Sonja Morgan wants to run with the big dogs. While Bethenny Frankel and Heather Thomson may run multimillion dollar companies, Sonja hardly thinks they’re the paragons of success. All the ladies could claim the “Most Successful” superlative, but why the need for competition? To Sonja, the most important thing is finding happiness within.
Finally submitting her blog from last week’s episode, Sonja tackles drama in the Berkshires, Bethenny’s business savvy, and all this talk of walls and one-upwomanship when it comes to business and friendship.
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And while Sonja is thinking about it, she just wants you to know she’s been in fashion, PR, and business all her life and she knows things and people and things. Comparing Real Housewives Of New York to “everyone pissing on a fire hydrant” as they try to prove they are the “best and brightest,” Sonja admonishes her costars for being so cutthroat, because money can’t buy you happiness! “The title of most successful woman in this group is really up for grabs,” she declares.
“I just don’t know if these women have their priorities straight,” lectures Sonja. “These ladies don’t seem to understand that financial success doesn’t equate to happiness. Who has time to always be delving into other people’s lives when that time could be spent improving your own life and the life of those you love and who support you!”
At Dorinda Medley‘s birthday party, Sonja was confused by all the caterwauling and wailing, all she wanted to do was enjoy a lovely piece of fish, and be herself. And walls – who needs ’em, they eventually crumble anyway, right?! “I don’t even feel like I can be my fun-loving self around this crew anymore!” protests Sonja. “I was just trying to lighten the mood and stay out of fray. Everyone was being so serious! Did everyone miss the memo that this is a birthday party, not a courtroom?”
“When I’m hanging out with my girlfriends, I want to be able to just relax and stick to light-hearted chit chat, but that doesn’t seem to be a possibility with this group!” adds Sonja. “Everyone is always judging and picking on each other. I’ve spent enough time in courtrooms over the past few years to know that!” I agree with Sonja here – there is a time and place to have fun, let loose, and be silly – and what better time is that than with her girlfriends.
Which is why Sonja advises Heather to back off a bit to allow everyone to be mellow and fun. “I understand what Bethenny is saying when she says that she wants to have a wall up. She’s protecting herself. She doesn’t want to feel like she’s seeing a shrink whenever she’s with Heather!”
And despite everyone insisting Heather is coming from a good place, from her experiences, Sonja doesn’t believe that at all! “I honestly do not believe that Heather is nurturing and caring. I certainly haven’t seen that side of her,” snipes Sonja. “I’ve only seen a bossypants who feels the need to control everyone around her and drag them down with accusatory statements so that you finally give up and just yes her.”
Sonja even slams Luann de Lesseps‘ toast at Dorinda’s birthday dinner as bragging that she is Dorinda’s nearest and dearest. “I love Luann, but I did not know where she was coming from with that toast. It seemed like she was trying to prove to the other women she is close to Dorinda,” chides Sonja. “(I guess a knee-jerk reaction to her blow up with Ramona concerning Dorinda). I thought that Carole was the one claiming to be in the lesbian phase? Maybe I’ve discovered the secret to Luann and Carole’s fast and new friendship: They are both going through a lovey dovey girly phase. LOL. Just kidding.”
With Dorinda’s birthday party drama covered, Sonja now chastises Bethenny for implying Sonja is a novice in business. Why Sonja runs an empire of interns! “I’m very torn about the branding summit I attended with Bethenny. On the one hand, I really do think that Bethenny is coming from a good place and that she is trying to help me, but her delivery is tough! She makes it sound like I’ve never been in a business meeting before. I’ve been in conference rooms my whole life! It’s like these women all think I became successful by just snapping my fingers and hoping good things will happen. Well guess what, ladies?! Money doesn’t grow on trees, and it took a lot of tenacity and a good work ethic for me to build everything and everyone in my life right now! I look forward to the next chapter in my life now that I have cleared the woods of the movie lawsuit and the subsequent Chapter 11.”
As for her quip that Bethenny looked great in her suit during the branding meeting, Sonja explains it was subtle nod to Bethenny’s new shape wear line (didn’t she have one in the past?). Which, by the way, Sonja knows far more about that industry than Madame Skinnygirl does! “I was actually giving my opinion on her shape wear line, which I think is fabulous by the way! Of course shape wear is the aspect of Bethenny’s business dealings that I felt most strongly about since I have such a long history in the fashion industry,” says Sonja. “I know these are licensing deals and Bethenny hasn’t been in fashion her whole life, but I have lived it and am happy she has established herself as a worthy partner for licensing deals! That’s exactly where I am.”
