In the first season of the rebooted Real Housewives of New York, native Brooklynite Sai de Silva made a name for herself rather quickly for both her snacking habits and affinity for swanky toilet paper (three ply only, please). So when we spotted the content creator and @ScoutTheCity blogger in the Moët & Chandon box at the US Open, we asked her to tease the upcoming season of RHONY—and if she’d had a chance to inspect the bathroom. “There’s very luxurious, small things that we can all afford,” said de Silva. “Charmin, Cottonelle—if you’re listening, I’m your girl.” After making her pitch, de Silva told us of her newfound love of tennis and offered some cheeky details about how RHONY’s two new additions, Rebecca Minkoff and Raquel Chevremont, fit in with the returning castmembers. As for the ones we got to know last season, de Silva had this to say: “Those who were true to themselves last year will be great this year. And those who felt like characters—well, you might see through that.”
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JAKE NEVINS: I’m here with Sai of RHONY and we’re in the fabulous Moet box.
SAI DE SILVA: Yes.
NEVINS: How’s your US Open experience been?
DE SILVA: I’m having a great time. I mean, it’s always fun to come with a beautiful brand that you love. Moet is delicious at the same time. And I get to watch tennis, which I actually have been playing all summer.
NEVINS: Oh, yeah?
DE SILVA: I am a member of a tennis club upstate, and at first I was terrible, but now I’m holding my own.
NEVINS: What’s your best shot?
DE SILVA: Oh, I’m not there yet.
NEVINS: Forehand, backhand…
DE SILVA: My backhand is terrible. I’d say my forehand for sure.
NEVINS: If you had to team up in doubles with someone from your RHONY cast, who would it be?
DE SILVA: You know what? Oddly enough, because we did play tennis together, I would have to say Ubah, with Erin on the opposite team with Rebecca Minkoff.
NEVINS: So Rebecca is one of the newbies this season.
DE SILVA: She is.
NEVINS: I know that you can’t give too much away, but how did the new girls gel with you guys? All six of you came back for the new season, so there’s a solid core.
DE SILVA: I think the newbies fit in very well. Rebecca was very quiet and reserved at first, but then she really came into her own. I’m proud of her, actually. Raquel [Chevremont] is amazing, too. She’s very fun. She’s very outgoing.
NEVINS: She’s the model?
DE SILVA: She’s the art curator. She was a model for a long period of time.
NEVINS: Okay, got it. I watched the teaser. There was a very shady soundbite about Rachel [Minkoff’s] clothes being sold at like, Sears or something?
DE SILVA: [Laughs] Oh, no. Nordstrom Rack.
NEVINS: Okay, Nordstrom Rack.
DE SILVA: That was shady.
NEVINS: Sorry, but what’s wrong with Nordstrom Rack?
DE SILVA: Listen, I would never criticize someone who’s made a $100 million business. I don’t give a shit. That would never come from me. Okay? I am a hustler through and through and I respect the grind. I think what Rebecca Minkoff created is something that is extraordinary, especially under her own name and from the ground up.
NEVINS: Of course.
DE SILVA: So that was a shady moment.
NEVINS: But at least the girls are stirring shit up. What else can you say about the new season?
DE SILVA: It’s going to be shocking. I’m not the editor, so I don’t know what will make it in and what won’t, but I think we’re going to see some people differently than last season.
NEVINS: That does tend to happen in season two.
DE SILVA: I think those who were true to themselves last year will be great this year. And those who felt like characters—well, you might see through that this year.
NEVINS: Come on Bravo. Give us character development.
DE SILVA: We all love character development, don’t we?
NEVINS: Absolutely.
DE SILVA: But for the most part, I think relationships have grown. A lot of the bonds between castmates have grown stronger. We really are a good, solid core friendship group. But I think you’re going to be surprised.
NEVINS: I’m ready for it, Sai. What else have you been up to this summer?
DE SILVA: I’m renovating a home upstate.
NEVINS: How’s that going?
DE SILVA: It’s going really well. We start the kitchen very soon, but it’s the first time I’m actually doing a reno versus just moving in somewhere that’s already done. It was a big learning curve for me. I mean, I call Jenna [Lyons] all the time and I’m like, “What do I do about the knobs? Should they be brass?” It’s so overwhelming.
NEVINS: I’d bet she knows her shit.
DE SILVA: Oh Jake, does she know her shit. She’s been a good source for me. She’ll go, “Babe, listen, if you want to make it look a little bit more expensive, we need to get thicker marble shelves at the top.” I’m like, “Is mine too thin?” Also, I just feel like Jenna is the voice of reason. She’s that person in the group that I go to when I need to calm down or I need to talk about something because she’ll really help me think through things. She’s a really good friend.
NEVINS: She’s got a very maternal spirit. I’d go to her in a crisis.
DE SILVA: And she’s always calm. I’m losing my shit sometimes. I mean, typical New Yorker…
NEVINS: That’s why they cast you.
DE SILVA: You’re right.
NEVINS: I’ll leave you with this. Did you check what kind of toilet paper they have in the Moet US Open suite? Is it to your liking?
DE SILVA: Oh my god. No. Should we go check?
NEVINS: Well, we can’t go together. Our suitemates will think something very uncouth is happening. But I’ll take a look.
DE SILVA: I need you to let me know after you’ve checked.
NEVINS: Absolutely.
DE SILVA: I have not gone to the bathroom but, oddly enough, I was at a friend’s house the other day and I was so impressed by her toilet paper. So it really is a thing for real. I was like, “Wow, her toilet paper’s very plush.” It was three-ply, of course. It’s the small things in life.
NEVINS: This is true.
DE SILVA: And there’s very luxurious small things that we can all afford. So I really think Charmin, Cottonelle—if you’re listening, I’m your girl.
NEVINS: Get that plug, Sai.