Luann de Lesseps Gushes Over New ‘RHONY’ Cast Member Leah McSweeney, Explains Why She’s Great For The Show

Luann de Lesseps is excited about Leah McSweeney’s addition to the Real Housewives of New York City cast.

While performing in her Christmas-themed Countess and Friends cabaret show at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa earlier this month, de Lesseps shared her thoughts about McSweeney, who was added to the cast of the Bravo reality series in August around the time of Bethenny Frankel’s sudden exit.

“She’s great, she’s downtown and she’s not afraid,” de Lesseps told Hollywood Life. “She gets in there, and it’s not an easy group to come into. I think she holds her own, and at the same time she’s vulnerable.”

“I think people are really going to connect to her. She’s a young girl and she has a daughter,” de Lesseps added.

News of McSweeney’s addition to the Real Housewives of New York City cast first hit the web months ago after she was seen filming scenes for Season 12 with Tinsley Mortimer. However, after Mortimer seemingly took a step back from production after getting engaged to Scott Kluth in November, it was clear that McSweeney established friendships with a number of other stars of the show, de Lesseps included.

Although some have suspected the upcoming 12th season of The Real Housewives of New York City won’t be as good as past seasons due to the exit of Frankel, de Lesseps promised the upcoming episodes would be great and said that she’s happy that she and her co-stars will be able to share more of their stories.

“It’s not always about Bethenny [now],” she explained.

As The Inquisitr previously reported, de Lesseps spoke to Jenny McCarthy on her Sirius XM radio show weeks ago and said that while the show will surely be different without Frankel, she and her co-stars were relieved after learning she would not be filming with them in the coming months.

“I think the whole cast is relieved in a way,” de Lesseps said, according to Fox News.

According to de Lesseps, Frankel’s exit from The Real Housewives of New York City leaves breathing room for the other women on the series to shine and showcase their different personalities. She also noted that when it comes to past seasons, she believes Frankel “stole” the show in ways.

De Lesseps went on to say that Season 12 is going to be amazing and that she can’t wait for viewers to see the new episodes.