It felt a little surreal, but I was super excited and a little nervous. While I was getting my hair and makeup done, the nerves were really kicking in. You know you’re going to be put on the spot and answer questions. You want to be assertive and get your thoughts and points across.
But once we got out there, Andy Cohen was like, “Don’t worry. Within the first 10 minutes, you’re all going to be fine.” And he was right. I felt really good leaving the reunion, and we all left on good terms. Nothing was left unsaid or unsettled. It was a long day, but a good day.
Did you do anything to prepare?
Not really, besides watch all the episodes. As I watched, I was thinking of the questions that Andy would ask me or things that could get brought up. I was pretty good at being the mediator during the reunion, the voice of reason; that’s the role Bravo PR told me I played in the reunion, which was nice. I mean, I didn’t really go into it having severe issues with anybody or big problems.
Given all the New Jersey reunions you’ve seen through the years, was there anything you had in back of your mind going into this?
Watching a many reunions as I have, the biggest takeaway I’ve realized is to let the other person speak and then speak after they’re finished. The back and forth and speaking over each other never really works and nothing ever gets done. It’s about following a level of mutual respect. They always want conflict and resolution. My entire cast did a really good job at that. We let each other speak and gave everyone the chance to have the floor. So that was nice, instead of it being a bloodbath.
Aside from talking about some style regrets, did your mom have any advice for you?
Just to stay true to myself. She’s always told me, “Be who you are and don’t overreact to something; you wouldn’t want to look back at and not be proud of your actions.”
You said you wanted your look to be something that you’d be proud of 10 years from now. What were some of the things you were looking for, specifically?
Knowing my body type and what I feel most comfortable in, my legs have always been an insecurity of mine. I know it’s just a me thing, but I prefer a longer skirt or dress. I also love something that’s fitted to my body. I thought a two-piece would be perfect, because I wanted to show the definition of my stomach and still have that sexy New York vibe. They didn’t want us to have a traditional reunion look, where we’d come in ball gowns like the Housewives. They wanted it to be very different than what we’re used to seeing for other reunion looks.
The lace and that corset gave it that sexy New York feel, and the fit was perfect because nothing was too tight. We did a bunch of sit tests to make sure that the corset wasn’t digging into my stomach at all or anything like that. As long as I was sitting up straight, I knew nothing was falling over or bulging over. We had multiple fittings, about four or five, and changed how the draping looked on some parts of the outfit so it didn’t look like it was gathering too much. I loved it the second I saw it.
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