The Real Housewives of New York has changed quite a bit since it premiered in 2008. Like most shows, there have been several cast changes, and now, to the chagrin of many, the show has been completely rebooted. However, fans still love the OGs and want to know the latest from their lives away from the camera. Recently, Jill Zarin spoke about how her life has been since she’s no longer on the show.
Fans will recall that Jill was one of the original cast members of RHONY. However, she was let go after season four and later returned for season 9. Since then, she has done brief stints on reality television. This includes a controversial appearance on Below Deck that caused much fan backlash over her behavior towards the crew.
The Cut recently profiled former RHONY stars to update fans about their lives today. However, one of the standouts was Jill’s. One of the highlights from her profile is a direct contradiction to what fans saw on Below Deck. In it, she recounts a less than favorable airport experience that shows how much she has evolved as a person. She also credits being on anxiety medication for the change.
According to Jill, “That would’ve been a great scene on Housewives 20 years ago, because I would’ve had a meltdown.”
Jill also talked about how her life has improved as well as what fans would see if she were currently on reality TV. Additionally, she’s in the process of helping to plan her daughter’s wedding. She says, “As you get older, your life gets better. So if you were watching me on the show, you’d see the party planning, the fighting — her fiancé wants a kosher wedding because his father’s kosher. So, for one person, am I gonna make a whole kosher wedding?”
Jill also opened up about the Legacy show that never materialized. She says they were offering her a “pittance” in comparison to what they were planning to pay everyone else. This is when she pushed for them to all be paid the same, which is called a favored nations deal.
She says, “Bravo put out a story that I was asking for a million dollars an episode. They wanted to make me look bad, which wasn’t nice.”
She then says that Luann de Lesseps tried to convince her to sign on, and she suggested they just do the show as an Ultimate Girls Trip season. However, they moved forward with the season without her.
Jill goes on, “They wanted to punish me, so they didn’t invite me. But really the punishment was for the fans.”
Finally, she says, “I will never do a television show that I don’t have control over again.”
Though no longer on TV, Jill keeps pretty busy. She has a number of products on sale, including Jill Zarin Home and a new candle she’s been developing for a couple of years.
