John was known to stir up drama in seasons past, but Dorinda says that won't be the case this year.
Where is John Mahdessian?
Dorinda Medley’s main squeeze has been missing from The Real Housewives of New York City’s ninth season thus far, and Dorinda tells ET it’s going to stay that way.
“It was a mutual decision,” Dorinda says of keeping John away from the cameras.
“Listen, you learn a great lesson,” she continues. “I actually thought about it. I can't think of any couple on the Housewives that it's been successful for … If you look at the track record, it's separating church and state a little bit. I think it's healthy to be able to do this, go home and have somebody who's not part of it.”
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Dorinda’s co-star, Sonja Morgan, notes that she’s known the dry cleaning mogul for years, and the John that fans have seen on the show is not the John she knows. She says he didn’t get a “fair shake” in past seasons, where he was seen exploding on a couple of the New York ladies, including Bethenny Frankel.
“He's such a good guy,” Sonja shares. “Very generous and loving and warm. He got a bad shake there.”
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“You know what, he doesn't need to be on,” Dorinda adds. “He doesn't. Also, too, I felt like it was distracting from me, the audience getting to see me, and me getting to really get involved with the girls, because I felt like I was protecting and managing him.”
Dorinda and John are still happily together -- just enjoying their time off-camera now.
The Real Housewives of New York City airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo. For more from our chat with Dorinda and Sonja, check out the video below.