Welcome to Unstyled. I'm your host, Christine Barberick, co-founder and global editor-in-chief of Refinery 29.

Each week, I invite a notable person to come in and talk with us as we explore the funny, inspiring,

sometimes heartbreaking tales of life, work, and love, as told through the things that we wear. Most of us know Darynda Medley as the bold and beloved real housewife of New York.

A Manhattan powerhouse who keeps it real, makes it nice, and always stands firm amidst the

Bravo mania.

But Dorinda is also a woman who's lived many lives and weathered her share of crushing tragedy.

She may be a star in the high drama world of the real housewives, but she knows better than anyone

that reality and real life are two very different things. Having grown up in the Massachusetts

Berkshires, Durinda moved to London with her first husband shortly after college. She launched

her first company, DCL Kashmir, and had her daughter, Hannah. With the end of that marriage came a relocation

to New York City where Durinda and Hannah could have a fresh start. She moved on to a successful

real estate career, which ultimately connected her with her second husband, Richard, while trying

to sell him an apartment on the Upper East Side. Richard and Durinda had six years together before she lost him to a tragic and

untimely death. If you've watched The Real Housewives of New York City, you know that Richard

wasn't just a partner to Durinda. He was a kindred spirit, even a soulmate. And nearly 10 years later,

Durinda is still healing from that loss. Perhaps one of her most defining characteristics,

on the show and off, is her openness about grief and the ways it's changed her and her priorities.

Faced with the fragility of life, Durinda places a high premium on her own, relishing her time

alone and exploring all the facets of what could be.

She still values romantic love and friendship,

but with a new understanding of how those relationships can change,

and marriage, she says, just isn't for her anymore.

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