‘RHONY’: Dorinda Medley Challenged Tinsley Mortimer Because ‘This Is Supposed to Be a Reality Show’
Everyone knows reality shows are not entirely reality. There is editing, censoring, and castmate storylines they boost for screen time. The Real Housewives of New York City is no exception. The castmates’ lives are shown, but each lady has the option of sharing, hiding, and sometimes creating drama where she sees fit.
There is an element of positive reinforcement for the women to drum up the drama because if their storyline is stale, they risk not receiving an invitation back. In season 12 of Real Housewives of New York, Dorinda Medley may have taken things too far when she questioned fellow housewife Tinsley Mortimer of being less than authentic.
Reality or not?
RHONY Season 12 involved a lot of drama between Mortimer and Medley. The two could not seem to get along, and the root of the problems was offscreen drama. Mortimer claimed Medley turned sour upon discovering her boyfriend, John, borrowed money from Mortimer’s boyfriend at the time.
The drama continued throughout the season, with Medley doing nothing to hide her disdain for Mortimer. She continually probed Mortimer over her relationship status. She made several claims concerning Mortimer, including the socialite only spent filming months in New York.
In an episode of Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino (available on Stitcher), Pellegrino told Medley he understood her to mean that the ladies were pretending for Mortimer. Pellegrino said:
“I read between the lines of you saying we’re all pretending and this is supposed to be a reality show.”
Although fights and feuds run rampant on Real Housewives shows, Medley took things to a new level. She made an off-color joke concerning Mortimer’s fertility, telling her that she could borrow her turkey baster.
An apology and explanation
In the end, Medley did apologize to Mortimer. At the season’s reunion episode, Medley confessed to having a rough season. She explained that previous to filming, she had lost her father, broke up with her longtime partner, and her house flooded. She expressed she was not in the right mindset to film.
Medley also offered Mortimer an apology. Mortimer reacted by telling Medley she didn’t want an apology and said, “It’s way too little, too late.” Medley continued to address the drama after filming; Medley said:
“I like Tinsley. I wish Tinsley well, and I actually called her or texted her right after the whole thing happened. I don’t want to address that because that’s her life and her thing. But I just think for me — let’s talk about me. For me, when I’m on the show, I feel like what you guys see — good, bad, or otherwise — is the truth. If I have to break up with John, I have to break up with John. If my life is a disaster and my house is flooded, I have to bring it up. I have to put it all out there.”
Medley takes pride in her authenticity
Indeed, Medley seems to be authentic in keeping it real for the cameras. She never shied away from the troubles that were going on in her life. If things were terrible, viewers witnessed it. Season 12 was not a good year for the housewife, so Bravo put her role on RHONY on pause, but Cohen has high hopes she will return in a better headspace.
Although Medley acknowledges her behavior in her last season, she claims she has no regrets. She told Pellegrino:
“Regrets? Probably when I got a little too drunk during speeches, but you know they were funny. I didn’t hurt anybody. Who cares? They were all funny. They all turned out fine. They created a storyline. The great thing about a lot of those situations — they may have been uncomfortable for others, but we could talk about it for three more episodes.”
