If you’re like us, waiting for the next season of The Golden Bachelor feels like a herculean task. Thankfully, we found a new show to tide you over.
It’s a reality dating competition depicting not one, but three women over 50 (and one in her 30s) looking for the loves of their lives. The best part? You already know and root for these women — if you’re a Bravo fan, that is. That’s the secret sauce behind Bravo’s newest show, Love Hotel, in which four Real Housewives stars jet off to Mexico to date their way through a batch of eligible men. It airs Sundays at 9pm ET/PT on Bravo.
Embarking on this journey are The Real Housewives of New York City’s Luann de Lesseps, whom you already know and love if you’ve been watching our socials; Real Housewives of Potomac’s Ashley Darby and Gizelle Bryant; and Real Housewives of Orange County’s Shannon Beador. While you may already be familiar with these ladies’ infamous antics, you will see completely new sides of them on Love Hotel. If you’ve ever watched an episode of a Real Housewives franchise and thought, “I love when the women get along,” you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the vibes on this show. And if you’ve ever craved a little more romance in your reality TV bingeing, you’ll be wondering why it took Bravo this long to launch Love Hotel. Lastly, if you’ve never watched a single episode of Real Housewives, you’ll be charmed by these women in no time.
In a new interview, The Real Housewives of Potomac‘s resident shade thrower and truth teller, Gizelle Bryant, tells us that she’s excited for viewers to see a more earnest side of her. “On Housewives, who and what we are authentically can get lost,” she says. “The feedback I’m getting [about Love Hotel] is, ‘We’re reminded that Gizelle’s so funny. She’s a straight shooter, she’ll say what’s on her mind.’ I’m looking forward to people seeing more of that from me, because that’s who I am. It’s a good break from what you’re normally seeing on Bravo.”
And just like all Bravo shows, there’s plenty of drama. “It’s a roller coaster,” Bryant dishes. “Once you start thinking, ‘Oh, this guy is going to be with this person,’ there are twists and turns.”
We caught up with the Bravo star about her search for love, the approach to dating she’ll never take, and the biggest drama in Potomac.
Katie Couric Media: How have you been doing since your twin daughters left for college, making you an empty nester?
Gizelle Bryant: I’ve been traveling a lot, so that helps distract me from the fact that they’re not there. But it’s been OK. At first, I was kind of sad, but now I get to totally focus on myself. And I absolutely love that.
My kids leaving was what made me excited to go on Love Hotel. There was no better time than now to do it. I want to be in a long-term relationship, so it was completely perfect timing.
What did your three daughters think of you going on the show?
They were like, “Mom, what are you doing? This is ridiculous. Why are you doing this? This isn’t going to be good for you.” But then, once I got [to Mexico] and I started calling them and telling them everything that was happening with the guys, they were all in. They wanted daily updates and to know all about them.
Do you find it hard to date as a public figure?
I think it’s less about me being in the public eye and more about my schedule. For instance, this year, I’ve been traveling so much that it’s hard. The guy’s got to wait for me to come back home. If one of the two people in a relationship is always traveling, it’s hard.
How are you typically meeting men?
I meet people through people I know. I never meet anybody [unvetted]. Absolutely not. I would never talk to that person. That person in my mind is completely crazy, a serial killer out to rob me, the whole thing. So I definitely have to be introduced by someone that I trust.
So, no online dating?
Oh, absolutely not.
What was it like having your friend Ashley and the other Bravo stars with you on this journey?
I was so happy Ashley was there because Ashley and I go out and meet men when the cameras are off. This is what we do. We’re in these streets, OK? So I was super happy that she was there to support me, and I was there to support her.
Of course, I had met Luann and Shannon in Bravo-land, but I wasn’t necessarily super close to them. But now we’re close. We have definitely bonded over this process.
I’m glad to hear that, because there was a moment at the end of the first episode where there was a little rivalry between you and Shannon.
I know, but it all worked out. However, we were very sensitive to the fact that Shannon was kind of fragile. She had just gotten out of a big breakup and was [dealing with negativity from] the girls on her show. That was all playing out as we were filming. So we were hyper aware of Shannon’s [delicate state]. So we definitely wanted to rally around her and support her.
Also in that episode, you ladies had to ask the men out on a date, which was new for you.
Who does that? I don’t do that. I’m usually the one being pursued. So that was new for me, but I stepped up to the plate, and actually I was kind of happy because Jay basically asked me first, so that helped.
Do you think you’ll start taking the lead in the real world?
I think I might need to because I’m on TV, and the guy might not know who I am, but his mother does and his sisters do, so that kind of intimidates guys from just coming up to me. So yes, I think I’m going to have to make some changes.
It was so interesting that all the men on Love Hotel were like, “What is a Real Housewife?”
I freaking loved it. They had no idea who we were. And then once we started meeting them, they were totally like, “Well, yeah, of course I’ve heard of The Real Housewives, but I’ve never seen it. Who’s on that? You guys are on that?” It was so funny, and it was kind of refreshing to be quite honest, because with Real Housewives of Potomac or anything else that we’ve done in the Bravo world, everybody knows who we are — even when we film out and about in D.C. or Maryland. So it’s nice to talk to guys who had no clue.
But one guy, who comes later, the entire time when we would say “housewives,” he literally thought we were talking about old-time housewives: women barefoot, married, and pregnant in the house. It was so funny. We were like, “No, sir, we’re on a show.” He’s like, “Yeah, this is the show,” and we’re like, “No, we’re all on different shows.” It was so funny.
Do you have any dating tips you can share?
When you first meet people, you definitely want to come in and show the best part of you. But my advice is to try to cut that out and just be authentic. I saw it from the guys’ perspective — at first, they were so nervous seeing all the cameras. It took a couple of days for them to shake it off. And then we started really seeing who these guys are. So my tip is to try to be your authentic self from the get-go.
What do you want people to know about your time on the show?
You see me with Wale. He and I had instant chemistry, but he wants kids, and that’s real. Younger guys often need to be with somebody who can give them children. So it was nice that they put us together to show the different demographics. I hope that this kind of show will continue on Bravo.
I also had a very hard time kicking guys off the island, because I’m loyal to people, and I just felt like, “This is so mean. Why do I have to do this?” But Ashley was cutthroat with it. She was like, “Bye!” She’s used to watching these shows, and that’s what goes down.
I had an extremely hard time choosing the person I chose…
Before we go, I heard you had some tea about Stacey Rusch supposedly paying her “friend” TJ to pose as her boyfriend on RHOP this past season. As a viewer, I was on Stacey’s side, so now I feel bamboozled to hear otherwise.
I’m sure by now, if he’s gotten his last couple of payments, there was an NDA attached to it. But if he hasn’t, he’s not saying anything so that he can get it.
Don’t feel bamboozled. She was very convincing. But I’ve seen the receipts.
Bravo’s Love Hotel airs Sundays at 9pm ET/PT on Bravo.
