The Countess has entered the villa. Whether she’s in New York City, St. Barths, Crappie Lake, or Cabo, Luann de Lesseps knows how to make a man (or two) fall for her. In the new dating series Bravo’s Love Hotel, which has only aired two episodes so far, the Real Housewives of New York City alum already has two men vying for her heart.
When DECIDER caught up with the Bravo legend, she admitted she was “kind of surprised” that Mark — a 61-year-old real estate developer in New York City — and Gerry — a 57-year-old retired carpenter who lives in Puerto Rico — were so quick to stake their claim over her. However, their poolside scuffle over her love wasn’t necessarily something she was opposed to.
“I was like, ‘Be civilized, boys. You’ll get your turn,’” de Lesseps joked. “I wasn’t mad at it. Let’s put it that way. I was flattered that two boys were fighting over me.”
De Lesseps, who has been married twice before, seems to know exactly what she wants this time around. As we saw in Episode 2, the cabaret star wants to make sure her potential third husband is be able to “keep up” with her luxurious lifestyle — and while she grew up in an oversized ranch, she doesn’t think a man who lives in one now is going to cut it.
“Can they keep up with us? Can they afford our lifestyle, first of all? Do they have the same lifestyle?” she said during her chat with DECIDER. “It’s so important at this age. Three time’s the charm for me. I’m looking for number three. And he’s not gonna live in a ranch-style house.”
When de Lesseps stopped by our studio last week, she also talked about the bond she built with co-stars Shannon Beador, Ashley Darby, and Gizelle Bryant, her tips for successful flirting, and what kind of Bravo spinoff she’d want to do next. Check out the full interview below.
DECIDER: I was so excited to hear you’d be on Love Hotel. How much convincing did it take to get you to sign onto this dating series? Do you watch any other reality dating shows?
LUANN DE LESSEPS: The Golden Bachelor, I got into a little bit. My mother likes The Bachelor. My mother’s 96 so she’s living vicariously through all the women and the guys. I love The Love Connection, The Dating Game. There were all these dating shows which I’ve always been a fan of. So when they called me, they were like, “Hey, Lu, we’re gonna send you away for three weeks. We’re gonna pay you, of course, and we’re going to find you guys.” And I was like, “Sign me up.” It didn’t take me long to decide to go. I’ve been single for a while, so you know what? Perfect.
I have to say there was a great selection of men in Love Hotel – and most of them had no clue about Real Housewives! Do you prefer a man who doesn’t watch Bravo? Or would you rather have someone who knows what they’re getting into?
I prefer the guy that doesn’t watch me on TV, you know what I mean? Because it’s like I’m getting to know who I really am. Not that I’m not myself on the show, but you only see a couple minutes, think about each episode. Another girl has a scene, another girl has a scene, Romana, Sonja, Dorinda. So you don’t really get to know me fully, right? So I think a guy, it’s important that he hasn’t really watched the show because I want him to know me for who I am instead of Googling me, right? Don’t Google me, just hang out with me for a minute.
It’s more authentic that way.
Well, and also, I think if those guys knew our names, they would have Googled us and, you know, game over, right? They already know way too much about us. So, it’s an unfair game.
By the beginning of Episode 2, you already had two men fighting over you – Mark and Gerry. What did that feel like? Did it surprise you at all because it didn’t surprise me!
Well, I was kind of surprised. I was like, “Be civilized, boys. You’ll get your turn.” And, you know, I wasn’t mad at it. Let’s put it that way. I was flattered that two boys were fighting over me. I wasn’t mad at it.
You handed your first key to Ralph because you liked how tall he was. Aside from his height, what was it about him that caught all the ladies’ attention?
Ralph is hot, Ralph is tall, he’s got a great face, he has nice hair, and he’s built. So I think that was the attraction. He is an attractive man and now it’s time to peel back the layers and see what’s really in there.
You were joined by Shannon Beador, Ashley Darby and Gizelle Bryant at the Love Hotel. Who did you bond with the most?
I bonded with all of them because, you know, I understood Shannon and what she’s kind of been through and this was a great thing for her to do. Ashley, we met at the gym every morning because we were working out in the morning and that girl is built. I mean, her body is off the hook. And so we made friends at the gym. We were gym rat friends. And then Gizelle and I didn’t really know each other that well, but we have great respect for each other. She’s a beautiful woman with those eyes she’s got. All the guys are like, “Look at your eyes.” Yeah, so I got along with them all, really.
