Jessel Taank is firing back at her Real Housewives of New York City castmates’ cheating rumors against her husband, Pavit Randhawa.
During an interview on Monday, the 43-year-old fashionista and first Indian housewife of the franchise discussed her marriage, reacted to claims of “privilege,” and shared her thoughts on being seated next to host Andy Cohen, 55, at the reunion while also clapping back at the suggestion that she’s “forgettable” and revealing her dream cast for Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip.
“[Ubah Hassan] and [Brynn Whitfield] for sure. We do everything together,” Jessel began amid an October 16 interview with Rolling Stone. “On [RHUGT], you’ve got to have fun. You’ve got to be able to like have a blast, let loose, and dance. I’d say Chanel Ayan from [The Real Housewives of Dubai], because she’d give such fashion. I like Kyle Richards and it looks like she’s recently single so she’d probably be up for having fun. I love [Candiace Dillard-Bassett] from [The Real Housewives of Potomac]. She’s so witty and she’s got shade.”
During her debut season on RHONY, Jessel made waves with a number of comments, including her complaints about the Hamptons home of Erin Lichy, 36, and her statement about Tribeca being an “up-and coming” neighborhood.
“At the start, people were like, ‘Who is this girl?! She’s a monster.’ But that was when my trajectory changed. Not only did I put Tribeca on the map, but I redeemed myself,” she noted of the shade.
And while some have said she’s “forgettable,” Jessel feels she’s underestimated.
“Very much! In fact, they’ve told me that. They’re like, ‘We don’t know how you do it, we need to take notes.’ I was really just being myself,” Jessel explained. “I know I’m funny and witty and I have that dry British [sense] of humor that some people don’t understand … I’m also not the loudest person in the room, so I think people assumed I was going to be boring or, as they kept saying, ‘forgettable.'”
“I am being honest and open about the things that are happening in my life, which I think the fans found relatable,” she added.
Following a drama-filled season, during which she became a fan favorite, with viewers deeming themselves “Taank Tops,” Jessel found herself seated next to Andy at the reunion.
“I was very nervous. I was like, ‘Oh my God, am I in the hot seat?!'” she recalled. “It was an honor! As a Housewives virgin, I didn’t know how important seating charts were. Everyone kept asking me about it and then Pavit sent me all these predictions, like it was fantasy football or something! It was wild. I totally thought [Jenna Lyons] and Brynn would get those middle seats.”
Regarding the claims of having “privilege,” which she faced after she seemingly compared her upbringing to that of Brynn, 36, and Sai De Silva, 43, both of whom grew up poor with troubled parents, Jessel said she found it “bizarre” that she had to defend her background.
“I’m an Indian girl. I’m British. I live in America … [And] I think one of the things that makes me interesting as a person is where my parents and grandparents came from,” she stated. “It was shocking to me. I say the word shocking because, like everyone else on the cast, my story is what informs my identity. They kept saying, ‘That’s not your story!’ I was like, ‘Who are you to say that?'”
“The concept of ‘privilege,’ it’s such a triggering idea, right? Yes, I grew up with an incredible family. I had a huge support system. I had a roof over my head. I had structure. I was given all these things that Sai didn’t have, or that Brynn didn’t have. But I did not grow up with any kind of generational wealth or come from old money,” she clarified.
As she and Sai butted heads, Jessel said she realized production is “a thousand [percent]” not her friend, especially after texting them to let them know she’d be late to their brunch date.
“She didn’t text me when she was 20 minutes late! I was texting production saying that I was running behind. When I was five minutes away, they told me that Sai had just arrived!” said Jessel. “I wasn’t thinking about how that would translate. I should have just texted Sai.”
“Sai had already made up her mind about me at that brunch. No matter what I said, no matter what I did,” she reasoned.
Moving on to her marriage, Jessel looked back on the challenges she and Pavit faced amid filming. As RHONY fans will recall, Jessel was open with the fact that they hadn’t had sex since the birth of their two-year-old twins.
“IVF was a tough pill to swallow when it came to getting back into the sack with him. It took an emotional and mental toll on both of us,” she admitted.
As they attempted to get back on track, the cast latched on to the fact that Pavit had flown to Vietnam without Jessel and insinuated that he had gone there to sleep with other women.
“[It was] mean girl behavior,” Jessel explained. “They were trying to insinuate that there was something shady going on. It was very, very shocking! I never thought that those were the conversations that were happening.”
After making a face when Erin’s early support of former president Donald Trump, 77, was mentioned, Jessel admitted to feeling she was hypocritical for insinuating that Pavit cheated while also getting upset with Brynn for joking about a divorce from Abraham “Abe” Lichy.
“It definitely showed a double standard to me, because she was very upset about the whole Brynn situation. Brynn probably shouldn’t have made that joke at the party, but whatever. At the end of the day, it was just really disappointing,” Jessel stated. “I think that they looked at my marriage and took it to a place that really wasn’t cool.”
“I’ve been prompted many times to talk about things and I’ve said no, because it’s detrimental to someone’s character or their relationship,” she added.
