RHONY's New Star Rebecca Minkoff Shares Why She Thinks the Public Is Curious About Celebrity Scientologists & Why She Joined the Bravo Series

Real Housewives of New York City‘s newest cast member Rebecca Minkoff is opening up in a new interview!

The 43-year-old fashion designer was announced as a new addition to the cast last month, and now, she’s speaking out about her religion, Scientology, as well as why she joined the Bravo reality series.

Keep reading to find out more…

When asked by Elle why she joined the Bravo universe, she shared, “I said to my husband the day I signed on, ‘I can predict our life if we don’t do this, but I can’t predict our life if we do, and that’s exciting.’”

She added, “When thinking about it, I was like, ‘The only way I can do this is by being me.’ And if no one likes that, then I get voted off the island. I have to go in there holding true to everything I’ve built, otherwise I look like a fraud on both sides, and you don’t know who I am and you lose trust. It is not lost on me that there’s a huge irony in that, but I think there’s a way to play in that, too. You’ve met my friends [on the show] who have things to fight about. Do you need another person doing that? Or would it be nice to have someone being like, ‘Can’t we all just get along?’”

On worries about opening her life to criticism, she shared, “Whether it’s the buyer or the reviews, there are these moments where people can attack you. And it’s just like, ‘Throw another shrimp on that barbie. I’ve had to develop very thick skin. Good thing I’m in the leather business.”

If you don’t know, Rebecca practices Scientology, or as she calls it, her “applied religious philosophy.” She shared that it has helped her “deal with the stress of the industry, with being better at communicating, and dealing with difficult personalities. It starts and ends there for me.”

About why the public seems very interested in celebrity Scientologists, she added, “Judaism is nearly 4,000 years old, Christianity around 2,000 years, so look at what it took for those to become established…[Scientology] is new. And I think new breeds curiosity and misconception, and that’s why I can only tell you what I’ve gotten out of it, which is a source of stress relief, but to anyone who’s curious: There are free online courses.”

Find out the 10 celebs who left Scientology (and why), plus the 12 who are still public members.