Even though Sonja previously said RHONY should not be a competition over who is the most business-savvy, she insists comparing her business to Bethenny’s is comparing pinot to margaritas. “I am starting my business from the ground up again and in this meeting Bethenny is doing licensing deals. Bethenny has established herself as a successful businesswoman and has decided to extend her brand to partnership with a plethora of products. But she isn’t the one making the Orville Redenbacher popcorn or Arizona Beverage drinks! She is partnering with these successful businesses to extend her market value, and good for her! She is clearly very successful and very intelligent, but at this moment, she is not back to building a business from the ground up.”
So what is Sonja doing? Other than building things from the rubble? “Sonja Morgan New York is a new company, and we are still in the exciting time of a new company’s life when we are soaring upwards on our own–not doing licensing deals with other established businesses,” details Sonja. “And Bethenny can tell you that takes some time. One day we will also be doing licensing deals, but not today, and I am turning them down at the moment to develop my brand ID to a T. At this moment, I am enjoying the wonderful success my business has achieved thus far, and I am looking forward to continue doing what I love.”
Recapping her life pre-Mrs. Morgan, Sonja recounts going to FIT, working in the garment industry, and modeling, something the girls would know if they knew her at all. “All of these women–excluding Ramona and Luann–are girls that I really only know socially, and yet they all seem to believe that they know my life story (and we know Ramona likes to make drama for drama’s sake and that Lu cant remember a fracking thing),” complains Sonja. With her “personal taste” continually praised (and I do agree, Sonja has great taste and a flair for fashion), she is now creating “the beginnings of a fashion house.”
Sonja warns, “I am not someone to be underestimated as Dorinda has said. I am reestablishing myself in fashion after the unfortunate lawsuit I ensued while owning my own production company.”
Moving on to Bethenny’s melodramas, Sonja encourages the Skinnygirl to change her perspective. After all, setbacks pave the way for comebacks. “I still don’t like that Bethenny keeps referring to her past experiences as failures. That’s just not my mindset. I am amazed at her path and look to it for inspiration. I look at everything she has done as a success,” Sonja praises. “Bethenny Bakes, the Bethenny show, and Bethenny’s marriage are not failures to me. They are life experiences.”
In fact, believing in optimism, Sonja has experienced no failures in life, only learning experiences and growth. “I feel grateful to have had the opportunity to produce a film, and I don’t look at being sued in the movie industry as a failure. It was a life experience that made me who I am, and I enjoyed movie producing immensely,” Sonja clarifies. “My work in film production, modeling, and acting have better prepared me to be in front of the cameras today. To me, every experience is a building block that leads you somewhere new and exciting. Looking at an experience as a failure is limiting since these moments actually make you who you are. Instead we all need to recognize that roadblocks are put in our path to show us what we can truly endure and that we can overcome. That’s how I have looked at my life and therefore I have always been able to be in the moment while building myself back up.” Well, yeah, I totally agree – except sadly, Sonja seems to be living in the past instead of embracing the present to plan for the future.
Discussing the nonsense at Ramona Singer‘s AOA party, she is disappointed by Heather and Kristen Taekman starting trouble and “being dramatic.” What exactly did Heather do at that party? Bethenny is the one who pulled Heather aside… “Why does everyone feel like they need to clear everything with Bethenny? Kristen and Heather aren’t even friends with her, so why are they so invested in her opinion? That dynamic seems very forced to me,” suggests Sonja. Agreed.
Lastly, Sonja praises Avery as the only person on RHONY who has salient advice and her priorities in line. THAT I definitely agree with. “Ramona should be a very proud mother. Avery is doing the best thing staying out of her mother and father’s relationship. She offered Ramona a wonderful perspective, but she is smart enough to know that the best thing for her to do is be supportive of the two people she loves most.”
“All of these women should take a page out of Avery’s book! Let’s all just try to stay out of everyone’s business, be supportive, and see how that works out,” concludes Sonja. “When did being supportive become such a novel concept?!” When these women signed onto Real Housewives? Bravo takes you to the dark side!
TELL US – DO THE LADIES OF RHONY NEED TO BE MORE SUPPORTIVE OF EACH OTHER? IS SONJA BEING DISMISSIVE OF BETHENNY?
[Photo Credit: WENN]
