Queue And A

‘RHOBH’ Star Sutton Stracke Admits “I’m A Difficult Person To Get To Know”

By Lea Palmieri @littleleap
Published May 19, 2021, 7:00 p.m. ET

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Sutton Stracke is an official cast member on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills this season, and it’s awfully easy to see why. From that fabulous private shopping spree during the cast’s trip last season (and more on that below) to what appears to be her villain status in this season’s trailer (and way more on that below), Sutton has proven to be a polarizing addition to the squad — meaning, she fits right in with this bunch.

We spoke via Zoom earlier this month about her late night online shopping habits, what her kids think of her on the show, and the Harry Styles concert she still can’t get over.

Decider: One of the highlights of the show remains your friendship with Garcelle. Can you tell us something fun we’ll see from the two of you this season?

Sutton Stracke: I can’t say the word Garcelle without laughing because she makes me laugh so hard. I will give you one teaser: I think we get to see Garcelle help me in a time of need during an incident with my leg involving a wheelchair. That’s pretty good. She helped, but then she also kind of wanted to torture me.

I had a pretty bad injury. I was in a boot and a wheelchair and a scooter and all kinds of things. It’s healed [now]. It’s still not as mobile as I’d like it to be, but we’re getting there.

You moved into and are currently renting Kyle’s old house. Were you nervous at all about mixing your personal home life with business with a friend? How was Mauricio as your landlord?

I was not nervous at all. I just let my business manager handle all that part. Kyle was so sweet and eager, almost, for me to move into the house because she loves it so much. She was like, ‘You’re gonna love it, all of my best memories are here, this is where everything good happened in my life, it’s gonna give you good vibes.’ I didn’t think I was gonna be here so long, because I’m still in this house. They’ve been really kind to let me overstay my welcome.

Mauricio was great. He was showing me how to use the grill. The first Sunday, he did show up and was at the door, and then he showed up the second Sunday as well, at the window, and I was like, is this gonna be like a thing? I love Mauricio. So, if you want to come over every Sunday, Mauricio, I can have either cocktails available or coffee, whatever you need, I will do for you. He’s so great. They have a really good system. So if something’s wrong, I don’t have to bother them, it’s all really professional and good.

I loved the personal shopping experience last season when the group had the store all to themselves during the cast trip. Do we get to see anything like that this season? Because shopping was different last year — were you ordering a lot online too?

Yeah, I became an online junkie. But it was good because I have a store. I was also shopping online, like at two in the morning. I don’t know if everybody was like me, but during COVID I was not sleeping, my sleeping habits were really weird. So staying up really late, because my children were sleeping so late that they were getting up at like 10. I was sleeping until nine which, I am an early riser. So I was up at two in the morning on Net-A-Porter buying stuff. Boxes kept showing up and I’m like, what did I order? I couldn’t remember. Crazy.

But at the same time, people were online shopping at my store. So it was good, it kind of balanced itself out. Yeah, I was a complete nut online shopper. I didn’t go to any stores at all. I think we all missed that. We were craving it and it’s kind of like eating stale bread when you online shop. I mean, if you’re hungry enough, it’s good? You know, it’s not delicious. You want some butter or something on it. I was going into my store a lot. At the end, I’m like, I’m so sick of my store too, just everything I was like, I’m sick of it. Then you have to really go into your gratitude, meditation and be like, I am so thankful for my children’s faces and that they are starting to cook for themselves. I’m so grateful for that and I’m so grateful that I have a store that I can smell the paint. You just have to back yourself up and be grateful, because I think quarantine and COVID did a number on all of us.

How did it feel to finally get your fingers on that diamond? I wrote at the end of last season that you deserved the diamond and you were such a great addition to the show. I’m not gonna take full credit for your new diamond, but…

I think you should go for it. Take the credit. Thank you. If you ever get a glimmer of credit, grab it. You know what was really sweet? I was on my scooter and I did something for BravoTV.com. We were at the store and I was wheeling around, showing things at the store. We were filming it and they said, let’s talk about your jewelry and what new things you have. I was like, Okay, so we’re pulling things out. My store director Jordan Brown was there and they were like, Jordan, will you pull out something for Sutton to show and Jordan pulled out the diamond. It’s just like, Is this real? I mean, the diamond isn’t real. Let’s just face it. Because this would be in the Smithsonian, it’s so big. But it’s really pretty. It was just fun. It was really sweet. It’s a moment that you’ll never forget. I’m really thankful and happy to be part of the family. How nice to do it in my store.

This is your second season on the show but the first as an official Housewife. The trailer is implying that you are maybe the villain a little bit. So how was it for you? Did it feel as dramatic as the trailer looked?

Oh, it’s dramatic. The whole season was very dramatic. It was fun and then it was dramatic. I think this season felt very, like real housewives. It really had this meat to it. In all the ways that I think we all understand the franchise of The Real Housewives, it felt a little surreal, like wow, this is really happening. Emphasis on the real part.

