Brynn Whitfield Manifested Being A Real Housewife But Made One Mistake

Brynn Whitfield is living good these days. She’s got a new apartment, a new pup, and a burgeoning reality TV career as a cast member of The Real Housewives Of New York City. It’s the power of manifestation, Whitfield tells me, although things didn’t exactly play out like she expected. “I blame Housewives for manifestation! For so long I wanted to get married, and I think the universe was like, ‘You want to be a wife, you want to be a wife.’ And so the universe made me a Housewife,” she says.

Whitfield returns as part of the rebooted RHONY cast that exploded onto our screens last year. And while it’s technically the show’s 15th season, for Whitfield and her fellow cast members, it’s their sophomore year sharing their lives and navigating rumors and the inevitable Housewives drama. 

Whitfield is the type of girlfriend you want on your side; after I tell her I’ve had a rough couple of weeks, she offers to push her schedule to listen to my tea. She cites spiritual lecturer Neville Goddard when discussing manifestation and philosophizes on the key to life, and is sharp enough to fact check sources before subscribing to any doomsday internet statistic masquerading as truth.

While Whitfield was initially framed as the cast’s flirt — her first Housewives tagline was “I love to laugh, but make me mad and I'll date your dad” — it’s these other facets to her character that she’s excited to share in Season 15. “I would flirt with a wall, but there's so much more to my personality and to me and my life,” Whitfield says, including finally being able to film in her new immaculately designed apartment, which was featured in Architectural Digest — another personal milestone she had manifested years ago.

Now that the freshman jitters are out of the way, she’s ready to come into her own. “I was like Britney Spears, ‘I wasn't a girl, not yet a woman.’ I was a girl, not yet a Housewife, and now I feel super comfortable and just excited.” Ahead, Whitfield teases RHONY Season 15, talks about the power of manifestation, and ruminates on dating in the Big Apple.

Brynn Whitfield: Obviously [in my first season], it’s a lot of dick jokes. It’s a lot of sex jokes. But then after watching it like this (hides behind her eyes), I was like, ‘I think I'd be friends with her. She seems kind of cool.’ And then from all the outpouring of support and kindness from all the fans, I felt more comfortable going into this season just really, really putting it out there and really being myself. I mean, I'm a flirt, I would flirt with a wall, but there's so much more to my personality and to me and my life that I'm excited to share. Last year just feels like one big teaser, one big piece of bait, and this year feels like the bread and the butter. 

Well this right here, my house. I wasn't able to film [at home] last year. My old landlord literally thought I was Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. ‘I don't want that Maisel girl filming in my house.’ I think your home is a very personal thing. Being able to invite people into my home is very personal. 

It's just different when you're in your home. The things you say even are different because you feel comfortable, and I think you can open up more and share more and just be myself versus I'm gonna get dressed and go out somewhere or go to someone else's house and share. That's what I'm most excited about: sharing my home, sharing my new addition to my home, my little pup, and my brother this year has visited a lot so everyone's gonna get to see some of him too and our relationship. 

I manifested that when I was living on Orange Street in LA between two 99 Cent stores. Literally, I remember I saw this AD cover. It was some San Francisco home and there's black and white tiles, a little cute kid on a little thing, and I remember thinking, ‘One day, I'm gonna have one of those.’ 

It’s so real! Do you do it? 

Okay verbalizing it, and the key is — I don't know if you listen to Neville Goddard — but you have to feel it. So you can say it, you can write it down, you can visualize it, you live in the moment. But it's the feeling. Once you feel it and you're like, ‘I am that. It's happening,’ then I feel like that fast tracks the manifestation.

I blame Housewives for manifestation! For so long I wanted to get married, and I think the universe was like, ‘You want to be a wife, you want to be a wife.’ The universe made me a Housewife! So we gotta get a little more specific in our manifestations. ‘I want to be a wife… to a partner.’ (laughs)

I think it's always changing and I'm always learning. I have learned that the second that I'm like, ‘I feel great, this is going, everything is thriving.’ Nuh uh uh. Life is nothing but good stuff happening then bad stuff happening. It's not about how long you can keep it good or bad. It's just a journey.

I actually just called my therapist and I was like, ‘Hi. Can I get back in for weekly sessions?’ And you know why? It’s because I'm feeling great. That's the key. Do not wait until you’re in a different space or feeling anxious in order to do the work in whatever way that is used for. For me, it is talk therapy. It is making sure that I'm eating right. Sleep is so important, and I feel especially as New Yorkers, we’re like, ‘Run run run, grind grind grind,’ but sleep can actually alleviate a lot of things. For me, my primary self-care is knowing to do the self-care when I'm feeling good because you’ve got to keep that momentum versus waiting until you're like I need to do so.

I can't sit here and say, ‘Oh, you know, I grew up on Central Park or I grew up in Brooklyn or I’m Brooklyn born and raised.’ I wish I could. I grew up in Indiana. I grew up in the Midwest, but I was the kid that since I watched Sesame Street, I wanted to move there. I think I represent people that weren’t born here but dreamed their whole life of being here and quote-unquote making it, whatever that means to you. 

I’ve lived here now for a total probably 10 years, and when I'm driving back from JFK and I see the skyline, I'm still in shock and awe. So yeah, I represent all the dreamers and schemers that are like, ‘I want to move there. I can do it.’

Garcelle [Beauvais of Beverly Hills] is incredible. She's so kind, and her and I message each other. I tease her about dating my brother so we can be sisters. Shereé [Whitfield of Atlanta], we share the same last name, Shereé is super cool. I actually just saw Tamra [Judge of Orange County] yesterday. I remember watching her, and I watch Housewives. I'm not one of those people who’s like, ‘Oh, I don't really watch it.’ Of course I watched it. It's amazing TV. So I still get that feeling of like, ‘Oh my god, that's Tamra.’ She's so cool and she's still doing it and crushing it. 

They all just say the same thing, a resounding ‘Just be yourself. Don't try to hide anything. Don't try to hide your life. Don't try to put the best version of yourself [on TV] because that's tempting to try and do.’ That's what I did last year and try to do again this year. 

Not to get deep, but I have said this, and people are like, ‘Okay, pump the brakes, philosopher.’ But I've learned it's a metaphor for life whether at work or whatever.’ I was telling my niece last night, I think Housewives hacked the key to life. If you actually are just yourself — the good, the bad, the ugly, the super ugly — it works. Life is hard enough, and I think that's a good little rule to live by.

Oh my god, I was doomscrolling already, and I see this when I'm in my bed. When I tell you, I have this look like, come on. Nooo! Don't tell me that. Then I read the whole list, and you gotta check your sources, and wasn't it like Fetish.com or something did a survey? So I want to see who this sample size is. What was our control group? Before I'm gonna get violently upset like I almost did, I want to see the facts. 

Do I think dating in general is dire? Yes. I think there's a lot of reasons why, and I think people have changed and so much has changed socially and become more accepted and people are becoming more independent. But if you are willing to go outside you will find someone. Anyone who's like, I haven't been on a date in a while. I'm like, when's the last time you went on a date? You're not gonna meet anyone sitting on your sofa watching TV. There's something that’s like it takes an average of 21 dates or something to find someone so sometimes you just gotta go on dates and be social. And I think if everyone did that, New York would not be the worst place for dating.