Ever since she showed up in the third season of Real Housewives of New York City back in 2010, Sonja Morgan has been our favorite floozy, the straw that stirs the drink, the curator of cock, or any of the many other sexy titles she’s given herself. It seemed like she’d never leave our TV screens.
Then, last March, Bravo announced a hard reboot of RHONY and a spin-off tentatively called Legacy that would feature the original ‘wives. But while the reboot came and went, Legacystalled out as a series, eventually resurfacing as the upcoming fifth season of Ultimate Girls Trip. It’s been a bit of an “on hold” period for Sonja, who spent six weeks living in a hotel in rural Indiana with Luann de Lesseps on Luann & Sonja: Welcome to Crappie Lake and has been touring the country with her live show. She also spent some time (though not much, as it turns out) filming UGT: Legacy with Luann, Ramona Singer, Dorinda Medley, Kristen Taekman, and Kelly Bensimon, who all return to the St. Barth’s house where Sonja may or may not have engaged in anal with a guy who looked just like Johnny Depp. Ahead of the season, which kicks off Thursday, December 14, on Peacock, she filled the Institute in on that vacation, what it’s like being out of the normal Housewives filming cycle, and, of course, her sex life.
This conversation has been condensed and edited because, come on, have you met Sonja?
Hey Sonja! You’re on the West Coast. What are you doing away from New York? I was doing Sonja in Your City. Monday in Portland, Oregon, and last night in San Diego. I was manifesting season two of Crappie Lake — there’s rumblings to be available — so I didn’t book anything, any Sonja In Your City. And then it turns out, still on hold, let’s say.
Can you break some news about Crappie Lake season two? No, just that I was making myself available because it’s a real possibility since it did so well. I’m getting all these emails and DMs from towns saying, “Please come to us next.” One town in Texas said they didn’t even have a hospital within two hours. You know me, “Who do I have to fuck in this town to get a playground?”
Or a hospital! Speaking of, you hooked up with a guy on Crappie Lake. Have we heard from Billy Richard? Oh my God. Everyone was asking me last night, “How’s it going with Billy Richard?” And I said, “I didn’t realize that he was going to go back to New Orleans.” He lives outside New Orleans. Another town I’d like to do for Crappie Lake, by the way. He only travels by truck with his dog, so he doesn’t fly. And I was like, “Honey, if you’re going to come see me … ” Normally if I text someone, they have 10 minutes to get to my place.
When I got back to New York, I rented a place out near where Andy Cohen lives in Amagansett, a cottage with a fireplace and a bathtub. And I met a local guy, a viking type. I realized that in Benton with Richard, those are real men, you know what I mean? They’re really good in bed. They don’t care about TV.
Was Billy Richard good in bed? Yeah, he was great. He went all night. So then, now, this guy I’m dating out on the island, he’s amazing. And he doesn’t care about TV. He watched Crappie Lake with his gay friends, and he loved it, but he really is like, “Let’s go to the beach and have a bonfire. Let’s go get some oysters and Cheetos.” And I’m really enjoying him. So being in New York’s been hard since he only has two days off a week.
How long have you two been dating? Eight months.
Are you using the “boyfriend” word? Yeah, I did. I usually say lover, but you know? When you stop doing doggy style and you actually turn around and see their face, that’s a boyfriend.
You filmed Real Housewives every year for a decade. You’d normally be filming right now. What’s it like not having that in your life anymore? It’s an adjustment, because we used to film five months, take off for Thanksgiving and Christmas. That was our routine. And then when I stopped filming after five months, I wouldn’t drink for maybe two or three months. I’d wait until I filmed again. Now, with Sonja In Your City, two or three shows sometimes a week for four or five months, I’m still on that slippery slope, because I have to have a double tequila soda before I go out. And I don’t have a snatch guard. It’s like, full-on all the bits and pieces are out. So I’m just like, “Okay, so I have to drink for that show, then I have to drink for this show.” So I actually have to remove myself from my whole routine for ten days and go to Costa Rica and do a retreat, or go to Palm Springs and just not drink at all to clean up. So that’s been one adjustment for me is to do everything extreme, but also in moderation, if you get my drift.
Then the other thing I had to get used to is how am I going to plan my finances, because I can’t count on that paycheck every year. Because you film, you get paid, it airs, you get paid. Crappie Lake was great. You only film for six weeks and you get ten, 12 episodes. Yay! Then you do Ultimate Girls Trip, it’s six days, six episodes. Okay, I’d rather more episodes. But now it’s like, when am I going to film again?
You only filmed Ultimate Girls Trip for six days? Right. Six or seven days, if I remember right. Maybe it was six nights, seven days.
How was that different from filming a trip during a season of Real Housewives? That’s a good question. I’m going to say it’s probably the same, but usual Housewives trips are only two, three nights, and it’s three episodes, maybe, on the show. And because it is a whole series, it’s a little more intense, because you film from morning to night, that’s the usual. But you’ve got to make sure you cover all your bases. So we get a sport in today, we get in a brunch, we get in cocktails, we get the pool scene, the dinner out, maybe gambling or whatever. You got to have it all in one day. It’s a lot.
Is it fun at all? Well, for me, it was wonderful. After I spent six weeks with Luann, and just realizing what a married couple we are and what we can achieve — not just on camera, but for that town — I was so looking forward to being back with Dorinda and Ramona, because they’ve been in my life a long time.
What was it like being back with Kelly Bensimon? I got to be the other crazy girl with her. I call her Kelly Bean. And we really had a nice time together. You’re going to see that. And then I think you’ll be surprised where the drama came from. I was thinking Ramona, Dorinda, but I think … What’s her name, Kristen, um, Kristen Taekman, who I haven’t seen for a lightyear. She was very stressed out all the time. I have no idea why, I guess because she’s a soccer mom, and she had to make arrangements to go on the trip, like we all did, but somehow it seemed like it was harder for her or something.
When they first announced Legacy, it sounded like it was going to be like an old season of Housewives with 22 episodes. Are you happy with how this Girls Trip format played out? People want to have another RHONY OG show in addition to the new — I call them the New Wives, and we’re the First Wives. I understand you got a new show with new wives in New York City, but you also want your OGs from New York that you grew up with. And you want to know what’s going on in our lives with our children, and our houses, and our jobs, and our boyfriends, and our divorces. They want to know, the mothers and the kids. And now we’ve got the husbands watching because of COVID.
Also with Crappie Lake, I have a lot of straight guys, so I have grown my hair longer rather than do a fashion cut because they said my audience, the guys watch me not just because I’m a boozy floozy, but because they like my sexy look. The long hair, not a fashion look. The gays love a fashion look.
Have you watched the new RHONY? No, but I met Brynn [Whitfield] at BravoCon because one of the executives wanted us to meet and it was instant chemistry. She’s so wonderful. I’d love to do an Ultimate Girls Trip with her and some of the old wives. I’d want to be on a trip with her and some of the other girls from some of the other franchises, and of course Luann. Right?
So are we going to get to see your new viking boyfriend in any upcoming projects? No. I’ve got to keep them to myself, I can’t stick my guys out there like an appetizer for people. No way. I have to keep them under wraps!
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