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The Daily Dish The Real Housewives of New York City

Brynn Whitfield Defends Her Comment at Erin Lichy's Vow Renewal as a "Friends" Joke

Could there BE any more drama? Brynn Whitfield had a unique defense for "flirting" with Erin Lichy's husband, Abe.

By Caitlin Schunn

All the Housewives (minus a sick Ubah Hassan) showed up to celebrate Erin Lichy’s 10th wedding anniversary and her vow renewal with her husband, Abe during a recent episode of  The Real Housewives of New York City.

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The glamorous party was at Hall des Lumières. The building — constructed between 1909 and 1912 — was once the home of the Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank. Brynn Whitfield even commented that “this place feels like a Bank of America holiday party meets a charity gala meets a bar mitzvah.” 

It sounded like she was ready for a good time — so what happened to cause a rift between Erin and Brynn?

What did Brynn say to Erin's husband, Abe?

Brynn is now catching a bit of heat on social media after her interaction with Abe at the vow renewal party. While Brynn and Jessel Taank were chatting, they ran into Abe.

Erin Lichy And her husband at their anniversary party in New York City.

“Now, once you’re ready to get a divorce, I’m single,” Brynn joked to him, as Jessel and Abe laughed.

But later on, Brynn took the teasing a step further.

“So, wait, if you didn’t say your vows, then technically, you’re not married,” Brynn told Abe. He laughingly answered that there was a contract and obligations — even if there weren’t vows.

“Whatever you do, don’t mess up and say, ‘I, Abe, take you, Brynn,” Brynn joked to Abe and Jessel.

Brynn later said she’d be interested in Erin’s dad, to which Abe responded, “You’d make a great evil stepmother.”

But even Brynn recognized when the jokes had to end at the party.

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“I’ve gotta lock my s--t up,” she said to Jessel after Abe left. “I’m ripping on her party and hitting on her husband. I’m never getting invited to another anniversary party again.”

Brynn Whitfield says her joke was a "Friends" reference.

In case you didn’t catch it, Brynn made a throwback joke all the way to the Season 4 finale of Friends that aired in May 1998.

In that finale, Ross (David Schwimmer) was getting married to Emily (Helen Baxendale) in London. As Ross is saying his vows, instead of saying, “I take thee Emily,” Ross said, “I take thee, Rachel” — the name of his ex-girlfriend, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) — to the shock of the characters and audiences alike.

Now, Brynn is weighing in on social media on her Friends joke.

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“It was a good joke bc I think Erin resembles the gorgeous Jen Aniston,” Brynn commented in an Instagram Story. “Remember the FRIENDS episode where Ross says Rachel’s name? That part got cut. My jokes have mad depth ppl [crying laughing emoji].”

A split image of Erin and Jennifer.

Hey, we can see it!

The fallout from the jokes is still to come this season on RHONY, with Erin not happy about what was said. After the episode aired, some people commented on social media the comments weren’t funny, to which Brynn admitted she was wrong.

“I’ve apologized multiple times and admitted that the timing and the setting was awful,” she responded to one Instagram user. “I think I’m SO funny and that time I was super wrong. A divorce bit at an anniversary party was not a good choice.”

Watch more of the fallout from Brynn’s jokes as new episodes of The Real Housewives of New York City air Sundays at 9/8c on Bravo and the next day on Peacock.

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