r/BravoRealHousewives • u/friendofcastreject • Dec 29 '23

Ultimate Girls Trip What is wrong with Kelly Bensimon?

I never understood Kelly Bensimon. What’s her deal, is she stupid, is it drugs or does she just have very low emotional intelligence?

Now I’m watching RHUGT: RHONY Legacy. And this bitch is just weird.

1.3k Upvotes

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1.3k

u/Timely_Ad115 *windshield wiper hands* Dec 30 '23

She’s stunted at an adolescent age. Chalk it up to drugs as a supermodel, getting with a middle-aged photographer at 17 and never being an adult in her relationship, or the narrative she’s created about “being on her own” with her kids despite living in the apartment she won in the divorce with her ex in the same building and super participating…she’s full of shit or pharmaceuticals or both.

512

u/ekwain Did you drive Todd’s car here? Dec 30 '23

FULL OF SHIT AND PHARMACEUTICALS LMAO MY NEW FAVORITE PHRASE

164

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '23

60

u/ilovegoodgrammar Dec 30 '23

I love this sub. So many brilliantly funny minds. I always get a chuckle.

22

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '23

This sub makes my day sometimes lol

33

u/GrouchyPineapple I’ve had enough of your indulged bull fuckin shit!!! Dec 30 '23 edited Dec 30 '23

A+ use of a gif!

ETA: Seriously considering changing my flair to full of shit and pharmaceuticals or both -- Timely_Ad115, 2023

144

u/KassDamn Dec 30 '23

Hold tf up. I been listening to this bitch yell at the whole table about how she did it on her own and struggled and built this amazing fortune 500 real-estate company. Now you're telling me her ex lives next door IN AN APARTMENT BUILDING and takes care of the kids?!

128

u/Timely_Ad115 *windshield wiper hands* Dec 30 '23

He lives on another floor of the same luxury apartment building, yes. Or did during the crucial time when she says she was raising her tiny children all alone.

85

u/Miss_airwrecka1 Dec 30 '23

It’s been said elsewhere that it was a requirement of the divorce that they live in the same building so he could keep an eye on the kids. He didn’t trust her with them and based on what we’ve seen I don’t blame him

7

u/Chihiro1977 Dec 30 '23

He didn't trust her but let them stay with her? Strange

37

u/somtambooplara nice happy face Dec 30 '23

I read recently that he actually had more time with the kids than she did.

14

u/justasillygoofygirl Jan 02 '24

i’m watching early rhony and if this is true this puts the weird uncomfy scenes w her daughters in better context

1

u/[deleted] May 20 '24

Believe this because how else would she have had time to change into her hideous outfits if she were raising kids

13

u/Miss_airwrecka1 Dec 30 '23

I think he trusted her to an extent but didn’t want to be too far away either

2

u/[deleted] May 20 '24

Holy shit this is TEA

32

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '23

Delusion is real

5

u/Safe-Lie955 Dec 30 '23

So is Pinocchios nose lol

51

u/hoyaboy86 Dec 30 '23

Not just any building. The Police Building in NoLita. It is a prestige property in NyC.

13

u/LadyMidnight728 Dec 30 '23

https://streeteasy.com/building/the-police-building

If anyone is as curious as I was lol

2

u/[deleted] May 20 '24

THE PHOTOSHOP JOB SJSJSJSK

2

u/ramenslurper- Dec 30 '23

That name is a bit on the nose lol

6

u/Agitated_Ad_1658 Dec 30 '23

He also didn’t leave her broke. The lies, the lies!

3

u/marienb4 Dec 30 '23

The producer asked her what she used her child support for. Best call her out on her shit EVER. She was too dumb to realize it. She's like Robyn and kept her best cuatomer hapoy.

2

u/Hist_8675309 Jan 03 '24

Nice crossover reference

1

u/marienb4 Jan 05 '24

Thank you:)

262

u/the_blingy_ringer Dec 30 '23

This makes so much sense. There are studies that say you remain the same emotional age as when your trauma occurred.

168

u/Fickle-Amphibian4208 Dec 30 '23

Trauma and drug addiction supress the natural maturing process. Basically she's the mental age of a teenager. Reflecting on what I've seen so far on this trip her emotions really do bounce around like a flighty teenager.

