Whatever your feelings on the series, it’s hard to deny the impact The Real Housewives of New York City has had on reality TV as a whole. Beginning in 2008 as the second installment of The Real Housewives franchise, RHONY and the cast’s commitment to serving its viewership some luxury drama — as well as our propensity to eat it up — is arguably the reason reality TV as a whole grew in popularity in the years following the show.
Even with all that success, season 13 of Bravo’s flagship guilty pleasure series suffered from controversy and an overall negative reception, leading Bravo to completely reboot the franchise this season. The new cast is filled with diverse New York residents with different careers (despite the name of the show, they’re not all housewives) but the new direction has been criticized by some longtime fans; season 14’s housewives skew younger in age than previous seasons, prompting some viewers to think Bravo is trying to bring in a younger audience at the expense of its older one.
Regardless of the criticism, the new cast is performing admirably: we have moguls (Jenna Lyons with her eyelashes and Ubah Hassan with her hot sauce), drama stirrers (I say this, lovingly, about Brynn Whitfield and Jessel Taank) and even a Trump supporter in Erin Lichy. Trump’s presidency may not have lasted as long as he, and apparently Lichy, wanted, but Lichy’s marriage has thankfully gone the distance, something she and the other housewives celebrated in the most recent episode.
The party was a sweet affair filled with the housewives and Lichy’s personal guests, one of who caught our (and Brynn’s) attention; in typical RHONY fashion, Brynn set out to start some drama by flirting with not only Erin’s husband, but also the idea of dating Erin’s dad. “If I was Erin’s stepmom, I wouldn’t let her call me Brynn, you know?” she told Brynn’s husband, about snatching his father-in-law. “I’d be like, ‘No, you have to call me Mom now.'” She may not be Erin’s mom yet, but we can’t deny single-handedly bringing the drama to Erin’s anniversary party was pretty “Mother” of her.
Watching Brynn publicly thirst after Erin’s dad is enough to make you wonder exactly what his deal is. Is he hot enough to make you publicly embarrass yourself at a friend’s function? Is he single? Where is Erin’s mom? Here’s what we know about Erin Lichy’s parents.
Who is Erin Lichy’s mom?
Erin’s mother is Dorothy Somekh and she undoubtedly inspired her to go into the career she has today. According to her LinkedIn, Dorothy is a licensed Real Estate Associate Broker and has been working with Brown Harris Stevens, a real estate firm based in New York City, for the past 22 years. Her page on Brown Harris Stevens’ official site goes into detail about her career, revealing she initially worked as a teacher before transitioning into real estate. Before working with Brown Harris Stevens, Dorothy started her own real estate firm, no doubt instilling a sense of entrepreneurship into her daughter from a young age.
Dorothy continues to sell real estate — if you’re in the market for a luxury condo in Manhattan, she can do that for you — and has her own public Instagram account, although she hasn’t posted since 2018. According to Erin, Dorothy is the inspiration behind her own minimal makeup look. In an interview with The Sleep Code, Erin told the publication her mother taught her “less is more” when it comes to makeup, as well as the importance of a healthy diet.
Who is Erin Lichy’s dad?
Erin’s father is Eliahu Yitzhari, and like her mother, he also works in real estate. According to Erin and Abe’s wedding announcement in The New York Times, Eliahu works for Triangle Assets, a real estate investment company based in New York. On the official Triangle Assets site, Eliahu is listed as Eli Yitzhari with the title of “VP Investments.” According to its website, the company’s “focus has consistently been to acquire properties with maximum potential for improvement and growth value.”
Eliahu has an Instagram account, but isn’t very active and hasn’t posted since 2018.
Are Erin Lichy’s parents still together?
While there’s not much info online about Erin’s parents’ marital status, Gossip Next Door reports the couple have been divorced for years. This is good news for Brynn if she’s actually thinking of making a move on Erin’s dad. Yeah, it would be profoundly messed up to do to Erin, but it would make for great reality TV. However, it does look like he attended the anniversary party with a date, so Brynn might have some competition.
You can watch The Real Housewives of New York City Sundays at 9pm ET/PT on Bravo.