Did You Know Dorinda Medley’s Boyfriend Is Heir to One of NY’s Most Legendary Businesses?
The #RHONY couple takes you inside John Mahdessian's clothing cleaning empire.
Despite Sonja Morgan calling him out for it last season of The Real Housewives of New York City, sometimes John Mahdessian has to be somewhere without girlfriend Dorinda Medley, like when he's at work. But once you learn what a major operation his third-generation, family-run business Madame Paulette is, you'll understand why it requires his attention, too.
We heard a little bit about Madame Paulette, the luxury cleaning and restoration company that has been in John's family for 55 years, last season of RHONY. But now John and Dorinda are spilling all of Madame Paulette's secrets with a tour of the Upper East Side storefront, above.
Watch the video, and you'll be able to get up close and personal with John's "home away from home." However, Dorinda makes it clear that his casa is also her casa. "I'm always here. I'm always watching from everywhere," Dorinda jokes in the clip.
At first you might be wondering, Who is Madame Paulette, anyway? She was actually a real person, a French couturier who was married to John's father's great uncle. "So for her needs, instead of sending her stuff back to Paris, he opened up a cleaners called Madame Paulette," John explains. "My dad then took it over from him, and I took it over from my dad."
Flash forward to today, and Madame Paulette is still hand-cleaning, hand-pressing, and hand-folding garments, linens, and wedding gowns, all the while giving Dorinda fashion inspiration every step of the way.
Take the full tour of Madame Paulette above, and then come back down here for an overview of Season 8 of RHONY, below.