‘RHONY’: Brynn Whitfield and Erin Lichy’s Feud Will Continue After “Cheese-Gate”

The cast of The Real Housewives of New York City may be new to Bravo fans, but they’ve certainly done their Housewives homework.

During the Season 14 premiere, which aired on Sunday, July 16, 2023, the show’s stars — Brynn Whitfield, Erin Lichy, Sai De Silva, Jenna Lyons, Jessel Taank, and Ubah Hassan — opened the season with not one but TWO fights that were both petty and enticing enough to keep viewers tuned in.

Two of the main stars fueling the drama were Erin and Brynn. The women are the classic frenemies and will likely be the feud to watch as the season progresses.

Here’s what to know about the RHONY castmates’ beef!

The RHONY season premiere opened with Erin explaining to Ubah that she was “salty” over two castmates missing an event she threw for the rest of the group. In one scene, Erin explained to Ubah that she invited Brynn and Sai to join her and the ladies at a restaurant that Bravo chose to censor throughout the episode.

Brynn and Sai declined the offer and told Erin they were too tired to go to the outing. However, Erin discovered they went to another restaurant, which ticked the real estate agent off.

“I wouldn't care if other people had different plans, but it was like, 'We should do something together,' so I made an effort to do something together," Erin explained to Ubah in the episode. “I mean, I would go with anyone to a local bar and be happy. I don't need to go to a chic place all the time. I don't care.”

Erin further explained that she thought Sai and Brynn would want to skip the outing because she and Jessel were also at the restaurant with their husbands. However, she stressed that her issue with them wasn’t them missing the dinner. Instead, Erin took offense to her friends, telling her they were going home when they were really going to another location.

“They could've just been like, 'Listen, you guys, go with your husbands; we're going to go to Casa (Cipriani in NYC).' No big deal,” Erin continued. “But they didn't. They were like, 'I'm so tired.' Jessel thought they went home, but they went to dinner. That's what bothered me."

As Erin broke down what happened to Ubah, Sai, and Brynn explained their side of the story at Sai’s house. They said they would’ve come to the outing if it wasn’t a restaurant suited for “D-list” celebrities in “2005.” Then, Brynn revealed another cheddar-flavored piece of drama affecting the group.

In addition to Brynn and Erin’s beef, another castmate supposedly said something that put them on Erin’s naughty list. At Sai’s house, Brynn told Sai that Erin planned on “distancing herself” from the influencer because “Sai rubbed her a little bit wrong.”

According to Brynn, Sai and Erin’s problems began when she criticized her charcuterie board that Erin served at an off-camera event. During the night, Sai asked Erin, “Oh, you eat cheese?” and said having cheese at a party was “weird.” In a confessional, Sai denied saying Erin was “weird” and recalled eating the cheese at the party.

“Erin and I have similar friends,” Sai added in her confessional. “We have run in the same circle for a few years now. But Erin is always arguing with someone or is mad at someone," added Sai. "So now it's starting to seem like Erin is the common denominator here."

“Cheese-gate” reappeared when the cast gathered for Jenna’s party in her chic apartment. Jenna, who said she loves cheese, had a variety at the event, probing Erin and Brynn to address the elephant in the room.

Erin claimed she never said she was “distancing” herself from Sai and accused Brynn of making it up to be “obnoxious.” She also said she was “turned off” by Brynn’s behavior and wanted “nothing to do” with her new pal.

After a few moments of going back and forth over the cheese comment that may or may not have happened, Brynn and Erin decided to chat in Jenna’s bedroom privately. The women discussed their comment and agreed that “Cheese-gate” wasn’t worth a huge blowup.

"It's hard to stay mad at Brynn," Erin admitted in a confessional. "She's fun, she's sweet, she's bubbly. She makes it light enough that you kind of forget."

Once they called a truce, Brynn and Erin celebrated by raiding their fashionable friend Jenna’s closet. But while they agreed to move on in the episode, Brynn hinted that she and Erin’s drama was just getting started.

In July 2023, Brynn told ExtraTV that she and Erin “fight the most” on the show and claimed Erin enjoys “stirring the pot.” Brynn added that her co-star is a “crybaby” and is “always complaining” when she’s around the group. It looks like these frenemies will have us wearing #TeamErin or #TeamBrynn merch in no time!

The Real Housewives of New York City airs Sundays at 9 pm EST on Bravo and streams the following day on Peacock.