Getty Tinsley Mortimer
Season 10 of The Real Housewives of New York City was without a doubt, the show’s best cycle of all time, which put set the bar impossibly high for the long running reality series going into Season 11. Surprisingly everyone, however, the cast member who kept viewers laughing and/or crying all season turned out to be Tinsley Mortimer, who came out of her always well-coifed, glamorous shell and held her own against the the huge personalities who’ve long dominated the franchise.
With former show BFF Carole Radziwill gone, and her relationship with Scott Kluth over, it was wondrous as to what kind of storyline Tinsley would have going forward on RHONY. However, Tinsley decided to just be unapologetically herself, and in turn, became the brightest light of Season 11.
Now, there are rumors going around that Tinsley is fighting to stick around for Season 12, and that Bravo is scouting for bigger names to take over her spot. Page Six reported that Anthony Scaramucci‘s wife, Diedre Ball, was being courted for the show to replace either Tinsley or Luann de Lesseps, who was reportedly asking Bravo his a major pay rise to stick around.
An insider told the gossip outlet, “Tinsley is not going to make it next [season]. No one has spoken to her since filming stopped. She’s too scripted and doesn’t offer a lot. They’re still editing the reunion… so it kind of depends on how the audience engages with that, but it’s not likely.” However, a source closer to Mortimer class these kinds of rumors an inside job saying, “There’s a ‘Housewife’ that’s trying to have her not come back, and thinks she has power within the media to create this media storm. They’re spreading lies. It’s typical ‘Housewife’ drama. Tinsley not coming back… is not true.”
It’s likely routine for Bravo to always be scouting for new cast members, since none of the OG women have yet to officially signed on for the next season, but for fans of the show, it’s clear that Tinsley not only deserves to stick around. Of all the Housewives franchises, RHONY is the hardest to successfully add in new cast members since most of the women have been around since Day 1. Save for Dorinda Medley, and Carole, that latter of whom lasted an impressive seven seasons, most newbies are in and out the door after one season.
Between Bethenny Frankel‘s loss of Dennis Shields, Luann’s return to rehab, Ramona’s flirting antics, and Sonja Morgan’s extreme fluctuating emotions, the fact that the 43-year-old socialite had as much screen time as she did was a testament to her character. And for the first time since 2016, Tinsley allowed cameras to film her sans make-up, a watershed moment for the woman who won’t even go on vacation without her own professional hair and make-up squad.
Somehow, Tinsley, who lives like Eloise in her penthouse hotel apartment, became the most relatable cast member of the bunch, and after shedding the pressure of being the picture-perfect girlfriend to her camera-shy ex-boyfriend, Tinsley’s bubbly personality shined through. Even the acerbic spitfire that is Frankel couldn’t help but befriend Tinsley this season.
While there’s tension in regard to the issue of whether or not Tinsley is a permanent resident of the Big Apple, a topic which she will defend during the reunion, if the youngest New York “housewife” merely continues to be her genuinely likable self, there’s no reason to fear she won’t be around next season.
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