Heather Thomson never expected to experience such drama with Leah McSweeney on the 13th season of The Real Housewives of New York City.
While looking back at the cast’s turmoil-filled trip to the Hamptons, Heather recounted Leah’s “assault,” which Leah has denied, before labeling Eboni K. Williams as “cowardly,” slamming Leah for waiting to be with her dying grandmother, and accusing her of self-producing.
“One of the women on the show gave me a heads up that she was going to be gunning for me. [But] I didn’t think it was going to be a big deal. I didn’t know it was going to be an ax to grind on every single syllable that came out of my mouth,” Heather admitted on the June 8 episode of Access Hollywood‘s Housewives Nightcap. “It was very difficult to film with her.”
Although Leah recently suggested that Heather lied about her supposed assault, Heather said she was very much attacked by Leah, but found the whole thing comical due to Leah’s bizarre antics.
“When someone throws something at you, that’s assault. Was I ever in fear of myself? Never. My blood pressure barely raised. It was so outlandish and ridiculous it was like, comical,” she laughed.
After agreeing to appear on season 13 in a part-time position in late 2020, she quickly had a change of heart.
“It’s just not how I want to spend my time. It hit the lowest common denominator in the first five minutes of me being there,” she shared. “I don’t want to negotiate race wars all season. I don’t want to be screamed at with libel and slander. I wanted it to be like it used to be.”
Prior to taking on the “friend” position, Heather said she was thrilled to see that Bravo had added its first Black cast member.
“I was excited about Eboni joining the cast. Obviously, I had really, strong opinions about the diversity of the show since the minute I walked on it and worked hard to try to get women of color on the show. So when they finally cast the first Black woman on the show, I was excited for that,” she noted.
And while she and Eboni don’t appear to be in a great place today, she told the hosts of Housewives Nightcap that she believes Eboni gave her a fair shot, despite her close friendship with Leah.
That said, Heather doesn’t appreciate the way Eboni handled her drama with Leah in the Hamptons.
“I think she stirred the pot, and she caused an issue, and she didn’t speak up,” Heather admitted. “We had a conversation that was off-camera. And I said, ‘Boy, Leah really gunning for me.’ And I said, ‘And this whole voting thing,’ and she said, ‘Yes, it’s very upsetting to me.’ And we both shared our opinions that it’s a privilege to be able to vote.”
“It was a very quick conversation, so then when she was recounting it to Leah, I think she could have said, ‘Wait a minute, girl, you’re going way too crazy. That’s not what happened.’ She just let her storm out of the room. She had an opinion as strong as I had. And Eboni sat silent. So that I thought was cowardly,” Heather alleged.
According to Heather, she believes Leah should have gone to be with her grandmother long before they faced off and actually encouraged her to do so.
“There’s nothing impressive [about Leah]. She should have went home to her grandmother. I shared a story with her. When my uncle passed away, I was with him in his final hours, and I had my hands on him when he passed. It was one of the most beautiful experiences. I watched him pass on, I felt the energy, and shared that with her,” Heather recalled. “I was trying to encourage [her to go to her grandmother].”
While Leah recently suggested on her Instagram Stories that she offered an apology to Heather and the rest of the cast after acting out in the Hamptons amid her grandmother’s imminent passing, Heather said the two of them had no such conversation.
“[Leah] never apologized to me. Never once. I never saw Leah McSweeney or had any contact with her from the moment she left that house to finally go to her grandmother,” Heather shared.
As for making a potential return to RHONY in the future, Heather admitted she’s not closing the door quite yet.
“I would never say ‘no.’ It wasn’t right for me this season. My cellular makeup is affected by that type of toxicity. So it’s not healthy,” she explained. “I’ve got two teenagers at home that have opinions. They watch the show now. There were certain lines that I wasn’t proud to be a part of. And I wouldn’t want my kids to watch that and be like, ‘Oh, look at mommy!’”
Heather went on to say that when it comes to her latest exit from the show, she decided not to film any further because no contract had been signed.
“I was not going to move forward with the show. I honestly think [Leah] thought she could punch bag me all season and that I was under contract and sucked in like the rest of them but I wasn’t,” Heather mentioned.
She then noted that Leah’s antics against her ultimately got in the way of what Bravo wanted for their show.
“They wanted a sixth player for the show, we all know it works that way,” she revealed. “So all [Leah] did was self-produce and undermine the network.”
The Real Housewives of New York City season 13 airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.