Dorinda Medley Doesn't 'Personally Understand' Why Old and New 'RHONY' Casts Can't Be Combined: 'People Miss the Nostalgia'

Dorinda Medley, who co-hosts Reality Checked on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy with Kiki Monique, recently talked to OK! about leaving The Real Housewives of New York City and her thoughts on what she thinks of the show today.

“When I think about that time when I was put [on pause], the thing that gave me kind of peace is that everybody went crazy,” Medley shared. “I think it really stunned the audience when they let me go, because… I may not have had a great season, but I had a truthful season.” Medley noted she did her job and “stayed until the end.”

When she was “put on pause” by the network, Medley noted she refused to “put out" a statement claiming she was “taking time off” because she had “things to do.” At the time, she said the network wasn't bringing her back, which was not something they liked.

“I was heartbroken,” Medley recalled of the time, explaining she knew her departure would make the following season “different for the audience.” When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the reality starlet shared that also had an impact on the show changing.

“It was a tumultuous time,” she noted. “ I don't know if the cast combination worked. I always felt like if I had been on Season 13, I could have helped to knit it together… we had Bluestone Manor. At the time, I had said, 'You know, we can go to Ramona [Singer]'s house, we can go to Bluestone Manor, we can fill it in — even if we only get 12 episodes.’” Before Bravo did a complete revamp of RHONY, she said the 13th season was "awkward."

When Season 14 began, an entirely new group of women were introduced as the stars of RHONY. The show has never hit the ratings it used to, and fans have been very vocal about wanting to the original ladies back — something the network has seemed resistant to.

“I think people miss the girls, but they also just miss New York,” Medley began with discussing the change. “I think it was my second year. And Andy [Cohen] got up [at an event]… And I remember… he said, ‘When you come to New York, you see three things. The statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and the Real Housewives of New York City.’ And it was one of those times ... I thought ... we really kind of are one of the landmarks of New York City, right?”

While she noted people “people miss New York and the nostalgia of the old Housewives,” she refused to talk negatively about the new cast.

“They made a choice,” Medley noted. “They made a big…I think I said it on 'Hot Mic' with Alex Baskin, I said, ‘Listen, that was a huge transition. That was a huge thing for them to do because it was very unexpected.” Medley mentioned they’re “going through that” with Real Housewives of New Jersey right now.

“I don't want to say anything bad about the girls because they're just different,” she reiterated of the new cast. “How can you follow with these girls that literally were each together incredible and individually characters? I mean, I see Luann [de Lesseps] and Ramona — we decided to FaceTime and have a martini together from Blue Stone Manor. That could have been filmed ... I don’t know if these girls — they’re young, and as I said to Alex Baskin, ‘The crown is heavy.’”