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Who Is Kelly Killoren Bensimon? Everything the Model Has Done Since Appearing on RHONY
When Kelly vacations with other housewives for RHONY Legacy, she'll also be sporting a new name: Kelly Killoren Bensimon, inspired by her career as a novelist.
Some of the OG ladies of the Big Apple are heading back to St. Barts in the Caribbean for Season 4 of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip for what promises to be an epic vacation.
With a cast of The Real Housewives of New York City’s Ramona Singer, Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan and Kelly Killoren Bensimon returning, the vacay also brings back déjà vu memories for fans of the “Scary Island” vacation in Season 3. Though they'll also be joined by RHONY alums Dorinda Medley and Kristen Taekman.
It's been more than a decade since these housewives first hit Bravo screens, with Kelly last appearing in Seasons 2 through 4 of the show. Here’s a refresher on her time on the show, as well as what she’s up to these days.
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Kelly's time on The Real Housewives of New York City
Kelly was part of one of RHONY’s most iconic cast vacations to St. John in Season 3, dubbed “Scary Island” by fans. During an infamous dinner, Kelly said Alex McCord “looked like a vampire," while at one point, also eating jellybeans.
Kelly continued to have a rough time with the ladies during the Season 3 reunion, when Ramona accused her of not “making sense anymore." Kelly alleged she had been “bullied systematically” by the other ‘Wives. After one of the women claimed Kelly suffered from psychological issues, Kelly walked out of the reunion.
Kelly departed the show after Season 4, but not before she endeared fans to her by jogging down the middle of a busy NYC street and raising her two young daughters.
Kelly's Career Changes Since RHONY
When Kelly first appeared on RHONY, she had an illustrious modeling career, and also worked as a fashion writer. Since then, she’s taken several new career paths, including author, editor, designer, and even real estate agent.
The model started her education at Trinity College before transferring to Columbia University, where she graduated with her B.A. in 1998. She went on to receive her MBA at Northeastern and her Executive MBA from NYU's Stern School of Business, per her LinkedIn.
Kelly joined prestigious real-estate firm Douglas Elliman in August 2019, and now manages her own global team as a broker. She also told her Instagram followers at that time that she was taking a real estate class in Miami, Florida, and was getting her license in the Sunshine State soon.
Kelly and her client also appeared on Million Dollar Listing New York’s May 13, 2021 episode, as Fredrik Eklund showed them around his $28.75 million West Village listing. Page Six reported Kelly sold $50 million worth of real estate in just three months of 2021.
Her real estate career is still thriving, as she shared in a June 6, 2023 Instagram story that she had a client coming in from Asia and was showing them a building.
Kelly added novelist to her resume back in 2016, when her debut novel A Dangerous Age went on bookshelves. The work of fiction is loosely based on Kelly’s life living in NYC.
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"The book is definitely based on my life," Kelly told The Daily Dish. "It's loosely based and inspired by me coming to New York at 16 years old and meeting four other friends and being in my 40s now and navigating this world."
Kelly’s experience on RHONY was also part of the storytelling.
"One of the characters is on reality TV. Her name is Sarah. She's dying to be a reality TV star," she said. "That whole experience of being on Housewives, she's that character. She wants to be a reality TV star, so she goes through this whole process."
Kelly’s dive into novel writing also prompted her to change her name to Kelly Killoren Bensimon.
“When I was at Columbia, I was Kelly Killoren. When I started writing, I was Kelly Killoren. When I started working for magazines, I was Kelly Killoren,” she said while promoting her second novel, The Second Course. “And so when I started writing my first novel, I was like, ‘I want to be Kelly Killoren. I want to be back to my old roots.’”
Other works by Kelly include In the Spirit of the Hamptons; I Can Make You Hot! The Supermodel Diet; The Bikini Book; and American Style.
Kelly's New Fiancé and Life as an Empty-Nester
RHONY fans will remember Kelly’s two daughters as young girls in Seasons 2 through 4. But in 2023, as Kelly returns to Real Housewives, her little girls are all grown up. In a June 2023 Instagram story, Kelly showed off her daughters' major milestones, including 22-year-old Teddy, a Trinity University graduate, packing for her new apartment.
Kelly sent her older daughter, Sea, off to her college dorm at Ole Miss back in August 2017, writing on Instagram she was “so proud of [her] and humbled by [her] confidence.”
In 2021, she lamented to Million Dollar Listing New York’s Fredrik about being a “full-time empty nester” calling it “crazy, but also exciting.”
Although Kelly went on a few dates during her time on RHONY, after her divorce from fashion photographer Gilles Bensimon, she’ll have a new man when she joins RHONY Legacy. In summer 2023, she announced she was engaged to her boyfriend, Scott Litner. She told E! Online the proposal took place over the Fourth of July weekend in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. She was wearing that custom-made emerald-cut five-carat ring to BravoCon 2023 when she appeared with the other ‘Wives.
In her free time, Kelly helps organizations across Manhattan, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. In addition, she's worked with Food Bank for New York City, where she's fought food poverty, since 2010.
Watch the first three episodes of RHONY Legacy on Thursday, Dec. 14 on Peacock, with new episodes available on Thursdays after the premiere.
