Kelly Killoren Bensimon gets honest about being 'raw and real' on 'Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy'

The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy (on Hayu) marked an important milestone in Real Housewives history: The return of the "Scary Island" icon, Kelly Killoren Bensimon, to reality TV.

For Bensimon, she identified that all the fan support was something that really excited her about joining her costars Luann de Lesseps, Dorinda Medley, Sonja Morgan, Ramona Singer and Kristen Taekman, in St. Barths.

"One of the biggest moments, even before the show aired, was when I went to BravoCon and the outpour of love from all the fans. I was so moved, I almost started crying on stage," Bensimon told Yahoo Canada.

"When I was on the show, there was no social media, it was in the ice age. So we are the game changers, we're the pioneers, we're the ones that paved this road. I'm the one that brought you, 'I'm up here, you're down there.' Everyone keeps saying it over and over and over again. And Scary Island is just the gift that keeps on giving."

Clifton Prescod/Peacock via Getty Images

Watch The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy on Hayu with a one-week free trial, then $6.99/month

$7 at Hayu

'This is Housewives, Legacy, Ultimate Girls Trip, be here, be present, be on board'

In true Housewives fashion, Bensimon's return was still marked with a bit of drama, particularly when it came to Taekman.

Taekman had to field questions from her costars about her husband, Josh, specifically his Ashley Madison scandal, a Canadian site for married individuals to engage in extramarital affairs. She was also called out for behaving more like a super fan of the Housewives, bringing up moments from various Housewives episodes that she watched.

Bensimon also didn't see eye-to-eye with how Taekman managed the scandal of her husband being caught on Ashley Madison. Things escalated when Bensimon told Taekman that she isn't opening up and showing her authentic self. Taekman also accused her costar of not being present in St. Barths, including doing some of her personal work while filming the show.

"I'm a single working mother, raised my kids on my own, I'm very, very proud of my girls and my ability to provide, so that's such a huge part of my life," Bensimon said. "Listen, before we even got on the show, she called me and she wanted to meet me and strategize. Anyone that has watched one episode knows, do not call me and strategize, because I am like so raw and real."

Story continues

"I know when something's rotten and she just was very disingenuous, and that's not what we're there for. Legacy, Ultimate Girls Trip, is about getting in deep. We only have seven days, so it's not like we've got 25 episodes or 22 episodes to string out a narrative. We've got to get in it and get into it quickly, and I don't have time to have someone ask me 1,000 times about Episode 9, Season 2. While it's cute, it was annoying me. I was like, no, please, can you start asking real questions, because I wanted to get to know her. I didn't want to hear about her take on an episode."

Bensimon stressed that the first thing she did, when the cast was at the airport, she went to each Housewife and asked, "What's going on? How are you guys doing? What's happening?"

"So I had a sense, before we were filming, about what was going on, because I did my actual homework, versus just like this virtual homework," Bensimon said. "I don't need to be in Meta, I'm in real life. This is Housewives, Legacy, Ultimate Girls Trip, be here, be present, be on board."

Ultimately, Bensimon was "super excited" to be on the show, but she did highlight that she was going through "a lot of emotions" during that period of time, but still came on with the intention of being an open book.

"I just had my youngest daughter move out, and she's graduated from college, she's got a great job," Bensimon said. "My oldest daughter moved out, she's got a great job, she graduated from college."

"I am moving out of my apartment that we lived in for 30 years, and my girls, my little angels are on their way to like living their best [lives]. I went on the show and I was like, 'I'm open. I'm available. Ask me any question you want. I will tell you honestly, of course, what the truth is.' I'm not going to stop doing that."

More reality TV in Kelly Killoren Bensimon's future

Now that Housewives fans have gotten another look into the life of Bensimon, many want more. When asked if she would do more reality TV, the star said it was not off the table.

"I would love to, whether it's the reboot of RHONY, new Legacy, doing my own show, being on Crappie Lake with Luann and Sonja, I definitely see myself back in this universe," Bensimon said. "Just because I feel really good here. It's really fun for me."

I have my on-camera friends and my off-camera friends, and I'm hoping that Luann and Sonja and Dorinda will become off-camera friends, too. I really want more of that."

For fans who watch The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy, don't worry, Bensimon is putting plans in action to get her costar to a New York Rangers game.

"Speaking of off-camera friends, I definitely invited Luann to come to the Rangers game, she said she couldn't come, but I gave her some more dates, like five," Bensimon said. "So we're going to take her the game so she can have fun."

"I can't guarantee that she's going to find the love of her life, but she's definitely going to be cold."

Clifton Prescod/Peacock via Getty Images

Watch The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy on Hayu with a one-week free trial, then $6.99/month

$7 at Hayu

Where to watch 'The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy'

Catch up on The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy on Hayu, in addition to the three previous seasons of Ultimate Girls, and all of The Real Housewives of New York.