The upcoming 16th season of "The Real Housewives of New York City" is set to feature a dramatic storyline involving cast member Carole Radziwill and her past association with Jeffrey Epstein's confidante, Ghislaine Maxwell. A trailer for the new season shows Radziwill being confronted by fellow cast members and even heckled on the street regarding her name appearing in declassified documents related to Epstein.
In one scene from the trailer, Radziwill is questioned by castmate Sai De Silva about whether she ever visited Epstein's infamous "Little St. James" island. Radziwill vehemently denies the suggestion, asking, "You think I'm part of an international sex-trafficking ring?" Another moment captures Radziwill being heckled off-camera by an unseen person exclaiming, "The Epstein files! She's the one from the Epstein files!" during filming with castmate Erin Lichy.
Radziwill, who previously left the show at the end of season 10 in 2018, is returning for the upcoming season in a supporting role. Her storyline is teased as an "emotionally charged chapter from her past lands back in the headlines and forces her to confront something she thought she had left behind."
Radziwill has publicly acknowledged knowing Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking and conspiracy. Radziwill told The New York Times in March that she was misled by Maxwell, whom she knew for about five or six years in the early 2000s. Radziwill described Maxwell as intelligent and educated, stating that she never gave the impression of being involved in illicit activities. "If you lined up 10 women, and you asked, like, pick the woman who would be involved in an international sex trafficking ring, it would not be her," Radziwill said.
She also stated that she "never knew Jeffrey Epstein," though she recalled seeing him at a cocktail party hosted by Maxwell. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 and sentenced in 2022. Epstein died in his New York City jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Inclusion of names in the unsealed Epstein documents does not imply wrongdoing. The documents were released by the federal government and include contact lists, emails, and social engagement records.
The new season of "The Real Housewives of New York City" is set to premiere on September 8 on Bravo. The cast also includes returning housewife Jessel Taank and newcomers Hailey Glassman, Erika Hammond, and Daisy Toye. Martha Stewart is also slated to make a cameo appearance.