The Real Lives of 'The Real Housewives of New York City'
These reality stars count private planes & Hamptons homes as must-haves.
March 4, 2008 — -- They party in the city and summer in the Hamptons. They cart their kids to school in chauffeured cars and dine at four-star restaurants on a daily basis. And oh, how they love to shop.
These are not your typical soccer moms. They're the "Real Housewives of New York City" — basically, Carrie Bradshaw and crew meets the ladies of Wisteria Lane. And in the new Bravo reality series that chronicles their fabulous existence, premiering tonight, America gets to see them in their natural habitats: playing on the private tennis courts of East Hampton, lounging in the sprawling penthouse apartments of the Upper East Side, visiting the local landmark presented to the United States by the ancestor of one of their French aristocrat husbands (the Statue of Liberty).
They have it all — money, family, friends, figures that defy their age. But what makes them tick? What do they do when they're not air-kissing acquaintances at galas and events? Would they give up their luxe lives for anything on earth? And do they ever eat fast food?
ABCNEWS.com asked. Find out how the other half lives:
Stats: Hails from "the ghettos of Long Island" and runs a fabric warehouse with her second husband, a successful real estate developer. Both live on the Upper East Side with her 15-year-old daughter, Allyson.
Favorite cocktail: I don't drink. Diet Coke. Actually I take it back … a mudslide. With an Oreo cookie on top.
Favorite high-end store: Bergdorf Goodman, where I can get it all under one roof.
Favorite low-end store: Target or Costco. Whenever we're driving out to the Hamptons, we stop.
Favorite fast food restaurant: KFC.
Favorite New York restaurant: The Waverly Inn.
Favorite physical activity/sport: It has three letters and I can't say, but it is a physical activity in my house! Real sport would be tennis.
Favorite weekend night activity: Going out to dinner with friends, or going to someone's house for dinner. Really, a quiet night with friends eating. The big parties are on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays … I like to relax on the weekends.
If you had to live someplace other than New York City, it would be: Florida. California's too far from the family.
Finish this sentence — "I can't live without…": My iPhone. If I wasn't able to talk to people, I would die.
What's your biggest extravagance/guilty pleasure?: My guilty pleasure is flying private. It's something I really want, love and try to do … Sometimes I rent a plane, but I wouldn't buy one.
What would you trade your life/lifestyle for?: I wouldn't trade it for anything. If we didn't want to be where we are today, we'd be somewhere else.