While chatting with the ladies in the new episode, you seem turned off by a ranch-style house. What is it about a ranch that screams red flag?
Listen, I grew up in a ranch-style house. Well, actually it was bigger than a ranch house because we had seven kids in my family. But I grew up very middle-class. It’s just, you know … for Shannon? Who lives in this glamorous home in Beverly Hills, right? A ranch-style house in Georgia on the lake? I don’t know if Shannon’s gonna make it in a ranch house. I don’t know if Shannon can make it a ranch-style house on a lake in the middle of Georgia nowhere.
The conversation led to the bigger theme, which was whether these men could afford your lifestyles.
Can they keep up with us? Can they afford our lifestyle, first of all? Do they have the same lifestyle?
Which is important.
It’s so important at this age. Three time’s the charm for me. So I’m looking for number three. And he’s not gonna live in a ranch-style house.
Is a potential suitor not liking vegetables a red flag for you? Because we see that it might be a dealbreaker for Shannon with Earl the Pearl.
Well, I mean, it just goes to show you how sophisticated he is.
That is something you said. That he might not be sophisticated enough for Shannon.
Exactly.
I know you probably can’t say much – but if you could describe your current love life in three words, how would you describe it?
Oh, well, let’s see. Let me think about that. Three words. Three times the charm. So catch me if you can. There’s six words. But catch me if you can.
People just love to watch you flirt. What’s your secret to successful flirting?
I think it’s important that people know that you’re into them. And that’s like when I say something on the interview couch, which was the way Gerry looked at me. “Hello, Luann. Hi, Luann.” It starts with the flirt with the eyes. And then for me, a kiss is important because somebody’s smell, if there’s chemistry, and teeth. Teeth are very important to me. So it starts there with the flirt. And then, you know, I flirt. I was just talking about this. I used to live in Milan and I used to flirt all the time with boys at gas stations. I used to get love notes on planes … “You have to have a coffee with me or else I’m going to die.” So I love the idea of a note. I tell Wale to give a note to Ashley before this guy steals her away.
Like, you go out, for example, you’re with a gaggle of girls, so you’re at a bar, right? But they’re all sitting at a table and there’s one guy at the bar and he’s hot. The girl doesn’t walk up to the guy, right? And the guy’s not going to come over because there’s just too many women for him to deal with. That’s where we use our waiter and hand him a note to invite the guy to come and have a drink with all the girls. Now, if he’s invited, then he’s going to come. Not like, “Hey, come with me.” So it’s a way of flirting, like. leaving a love note on a mirror in the morning or just leaving a note in general instead of a text. It’s more personal.
Everyone listen to that. We all need a lesson in flirting from Luann.
Yeah, I’ve got to do a book on flirting because guess what? Everybody asks me the same question. I think it’s time for a book on flirting.
You have to! You are the Bravo spinoff queen. Aside from Love Hotel, you’ve also done Ultimate Girls Trip and Welcome to Crappie Lake. If you could pitch the next Bravo spinoff that you could be a part of, what would it be?
Well, depending on how it turns out for me for the Love Hotel – let’s say I don’t find love. I would say it would be Who Could Charm the Socks Off The Countess? Forget about The Golden Bachelor. That would be fun to watch. Can you imagine? Oh, it’d be a field day for me. Well, like I’ve been saying – I haven’t said much, but I think I said it on Jeff Lewis’s show – it’s a girl’s wet dream come true.
That show would be perfect for you!
Yeah, I mean, who doesn’t want to do that show? Especially if you’re single. Throw guys at me. Go ahead. Am I the Kim Cattrall of the family or what?
What else can you tease about what’s to come in Love Hotel?
I don’t dread anything, really, personally. I think fans can expect to see Housewives in a totally different light. We’re used to Housewives battling each other, taking each other down. Here, we’re each other’s wingmen. And so that’s a really nice spin. And we all happen to be Housewives. But, really, the drama is with the boys. And I think the fans are going to love to see that all play out and to see how we help each other navigate. Now we do get caught up on Ralph, but you’ll see what happens there. Like Andy Cohen would say, watch what happens.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Bravo’s Love Hotel airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.
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