Rebecca Minkoff announced her exit from the Real Housewives of New York City after just one season on February 4, and she opens up about the decision during an exclusive interview with In Touch.
“I think it was a number of things. I think that the way in which I was portrayed is not who I am. It’s not who you see on Instagram or my podcast or if you see me speak or my book, that is not me, and that was really disappointing,” Rebecca, 42, tells In Touch while discussing the paperback version of her book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage and Success, which was released on February 4.
After noting she was excited that the season 15 cast was made up of “self made women” that are all “diverse,” the designer says she “just wasn’t happy with whatever I was boiled down to.”
“I also felt like I wanted to chase a feeling of positivity,” she adds, pointing out the work she’s done for the Female Founder collective and the money she’s raised for the Los Angeles Fire Department. “That is a great feeling and chasing a feeling of feeling stabbed in the back, or mean girls or, again, media twisting my words, that doesn’t feel good, and I’m in a position where I can choose if I do it or not.”
Rebecca continues, “I want to chase the good feelings and the good energy, and really make my life around that.”
One way Rebecca is spreading positivity is through her book Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage and Success. While the book was originally released in June 2021, Rebecca released a paperback version with a bonus chapter earlier this month.
Rebecca explains that having distance “from 2020” and going through “so much change” since the book first came out inspired her to write a new chapter. “I felt like adding another chapter felt right with new information I was dealing with, but also, I think I still encounter so many women who are so scared to make big changes in their life, or go after their dreams or pursue something because they’re paralyzed by fear,” she says. “It’s still a relevant subject.”
Now that Rebecca is ready to leave RHONY in the past, she teases what fans can expect from her in the future. “We have a couple more collaborations around the brand in the works. We have this series we launched last week with the podcast with Candace Bushnell as part of our 20th anniversary storytelling,” she says of “Rebecca Minkoff Presents: The Morning After” limited podcast series, in which she and Candace, 66, will talk to guests about their professional endeavors and finding love in Manhattan.
While fans will not see Rebecca on RHONY, she says that she’s open to returning to the world of reality TV in the future. “I’ve had several ideas that I think, maybe now, people are ready for. I am in conversations with a couple of production companies,” she shares. “But these things take years to bring to life. And I’m not rushing into it. I’m not, like, anxiously trying to get anywhere.”
Rebecca teases that her idea is “very much lifestyle based” and “about supporting women.” She concludes, “I think it could be really fun if it happens.”
