When Was 'The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy' Filmed? All the Tea
Published Dec. 15 2023, 11:16 a.m. ET
The Gist:
- The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy, aired on Peacock. RHUGT is in its fifth season.
- RHUGT: RHONY Legacy was filmed in June 2023, and its stars Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan, Dorinda Medley, Ramona Singer, Kelly Killoren Bensimon, and Kristin Taekman traveled to St. Barts for the excursion.
- Several controversies happened during and after filming The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy.
After a year of drastic change, The Real Housewives of New York City universe ended in 2023 with several familiar faces. Season 5 of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip aired on Peacock on Dec. 14, 2023, and stars six former RHONY cast members — Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan, Ramona Singer, Dorinda Medley, Kelly Killoren Bensimon, and Kristen Taekman.
The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy came about after Bravo’s executives did a complete cast change after Season 13 ended in 2021, replacing the entire cast for Season 14.
Since the show was filmed, there has been plenty of controversy surrounding the cast and those who opted to step out. Here’s where the actual filming of RHUGT: RHONY Legacy falls in between the madness.
When was ‘The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip’ Season 5 filmed?
In March 2021, RHONY fans were heartbroken to learn the show was over as we knew it. During that time, Bravo announced the cast from RHONY Season 13, which included Luann, Sonja, Ramona, Eboni K. Williams, and Leah McSweeney, would be replaced by new faces for RHONY Season 14. The reimagined series eventually debuted in July 2023 with Ubah Hassan, Jessel Taank, Sai de Silva, Erin Lichy, Jenna Lyons, and Brynn Whitfield.
Following the news of RHONY’s cast swap, Bravo also shared that the RHONY cast members who were a part of the first show would return with a separate show, RHONY Legacy. The series was initially supposed to star Dorinda, Tinsley Mortimer, Luann, Jill Zarin, Sonja, and Kelly. However, despite many announced plans to start the show, RHONY Legacy never happened.
In January 2023, Page Six stated that any talks to start the series “officially collapsed” and that Bravo had “rescinded its offers” to the cast, per Newsweek. But when fans thought all hope was lost, another iteration of RHONY Legacy flourished.
In May 2023, Deadline reported that Season 5 of Peacock’s Housewives all-star show, RHUGT, would star what would’ve been the RHONY Legacy cast. The following June, the cast, Luann, Dorinda, Kelly, Kristin, Ramona, and Sonja, traveled to St. Barts for a few days of fun in the sun. The trip took place in Saline Beach, a nod to one of the cast’s trips from RHONY, “Scary Island,” which took place in the exact location.
In June 2023, Sonja, Ramona, and other cast members took to Instagram to share moments from filming the trip. On June 18, Bravo and Peacock’s social media teams teased the excitement for RHUGT: RHONY Legacy by sharing the cast’s first group photo on their respective Instagram handles.
“Blessing you this Father’s Day with the first official group pic of these MOTHERS!” the post read. “Who’s ready for #RHUGT 5: RHONY Legacy on Peacock?”
Several former ‘RHONY’ cast members opted not to join ‘RHUGT’ Season 5.
The first few episodes of the RHUGT: RHONY Legacy trip, dubbed “Scary Island 2.0,” aired on Peacock on Dec. 14 and gave fans the nostalgia of the moments that made the first RHONY last as long as it did. Unfortunately, the show received the “2.0” nickname for a reason.
While most of the cast was able to come together for another trip in the Caribbean, others opted to “Go to Bed.” RHONY OG Jill Zarin was initially slated to be on the series but dropped out during negotiations for RHONY Legacy. In March 2023, Jill stated she opted not to join the cast due to financial disagreements with the cast and networks.
“For some reason, some of the girls think they should be getting (paid) more … I don’t feel that way,” Jill told Access Hollywood in March 2023.
It’s unclear if Jill was asked to join RHUGT: RHONY Legacy after plans for the show halted. However, she told Page Six that her financial complaints had nothing to do with the change from a series to a Girls Trip, stating RHONY Legacy “just wasn’t meant to happen.”
RHUGT: RHONY Legacy will continue without Jill’s former nemesis, Bethenny Frankel. Of course, Bethenny likely wasn’t asked, as she spearheaded a “Reality Reckoning” in 2023. The movement to form a union for reality TV stars and calls out Bravo for creating “toxic environments for ratings,” among many other accusations, per Page Six.
Despite Bethenny’s beef with Bravo, RHUGT: RHONY Legacy still gives the former talk show host her flowers, per What To Watch. During the third episode of the season, Dorinda paid homage to Bethenny by watching her and Kelly’s explosive fight at Scary Island as an attempt to dissect the madness. Once a Bravolebrity, always a Bravolebrity.
Catch new episodes of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy, streaming on Thursdays on Peacock.
