Michael Lavine/BravoNot everybody would agree to join a show that has featured drunken escapades known as "turtle time," trips dubbed "Scary Island" and more than their fair share of emotional breakdowns, but Kristen Taekman isn't your average Real Housewife. The new star of Real Housewives of New York City is a working mom, she models, is obsessed with Elvis Presley and BFFs with Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Brandi Glanville.
"She kind of was just like, 'Go for it, be yourself' type of thing, and I have," Kristen told E! News. Having seen the show before, Kristen said she didn't have any reservations about joining the Sonja Morgan, Ramona Singer, Aviva Drescher, Carole Radziwill and Heather Thomson on Real Housewives of New York City. At the time she joined the show, her daughter was one and she was still modeling from time to time.
"[I]t's such an up-and-down job, that at the time, I was just sort of a stay-at-home mom with two small kids, and the opportunity came about, and I thought, 'Why the hell not, right?' I mean, why not get out there, meet new women. I mean, I think that in this day and age, I feel like—and I'm sure everybody agrees—you kind of have your friends and you're kind of set in your ways and to meet a whole new group of women at the age of 36 in such a great city like New York, I mean I just felt like, 'You know what, this is a great opportunity.' What's the worst case scenario, I get something thrown at my face? I mean, come on."
And she does. As viewers have seen in the teasers, Kristen gets on the wrong side of Ramona and a wine glass.
"Well you know, Ramona and I definitely have our ups and downs, and Heather and I kind of get into it a little bit too, and then there's a couple other things that go on in there, so yeah, it's really interesting," Kristen teased of her tiffs this season. "I mean, Ramona and Heather are the two big ones, but then there's some other little conflicts going on there too."
Kristen made waves with her tagline, a joke she said she has with her husband. "I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I'm pretty!" she says in the RHONYC intro.
"One blog rated me as an A+, and then somebody else was like, 'What was she thinking?' But you know, it's funny because I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but as my husband said to me just recently, I'm not the dullest either, so there you go," Kristen said of her tagline "We joke a lot, quite a bit, Josh and I, which is sweet, and it's something that we've always said to each other. It's like, 'Well, you know, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.' It's like a joke that we've had forever. I think it's funny. I'm a model and I think it's silly and funny and it's really true to who I am. I don't really take myself that seriously as you'll see. I mean I take my family and my work seriously, but other than that, I just think life is too short. You just have to have fun with it, you know?"
Since Kristen is so new to viewers, we asked a few "getting to know you" questions.
Favorite TV show: "Mad Men, and, of course, Sex and the City. It's kind of a tie."
Last song you played: "'Reconsider Baby.' It's my favorite Elvis song. I listen to it when I'm in taxis and stuff."
Favorite movie: "Oh my goodness. What's my favorite movie? I don't know that I have one. I think I'm gonna go with Pretty Woman, because that's just like that girly favorite movie. I mean, I love obviously all my Elvis movies, but no one likes to watch those with me, so if I was going to have a friend over to watch my favorite movie, it would be Pretty Woman."
Hidden talent: "I can sing, but this is the first time I've ever told anybody that," she said. But don't expect Kristen to pull a LuAnn de Lesseps and start singing on the show. "I'm scared, scared, scared to get up in front of people and sing. But as you saw in the preview, Heather does it and she kicks butt. And Josh kept like poking me, like 'Kristen, get up there, get up there,' and I'm like, 'I just can't.' I really enjoy singing, but I haven't ever done anything with it. It's kind of like my own little thing, you know, but I haven't done it since kids. So I can sing, I just don't."
Favorite takeout dish: "Well, right now it's sushi. I've been ordering from a sushi place. I love Chinese food. It's my favorite, but Josh won't eat it. Josh hates Chinese food, but my son Cash loves it. He's like, 'Let's get the sweet and sour chicken!' So funny."
Favorite animal: "I like frogs."
Favorite Housewife (besides Brandi): "Yolanda's [Foster] amazing. I love Yolanda."
Real Housewives of New York City premieres Tuesday, March 11 at 9 p.m. on Bravo.
(E! an Bravo are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)