‘RHONY’ Star Leah McSweeney Clarifies “Former Housewife” Comment After Sparking Rumors Of ‘Real Housewives’ Exit

‘RHONY’ Star Leah McSweeney Clarifies “Former Housewife” Comment After Sparking Rumors Of ‘Real Housewives’ Exit

Leah McSweeney created a firestorm among fans of The Real Housewives of New York City after she referred to herself as a “former housewife.”


The Married to the Mob clothing line founder created a TikTok video that she titled, “5 things I would never do as a former Real Housewife of NYC.” This sparked rumors among fans of the Bravo franchise that she had just confirmed she had exited the franchise for good.


Earlier this year, executive producer Andy Cohen revealed in an interview with Variety that RHONY had been put on pause as they were working on rebooting the main franchise with a whole group of women and creating a spinoff with “legacy” housewives.

McSweeney joined RHONY in Season 12 and was a full-time cast member for two seasons. With the future of the reality series up in the air, many speculated that McSweeney’s statement was that she was completely out of the Bravo universe.

After fans took notice of the video many swarmed to the comments to ask if she was confirming her exit to which she replied, “There is no show so I cant [sic] call myself a [housewife]. Know what I mean?!”

Leah McSweeney on TikTok TikTok@therealleahmcsweeney

In a further update on her Instagram Stories, McSweeney clarified the “former housewife” remark.


“I was not trying to cause a commotion or I wasn’t trying to make some major announcement saying I’m a former housewife of New York,” she said while walking through the streets of the Big Apple. “The show hasn’t been on and hasn’t filmed in a year and a half, so, why would I call myself a housewife?”


McSweeney explained she is still very much a part of the Bravo universe as she is set to make an appearance at BravoCon in October and is part of The Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip Season 3.


While the future of RHONY is sorted out, McSweeney will be making her film debut in The Kill Room where she will share credits with Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Joe Manganiello, Maya Hawke, Debi Mazar, Larry Pine and Dree Hemingway.