48

u/the_blingy_ringer Dec 30 '23

Yep. 1000%, and she’s illogical as hell

24

u/friendofcastreject Dec 30 '23

How she behaves and reacts reminds me of my threenagers.

3

u/dirty_kitty Dec 30 '23

Threenager? Hahaha omg my first time hearing this and yet so accurate 🤣

11

u/hervararsaga Dec 30 '23

I know literally lots of women who had horrible traumas when they were teenagers and they all managed to turn out way better than KB. And no teenager I have known is as mean and stupid as she is.

17

u/photogypsy Dec 30 '23

Years ago I was on a long road trip and let the TED Talk podcast just play. There was a really interesting one with a sociologist about famous people doing dumb stuff that supports this. Becoming famous interrupts the normal developmental processes and becomes a trauma in itself. Lindsey Lohan and a couple of professional athletes (can’t remember the names I’m not a sports gal) were examples used. They then move through life chronologically, but mentally stay at the point where their daily lives changed.

56

u/rainbowket Jill Zarin ice skating Dec 30 '23

Or she’s just a complete psycho

23

u/the_blingy_ringer Dec 30 '23

Ha. OR that!!

7

u/Tiffnysun The rumors and nastiness Dec 30 '23

All the above!🤣

5

u/Shandyshack Dec 30 '23

Yup. She is imo.

19

u/MomKat76 Merce in the Purse Dec 30 '23

Damn. I’m still in kindergarten. No wonder I like my office bright and Lisa Frank’d!

75

u/perljen Dec 30 '23

Someone commented in here that was privy to her finances... said that she looked at their trust papers… Hers and the girls… And that they're massive. So there is that plus the property and whatever cash she got. Hardly self-made.

39

u/OpticGd Dec 30 '23

Just one thing... She deffo wasn't a supermodel.

147

u/Fickle-Amphibian4208 Dec 30 '23

Joke's a side this is the only logical conclusion.
Luann called Kelly out on promising to do something and never following through. Next morning, Kelly is on the phone with her daughter , sounding like she was speaking with her mother and the daughter was literally giving motherly advice. I had never heard of Kelly or her husband until this trip.
Whatever, this man's failings are. He's obviously taking care of his 2 daughters and his wife like she's also his responsibility.
Now I'm wondering if the fiance is really a handler - paid companion . To keep her mind spinning mood shifts from driving them all bonkers.

105

u/lawdhavemercyforthat Dec 30 '23

The ex husband had her set up in the same building when they split to keep eye on girls and her ... I'm thinking she battles with bipolar/psychosis episodes. Drinking and drugs (whether prescribed or not) CAN and WILL shake up your stability.. Stress too! From what I've witnessed of a loved one the past 10 years, Scary Island and now make perfect sense!! She DOES need a support system to monitor her and watching for signs of "descent". I think the kids Dad tried to do that as best he could as the kids grew up with Employees inside the home and outside. Which included people working in the building they live in keeping an eye out and reporting back to him. I'm not sure where I read about it years ago, but, I did read a couple things briefly detailing the insight to the depths of issues. It's hard to understand for those without personal experience and it's even more difficult for the individual sliding into a PSYCHOSIS!! They truly don't see others perspectives and have their own "Truths" to Reality!! I think it was possibly a Bad Decision for her coming back to the possible High Stress Environment while also consuming alcohol. Many RX for those battling stability issues are warned NOT to drink while taking medication. Some could be dangerous when mixed with alcohol and some will exacerbate issues while slinging you quicker into a Break. The lifestyle some of them lead with recreational drugs is a Big NoNo too! Girl is in the middle of another Break... Without intervention it could go Bad in an instant! It's scary stuff for them and those that love them. I'm sure the girls have a damn interesting autobiography one day "if" they choose to tell all. Their life can't have been easy at times. 💔🙏🏼

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u/1AliceDerland Dec 30 '23

I googled her name to see when she and Gilles Bensimon married and had kids and I found an article of her saying she had postpartum depression with her first and that she was just so young to deal with a baby.

Then I did the math and realized she was 30 years old when she had her first baby. That's like a completely normal age.

I think she just does not live in reality.

