Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen / YouTube Alex McCord
Time has flown by for former “The Real Housewives of New York City” star Alex McCord. The former Bravo star first introduced her family to fans when RHONY premiered in March 2008. At the time of the premiere, her sons Francois and Johan were 5 years old and 3 years old, respectively.
Now, in a November 10 Instagram post, McCord shared an update on Johan’s milestone 18th birthday, and fans can’t believe how grown up she and her husband Simon van Kempen’s youngest son looks.
“So incredibly proud of @johanvankempen this week of milestones – Class of 2023 formal and a very happy 18th birthday! ❤️ ❤️ 🎂 🎂 🎉 🎊 🥂” McCord captioned her post.
McCord and van Kempen moved their family back to van Kempen’s home country of Australia shortly after ending their time on RHONY. In her time since the show, McCord got her degree in psychology, and per her Instagram bio is working towards getting her PhD in 2025.
Fans Can’t Believe How Grown Up Johan Looks
McCord’s post included photos of herself and van Kempen posing with their son, who is decked out in a maroon tuxedo for his school formal. She also included photos of Johan sitting next to his brother Francois (now 20 years old) at a birthday dinner celebration. McCord shared photos of Francois in October 2023 around his birthday as well.
Fans and followers couldn’t believe how grown up the van Kempen boys looked, and took to McCord’s comment section to share their thoughts.
“Oh my gosh he’s 18? I remember when you @mccordalex were sending him off to camp and worrying about how much laundry you’d have to deal with! Happy Birthday @johanvankempen 😊” one user wrote.
“Congratulations 👏and Happy Birthday 🎈🎉🎂 awe wow! I cannot believe how your boys have grown. ❤️” another user commented.
“Beautiful boys Alex , it only seems 5 minutes ago when I was watching them on tv with you both . Lovely young men they have turned out xx” a third user added.
“He has such a Johan face!!!!!” another fan wrote, referencing a scene from the RHONY season three Virgin Islands trip (known to fans as “Scary Island”). In the show, McCord’s co-star Kelly Killoren Bensimon offered to photograph each of her co-stars on the beach, and in an effort to get McCord to make a specific face in the photos, told her to think about Johan and make a “Johan face”.
McCord’s former RHONY co-star Jill Zarin also left a message for Johan, commenting “Happy birthday!”
Alex McCord Set to Return to ‘The Real Housewives’ Franchise in Upcoming ‘Ultimate Girls Trip’
While McCord hasn’t appeared on RHONY since season four ended in 2011, she has filmed a return to the franchise as a part of the “Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip” spin-off series for Peacock. Originally filmed as the fourth season, McCord’s season was pushed to the fifth season to make room for the RHONY Legacy edition of the series, which McCord did not take part in.
McCord is set to be joined by Vicki Gunvalson and Gretchen Rossi from “Orange County”, Brandi Glanville and Camille Grammer Meyer from “Beverly Hills”, Phaedra Parks and Eva Marcille from “Atlanta”, and Caroline Manzo from “New Jersey” on the filmed trip to Marrakech, Morocco.
Despite reports that the season was possibly being shelved after an incident between Glanville and Manzo that saw both of them leave the trip early, Andy Cohen confirmed at BravoCon 2023 that the season was still expected to air sometime in 2024.
“It’s there, it’s done and I hope everyone sees it soon,” Cohen said during an Ask Andy panel.
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