Bronwyn Newport is taking it all on. The latest addition to The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is having quite the breakout season, making a big splash on what has become one of the buzziest shows on Bravo. Parade recently caught up with Newport who shared her thoughts on becoming a reality TV star, how her relationships with her castmates have shifted since episodes began to air and what she expects from her first-ever Real Housewives reunion.
"Obviously you see me have some real ups and downs on camera," Newport explained. "It's tricky to watch friendships evolve over time and then rewatch it months later when that's had some time to settle. It's still hard to rewatch."
As Newport details, a clear theme in Season 5 of RHOSLC seems to be how each housewife interprets what it means to be a "good friend," a dynamic that has clearly affected her once-close bond with Lisa Barlow, who she knew long before joining the show.
"There's a lot of discussion, maybe not even out in the open, [about] what a 'good friend' is to each of us individually and how we show friendship versus how we receive it," she continued. "I always want to make sure that I'm being the kind of friend that I would want, but sometimes that's not the same kind of friend that Lisa would want or Angie."
Newport has also experienced tension with Heather Gay this season, as her own words seem to be used against her time and time again in a classic game of telephone. "Sometimes I feel like I'm watching a TV show too," she quipped. "The way that my words get repeated sometimes does not feel like the way I said them." She added, "The sentiment behind my words is definitely being taken to a new level."
As for who she is closest to on the cast right now? Angie Katsanevas, Whitney Rose and Mary Cosby, two of the women she was least close to coming into the show. "Over time, I've gotten to know Angie and Mary and Whitney and just fallen in love with the three of them. And I've gotten to know a little bit more about Lisa that I love, but maybe don't like."
She teased, "I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised where Heather and I end up ... unless I'm surprised, which, I mean, you never know!"
Now with the reunion on the horizon, Newport is preparing for her first official time going "into the ring" with The Real Housewives. "I think I'm pretty clear where I stand with everybody today, and I think I'm pretty clear with how we got to where we are today...but I am uncomfortable with where we are," she explained to us, ahead of filming the reunion. By the looks of the seating chart, Newport's clear picture of the group dynamics seems to be correct with her sitting among Katsanevas, Rose and Cosby while facing off against Gay, Barlow and Meredith Marks.
"We're gonna have to have some apologies. We're gonna have some accountability from me and from others," she added, before saying she is prepared to do "whatever it is" she needs to do to fix a friendship.
"I mean that genuinely," she explained. "What do you need in a friendship that I can provide for you, to fix maybe where we've been or to get to know me?"
Of course, she also plans to show up on reunion day "really turned out." She added, "I have a couple of great outfits I'm deciding between ... I have good glam!"
"To my friends on the show, if you're listening, you need to show up with some accountability and apologies, also," she concluded, sending a message to her co-stars. "We are going to meet halfway! Well, I'm come 60% of the way, but they're gonna come 40!"
