The Regency brings up bad memories for Luann de Lesseps.
Back in 2016, the restaurant and bar at the famed New York City hotel was where de Lesseps’ then-fiancé, Tom D’Agostino, Jr., was spotted allegedly making out with a Playboy model — just a day before their engagement party.
De Lesseps’ costar Bethenny Frankel ended up breaking the news to her, with the Real Housewives of New York City cameras catching the dramatic scene for the Bravo show’s eighth season.
De Lesseps and D’Agostino, Jr. went on to get married on New Year’s Eve, only to divorce after seven months of marriage in August 2017. The Countess has stayed away from the Regency ever since — well, until recently.
On Wednesday, de Lesseps told audiences at her #CountessAndFriends cabaret show at N.Y.C.’s Gramercy Theatre that she visited the Regency earlier this month for a trunk show a friend was throwing for fashion company Glamourpuss.
And while there, de Lesseps ran into a surprising person: President Donald Trump‘s former lawyer Michael Cohen.
“I walk in the Regency and Michael Cohen is walking through the lobby with bodyguards. And he looks at me like, ‘Hi,’ ” de Lesseps told the sold-out crowd. “I’m like, ‘Aren’t you the guy who’s about to go to jail?”
Days later, Cohen was sentenced to three years at the Federal Correctional Institute Otisville, in upstate New York, a jail term he will begin serving time on March 6, 2019. He previously pled guilty in August to eight criminal counts, including tax fraud, breaking campaign finance laws and those illegal $150,000 “hush money” payments he made during the 2016 presidential election to buy the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal — who both claim they had affairs with Trump. (Trump has repeatedly denied the affairs.)
De Lesseps has brushed with the law herself, having been arrested on Christmas Eve 2017 in Palm Beach, Florida. She was charged with disorderly intoxication, battery on an officer, resisting arrest with violence and threatening a public servant, but later struck a plea deal in the case and will avoid jail time.
Following the drama, de Lesseps checked into rehab — twice. (“I liked it so much, I went back,” she joked at her cabaret show.)
Though she’s not drinking (she’s over 150 days sober), de Lesseps, 53, has not stopped having fun. She was all smiles on Wednesday for a special “Christmas with the Countess” edition of her cabaret show. Singing holiday songs like “Santa Baby” and “Jingle Bells” on a set decorated with Christmas trees, an oversized sleigh, and a giant nutcracker (no, not that one), the reality star kept the evening festive, with guests like Michelle Buteau and Constantine Maroulis adding to the fun.
The crowd, packed with Housewives fans, ate it up — shouting “Jovani” at every new gown de Lesseps debuted.
They weren’t the only ones in the audience cheering de Lesseps on. Her two kids — Victoria, 24, and Noel, 22 — were also in the crowd, as was De Lesseps’ mom, who was celebrating her birthday.
Elsewhere in the show, de Lesseps was asked about her relationship with Frankel, 48.
In the past, the two have been close friends and fierce rivals. So where are they now? “It’s hot and cold,” de Lesseps said. “We’re cool for the moment, but you never know.”
The same can be said for Dorinda Medley, 58, whom de Lesseps fell out with last season. “We’re doing well,” de Lesseps told the crowd. “She came to visit me tonight. She gave me the Jovani seal of approval so we’re all good. We’ve been friends for a long time. We had a falling out, we made up.”
De Lesseps’ show will return to the Gramercy Thursday before stopping at The Paramount in Long Island, New York, on Friday and Saturday. Additional dates are scheduled in the new year for cities like Boston and Miami.
For a full list of dates, visit countlessluann.com.
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