RHONY Star Rebecca Minkoff Discusses Her Ties to Scientology

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The Real Housewives of New York is back for a brand new season. While all the ladies from the first season of the reboot have returned, there are a few new faces. Among them is Rebecca Minkoff, who gained quite a few headlines after her casting was announced. Much of the talk stemmed from her prestigious career as a fashion designer, but heads also turned due to her being a member of the Church of Scientology. 

As far as we know, Rebecca is the first Housewives star who is also a Scientologist. The Church of Scientology has existed since 1954. Like any religion, the Church of Scientology has many beliefs, but one of the most important is that people are immortal beings, thetans, who are trapped in physical bodies. However, Scientology is also controversial as there have been reports of various forms of abuse. 

According to Page Six, Rebecca recently opened up to the New York Post about her religion and how it has added to her life. She started the conversation by discussing her decision to join RHONY. She said, “It’s fun, funny with a little bit of a drama – I said, ‘Okay, I can sign up for that.”

Regarding her religion and some of the backlash she has faced for it, Rebecca said, “We’re at a time and place where we can be divided and lead with hate and bigotry, or we can just be tolerant of people’s beliefs. ”

She continued, “[Scientology] has helped me personally. It’s helped me professionally. It’s helped me weather a lot of stress. That’s what I use it for. It’s a method I apply to help me with stress.”

Previously, the RHONY friend described Scientology by saying, “We’re just separating the body from the spirit. It has personally helped me from my own demons, my own things I’m not happy about myself.”

In addition to discussing her religion, Rebecca also addressed some of the negative reviews on Glassdoor from former employees. A number of them have described the workplace as “toxic” and “negative.”

She said, “People are going to criticize and find fault with you, it’s human nature. When it’s ill-intentioned it’s unfortunate.”

Rebecca added, “I think all of it was unfair.”

She then discussed how several other “girlbosses” let their businesses go after facing intense criticism. She said, “Did they make mistakes? Yes. Could they have apologized and taken responsibility for it [and moved on]? Yes.”

She then compared the situation to how men would have handled it. 

“When there’s a takedown of men, they refuse to step down. They stand in their power whether they have it or not.”

Fans can watch Rebecca on RHONY on Tuesday nights.