NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Jenna Lyons said on the August 27 episode of Bravo's 'The Real Housewives of New York City' that she changed her birth name due to her brother's teasing.
The Season 14 episode titled, 'You Wreath What You Sow', begins with Jenna casting for her LoveSeen lashes campaign.
Jenna asked a model called Mary if she had a nickname, and she told her a charming tale about how her brother gave her a nickname since he could not pronounce her name. "He called me Marny," Mary explained.
"That's so sweet," Jenna said as Mary explained that the name stuck, and her mother still referred to her as Marny.
"My name is not my real name," Jenna said as Mary and Sai De Silva leaned in to hear.
"I'll tell you a really weird story that'll probably make you laugh. So my name was Judith when I was growing up, and I never felt like a Judith. My brother used to tease me," Jenna said.
She continued, "And so the first day of college, our teacher said, 'If you have a nickname, like, tell me now. Today's the day.'"
She further said, "So I was like, 'Okay,' but I had to pick something, and the only thing that could come to mind was my brother used to call me Jenna, Jenna, Jenna-talia, Jenna, Jenna, Jenna-talia."
Who is 'RHONY' star Jenna Lyons' brother Spencer Lyons?
Spencer is a Grassroots Manager at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, INC, according to his LinkedIn page.
In 2023, he organized the 2023 ACS CAN California Legislative Policy Roundtable.
It was the country's foremost advocacy organization, fighting every day to make the problems of people with cancer a national and state priority.
The virtual event focused on the importance of the California Cancer Registry, Regional Registries, and their roles in cancer research.
Members of the Legislature, public health activists, and researchers who demonstrated how they utilize the Registry to fight cancer were among the panelists.
Spencer is presently based in Redondo Beach, California, USA. He is two years younger than Jenna.
J.Crew, Jenna's former employer, even went on to call Spencer an activist and Style Guide star in its 2012 copy.
Who are 'RHONY' star Jenna and Spencer Lyons's parents?
Jenna seldom speaks publicly about her formative background, but when she does, she discusses her emotional bond with both her mother and father.
In a candid interview with Oprah Daily, she disclosed that her mother, Barbara, a piano instructor, had a kind of autism that prevented them from having a strong mother-daughter connection.
"My mom, who passed away last September, had pretty severe Asperger’s [Syndrome] and had trouble forming emotional connections," she said in April.
She did not say whether they were able to build a closer bond before her mother died in 2022.
Jenna has a disorder known as incontinentia pigmenti, which impacted the color of her hair and teeth from an early age. In terms of her father's assistance, he was almost nonexistent during her upbringing.
"My dad didn’t talk about it, either, and anyway, he left our family when I was 10," she stated in the same interview.
She added, "I guess if I had older siblings, I would have known I was different, but I didn’t. I just had a younger brother."
Her brother similarly avoids the limelight.
Jenna Lyons gets a surprise visit from Spencer on 'RHONY' Season 14
'RHONY' Season 14 Episode 8, titled 'Business Classy', will air on September 3 on Bravo. It is set to feature more flirty fun and feuds that will undoubtedly strain the women's relationships.
Jenna's brother, Spencer, travels to New York for the holidays, while Brynn Whitfield visits her brother in Los Angeles.
According to one of Jenna's Instagram photos, they spent the New Year together. Sai and Ubah Hassan, on the other hand, go shopping for the group's vacation to Anguilla.
The overseas trip, on the other hand, will involve petty drama as the women wonder if Jenna missed traveling with them to avoid flying in class.
'The Real Housewives of New York City' Season 14 airs every Sunday at 9 pm ET on Bravo
