Kristen Taekman defended her marriage during the premiere episodes of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip after her husband Josh Taekman in 2015 admitted to being a member of an affairs website.
The 46-year-old mother-of-two joined season four RHONY Legacy that premiered Thursday on Peacock for a group trip to St Barts that included fellow former RHONY cast members Dorinda Medley, Luann de Lesseps, Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan and Kelly Killoren Bensimon.
Josh went by the alias 'Mr Big NYC' in his Ashley Madison online profile and his membership was first exposed by DailyMail.com in August 2015.
RHONY legacy premiered with three episodes and Kristen's marriage was brought up by Dorinda, 59, who congratulated her for persevering during a group dinner.
'Her husband was on Dolly Madison. That was hard,' Sonja, 60, said as she mispronounced the website during the second episode titled The Pirate Part Deux.
Kristen Taekman defended her marriage during the premiere episodes of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip after her husband Josh Taekman in 2015 admitted to being a member of an affairs website
'Let's just get this whole conversation over with because this whole trip I know these women are going to bring up Ashley Madison,' Kristen said in a confessional.
'And I'm just happy to put it on the table, get it off the table, and move on with my rosé and my vacation,' she added.
Dorinda pointed out that all marriages go 'through s***' and noted that Kristen did not get divorced.
'A lot of us got divorced,' Dorinda said.
'Thank you for saying that, too, by the way. Because every marriage has ups and downs,' Kristen said.
Kristen then revealed that Dorinda was the only one who reached out to her after DailyMail.com reported in August 2015 that Josh was listed as a paying subscriber to Ashley Madison.
'And I will never forget that, seriously,' Kristen said.
She added in a confessional that Dorinda sent her a 'really wonderful text message.'
The 46-year-old mother-of-two joined season four RHONY Legacy that premiered Thursday on Peacock for a group trip to St Barts and confronted the Ashley Madison scandal head-on
'Her husband was on Dolly Madison. That was hard,' Sonja Morgan, 60, said as she mispronounced the website during the second episode titled The Pirate Part Deux
'Let's just get this whole conversation over with because this whole trip I know these women are going to bring up Ashley Madison,' Kristen said in a confessional
Dorinda Medley pointed out that all marriages go 'through s***' and noted that Kristen did not get divorced
'It was like, ''Kristen, I don't even care about what's going on. I'm just thinking about you'',' Kristen said.
Kristen added that she didn't mind the topic being brought up if it helped her relationship with Dorinda after getting off on the wrong foot with her at the start of the vacation.
'And I'm still the only one married,' Kristen reminded the women.
Luann, 58, said keeping a marriage together should be celebrated as they all clinked glasses in honor of Kristen.
'People can think what they want, but my truth is that my husband actually didn't cheat on me and it's really nobody's business. I'm really hopeful that this conversation is behind us,' Kristen said.
The next day, Sonja after a morning workout with Luann pulled out her phone to learn more about their dinner talk about Kristen's husband.
A DailyMail.com article was shown as Sonja read details and she told Ramona that it was a 'hookup site'.
'I think it's very brave the way you handled that,' Dorinda told Kristen during breakfast.
'And I'm still the only one married,' Kristen reminded the women
Kristen said it wasn't worth it for her to explain it to anyone because she knows her truth.
She also told Dorinda that it was hard dealing with social media and she had blinders on for a year.
Sonja during dinner on the third episode titled Take Me Out To The Hockey Game told Kristen that she wanted to talk about her so she could feel comfortable around the group.
'The other night when we asked you about what happened with your husband, you had an incident,' Sonja said. 'I don't think you felt safe with all of us talking about the pain you went through.'
'You got through it. So tell us, how hard was it?,' Sonja asked.
Sonja during dinner on the third episode titled Take Me Out To The Hockey Game told Kristen that she wanted to talk about her so she could feel comfortable around the group
'He actually didn't cheat on me,' Kristen said.
The women looked dubious at the table and shared their disbelief in confessionals.
'I think Kristen just decided to turn the other cheek,' Luann told the camera.
'So he never cheated on you? Even with 75 transactions?,' Sonja asked.
Kristen was wide-eyed as Dorinda asked what all the transactions meant.
'So, he went on a website with a group of friends and that was it,' Kristen said.
Kristen under questioning said she didn't know details about the site.
'I know my truth,' Kristen said several times.
Kristen under questioning said she didn't know details about the Ashley Madison site
The group ordered food and then Sonja asked more questions about how transactions worked on the Ashley Madison site.
Kelly, 55, challenged Kristen's reaction, but Dorinda stuck up for her.
Dorinda told Kelly that she was acting 'kooky' and informed her that she just watched the so-called 'Scary Island' episode that featured Kelly losing it during a group trip to St John in the Virgin Islands on season three of RHONY.
'Have another cosmo,' Kelly said.
Kristen and Josh have been married since October 2004 and have son Cassius, 15, and daughter Kingsley, 11, together.
The Scary Island episode was referenced several times during the three-episode premiere as it has become one of the most iconic episodes in the Housewives franchise.
'I'm here by myself. I'm alone on Scary Island,' Kelly infamously said during a confessional during the St John trip after being ganged up on for her odd behavior.
The episodes also featured multiple references to The Pirate who Luann met at the same villa during season five of RHONY.
'Have another cosmo,' Kelly said after being criticized by Dorinda
The Scary Island episode was referenced several times during the three-episode premiere as it has become one of the most iconic episodes in the Housewives franchise
Luann at the time heavily flirted with the Johnny Depp-lookalike, real name Tomas Ribiero, but insisted that she did not have sex with him.
She told the RHONY Legacy cast that the incident was her only hot mic moment while she was on the show as she was caught trying to cover up bringing The Pirate back to the villa.
Sonja claimed that she also had sex with The Pirate shortly after Luann hooked up with, but Luann again denied it.
Ramona as a prank recruited a young man to wear pirate gear for Luann, but Luann admitted that he was too young for her.
The room selection chaos that typically happens during Housewives trips was largely avoided during the premiere episode titled Vive Legacy as the women rolled dice to determine who got to choose first.
Luann told the RHONY Legacy cast that The Pirate was her only hot mic moment while she was on the show as she was caught trying to cover up bringing him back to the villa
Sonja claimed that she also had sex with The Pirate shortly after Luann hooked up with, but Luann again denied it
The room selection chaos that typically happens during Housewives trips was largely avoided during the premiere episode titled Vive Legacy as the women rolled dice to determine who got to choose first
