“Like a mint in my mouth,” Dorinda Medley isn’t as fresh as she used to be, and after six seasons of making it nice, living it up at Bluestone Manor, deflecting, and feelin’ Jovani, she will not be returning to the Real Housewives of New York on Bravo. In a statement posted to Instagram, Medley wrote that “all things must come to an end. This was a great outlet for me to heal when my late husband Richard passed away,” and that she wishes her co-stars “health, happiness, and success.” Medley first appeared on RHONY as a guest in 2011, before joining the cast in 2015. The show has seen her through many life changes: daughter Hannah leaving the nest, breaking up with boyfriend John, and most significantly, remodeling the fish room. However, over the past few seasons, Medley has also gained a reputation for being one of the crueler Housewives throughout the franchise, with outbursts often tipping over from entertaining to uncomfortably nasty. In fact, the A-plot of last week’s RHONY centered around her anger issues; as Chris Murphy put it for Vulture, “Anger is what fuels her. It’s what keeps her motor running, what gets her out of the bed every morning. I mean, what genuinely happy person has the phrase ‘Rats only come out at night’ on hand and ready to go?” This season has already been whittled down to five cast members after Tinsley Mortimer left halfway through the season; Bravo will have some searching to do to find a new Big Bad for season 13.
Update: an earlier version of this article mistakingly referred to Dorinda’s ex as Tom. It has been corrected.