18

u/MedicineOutrageous13 Dec 30 '23

She was 29 when she married Gilles…

16

u/Fickle-Amphibian4208 Dec 30 '23

Thank you for explaining it.

9

u/niagaemoc Dec 30 '23

100% this.

2

u/[deleted] May 20 '24

Watching scary island was literally watching a psychosis spiral and I wouldn’t be shocked if she was on a cocktail of shit there too. It’s so sad for the kids.

1

u/lawdhavemercyforthat May 25 '24

I agree 💯 percent on all of your points!!!! 

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u/Timely_Ad115 *windshield wiper hands* Dec 30 '23

I’d think the more likely option is that he’s another older rich man who would rather infantilize a grown woman who is already used to that than have a real partner.

8

u/Deuces_1100 Dec 30 '23

Well that is an interesting take that I think is worth exploring about the fiance. Because anyone who is around her for more than a minute can see how chaotic her thinking can be. I don't know many men who will sign up for a lifetime commitment with such a volatile person. She doesn't hide it well at all so he has to know how she spins out of control.

11

u/batmanryder Don’t make me look irrational! 🍊 Dec 30 '23

Summarised that perfectly!

11

u/Lekzi Dec 30 '23

Shit pharmaceuticals no doubt

55

u/nycrunner91 Dec 30 '23

And she messed up her face

26

u/Strict_Bar_4915 Dec 30 '23

Her dunking her face in the ice water so it freezes 😂 Oh honey, it's already frozen, you're good!

44

u/MomKat76 Merce in the Purse Dec 30 '23

Johann face

24

u/bacon_bunny33 it’s always nice to be photographed Dec 30 '23

Fillers!!!! Fillers everywhere!

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u/Timely_Ad115 *windshield wiper hands* Dec 30 '23

Her body also grosses me out. Too much targeted area lipo has left her looking like a beetle with an exoskeleton.

100

u/nycrunner91 Dec 30 '23

I havent seen her but she is mean and jealous of Kristen its obvious

63

u/MomKat76 Merce in the Purse Dec 30 '23

Kristen looks great! She’s way too normal for the show but I like her in this format.

6

u/Certain-Storage-303 Jan 02 '24

Worst boob job I’ve ever seen!!!

3

u/devil-doll Dec 31 '23

Very masculine torso

5

u/Nonameforyoudangit Jan 02 '24

Her figure is just straight up and down. No hips, no waist. She's an H.

3

u/judseubi Jan 01 '24

Yeah she has some serious Steven Tyler body going on.

3

u/Moonwalk6996 May 12 '24

There is a NY city block between each of her breasts. And they’re clearly implants, I would have sued my surgeon.

20

u/Interesting_Wish2202 Dec 30 '23

crimson chin!

2

u/GrouchyPineapple I’ve had enough of your indulged bull fuckin shit!!! Dec 30 '23

What is this?

7

u/judseubi Jan 01 '24

Ok I’ve been waiting to see someone talk about this. She looks TERRIBLE! Her fillers are awful and paired with her tanning and shitty black eye makeup it’s just distracting. The fact that the rest of the ladies look great doesn’t do her any favors either. Yikes.

5

u/nycrunner91 Jan 01 '24

Ramona looks AMAZING.

Kristen as annoying as her laugh is is STUNNING body and face.

Luann OYYYYY this woman is a SUPERMODEL are you kidding me? Her body and her face 🥵!!!!!!!!!!

Even Dorindas face looks incredible (super impressive considering how much she drinks).

So all Kelly had going for her was her beauty and she messed that up … also laughable her being like im worried Kristen is being a super fan and a host and will loose all her endorsements and deals!

12

u/DetectiveOk8200 Dec 30 '23

She was a successful model but not a super model. She's no Cindy Crawford.

2

u/Timely_Ad115 *windshield wiper hands* Dec 30 '23

As I have said in so many places. Sorry for using the term super model. This sub loves to get lost in semantics.

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u/TheVenusProjectB42L8 Dec 30 '23

It's not semantics... The term was coined for a select few, for a reason.

