Kristen Taekman on Husband’s Ashley Madison Scandal, RHONY

As fans know, the long-awaited Legacy season of RHUGT is finally on Peacock after many thought it would never arrive. The series stars Dorinda Medley, Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan, Kelly Bensimon, Ramona Singer, and Kristen Taekman. 

The series chronicles the ladies taking a trip to St. Barts and shows fans how many of their favorite RHONY alums interact with each other. Now, Kristen is discussing the series and what fans can expect. She also discusses how much she has changed since her two-season stint on the original Real Housewives of New York. 

There have been a few circumstances that made it seem like this season would never happen. First, the show was supposed to be a full-fledged series instead of an Ultimate Girls Trip season, but the ladies couldn’t agree on their contracts. Then, the network decided to do the series this way. However, the more recent drama with Ramona caused many to guess that Bravo/Peacock might shelve the show. Luckily, it’s now here. 

However, things haven’t been all sunshine and roses for the former RHONY star. Back in 2015, when the Ashley Madison leak happened, Kristen’s husband, Josh Taekman, was one of the names on the list of men who used the site. Unfortunately, Sonja brought up the situation and even read an article about it. 

Kristen had this to say about the situation to The Messenger, “People forget that it happened so long ago, dealt with it privately. Josh and I have been married 19 years, together 22. And I’m the only married lady [in the group]! Can’t we concentrate on that and forget about all the other… you know?”

Kristen also said she was not surprised that it came up on the show.

In another recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, the Legacy star has this to say, “I’m definitely not the same girl that I left off with.” This new Kristen comes after she and her family left New York after the show ended and moved to California. 

She continues, “I am, obviously, 10-plus years older, and my kids are grown up, so I think when you are in the trenches with small children — we were living this crazy, busy New York City lifestyle and, you know, California has this great way of just slowing everything down and putting things into perspective.” 

She then goes on to say that she has become a much stronger and outspoken person than what fans saw on RHONY. Additionally, her family has changed. On the show, her kids were pretty young. Now, her son, Cash, is 15, and her daughter, Kingsley, is 11. Of course, she is still married to Josh. 

Kristen also reflected on how different it felt being on Legacy compared to RHONY. She said, “When I came in season 6, it was intimidating, you know? I know I was quoted as saying, ‘You need to respect your elders,’ and I think I went into this show originally kind of thinking like, OK, these are the OGs. I am coming in, I am the only new girl, I kind of know my place.”

She continued, “And I feel like going into a Girl’s Trip — especially this one being ‘Legacy’ — we are all on the same playing field, you know? It’s not the same show that they all left. This is a new show. … We are all equal players.”

But of course, there is quite a bit of drama in the series despite the ladies being on equal footing. Early on, Kristen gets into a spat with Dorinda over Andy’s promise that she was “on pause” and would someday return to RHONY. There’s even a bit of breaking the fourth wall in this scene on the show, which is a bit common on Ultimate Girls Trip. 

She then discusses how it felt to leave RHONY and then get asked back for Legacy: “Listen, I was happy to my two years. I put my two years in– sounds like a [prison] sentence!” She continues, “I served my two years of time, and then I quietly went into the background, and I was living my life and, you know, eight-plus years later, I get this phone call.”

The RHONY alum also teased that the show has its own “scary island” moment where there is a pretty big disagreement with Kelly “operating with a series of alternate facts.”

Fans are in for a treat with the Legacy season, which is now streaming on Peacock. This is especially the case for people who aren’t big fans of the RHONY reboot. New episodes debut each Thursday on the streaming platform.