‘RHONY’: Eboni K. Williams Opens up About Tension With Co-Star Bershan Shaw

Real Housewives of New York City fans were introduced to the newest Housewife, Eboni K. Williams, during the Season 13 premiere. On the most recent episode of RHONY, Bershan Shaw, Ramona Singer‘s friend, appeared on the show for the first time. Williams, who is the first full-time Black Housewife on RHONY, and Shaw didn’t exactly get off on the right foot. As a result, both Williams and Shaw have spoken out about the tension between them, per Shine My Crown.

Shaw was the first to address their tension-filled relationship. During an appearance on The Wendy Williams Show, she said that she was surprised that she didn’t hit it off with Williams immediately. She explained, “People did think that we would get along right away. And I gotta tell you, I thought that we would get along right away, you know, sister to sister.” Shaw added, “I think I can be a lot. I’m a big personality. I’m like, ‘Hey, girl!’ And different people handle you differently.” When it comes to why she and Williams weren’t able to get along at first, Shaw said that they simply have different personalities.

“She’s reserved,” Shaw continued. “So it didn’t take well because I think some things I said may have offended her. I didn’t mean to, I’m just thinking this is sister talk. I’m thinking, ‘Girl we’re having a good time,’ and it was like, ‘Oh, okay.’” Like Shaw, Williams also addressed her relationship with her co-star during a recent interview. She appeared on The Breakfast Club, during which she said that it’s perfectly fine that she and Shaw didn’t initially mesh.

“Listen, Bershan is her own strong, beautiful Black woman. She ain’t got to see it the way I see it, she don’t have to do it the way I do it. We see this dynamic differently,” Williams said. The RHONY star went on to say that she’s actually glad that she and Shaw were able to be the truest versions of themselves on the Bravo series and that they didn’t hit it off right away, as it reflects the Black community in an accurate way. She continued, “Looking back at these episodes, I’m glad it happened that way. I’m glad that Bershan and I did not represent the kind of same experience and lens of black womanhood because that shows the truth of Black women, which is we are complicated. She wanted to lean into the similarities of herself and the women, and I wanted to start with the distinctions.”