Rebecca Minkoff admits ‘RHONY’ pregnancy prank was a ‘big mistake’: ‘I own it’
Rebecca Minkoff expressed regret for the pregnancy prank she pulled on “The Real Housewives of New York City.”
The fashion designer didn’t hesitate to “own” her mistake while chatting with Page Six’s Evan Real and Danny Murphy during Monday’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” live show at Chelsea Table & Stage in New York City.
“You know what, in hindsight — terrible subject matter. I own it. Big mistake on my part,” she said at the event sponsored by Tri-State Cadillac.
“I had no idea Jessel [Taank] was going through what she was going through, nor Ubah [Hassan], nor Brynn [Whitfield], but any woman who is going through infertility — like bad idea.”
She also shared that she too previously struggled with infertility and understood pregnancy was not something to be made light of.
“I struggled with it myself,” Minkoff said.
Racquel Chevremont then asked Minkoff to clarify whether people were upset at the “subject matter” or that it was a “produced prank,” to which she replied, “Both.”
Minkoff, 43, convinced Taank, Whitfield, Jenna Lyons, Hassan and Sai De Silva to believe she was pregnant during Season 15 of the hit reality series.
Not only did Minkoff come up with the plan for the prank, but she even enlisted the help of her co-star Erin Lichy.
They decided to prank their co-stars and have them believe that Minkoff was expecting her fifth child and that she didn’t know who the father was.
Minkoff shares four children, Bowie, Luca, Nico and Leonardo, with her husband, Gavin Bellour.
During an episode of “RHONY,” Minkoff explained why she concocted the prank.
“We just wanted to see who the leaky pigeons were,” she told the group. “And now we know! I think this teaches us all a lesson.”
“If you want to keep a secret, don’t tell these two,” Minkoff added, pointing out Whitfield and Taank.
Lichy initially spilled the false tea to Whitfield and Lyons.
“It’s very, very early on, and she’s really stressed about it,” the real estate agent told them.
After the prank episode aired, Andy Cohen expressed his disappointment in Minkoff during the Nov. 12 episode of “Watch What Happens Live.”
“I’m not a fan of a prank, I’ve got to be honest,” the Bravo exec, 56, said while chatting with Jeff Lewis.
“I think it’s a bad move. I think it’s self-producing,” Lewis agreed. “I think that you lose trust in your audience. I think it’s a bad move. I don’t like pranks.”
