Erin Lichy described the pregnancy prank that recently played out on The Real Housewives of New York was “crazy,” but says she went along with it for a good reason.
The Bravo star, 37, joined her fellow N.Y.C. housewife Ubah Hassan at Bravo Fan Fest in Miami over the weekend where she reflected on the latest episodes of the show — including her prank-gone-wrong in which she and costar Rebecca Minkoff tricked the women into thinking the latter was pregnant with someone other than her husband’s baby.
Minkoff and LIchy hatched the prank over lunch prior to a group dodgeball game. They would tell the other woman Minkoff was pregnant but didn’t know who the father was after a “crazy night.”
“I thought it was kind of a crazy idea to make that rumor about yourself,” Lichy told PEOPLE exclusively at the Bravo Fan Fest. “But I was down to carry it out because I wanted to see who the pigeons really were.”
While the prank was intended for Minkoff and Lichy to weed out who the rumor-spilling “leaky pigeon” — or group gossip — was, the joke quickly turned serious as the other women began to feel that Lichy had gaslit them after finding out that Brynn Whitfield was in on the joke all along — which Lichy had not disclosed.
Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty; Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic
“I think the reason she told you is a prank, because she wants you to do it and then go around to everybody else to be like, ‘Look! Look! Who’s the leaky pigeon?’ ” Hassan told Whitfield in the episode. “Because if she didn’t tell you it was a prank, you would not have said it.”
Fellow housewife Sai De Silva also found the joke in poor taste, pointing out in her confessional that as three people in the group — Jessel Tank, Hassan and Whitfield — were hoping to have babies themselves, the prank fell flat.
“I mean, there are three women who want to be pregnant,” she said. “I think maybe Rebecca and Erin need to possibly check their baby privilege at the door.”
While it was revealed that Minkoff, who is a mother of four, was not pregnant, Lichy herself is in fact expecting her fourth child with her husband, Abe. Their newest addition joins sons Levi, 9, Elijah, 4, and daughter Layla, 7.
Erin Lichy/Instagram
Lichy says her three kids really wanted to have another brother or sister.
“They were begging me to get pregnant, begging! ‘Please, we really want another baby,’ ” Lichy said in Miami. ” ‘You do? That means less toys, less attention, what’s wrong with you?’ They wanted it.”
She jokingly confirmed her husband Abe, 42, is the father (given the pregnancy prank is still a hot topic) and reveals she’s feeling “good.”
“Well, it’s harder because I’m just more exhausted by everybody,” Lichy admitted. “But, it’s so familiar at this point that it’s pretty easy.” The expectant mom also revealed while she’s having healthier cravings this time around, she still wants carbs “as always.”
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The Real Housewives of New York City airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo.
