Luann de Lesseps Has One Big Hair Regret

Luann de Lesseps is known for her signature short, brunette shag almost as much as her countess title. However, The Real Housewives of New York City mom has rocked everything from a long mane to a blonde, curly wig while impersonating Sharon Stone (you have to hear this story), as we saw during her Before They Were Housewives special on Wednesday night. 

Looking back at all of your past looks can often be cringeworthy, and there is one former 'do that Luann had a pretty hard time revisiting during the special. It was that long, brown perm she sported while competing in the Miss Connecticut pageant in 1987, she recently revealed to Vulture. "That was the ’80s, honey, everyone had big hair," she said. 

The bright red sequined evening gown Luann wore during the pageant was also something to behold. Though Luann ultimately didn't end up winning the pageant, that dress caught the eye of a man in the audience who told her about a modeling competition, she explained during the Before They Were Housewives special. Luann wore that same gown in the contest and won a photo shoot in New York, which kicked off her modeling career. 

Though we may not think that look is worthy of the countess we know and love today, Luann said it was a stepping stone to meeting her first husband Count Alexandre de Lesseps. "It’s amazing the journey I’ve been on and how far I’ve come. When I met my husband in Switzerland he asked where I had been all his life and I said, 'Getting ready for you,'" she said during her interview with Vulture. "It’s true. I lived in New York, so that made me more sophisticated and then I moved to Milan, which made me more sophisticated. All of these years were getting me primed for my French aristocrat. I don’t think he would have looked twice at me if I wasn’t groomed. I was grooming myself all of those years to get ready for him." 

Find out about the magical moment Luann met her ex-husband, below.

'It was Just Magic'