Tinsley Mortimer Explains How Hitting "Rock Bottom" Prepared Her for RHONY
The #RHONY newbie opens up about why she decided to join the Big Apple crew.
Watch out, New York: There's a new Housewife ready to take a bite out of you. Tinsley Mortimer may not exactly be a rookie when it comes to living in NYC, but she's definitely the new girl on the block for Season 9 of The Real Housewives of New York City. And the former Manhattan "It girl" has revealed why now was the right time for her to put her life on camera...again. Having previously starred on the reality show High Society back in 2010, Tinsley is ready to hit restart on her life and image with the eyes of the world on her.
"I left New York at a time after divorce and I just thought I had enough of New York, I thought, for some time," Tinsley told The Daily Dish, referring to her marriage to Robert Livingston "Topper" Mortimer. The duo divorced in 2009 after seven years of marriage. Later, she dated Domino sugar heir Alexander "Nico" Fanjul. "And also I was dating someone in Florida, so I moved to Palm Beach."
However, her relationship with Fanjul was not exactly a fairytale romance. She previously opened up about the abuse she experienced in the relationship, and she was eventually arrested in April 2016 for trespassing at his Palm Beach home. When speaking about the incident, Tinsley says that she went to her ex's home that night to retrieve her purse. They fought and the police were called — by Tinsley, who didn't realize that there was a trespassing warning on her. The charges were later dropped, but it was definitely a moment that prepared her for anything that may happen on reality television.
"I feel like after something like getting a mug shot and having it plastered all over every paper and all over the Internet, I felt like I hit rock bottom a little bit," she said. "So I just felt like there was no hesitation to join the show. I was like, 'What can go wrong at this point in my life?' I've been arrested. I was in jail for three hours, I think now this is fine. I think I can handle the Real Housewives. I'm just so happy to be back in New York and just getting to know new girls in New York, too, and having another group of friends. It's just been great."
RHONY returns April 5 at 8/7c. Learn a bit more about Tinsley, below.
