clip! After Jill Zarin was fired from “Golden Life” last week over a racist rant against Bad Bunny, producers of the upcoming “E!” show needed “Real Housewives of New York City” star Dorinda Medley now more than ever, and now they’ve officially landed her, the network announced Tuesday. Medley will join Countess Luann de Lesseps, Sonya Morgan, Ramona Singer and Kelly Bensimon when the show begins filming in and around Palm Beach in the spring.
Medley participated in Season 7 of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New York City and quickly became known for her famous lines such as “Say it, forget it, write it, regret it” and her insistence that she was “not feeling well, bitch!” When Candace Bushnell asks how she’s doing at a dinner party in the Hamptons. Perhaps most famously, while entertaining women at her Berkshire estate, Blue Stone Manor, Medley complained about the poor behavior of her guests, exclaiming, “I decorated it, I cooked it, I cooked it!”
Medley made no secret of the fact that she was fired from RHONY at the end of season 12, saying that Real Housewives executive producer Andy Cohen put her on a “hiatus” after a difficult season. (Since then, the word “pause” has become widely used in the Bravosphere, both by people and the show as a whole, much like the current purgatory on “Real Housewives of New Jersey.”) Medley has since appeared on two different seasons of “Real Housewives of New Jersey,” including one that was filmed during COVID-19 using Blue Stone Manor as a bubble. The culmination party for the recently completed 20th anniversary series “Real Housewives Ultimate Girls’ Trip: The Stormy 20th” was also filmed at Bluestone Manor. Medley has also appeared on two seasons of Peacock’s “Traitors,” including this season (she was eliminated on the Feb. 12 episode).
As for Zarin, after she was fired last week, she went on a media blitz, including a source “close to Zarin” who told Page Six things like, “‘A lot of people weren’t happy with the Bad Bunny show,’ and ‘A video of Megyn Kelly criticizing it went viral. Whether you like him or not, the president of the United States… The show was off the air for nine months.” Later, in an interview with In Touch, Zarin said, “I immediately took down the bad reviews about Bad Bunny. People make mistakes. I’m human too.” (The In Touch article also quotes a “source” who said, “Everyone on the internet loves Jill and is standing up in arms because they are finally trying to get her back. E! made a snap decision without taking into account that Jill deleted it right away. Jill will be back. This is not going to hold her back. People love her and that will never change.”)
The biggest catalyst for this news cycle was when Zarin’s step-grandson did an AMA on Reddit. In it, he revealed why the Zarin family no longer had a relationship with Jill, and also admitted that it was she (and not the network) who invited Bravo cameras to her husband Bobby’s funeral.
E!’s official announcement says of “A Golden Life”: “Bound by decades of shared history, cliques, and friendships, this group of fan-favorite New Yorkers are making a new start together in the Sunshine State. In this new ‘golden’ era of life, the longtime friends are thriving in and around Palm Beach with stunning vacation homes and a thriving social scene.” The series follows the group with their signature humor and non-stop banter. They navigate dating, family, and career milestones, but while the Florida skies are bright, unresolved drama stands in the way when they reunite after years of ups and downs. ”
And in a press release, Medley said, “Yes, the rumors are true! I will be joining the ladies at ‘The Golden Life’ in Palm Beach. After decades of friendship and going through life’s ups and downs together, I’m happy to be reunited with my ‘sisters’.” We’re so excited to celebrate and share the next chapter of our lives!” (Page Six reported last week that Medley would be joining the show.)
The Golden Life is produced by Blink 49 Studios and executive produced by Tara Long, Nadine Rajavi, Mark Ford and Ben Megagel.
