Rebecca Minkoff admits ‘RHONY’ pregnancy prank was a ‘big mistake’: ‘I own it’

Rebecca Minkoff expressed regret for the pregnancy prank she pulled on “The Real Housewives of New York City.”

The fashion designer didn’t hesitate to “own” her mistake while chatting with Page Six’s Evan Real and Danny Murphy during Monday’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” live show at Chelsea Table & Stage in New York City.

“You know what, in hindsight — terrible subject matter. I own it. Big mistake on my part,” she said at the event sponsored by Tri-State Cadillac.

“I had no idea Jessel [Taank] was going through what she was going through, nor Ubah [Hassan], nor Brynn [Whitfield], but any woman who is going through infertility — like bad idea.”

Rebecca Minkoff "Virtual Reali-Tea"
Rebecca Minkoff addressed her pregnancy prank while speaking to Page Six’s Evan Real and Danny Murphy during Monday’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” live show at Chelsea Table & Stage in New York City.Dave Allocca / StarPix
Rebecca Minkoff "Virtual Reali-Tea" December 2024
After she pranked her “RHONY” co-stars by pretending to be pregnant, the fashion designer backtracked.Dave Allocca / StarPix
Rebecca Minkoff and Lauren Conrad
Minkoff, pictured here with Lauren Conrad in 2011, called the prank a “big mistake.”WireImage

She also shared that she too previously struggled with infertility and understood pregnancy was not something to be made light of.

“I struggled with it myself,” Minkoff said.

Racquel Chevremont then asked Minkoff to clarify whether people were upset at the “subject matter” or that it was a “produced prank,” to which she replied, “Both.”

RHONY Cast Virtual Reali-Tea
“You know what, in hindsight — terrible subject matter. I own it,” she added.Dave Allocca / StarPix
Rebecca Minkoff Virtual Reali-Tea
During Season 15, Minkoff convinced Jessel Taank, Brynn Whitfield, Jenna Lyons, Ubah Hassan and Sai De Silva that she was expecting her fifth baby.Dave Allocca / StarPix

Minkoff, 43, convinced Taank, Whitfield, Jenna Lyons, Hassan and Sai De Silva to believe she was pregnant during Season 15 of the hit reality series.

Not only did Minkoff come up with the plan for the prank, but she even enlisted the help of her co-star Erin Lichy.

They decided to prank their co-stars and have them believe that Minkoff was expecting her fifth child and that she didn’t know who the father was.

Minkoff shares four children, Bowie, Luca, Nico and Leonardo, with her husband, Gavin Bellour.

Rebecca Minkoff Season 15 RHONY
The 43-year-old enlisted the help of Erin Lichy to start the rumor about her faux pregnancy.Bravo
RHONY cast
“We just wanted to see who the leaky pigeons were,” she told the group during the episode. “And now we know! I think this teaches us all a lesson.”Bryan Bedder/BRAVO via Getty Images

During an episode of “RHONY,” Minkoff explained why she concocted the prank.

“We just wanted to see who the leaky pigeons were,” she told the group. “And now we know! I think this teaches us all a lesson.”

“If you want to keep a secret, don’t tell these two,” Minkoff added, pointing out Whitfield and Taank.

Lichy initially spilled the false tea to Whitfield and Lyons.

“It’s very, very early on, and she’s really stressed about it,” the real estate agent told them.

Andy Cohen WWHL
Andy Cohen later said on “Watch What Happens Live” that he was “not a fan of a prank.”Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen/Youtube
Jeff Lewis on WWHL
“I think it’s a bad move. I think it’s self-producing,” Jeff Lewis agreed with Cohen. “I think that you lose trust in your audience.”Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen/Youtube

What do you think? Post a comment.

After the prank episode aired, Andy Cohen expressed his disappointment in Minkoff during the Nov. 12 episode of “Watch What Happens Live.”

“I’m not a fan of a prank, I’ve got to be honest,” the Bravo exec, 56, said while chatting with Jeff Lewis.

“I think it’s a bad move. I think it’s self-producing,” Lewis agreed. “I think that you lose trust in your audience. I think it’s a bad move. I don’t like pranks.”

Related Post

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *