The Golden Life’s Sonja Morgan will always be grateful for her chapter on The Real Housewives of New York City and beyond for the positive implications it had on her family.
“I learned how to navigate my private life from my on-camera life. And a lot of people know I don’t have my daughter on. I don’t have family members. It just was not going to happen. I figured it out that well, it allows me to support my daughter,” Sonja, 62, exclusively shares in Us’ annual Reality Stars of the Year issue. “She graduated summa cum laude from [The University of Pennsylvania], and that’s because of the viewers embracing us and supporting us. Thank you to Bravo — and thank you now to E! — [for giving] us this shot, to continue to be the best family members we can and to support those who need us. That’s what I finally learned is that’s what it’s for. That’s really what it’s for.”
With daughter Quincy now off at college, Sonja is “finally an empty nester” and ready to think about her next chapter — with someone special or not. (Sonja welcomed Quincy in 2000 with ex-husband John Adams Morgan, whom she was married to from 1998 to 2006. He died in 2025 at age 94.)
“I finally sold the house in New York because I don’t need it. It was just me living there at some point,” she tells Us. “I created a very peaceful life for myself in Palm Beach. Maybe before I wanted to be married, but I wasn’t really able to. Now I feel like I’m more able to be in a serious, lifelong relationship. But dating is a challenge today so what I’m going to do now is just slow things down.”
The Real Housewives of New York City premiered in 2008, but not every Housewife has gone the distance. The season 1 cast of RHONY included Luann de Lesseps, Ramona Singer, Bethenny Frankel, Jill Zarin and Alex McCord. While Kelly Killoren Bensimon joined the cast during season 2, Sonja Morgan became a full-time cast member during […]
Sonja’s reality TV journey began in 2010 when she joined RHONY in its third season. She was a cast member for 11 seasons until 2021, later returning to Bravo for Luann & Sonja: Welcome to Crappie Lake in 2023 before appearing on the fourth season of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip. Now, she’s reuniting with RHONY OGs Luann de Lesseps, Ramona Singer, Kelly Bensimon and Dorinda Medley — who are Us‘ Reality Stars of the Year cover stars — for The Golden Life.
Throughout her Bravo tenure, fans were introduced to Sonja’s on-again, off-again ex Harry Dubin, who was previously married to her former RHONY costar Aviva Drescher. According to Sonja, Harry became “more interested” in the Bravo series and the “spotlight” than he was in her.
“That’s not what I loved about Harry,” she admits to Us. “So I just stopped talking to him for about seven years until his father was on his deathbed. And then we slowly started talking again. I don’t love Harry being in our friend group all the time. I don’t love it, because I like to keep my friendships one-on-one and separate from the show. But it happens.”
The Golden Life, which debuts this fall, follows Sonja and her aforementioned friend group now living in Palm Beach, Florida, after years in the Big Apple.
“We don’t get to see each other when we’re not filming,” she explains of the costars’ busy schedules. “I was so excited, mostly about doing E! because we’ll be back together and I know that’s what the viewers wanted. And after we had such a long run, I mean, we’re on TV now over 20 years, it’s unbelievable. We’re still here.”
She continues, “But when we’re not filming — because we would spend five months every year together to do the other shows that we’ve done — what happens that the viewers don’t see is [that] the hustle is real. Luann will be doing her [cabaret] tour. I’m doing my [comedy] tour. Ramona is busy dating seriously. I would see Kelly all the time, but it would be work. We would be invited to these events, we’d show up, do our appearance and then leave, go home right away. So, yeah, this is the time we get to be together for reals.”
While soaking up time with her pals, Sonja is also embracing her new decade and the wise perspective that’s accompanied her “golden” era.
“When we’re younger, we’re told, ‘Enjoy yourself. Live in the moment. You’re so young.’ But when you’re in your 20s, you’re like, ‘What if this, what if that?’ And fear of missing out — especially today, the youth see everything online. And then as you gain experience, you start to see the grass isn’t greener and you start to be happy with where you’re at, and you start to have self-esteem,” she says. “I’ve become very proud of my accomplishments, what I’ve been through [and] how I’ve come out the other side.”
Sonja continues, “The only regret when you get to your 60s is, ‘Boy, I wish I’d started this sooner.’ But like me, so many moms out there, we’re so busy raising our kids and taking care of people that we need to take care of [and] by the time you get here, you’re like, ‘Wow, I’m going to really enjoy myself now. This is The Golden Life.’”
The Golden Life premieres Tuesday, October 20, at 10 p.m. ET with a special 90-minute episode on E! — the series will continue to air on E! Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET.
For more from Sonja and the other Reality Stars of the Year, pick up the new issue of Us, on newsstands this week.