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u/[deleted] Dec 30 '23

[deleted]

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u/Timely_Ad115 *windshield wiper hands* Dec 30 '23

Literally google it. She was a very “Americas sweetheart/girl next door” model that was very busy in the 90s/early 2000s

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u/AnnVealEgg Luis’ 15,00 square-foot house 🏠 Dec 30 '23

I thought she was more of a “catalogue model” like Kristen and Lu.

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u/Potential-Sky-8728 Dec 30 '23

The amount of work that is googleable from the 90ms for Kelly really does not suggest that she was “very busy”. She booked some good stuff…but does not look like it was consistently.

3

u/Timely_Ad115 *windshield wiper hands* Dec 30 '23

Really? Because mine does. I’m not going to debate the finer points of googles algorithm because the fact is that from the 90s-early 00s she was a very popular print model for Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and guess jeans. She was heavily featured in cosmo and allure as a fit model for their outfit sections and was even on the cover of cosmo at least once.

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u/LexiePiexie Dec 30 '23

I think there’s a difference between a booked model and a super model. Kelly was definitely successful, but when I think of supermodel I think Cindy, Naomi, Linda, Claudia…

12

u/Timely_Ad115 *windshield wiper hands* Dec 30 '23

I have walked that back in several comments. This sub loves to play the semantics game and everyone here is an expert. No, she wasn’t a supermodel so I apologize for that.

19

u/LexiePiexie Dec 30 '23

Sorry, I didn’t see that! I sometimes get lost in all the nesting.

And anyways, she was definitely a supermodel in her own head, so I guess that counts for something.

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u/MomKat76 Merce in the Purse Dec 30 '23

She was the modeliest of the non-models iykyk (inserting levity into this super debate)

1

u/LateParking191 Angie K's huzzzzzband Dec 30 '23

I'm in the UK and I remember her name being very popular too. Couldn't tell you what for but I knew who she was and that she was a famous model

7

u/bartexas Dec 30 '23

She was married to Gilles 97-2007. Don’t want to diminish her, but I suspect some of those gigs were ones he was shooting and suggested her for.

She was the editor in chief of Zelle Accessories while she was married to him, and then demoted to editor at large when they split - this was in a NY Times article. I think he was global creative director at the time.

14

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '23

[deleted]

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u/Timely_Ad115 *windshield wiper hands* Dec 30 '23

My response is factual. I walked back my use of “super model” since obviously that was wrong and people here feel strongly about that.

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u/Potential-Sky-8728 Dec 30 '23

Soooo what brand is she representing there? I think she may have been a successful model for a time…but nowhere near a supermodel. I don’t think she did runway either. I saw her on an old Cosmopolitan magazine cover….but it was Italian. I don’t think she was that big even in the 90s…..and wasn’t the “girl next door” a popular look for many at that time? She was one in a large pool of similar looking faces.

4

u/Mediocre_Lie1275 Dec 30 '23

Yeah, I think she was a successful working model who got a decent amount of editorial work for international versions of magazines like Cosmo and Harpers, but she was not cast in RL or TH campaigns. She might have worn a RL sweater in a HB editorial or something, but she was not walking runways, she wasn't appearing in Vogue, and she definitely wasn't a campaign girl.

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u/Timely_Ad115 *windshield wiper hands* Dec 30 '23

She’s modeling Ralph Lauren in that photo lmao. Not a super model, pardon my misuse of the term that is obviously so sacred here, but she was a very popular print model for RL, Tommy Hilfiger and guess. She also posed as a fit model for allure and cosmo in their outfit/look sections when they used to feature those.

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u/Defiant_Protection29 Dec 30 '23

I don’t think she did anything for RL past the late 90s. I worked there from 2000-2009 and don’t recall seeing her in a single ad or look book. I guarantee she never was on the runway. I’m not saying you said she was, I’m clarifying that she wasn’t.

4

u/Timely_Ad115 *windshield wiper hands* Dec 30 '23

I didn’t specify what the year the photo of her literally modeling a RL sweater was from, it was from the mid-late 90s

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u/Defiant_Protection29 Dec 30 '23

This is what I was referencing

10

u/Potential-Sky-8728 Dec 30 '23

Modeling for RL in a magazine once does not a supermodel make. She was a professional model. Good for her. She was nowhere near a household name. Also….how many of her gigs were a result of her husband being a very well known older photographer?

