This is only tangentially related to miles & points, but given the overlap between Real Housewives viewers and miles & points enthusiasts (I’ll let you deduce why), I figure this will interest a good number of people…
Notable new Real Housewives cast member
The cast for season 16 of the Real Housewives of New York City has just been revealed. There were rumors that the show might be canceled at this point, given that its popularity has gone down massively over time, as Bethenny Frankel loves to remind people (along with how no one has done more for Puerto Rico than her!). However, the show is coming back, with a largely new cast.
Among the new cast members is Erika Hammond, a 34-year-old former WWE wrestler and celebrity fitness trainer. She’s also the wife of Ankur Jain, the founder and CEO of Bilt.
Hammond married Jain in 2024 at a wedding in Egypt (the celebration took place in countries across Africa, but the actual ceremony was in Giza).
Season 16 of Real Housewives of New York City will also see the return of Carole Radziwill, who hasn’t been on the show in eight years. So it’ll be interesting to see to what extent Jain is featured in the show.
Congrats on the new gig, and good luck!
Congrats to Hammond on landing a role on Real Housewives of New York City. It’s certainly a good platform for gaining attention and an audience, and can help with other business ventures.
That being said — and this isn’t at all directed at Hammond, but rather at the show overall — Real Housewives really doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to its alumni (in terms of staying married and staying out of jail — not that everyone has to stay married to the same person forever, but the statistics are really bad for those who appear on Real Housewives).
I used to watch just about every Real Housewives franchise back in the day, but I just can’t bring myself to watch any of it anymore. As I see it, the issue is that this show largely attracts some massive narcissists… I don’t know how else to put it. This is why you have people like Jen Shah and Teresa Giudice who end up in jail, you have people like Erika Jayne having vanity pop star careers using funds stolen from 737 MAX crash victims, and you have people like Mary Cosby running highly questionable churches. And they can’t help but show off that lifestyle on TV! The whole show very much seems to center around the concept that “any publicity is good publicity.”
Bigger picture, being on the cast of Real Housewives just seems really bad for marriage. That’s not surprising when you consider the impact a TV show can have on your life, especially when you’re encouraged to share everything so openly, and conflict is praised, rather than frowned down upon.
So anyway, good luck to Hammond, and I hope for her sake it brings her happiness and success, and not… well, what seems to happen more often than not to people who choose to join the show.
Bottom line
Erika Hammond, the wife of Bilt CEO Ankur Jain, will be on the cast of season 16 of the Real Housewives of New York City. It’s interesting to see a bit of a crossover between a Real Housewives franchise and the (sort of) miles & points world.
This is obviously a good opportunity for publicity, and I wish her the best when it comes to success and marriage, given the impact this show all too often has on people.
What do you make of Hammond joining RHONY?
