NEWSD.C. Housewife Ready for Hubby #5?
Mar. 8 2011, Published 12:05 p.m. ET
Real Housewives of D.C. star Cat Ommanney has moved on after divorcing husband Charles Ommanney -- a split she disclosed to me during OK!’s fashion shoot in July 2010 before she went public with the news.
“We sat together at that house in Georgetown,” the Brit-born mom of two recalls this week during the book launch party for her memoir Inbox Full held at Ted Gibson Salon in NYC.
Lesson learned: She laughs that she’s going to keep her new man out of the press.
Cat is no stranger to living out her romances in the spotlight: Before starring on a reality show with her husband, she sparked a furor when she was photographed kissing Prince Harry in 2006 while he was dating Chelsy Davy.
Still, she craves celebrity.
“I’m really about Leonardo DiCaprio,” she tells me. “He’s hot and he’s an amazing actor. He’s my fifth husband.”
Fifth husband?! Yikes! Sounds like she's out to rival Elizabeth Taylor.
Although I can only find two husbands of note, I can somehow believe she might actually be on the lookout for hubby #5, but she’s likely joking … ahem, well, planning for the future. (No wonder she is called Catherine Ashley in the byline for Inbox Full!)
This time she intends to find herself before she ties the knot again.
“I seem to have to learn the same lesson again and again before I learn it, but I think I’ve learned my lesson now, and that is not to sacrifice who I am for anybody. You’ve gotta love yourself.”
In the past few months, her outlook on love has changed thanks to support from her father, who is here tonight, and pals like Real Housewives of D.C. co-stars Lynda Erkiletian and Mary Schmidt Amons as well as Real Housewives of NYC stars Alex McCord and Simon Van Kempen, who also attend.
“It’s funny, I never thought I’d go through as hard of time as I had ever again, but I did, and it was even worse, but I somehow survived, and I’m here and I’m surrounded by all the people I love, like my cast mates and my father. I‘ve got a lot of support. If you’ve got good friends and people who love you, it’ll carry you through.”
For those enduring a marital split, Cat offers up the power of hope.
“Believe in yourself, and even when it’s the darkest, darkest, darkest moments, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. You have to open up to your good friends, and not be afraid to be judged because your good friends will be there.”
Hm, what’s the biggest love lesson she can share?
“Complacency kills. The expression ‘you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone’ springs to mind, but then life is a journey full-stop, so you never know what lies around the corner. I seem to be big on taking risks, and hopefully one day, they’ll pay off.
Her dear old dad invites me to her D.C. party for Inbox Full taking place later this week at Eden Lounge. Wish I could make it!
Read about Cat’s adventures in love in her memoir Inbox Full.
