Dorinda Medley on Grief, Identity and The Real Housewives: ‘I was angry. I was lost. I felt like I got cheated.’

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

Sony Music

Society & Culture

4.8 • 9.4K Ratings

🗓️ 23 July 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What happens when the life you thought you’d built - the one with love, money, recognition - seems to slip away? This week, Elizabeth speaks to Dorinda Medley, author, TV personality and iconic former Real Housewife of New York, about reinvention, resilience and learning to be okay with not being liked by everyone. Dorinda opens up about the loss of her husband, the loneliness that followed fame, and why her departure from Housewives was both painful and necessary. This is a raw, funny, emotional conversation with a woman who’s lived many lives - and isn’t afraid to talk about all the ways they’ve fallen apart. ✨ IN THIS EPISODE: 00:00 Intro 02:12 Life After Reality TV 03:30 Authenticity and Public Perception 06:37 Dealing with Grief and Loss 14:06 Finding Strength in Vulnerability 19:14 The Impact of Fame 21:56 Housewives' First Visit to Blue Stone Manor 23:03 Behind the Scenes Drama 23:32 Staying Connected with Castmates 25:36 Dealing with Trolls and Haters 29:00 Coping with On-Screen Conflicts 31:19 Reflecting on the Housewives Experience 32:48 Blue Stone Manor Tag Sale 35:57 Life Lessons and Moving Forward 💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER: “A lot of people mourn by crying. I was angry. I was lost. I felt like I got cheated.” “If you want to love me, great. If you don’t, I’m okay with that.” “There’s a difference between missing Housewives and wanting to do it again.” 🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS: Join our community of subscribers here: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Join Elizabeth at an upcoming one-off show at Cadogan Hall on 21 Sep for her new novel One of Us: ⁠https://www.fane.co.uk/elizabeth-day Watch How To Fail on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HowToFailPodcast Instagram: @howtofailpod / @elizabday TikTok: @howtofailpod / @elizabday Elizabeth’s Substack: https://theelizabethday.substack.com/ 💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE? Subscribe to How To Fail on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts Leave us a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these conversations Share this episode with someone navigating grief or reinvention 📚 WANT MORE? Stanley Tucci on grief, identity and the taste of memory https://listen.sonymusic-podcasts.link/pbegMUD1?at=1010l396Y Miriam Margolyes on fame, failure and finally giving fewer f*cks https://listen.sonymusic-podcasts.link/PJdd42Bp?at=1010l396Y Mo Gawdat on how to solve for happiness https://listen.sonymusic-podcasts.link/RhEwJYA2?at=1010l396Y Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Studio Engineer: Sam Bair Sound Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Suhaar Ali Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Carly Maile How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I think reality TV is very different now.
0:02.8	You know, there's a lot of influencers.
0:04.7	It's a lot more curated.
0:07.0	You know, we were like raw footage.
0:08.7	Let's face it.
0:09.7	And I think our audience trusted that we were exactly who we are and we're authentic.
0:14.1	So when people meet me, they always say, you're exactly like we thought you would be.
0:19.1	Yes.
0:19.8	I really haven't dated a lot of people.
0:21.4	I was the marrying girl.
0:22.6	Hello and welcome to How to Fail with Elizabeth Day.
0:25.6	This is the podcast that's all about reclaiming and reframing failure, not as something to be ashamed of, not as something that defines us, but as something that we can learn from that might be a lesson wrapped up in a
0:39.0	mistake.
0:41.0	Hello there everybody, Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode here to tell you about EETV.
0:46.0	EETV has the ultimate flex. You can change your package every month so you only pay for
0:50.9	what you want to watch. Switch between sport and entertainment packages when you want
0:54.7	or needed. Stream the hits with Sky channels from now, Discovery Plus and loads more.
0:59.8	And you get all your Netflix favourites included on EETV as well. It's TV your way.
1:07.1	Run back through award-winning shows such as The Crown, Baby Rainier, or All Quiet on the Western Front.
1:12.5	Or cozy on down with the family over August's new releases like the Thursday Murder Club or Wednesday season two.
1:19.2	You know, I'm a goth at heart.
1:20.5	And when you're done, relax with the dock or the new season of the Premier League on Discovery Plus or TNT Sports.
	...

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