Ramona Singer at Socialtees’s Party for the Pups. (Patrick McMullan)
“I never used to watch the shows either,” Ramona Singer confided in The Observer last night outside of Sway, referring to the other Real Housewives incarnations.
We had just admitted that this Monday will be our initiation to The Real Housewives genre, when the fifth season premieres with three new cast members. It wasn’t that the show was bad, we told her. We just didn’t like television that had a lot of confrontation. It made us anxious.
“Totally. Do you know when I originally auditioned for the show, it was supposed to be called Manhattan Moms?” Ms. Singer confided. “When I was told about the name I was like, ‘You have to be kidding me.’ Then I started to watch the other versions, and I swear I lost five pounds before filming.”
Inside Sway, a branch of Socialtees Animal Rescue, led by Elizabeth Shafiroff (daughter of philanthropist Jean Shafiroff) and Lindsey Spielfogel, was holding a Party for Pups to raise money for their foster program for sheltered pit bulls.
Countess LuAnn de Lesseps stood nearby with her boyfriend, Jacques Azoulay. Also in attendance were Lee Fryd, actress Cassandra Seidenfeld and trainer Joy Marks.
We asked Ms. Singer what she thought of The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
“Well, that one is difficult. It’s different from the rest of the Housewives, because that show is all about family. And that’s the most important thing in the world. But then you see them fighting all the time, so it’s painful to watch them.”
Also in attendance was Sway’s owner, Dominick D’Alleva, and his wife, Robin Cofer, whose work with animals includes an upcoming Animal Ashram, a business venture she’ll be going into with Leesa Rowland. Ms. Rowland–a Texas-bred actress who starred in the cult Troma film Class of Nuke ‘Em High 2: Subhumanoid Meltdown–will also be featured on the next season of RHONY, though not officially a Housewife herself.
Ms. Rowland came over and gave us a big hug as we discussed a few upcoming features she had in the works. The Countess left, followed soon by Ms. Singer. We hadn’t even been inside the party yet, but at this rate, we will have met all of New York’s hottest reality show stars before Monday’s premiere.
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