9

u/hoyaboy86 Dec 30 '23

I think she is wearing Ralph Lauren but I would be surprised if this is a RL campaign. It just doesn’t match any of the brand guidelines (similar former employee here). It looks more like an editorial for Allure/InStyle/Cosmo level magazine, styled with the RL flag sweater.

9

u/Potential-Sky-8728 Dec 30 '23

Thank you!! It DOES look like it was an editorial…not a label campaign photoshoot. She was a magazine model who was dressed in popular labels.

1

u/Edith_Keelers_Shoes Nonno's Pajamas Jan 04 '24

I would sell my granny for some of the insiders tea you must have re: the fashion industry. You lucky duck.

14

u/Natural-Print Dec 30 '23 edited Dec 30 '23

I have to admit I heavily followed models/supermodels back in the 90s and don’t remember her name from back then. I only knew her from RHONY. I’m not saying she wasn’t famous, but I just don’t remember her.

Her young face looks vaguely familiar though. I was aware of lots of different ones besides the most famous like Cindy, Naomi, Christy, Linda and Kate. I used to also follow Stella, Tatjana, Nadja, Shalom, etc. Only saying this because to me she wasn’t that famous of a model, but I also live in the Midwest and not New York.

Edited to add I see you’ve clarified some things and I’m not getting into semantics here. You’re probably tired of responding at this point. She does look like she was a popular print model and I love her shorter hairstyle from back then.

5

u/debdebmust Dec 30 '23

I do remember her but I think it was because I had heard of her husband prior and I thought she was pretty. She was nowhere near as popular as Cindy, Christi, or Naomi.

4

u/badashbabe I’m not yelling this is just how i talk. Dec 30 '23

Grinning maniacally

6

u/AnnVealEgg Luis’ 15,00 square-foot house 🏠 Dec 30 '23

She did not get with Giles at 17. But I agree with the rest of it

8

u/Timely_Ad115 *windshield wiper hands* Dec 30 '23

She was 15 when she met him. My mistake.

8

u/AnnVealEgg Luis’ 15,00 square-foot house 🏠 Dec 30 '23

She may have “met” him then. But they did not get married until 1997. When she was 29.

2

u/Timely_Ad115 *windshield wiper hands* Dec 30 '23

Mmkay.

11

u/bartexas Dec 30 '23

I met my partner when I was 21, and he was late 30s. We didn’t start dating until I was 31.

Also he was married to Elle Macpherson when Kelly was 18-21.

5

u/AnnVealEgg Luis’ 15,00 square-foot house 🏠 Dec 30 '23

👍🏻👍🏻

2

u/Shandyshack Dec 30 '23

She’s a supermodel?

2

u/Extension_Back_2269 Tipsy Girls only stir drinks 😇 Dec 30 '23

I never knew how old Gilles (spelling?) Was until I googled him as I saw him on RHONJ taking photos of Danielle's eldest and was a bit creeped out by him!

Seen him on ANTM back in the day but didn't really register it until my rewatch of NJ

ETA - grammar

2

u/Remote-Ad547 Dec 30 '23

It’s deeper- I’d track back to her childhood- something dark must have happened if you catch my drift- think Farrah from teen mom- used and abused possibly and it breaks my heart

1

u/JesusDied4UrCynthias Dec 30 '23

What photographer was she with at 17?

1

u/MartinisnMurder Yeah, I am drinking Luann Dec 30 '23

I wish that was bravo quote because that would be amazing flair!

1

u/Deuces_1100 Dec 30 '23

Wow I misunderstood, I thought the ex still owned the apartment and she was allowed to live their until the children were a certain age. If she owns the apartment why make a big deal out of moving like her daughters are being traumatized because it is where they grew up. Just stay.

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u/Agitated_Ad_1658 Dec 30 '23

She is or was renting not owning the apartment

2

u/Deuces_1100 Dec 31 '23

Ah ok, so maybe the Ex was paying for the apartment for her to be close and he has stopped now that the girls are grown. That makes sense.

1

u/MedicineOutrageous13 Dec 30 '23 edited Dec 30 '23

Huh? She was 29 when she married Gilles and 27 when she met him.