Glamour sat down with five daughters of ‘The Real Housewives’ just in time for their Mother’s Day Issue.
Lauren Manzo, Tierra Fuller, Victoria de Lesseps, Pandora Sabo, and Briana Culberson opened up in the May issue of Glamour and shared what life is like when your mom is a reality star on the most popular reality franchise out there!
Lauren Manzo, daughter of Caroline Manzo – The Real Housewives of New Jersey:
On her improved attitude about body image:
“When the show started to become more popular, I had these younger girls say to me on Twitter and Facebook, “I look up to you; I love the fact that you’re not a size 2.” I said to myself, You know what? All these other women are struggling. Let’s put this on the show.”
In defense of her mom’s weight criticism:
“When she said on the show, “I’m not going to tell Lauren she looks perfect when she needs to lose a few pounds,” that didn’t bother me. What upset me is when people wrote and said, “Your own mother thinks you’re disgusting.” Not because they’re calling me fat but because they’re going after my mom.”
On being a reality star:
“I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t get caught up in being on TV for a little bit. I said to my boyfriend, Vito, a while ago, “I found a ring that I want. Go buy it, and we’ll get married on TV.” And then I said to myself, That’s not what I want right now. It doesn’t make sense to get married. I need to become a woman on my own. And I don’t think I could do that right now with a ring on my finger.”
Pandora Sabo, daughter of Lisa Vanderpump – The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills:
On whether or not to film her wedding:
“I’m a more private person than my mother is. So when Jason proposed, we had to think about how we were going to do this wedding. My mother’s life is on television, but mine really isn’t. I didn’t mind that the planning was on TV, because, to be honest, it’s quite nice to have a record of that. Who else gets to relive picking out their invitations or their bachelorette party? When it came to the actual day, my mother said, “However you want to do it is OK.” I didn’t let Bravo film any of the wedding. I had a regular videographer like many people do. I edited the footage, then chose what I wouldn’t mind people seeing, and we gave eight minutes of it to Bravo to use.”
The hardships of being a reality star:
“I feel like my life is filled with a bunch of one-sided conversations. Everybody knows everything about me, and I know nothing about anybody else.”
Her protectiveness towards her mother:
“I wouldn’t sign up for a reality show myself. I didn’t even get through watching the whole episode of the season-two reunion. It’s hard to see someone you love being attacked. I’ve had urges to fight my mother’s battles for her, but she doesn’t like me to. She can handle herself very well.”
Briana Culberson, daughter of Vicki Gunvalson – The Real Housewives of Orange County:
Her attitude towards all of the press:
“The first season, we were kind of shocked because you would google our names and we’d come up. That was huge. At first we were like, “Why are we so important?” Then people would say, “Brianna looks like this” or “Vicki’s fat,” and we’d all be crying about it. Since the first season we haven’t looked at any blogs. I try not to read the press or dig around and see what everyone’s opinion is of us.”
The downsides of being a reality star:
“I’ve seen every episode that’s aired. It’s hard to watch them. Nobody likes to hear their own voice, and it’s weird to see yourself on TV. It’s really tough to see the family things replayed, like my parents split. I’d experienced it six or eight months before, then had to relive it on TV, and that’s when it becomes public. People are approaching me, saying, “I cant believe your parents are getting divorced!” And it reopens the wound.”
On her future plans:
“I’m not looking to make my own fame off this show. It’s just not me. I’m an E.R. nurse, and that’s my priority. I don’t want people to look at me differently. I’m just Briana the nurse.”
Victoria de Lesseps, daughter of Countess LuAnn de Lesseps – The Real Housewives of New York City:
How the show affected her school life:
“At my school, everyone’s really down-to-earth. But before, when I was at boarding school, there were some instances when I thought teachers were harder on me because of the show. My roommate would ask for extra help and I would ask for extra help, and I wouldn’t get it. The teacher would make comments to me–nothing bad–but I’d notice it. I can feel when there’s a weird tension.“
On how the show’s given her bad luck with boys:
“In a way, it has made it easier for me to see who’s really my friend. This guy friend of mine, we kissed once, and he said, “I could introduce you to my friends and tell them you’re from the show.” I was like, “That’s the first thing you’d tell your friends about me?” I’ve never had any boy luck from the show. Maybe guys are just intimidated.”
Tierra Fuller, daughter of Shereé Whitfiled – The Real Housewives of Atlanta:
On being too emotionally invested in the show:
“I find myself getting very angry when I watch the show. Then I’ll talk to my mom, and she’s like, “You know, you can’t get too emotional about it.””
The weird aspects of reality TV fame:
“One time I went back to Nashville for the TSU homecoming, and this older lady came up to me and was like, “Can I get your autograph?” People still give autographs? I thought that was weird.”
On starring in her own reality TV show:
“ A woman approached me about being on another reality show. It was going to be about people my age being spoiled, always getting what they want. I guess they didn’t end up selling the pilot, but I was interested. My boyfriend, Damon, and I spoke about doing our own reality show. I think it’s not a bad idea. I like Bethenny Ever After and Khloé and Lamar.”
On the plus sides of The Real Housewives:
“My mom is doing her thing; I’m trying to get her to make her own workout DVD or her own juicer. A lot of opportunities come out of reality shows, and my mom is my role model.”
Photos courtesy of Glamour Magazine
