimes food can be edible art.
And to that end, we enjoy going places like wd-50 where you really never know what you’re going to get, but you know that it’s going to be fabulous and beautifully constructed.
Alex McCord: Probably should Google it. And oh let’s see, what else? We often find ourselves at the end of an evening at Boule, which is downtown, and it’s wonderful. And we also are interested in going to new restaurants.
LuAnn de Lesseps: Yeah, I’d still like to get the reservation number at the Waverly, you know. I’m putting that out there for Graydon, you know.
Would you say as a group you guys are more cultured than the Orange County wives?
LuAnn de Lesseps: Well you know what? I haven’t met any of the girls yet, but I would love to speak either French or Italian with them. And then we’d talk.
How has filming the show changed your lives so far because you already live this demanding socialite life?
Alex McCord: It hasn’t changed my life at this point. It’s - if anything, I’m not constantly thinking about when the cameras are next catching up with me.
LuAnn de Lesseps: Well, you know, it’s made life a little more hectic and a little bit more difficult to manage. But it’s been a lot of fun. And for me it’s, you know, for me it’s been a living photo album of my life.
So, you know, I’m looking forward to seeing the series. I’m looking forward to having this as a personal thing for myself.
What are you looking forward to the most about the upcoming season - seeing yourselves, I guess, in the upcoming season?
LuAnn de Lesseps: Well I’m just - I just can’t wait to see us in this - these shows. You know, hopefully we’ll get that second season.
Have you forged friendships with the other housewives, maybe friendships you didn’t have in the past through the show? Or are they forced friendships?
LuAnn de Lesseps: Alex, you want to answer that?
Alex McCord: Sure. I think that the process of filming the show has been great for that. I didn’t know most of the ladies before beginning filming the show and yes, we’ve had the opportunity to spend time together and to form friendships, and to discover that we have friends in common.
Are you required through the show to spend, to like spend time together for filming purposes?
LuAnn de Lesseps: Well we spent time together, I would say, out of, you know, wanting to spend time together.
Alex McCord: Right.
LuAnn de Lesseps: First of all, and secondly, yeah, there’s instances where they say, you know, why don’t you guys get together, you know? And so yes and no.
Is there anything that you notice about seeing yourself portrayed on television?
LuAnn de Lesseps: Alex?
Alex McCord: Well I suppose there’s a certain anticipation. You know, we don’t edit the show. We have no control over the editing process. We don’t know how it’s going to be put together and whether they’re going to take half a sentence from one day and put it together with a sentence from another day to mean something else entirely.
And so I’m interested to see if what plays out on the screen actually is correspondent to our real lives. We’ll see when it airs.
LuAnn de Lesseps: Yeah, that’s, you know, I would say that, you know, it’s kind of nerve-racking not having seen anything yet. We’re going to see it like you’re going to see it. That is nerve-racking. But I know that Bravo is going to do a fantastic job with it, and we hope they’re going to do a fantastic job with it because we really want to do Season 2, because I think people are really going to love the show and I think that they’re really going to want a Season 2.
Alex - I saw that you live in Brooklyn and all of the other ladies live in Manhattan. I was wondering if you feel a little disjoint because you aren’t in Manhattan?
Alex McCord: Not at all. If I had all the money in the world, I would not move from the neighborhood I live in.
LuAnn de Lesseps: Look, Heath Ledger was very happy as your neighbor right?
Alex McCord: Oh, I saw him on the street quite often, yeah.
LuAnn de Lesseps: Yeah, exactly. Heath was living down - you know, it’s, you know, it’s a part of the city. I mean, we say in Italian periferia. It’s just, you know, close enough and yet far enough.
Alex McCord: The people who live in my neighborhood are by and large professionals and artists, lots and lots of actors and painters. And the area that we live in actually, they’re actually starting to call it Little France, which I didn’t even realize until I read it recently just because of the people that are moving into the neighborhood.
But it is a beautiful neighborhood of townhouses and fantastic restaurants, and privately owned business.
LuAnn de Lesseps: And you probably get twice the amount of space that we do on the Upper East Side. But I just want you to know – that a lot of people live I think Uptown because all the - a lot of schools are Uptown. You have, you know, less of a selection -- am I right, Alex -- downtown?
Alex McCord: It’s - yeah, there - we actually happen to live within walking distance of our first choice school, which would be our first choice school regardless of the distance.
But yes, as a matter of fact, there have been several articles recently talking about how the private school applications are even more competitive in Brooklyn because there are fewer schools and an overwhelming number of children.
And a lot of us don’t really want to drive our kids into Manhattan when they’re 4-years-old.
How long have you been living in Brooklyn?
Alex McCord: Since 2001. We thought that it would be a good business move. We thought that the area in which we bought a co-op was up and coming. And we were absolutely right because we were able to buy a co-op and then four years later sell it for more than double what we paid.
And then moved from there to a townhouse because we decided, after I’d been President of the Co-op Board and he’d been Treasurer of the Co-op Board, we decided we were through with co-ops.
We could - just could not take that aggravation anymore. So we got a townhouse.
LuAnn. - you say that you’ve only been living in New York for about a year. What has been most surprising about living in New York City for you?
LuAnn de Lesseps: Most surprising is how easy it is because, you know, you don’t - you’re not driving all the time, you know, especially with kids, you know, who want to go to this friend’s house and that friend’s house, and pick me up at school.
And, you know, there was a lot of driving going on and I think the City is very easy for that because, you know, they can walk places. They can, you know, take a taxi. They can take a car.
I mean, I find, you know, takeout food is amazing, you know. I find that a lot of aspects of living in New York with teenagers -- because my, well my daughter is a teenager and my son is only 11 but he will be a teenager soon enough -- I find it amazingly much easier than living in the suburbs.
Could you give us some sense of how the producers found you all?
Alex McCord: Oh certainly. Well I had spent many years as an actor in New York as well and via that avenue, happened to know a lot of people who worked in production, who were directors and assistant directors, and writers and script supervisors.
At that point, it was a show about parenting in New York City and people who work and raise children, and live in the City, and do it all at 100 miles an hour. And that sounded interesting enough that I sent off an email with some photos and a little blurb about our family.
And then we heard back, I think, within an hour of sending the email. And that began a conversation that was in and out over the period of time from 2006 to last summer.
LuAnn de Lesseps: Actually, you know, I have a cable show in the Hamptons called The Countess Report. I’m, you know, I worked for Italian television. I’ve done segments on manners and etiquette for Fox, so I’m a television person in any case.
And when I got back -- I think it was, you know, the end of July -- she called me or sent me an email and said, you know, I’m doing the show. You’ve got to do the show with me. You’re perfect for this.
And really that’s how I got involved. And then I did a tape for Bravo and they picked me to be on the show.
And also, to make people aware that, you know, women like to shop. Women like to have manicures. Women do Botox, whatever they do. There’s more to be done and I think that you’ll see on the show there’s a lot more going on than just shopping.
Alex McCord: We really looked at it as an opportunity to have a great pastiche of edited video of our young family at this point, to be able to show our children when they’re older.
We thought that it would be fun to be part of a show about life in New York City because there didn’t really seem to be anything like that out there. That’s really it. You know the - yeah, that’s it.
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