This is only tangentially related to miles & points, but given the overlap between Real Housewives viewers and miles & points enthusiasts (I’ll let you deduce why), I figure this will interest a good number of people…
In this post:
Notable new Real Housewives cast member
The cast for season 16 of the Real Housewives of New York City has just been revealed. There were rumors that the show might be canceled at this point, given that its popularity has gone down massively over time, as Bethenny Frankel loves to remind people (along with how no one has done more for Puerto Rico than her!). However, the show is coming back, with a largely new cast.
Among the new cast members is Erika Hammond, a 34-year-old former WWE wrestler and celebrity fitness trainer. She’s also the wife of Ankur Jain, the founder and CEO of Bilt.
Hammond married Jain in 2024 at a wedding in Egypt (the celebration took place in countries across Africa, but the actual ceremony was in Giza).
Season 16 of Real Housewives of New York City will also see the return of Carole Radziwill, who hasn’t been on the show in eight years. So it’ll be interesting to see to what extent Jain is featured in the show.
Congrats on the new gig, and good luck!
Congrats to Hammond on landing a role on Real Housewives of New York City. It’s certainly a good platform for gaining attention and an audience, and can help with other business ventures.
That being said — and this isn’t at all directed at Hammond, but rather at the show overall — Real Housewives really doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to its alumni (in terms of staying married and staying out of jail — not that everyone has to stay married to the same person forever, but the statistics are really bad for those who appear on Real Housewives).
I used to watch just about every Real Housewives franchise back in the day, but I just can’t bring myself to watch any of it anymore. As I see it, the issue is that this show largely attracts some massive narcissists… I don’t know how else to put it. This is why you have people like Jen Shah and Teresa Giudice who end up in jail, you have people like Erika Jayne having vanity pop star careers using funds stolen from 737 MAX crash victims, and you have people like Mary Cosby running highly questionable churches. And they can’t help but show off that lifestyle on TV! The whole show very much seems to center around the concept that “any publicity is good publicity.”
Bigger picture, being on the cast of Real Housewives just seems really bad for marriage. That’s not surprising when you consider the impact a TV show can have on your life, especially when you’re encouraged to share everything so openly, and conflict is praised, rather than frowned down upon.
So anyway, good luck to Hammond, and I hope for her sake it brings her happiness and success, and not… well, what seems to happen more often than not to people who choose to join the show.
Bottom line
Erika Hammond, the wife of Bilt CEO Ankur Jain, will be on the cast of season 16 of the Real Housewives of New York City. It’s interesting to see a bit of a crossover between a Real Housewives franchise and the (sort of) miles & points world.
This is obviously a good opportunity for publicity, and I wish her the best when it comes to success and marriage, given the impact this show all too often has on people.
What do you make of Hammond joining RHONY?
Is ‘agent orange’ the new skin colour of choice in the U.S.?
Whatever …. The No: 1 ‘agent orange’ man, Donald ‘rump, has earned himself a few brownie points here on the right side of the pond. He correctly characterises ’flip-flop’ Starmer as “No Winston Churchill”. Mind you ‘rump does have extremely poor taste in headgear …. hardly world class statesmanship attire.
As someone who was familiar with her on the NYC-based fitness scene, and is obviously familiar with Bilt via this hobby... it's been kind of wild to see these 2 worlds collide.
Really? You're running a story like this? I thought you were going tabloid, now I'm convinced. Do better. And whatever the heck bilt is anyway. You used to provide constant genuine information. Not much anymore.
I saw the headline and knew what the piece would be about, AND THEN I CLICKED ON IT ANT READ TEH ENTIRE THINK AND I AM FURIOUS THAT THIS BLOG IS TALKING ABOUT SOMETHNG I DON"T CARE ABOUT BUT READ ABOUT ANYWAYY WRITE THINGS I LIKE ONLY YOU ARE GONioG DOWNHILL ARRRRRGH@@@2!!!!!!!!!!11!!!!!!!!
Dude
please.....MAKE ALL THE BILT POSTS STOP!
Wow, glad I never did anything with Bilt. Looks a little shady.
“…given the overlap between Real Housewives viewers and miles & points enthusiasts (I’ll let you deduce why)”
If you mean what I think you mean, you’re basically implying that your blog caters to the gay/queer community and that said community tends to get excited about real housewives… well it’s two very broad generalisation, and the latter is also somewhat offensive. Really unnecessary. Your position on the sexual spectrum doesn’t determine your taste. That’s what...
“…given the overlap between Real Housewives viewers and miles & points enthusiasts (I’ll let you deduce why)”
If you mean what I think you mean, you’re basically implying that your blog caters to the gay/queer community and that said community tends to get excited about real housewives… well it’s two very broad generalisation, and the latter is also somewhat offensive. Really unnecessary. Your position on the sexual spectrum doesn’t determine your taste. That’s what 1990 sitcoms used as stereotype. No need to go back there.
If that’s not what you meant, you probably should think about possible interpretations of your innuendo. Humour can backfire.
Ben: you asked not very long ago about how you can improve the blog. Because you asked I feel comfortable telling you that it has been going in a direction that many of your readers do not love. It is your blog and you can and should do whatever you see fit, just ensure you’re not losing your base.
I’ve been reading this blog a long time and I remember that Ben has always liked Real Housewives and has made several references to it in past. I’m ok with this post. It is Bilt related. Enjoy the post.
The world is upside down and we are the closest we have been do a nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Chill. I’m an OG as well.
jesus christ dude chill tf out
She'll be the next Erika Jayne as far as marriages...
Wonder if the season premier goes live on the scheduled day or if Bravo will have to hire Richard Kerr to write reddit posts explaining what was supposed to happen for the next three days.
OGs on OMAAT will remember when every trip review included a snippet of whatever show Lucky is watching, and most of the time it was Real Housewives
@ betterbub -- That's what I'm talking about!! Thanks for seeing where I'm coming from, hah.
@betterbub, thanks for breaking this down for us relatively new readers.
You’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Meanwhile that thug in the White House is responsible for a war, 1000s of people are stranded in transit. He’s called for a suspension of trade with Spain. The Iranian government isn’t the only that needs to be overthrown.
Woah. We got an election in 244 days. Let's vote.
Really playing fast and loose with the word ‘notable’…
I was told by my spouse that “ The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” is even trashier than “Real Housewives” series
Ya know.. kind of a downgrade after you rent out the literal Pyramids...
(Naw, naw... be nice... good for them...)
What is this garbage? Are you getting paid for posting this trash?
The most useless, nonsensical post on OMAAT I've seen.
That's because you're up-state. You couldn't handle the city...
Real housewives of NYC live in Queens, Bronx and SI. And they worry about making ends meet and raising kids. This post and program are like p0rn.