'The Real Housewives of New York City' star recalled how the moment was 'traumatizing.'
Erin Lichy has allowed fans into her life in a pretty remarkable way. The Real Housewives of New York City star revealed that she previously had an abortion when she was 18 years old.
Lichy shared the news in an intimate interview with Glamour published Tuesday, recalling the pivotal time in her life that took place while she was a freshman in college.
"I literally remember the feeling washing over me in my dorm bathroom, and I just lost it," Lichy said of the moment she found out she was pregnant. "I was sitting on the floor for maybe an hour and a half hysterically crying, just like, 'What am I gonna do? Oh my God.' It was so terrifying to me."
The reality star chose not to tell her parents and turned to Planned Parenthood to receive medical care. She explained that it was all very "traumatizing," and when she eventually told her mother, Dorothy Somekh, a year later, her mom offered plenty of support and shared that it "happened to her" too.
"It felt like women supporting women," Lichy said. "Like, even though she's my mom she wanted me to know… Everybody has a story. I would bet that most girls have a similar story, even if it's [about using] Plan B."
Lichy did not tell her father, Eliahu Yitzhari, about the procedure for years. The conversation she eventually had with him was filmed for RHONY in an episode that aired Tuesday on Bravo. (Lichy's father died this October.)
"I did wind up discussing my story with my dad, and his response was even more beautiful and heartwarming than I could have ever imagined," she told Glamour.
Tuesday night's episode of RHONY featured the emotional scene with her father, and it also included a moment with Jenna Lyons, during which they both shared their abortion stories and the impact the overturning of Roe v. Wade has had on women.
"Forget about choice for women like me, but what about someone who's suffering or has a high-risk pregnancy?" Lichy told the magazine. "It goes so far beyond just my experience, and it's scary. It's scary to be a woman. If such a fundamental right could be stripped from us, what else can?"
Lichy has three children with her husband, Abe Lichy, and is currently expecting another child.
The Real Housewives of New York airs Tuesday nights on Bravo, with episodes streaming the next day on Peacock.
