What to Know About Jill Zarin's Boyfriend of 5 Years, Gary Brody
After husband Bobby Zarin's passing, the RHONY alum has found love again.
Jill Zarin has found love again. After The Real Housewives of New York City alum’s husband of 18 years, Bobby Zarin, passed away from cancer in January 2018, Jill found happiness in a new relationship with Gary Brody later that year.
The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Ex-Wives Club cast member confirmed her new relationship with Gary in July 2018. “It’s time,” she told Extra at the time about being with someone new. “We started out as friends and, you know, that’s what Bobby wanted for me, he was very adamant about it.”
She continued: "I ask everyone who I've introduced [Gary] to if [Bobby] would have approved. Bobby would have approved, and they all say Bobby would have approved.” However, Jill said that she trusted her daughter Ally Shapiro's "instinct the most,” and Ally "likes him," Jill shared.
It took a few more months for Jill and Gary to become Instagram official, but in December 2018 they sealed the deal with a grid snap of themselves on the tennis court in Boca Raton, Florida. Months later, in March 2019, Jill confirmed the happy couple was still going strong while celebrating Purim together.
Here’s what to know about Jill’s boyfriend of five years, Gary
Gary Brody is a businessman with multiple degrees
According to Gary’s LinkedIn page, he’s currently a sales specialist with the Simple Suit Company since 2020. Prior to that, he served as President at Mancraft Apparel Group for over 28 years.
Gary holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Marketing/Transportation Distribution Management from Syracuse University. He later went on to get his Master’s in Business Administration from New York University. According to LinkedIn, he also attended Cardozo School of Law.
Before Jill Zarin, Gary Brody dated Ramona Singer
It’s no secret the New York City Housewives have a history of dating the same men. (Need a refresher? See: Harry Dubin, Tom D’Agostino, and Mr. Red Scarf, for starters.) As it turns out, we can add Gary to that list as he previously had a dalliance with Ramona Singer.
At the RHONY Season 10 reunion, Andy Cohen made the shocking announcement. "Jill emailed me today, and she said that she's been dating this guy," he said. "And she said, 'You'll never believe it. This guy used to date Ramona.'"
Ramona confirmed this little tidbit, while also emphasizing that things never went beyond a brief fling. "That's true. We went on four dates," she shared at the reunion. "I wasn't even divorced yet. My foot was just in the pool of getting divorced. I wasn't ready for a relationship."
"Well, that's wild," Andy concluded.
Initially, Gary Brody and Jill Zarin faced backlash for the timing of their relationship
Shortly after Jill and Gary started dating, tabloids commented on the timing of their relationship. In July 2018, Jill gave a statement to PEOPLE shutting down speculation that she and Gary were an item when Bobby died earlier that year.
“I don’t typically comment on tabloid stories but I felt it was important to set the record straight and let you all know I haven’t been dating anyone for six months,” she said in the statement at the time.
“I just started accepting a few dinner dates after much thought and support from my close friends and family,” she added. “I felt Bobby would want me to start to live again.”
At the time, Jill also spoke to The Daily Dish about a conversation she had with Bobby before his passing about continuing her journey without him. "He told me what he wanted for me. It was very sad ... But he wants me to move on, he wants me to be happy," she shared.
Gary Brody shares Jill Zarin’s love of tennis
In that same conversation with The Daily Dish, Jill also shared another wish that Bobby had for her before he passed. "He wants me to work. He wants me to play tennis. He knows I love it and he knows that that's probably a good place for me to meet a nice guy and he doesn't want me to be alone," she revealed.
As it turns out, Jill was able to find a nice tennis-playing guy in Gary — and Jill’s since-deleted first Instagram photo featuring Gary was taken on the tennis court. "Trivia question[:] 'What is the origin of the term Love in Tennis?'" Jill wrote in a cheeky caption to the pic.
Jill and Gary initially bonded over playing tennis as friends, and they were later spotted attending major tennis events together in 2018, including Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
The couple’s passion for the sport hasn’t faded over the years. In May 2022, Jill shared Instagram proof that they “played morning tennis at a friend’s house.”
Gary Brody has accompanied Jill Zarin on the red carpet
Going to fabulous events comes with the territory of being a (current or former) Housewife, and luckily for Jill, she has found a supportive red-carpet date in Gary.
In June 2019, Jill stepped out for an event celebrating the 20th anniversary of beauty company Bluemercury in NYC. She wore a pale lilac dress with one floaty sleeve and a tulip hem and Gary, who was by her side, sported a navy suit and pale blue shirt.
Despite Patti Stanger’s prediction, Gary Brody and Jill Zarin are waiting to get married
In March 2019, The Millionaire Matchmaker's Patti Stanger, who is a longtime friend of Jill’s, predicted that wedding bells were in Jill and Gary’s not-too-distant future. "I see her getting married next year with him,” Patti told The Daily Dish Podcast at the time. “I thought it would have been earlier. I predicted the ring on Valentine's Day but she pushed it away because it was too soon after Bobby's year anniversary." She added, "Gary, you know to call me because I know what kind of ring she wants."
But Patti was a bit off: As of June 2023, the couple still hasn’t tied the knot (despite some quickly debunked wedding rumors in October 2020). In July 2020, Jill explained to The U.S. Sun that she’s actually waiting for her daughter Ally to get married before she does for a third time.
“I want Ally to get married before me. A lot of mother’s do and should put their children first. So I want to put her first," Jill shared in 2020. "I want her to have happiness the first time before I have it the third time. It would be selfish of me.”
“I have no time frame," she added. "I don’t really care, I’m just happy. Like some people say, it’s sometimes better to be the girlfriend than the wife.”
Jill Zarin feels lucky to have met her new match
Jill considers herself lucky — “blessed,” in fact — to have a wonderful new man in her life. In a February 2019 Instagram post for Valentine’s Day, she wrote: “So lucky to have found happiness once again!” She added the hashtag "blessed."
To this day, Jill continues to document her life with Gary on Instagram. In March 2023, she shared photo evidence of a recent trip they took to the Caribbean. In January 2023, she snapped a selfie of the pair attending a wedding together in Palm Beach.
