Since its premiere in 2008, Bravo series The Real Housewives of New York has thrown together some of the most eclectic women in the concrete jungle for epic (and usually cursed) adventures. But over the years, many of the franchise’s most standout personalities have exited the show, and the numbers just keep whittling down season after season. Dorinda Medley is the latest Housewife to hand in her shiny red apple in search of greener pastures.
Medley dropped the bomb on RHONY fans in a lengthy Instagram post today, sharing that the current twelfth season would be her very last on the show.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
“What a journey this has been,” she captioned a photo of herself smiling. “I have laughed and cried and tried to Make it Nice…”
“But all things must come to an end,” Medley continued. “This was a great outlet for me to heal when my late husband Richard passed away. I have met so many interesting people and learned so much about myself, about life and about women along the way.”
We first met the opinionated Housewife as a guest on season four of the fan favorite franchise, but she was given an official spot on the seventh season. Loudmouthed, tough-talking, and prone to hilarious wine-fueled outbursts — "Clip! Clip! CLIP!" — but also working through the lasting trauma of her late husband Richard Medley's death in 2011, Medley quickly became a RHONY staple.
Her departure is a major blow for the show, which has seen several cast mates part ways in recent years. Carole Radziwill left RHONY after six seasons, and Bethenny Frankel (the Lisa Vanderpump of her iteration, if we're being honest) dipped for good last year. Socialite Tinsley Mortimer also bid the Big Apple adieu right in the middle of the current season in order to be with her fiancé Scott Kluth in Chicago. With all these missing Housewives, only four remain: Luann de Lesseps, Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan, and newbie Leah McSweeney.
The loss of Medley means that Bravo now needs to find at least two new Housewives with personalities big enough to compensate for the vacancy she left behind. Might I suggest a Black or brown addition? It makes zero sense that a show based in New York City has no cast members of color when Brooklyn, Harlem, and the Bronx are literally right there!
Even if the show does manage to replace her, I have a feeling that this won't be the last we've seen or heard — you know she's really loud — of Medley. RHONY has a way of bringing its stars back into the fold.