NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Jenna Lyons is taking over the Big Apple in Season 14 of 'The Real Housewives of New York City,' but who will she have by her side? As seen in the new season's First Look, the LoveSeen CEO and former J Crew President and Executive Creative Director appeared to be single and eager to mingle.
Jenna was originally introduced to viewers in Episode 1 of 'RHONY' Season 14. She looked to be single and eager to date. However, she appears to be in a relationship. Jenna, the mother of 16-year-old Beckett, whom she shares custody with his father, is the franchise's first openly homosexual "housewife." So, who is Jenna dating?
Who is Jenna Lyons dating?
Jenna is presently dating photographer Cass Bird, according to the New York Post. Cass has collaborated with celebrities such as Reese Witherspoon, Shawn Mendes, and Margot Robbie. It's unclear how long the duo have been dating, but it appears to be a fresh romance, as Jenna told the publication in April, "I currently have a massive crush on someone else."
Although the exact moment of their romance's beginning is unknown, Jenna told The Times that she developed a crush on Cass. According to Vogue, the photographer wed Ali Bird after homosexual marriage became lawful in 2015. The former couple's relationship ended at an undisclosed time after they first met in 1997. Cass was last mentioned on Ali's Instagram in August 2022. "Epic night, epically captured by @cassblackbird." With a picture of their loved ones on a dock, Ali at the time wrote, "Late summer love with the heart fam ."
Ali celebrated Cass' birthday earlier that year by writing", Happy happy birthday to my Birdie @cassblackbird … Still making all my dreams come true. Luckiest girl in the .Mae and Leo are the couple's two children. "We wanted to start a family and buy a house," Ali explained in a Vogue interview in 2017. "We saved money. We did it. When gay marriage became legal, we had already made the biggest commitment." Cass then stated, "It is important that we have the same dreams. What does it mean to be a good partner, a good citizen . . . two big, big things."
Jenna has an extensive dating history. In 1996, she began dating artist Vincent Mazeau (Beckett's father). They tied the knot in 2002 and divorced in 2011. Despite their divorce, the design businesswoman and her ex-husband remained to live in their Brooklyn brownstone together for the sake of their young child. Jenna dated jewelry designer Courtney Crangi after her divorce, but they parted ways in 2017.
'If someone does not want to be in that with me, then I have to respect that'
Jenna is doing something that few Housewives have done: she is keeping her love life private. The former J Crew president and creative director was revealed to be in a relationship on the second episode of 'RHONY: Reboot,' but she declined to divulge her lover to her fellow new Housewives while shooting. "Because I’ve had so much press, I am very quiet about that, so I’m not sharing that," she said to her castmates over dinner in the Hamptons.
When producers questioned Jenna about her silence regarding her relationship, she responded that she was honoring her significant other's need for privacy. "My life has put me in the public eye for my job and other things I’ve done, and that is my choice," she explained. "If someone does not want to be in that with me, then I have to respect that."
Jenna's fellow Housewives were encouraging at the table, with Jessel Taank asking whether she was satisfied with her "lucky lady," as Erin Lichy described it, to which Jenna replied, "Yes." Others, though, had concerns about her dating life. "I want to know what’s going on with her relationship," said Sai de Silva. "She knows my husband; why can’t I know her girlfriend? We’re friends; that’s what friends do — we know each other’s spouses."
Jenna may have been better off keeping quiet about her then-girlfriend because, according to the New York Times, she is no longer dating her. Jenna is presently dating photographer Cass, according to a June report. Furthermore, Jenna's desire to keep her love life private might be linked to her experience of being publicly outed as a lesbian. During the show, the designer reflected on her forced outing, stating she was in the midst of divorcing her ex-husband Vincent when the CEO and head of public relations at J. Crew contacted her to tell her that Page Six had information about her being spotted on a date with a woman. "Would you like to confirm or deny?" the paper had asked Jenna, as she told her castmates.
"I was already in the process of getting divorced, but I had not told my mom, I had not told my brother, I had not told my family, I had not told anyone at work," she recounted. "I didn’t really know what I was doing. I was three weeks into this thing. Anyway, I heard the words come out of my mouth. I just said, ‘Confirm.'" Jenna described it as "one of the hardest things" she's ever done, but she got through it with the help of her team. "I’m so grateful by how incredibly gracious everyone in the office [was]," she remarked. "Not my mom, but everybody else."
Catch brand-new episodes of 'The Real Housewives of New York' Season 14 on Bravo at 9 PM ET.