Villain? I’m not a villain, I’m a nice girl. Here’s the thing, I watched last year. I reminded myself of my daughter Porter when she was a baby and I would put her in playgroups and her eyes would get this big and she would just watch. Then she would decide who she would play with and I feel like that was my first season. Now I’m like, oh no, I’m the one that’s kind of getting it. But you know, it’s part of the process. I’m just myself and I’m speaking up for myself and if that’s the villain, then that’s the villain. I don’t think anybody’s really the villain. I think sometimes we speak our minds and maybe people, maybe a majority of the group disagrees with you. I don’t know if that’s being a villain. I think if you speak your mind and have an opinion and people disagree with you it may look that way. But it’s not. You have to be forthright in your opinion. I stuck my ground, which is tough when you’ve got seven pairs of eyes staring at you.

Newcomer Crystal, it seems like you two maybe get off on the wrong foot. Was there anything that you were able to eventually bond over to get back on track?

I think that it’s true for everyone. I hate to generalize, but it does happen this way. I’m a difficult person to get to know, I’ll admit that. I can be somewhat shy in front of new people. I can be misconstrued in a lot of ways. So I think in the season, hopefully, we’ll see. Maybe some relationships will change.

Tell me a little bit about Kathy Hilton as well. I think a lot of people are very excited to see her and you seem to be pals. I’m dying to know, was it the house that made you feel poor?

I know, maybe I shouldn’t have said that [in the trailer]. But I really did feel so poor in that moment. I couldn’t walk without my boot on, and my sweatshirt. I’m looking at the $60 million house, it’s a brand new house. Typically, I like older houses that have electrical problems and stuff. Like, oh, I never thought about an elevator for your food to go from one level down to the basement party sports room. Where am I? It was just crazy.

That interior design architect guy who’s like this beefy man was carrying me everywhere. I’m like, What is this? Am I in heaven? Do you come with the house? He was really sweet and a very good sport, but the house was beautiful, had beautiful views. Kathy’s just so over the top. I love her. I think when I grow up, I want to be Kathy Hilton. But Kathy Hilton, I don’t know if she’s ever grown up either. People tell me when they die, they want to be my cat. When I die, I want to be Kathy Hilton.

Also during that private shopping spree, I appreciated that you didn’t want to try everything on in front of everyone, but rather do it by yourself. Is there anything else like that, that everybody else wants to participate in in a very showy way that you’re like, not my jam?

I think anything that is in a group setting where you spend a lot of money, I don’t like that. I like to do it in the privacy of my home with my business manager present. I’m more on the low key side of things when it comes to big spending.

What has your kids’ reaction been to you being on the show? Will we see any more of them?

We get to see my oldest daughter, Porter. She left for college in August, so she comes home in the beginning of the season, and then also she leaves, so I have to take her back to school and that is very teary eyed for us both. We’re very close and she got to film with me and do a couple of the FaceTimes on camera, which was really fun. She’s actually very opinionated herself. She’s a Taurus, so she’s very vocal about certain things. She wasn’t shy at all, it was fun for us to do it together.

My boy, my youngest, he’s 14, and in eighth grade. So he really has gotten to the point where he doesn’t care and I know nothing about the world. He rolls his eyes, he also inherited my eye roll. I can’t ever get angry with any of my children when they roll their eyes at me because it comes naturally. My middle son is 17 and he loves it. He loves the show and he loves getting his friends to watch, which is so funny to me. These boys in high school watching Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but yay, we like it. Y’all keep watching it, tell your friends to watch the show. I think they like seeing me getting out and doing things that are different and not being in the kitchen or doing lunches with friends. They like to see me working and evolving as well, because they’re also evolving. We’re all growing together in different ways.

What else are you excited for people to see this season?

I think our trips are really great. The first trip that we get to see is in Tahoe. I had never been to Tahoe, and it’s really beautiful, so that’s a good one. It’s early in the season. California is a beautiful state, so it’s fun to celebrate that. We do a lot of stuff for COVID and production had to work around that. It was always such a safe zone, I was really impressed. I think the audience is going to be really happy. We had a blast. It’s also an emotional season as well. It’s gonna be fun, it’s gonna be sad. It’s a good one.

We spoke around this time last year, and then a couple days later, you posted an Instagram from what I’m guessing was maybe the last concert you saw, which was Harry Styles. If you had posted that before we spoke, it would have been the only thing I would have talked to you about.

Okay, I die. I know. And what he wore? I was just like, those pants.

You must love that album because it is sort of yacht rock-y. 

It’s so good. I got to take one of my gay best friends and my daughter Porter. I got these seats, I had no idea, they were kind of on the side. So every time he exited, we were right there and we could see everything. Stevie Nicks performed with him, which I died, and it started snowing. I’m like, this is the best concert I’ve ever been to. When he walked off the stage, we were so close to him. Honestly, we all tried to touch his hand. First of all, Porter should get first dibs at touching Harry Styles because she’s the youngest. That’s his demographic. My gay friend, because he’s a guy, could reach down and he actually touched Harry Styles’ hand, but he looked at all of us. I was thinking, I knew it was at me. It was the best concert ever. So fun, and that was the last concert we ever went to. But if that’s the last concert I ever go to, I’ll take it.

He DM’ed your friend Lisa Rinna to wish her a Happy Birthday last year!

Well, that’s wrong. That’s wrong because I don’t even think Lisa Rinna went to that concert. See, true fan right here. He’s amazing.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Wednesday at 8 pm ET/PT on Bravo. 

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