What if the Real Housewives franchises have been misunderstood all along? What if the TV shows so often deemed cage matches between wealthy, privileged women from cities across the globe are actually venues for midlife women to explore their identities, make lasting friendships and be unapologetically themselves? That’s the takeaway for Laura Hensley, author of the Bravo-loving Substack That’s My Opinion. She joins editor-in-chief (and reality-TV hater) Maureen Halushak for Episode 4 of Group Chat to talk all things Housewives—and maybe even convert Maureen into a Housewives lover by the end of their conversation.

Also in this episode: executive editor Erica Lenti and senior editor Andréanne Dion talk about their earliest reality-TV memories and why Mormon wives seem to be taking over our screens.

Group Chat is new biweekly podcast that gets up close and personal with the editors of Chatelaine—and some very special guests.

Each episode, hosted by editor-in-chief Maureen Halushak, will explore one of the many topics, big and small, that matter to Canadian women—from menopause to weight bias to reality tv.

You can watch the podcast on Chatelaine’s YouTube channel or listen wherever you find your podcasts.

Thank you to our official furniture partner IKEA Canada.

Featuring:

• Maureen Halushak @maureenhalushak
• Chantal Braganza @cbraganz
• Sun Ngo @sunngo.studio
• Christine Flynn @christineanneflynn

Production:

• Maureen Halushak: Producer
• Erica Lenti: Producer
• Ryan Carter: Director / Editor
• Natasha Zoccoli: Editor / Camera Operator
• Corey Misquita: Director of Photography / Motion Graphic Designer / Camera Operator
• Masnoon Zarif: Camera Operator / Gaffer

Furniture partner: IKEA Canada