Secrets of Manhattan's Upper East Side Housewives Revealed in New Book
Wednesday Martin dishes on the "tribe" of elite woman.
— -- Meet Wednesday Martin, who dishes on the luxurious lives of Manhattan’s Upper East Side housewives in her highly anticipated upcoming book.
In “Primates of the Park Avenue: A Memoir,” Martin, a married mother of two, calls the specific set of women “Glam SAHM,” or glamorous stay-at-home moms, telling “Good Morning America,“ “There’s a huge imperative to be thin and fit and beautiful.”
Martin says one of the benefits of belonging to this elite “tribe” is the yearly “wife bonus” that husbands hand out to their wives.
“This is one of the things that they described to me,” she said, adding, “Just one of many of the things that I found really strange. I didn't even find it the strangest. And what's interesting is that now we're seeing on the Internet and online people posting stories, ‘I get a bonus. Mine's not performance based. My husband pays me a wifely bonus.’ ‘Why I'm proud of it.’ ‘Why I think it's retrograde.’ It's kind of started a conversation.”
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Martin joined this exclusive world in 2004, when she and her husband moved to the Upper East Side for their son's schooling. In her book, Martin describes a world that is akin to that of the cult hit film "Mean Girls," which portrayed the damage and hurt that could result from high school cliquishness.
“We talk about power dynamics in the workplace. But these power dynamics exist between the women of the sandbox set as well,” said Martin, who no longer lives in the neighborhood.
“GMA” spent time with Martin recently, accompanying her on one of the appointments that’s all-important in this community: the cosmetic dermatologist, where Martin said she was planning for the future. The doctor told her that she could have some Botox for fine lines whenever she was ready, and also mentioned “a little bit of a brow lift.”
Martin decided to hold off on the injections on that day, to avoid bruising, and then it was off to Fifth Avenue, where she met a friend to go shopping.
“It costs about $85,000 a year just to be beautiful enough to play ball in the worlds that I lived in, and clothing is a big part of that,” Martin told “GMA.”
Martin and her friend decided to have lunch at Michael’s, the restaurant that’s the go-to spot for seeing others and being seen.
“It matters who you know, where you sit, who's around you,” Martin said.
“Primates of Park Avenue” goes on sale June 2.
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