Jessel Taank - ‘Real Housewives? It’s like Game of Thrones’

Jessel Taank is the first South Asian housewife and the breakout star of her debut season of The Real Housewives of New York in 2023. In this episode we speak openly about the challenges of conceiving her twin sons through IVF and the misplaced shame she felt at not being able to have children naturally.

Her failures include failing to overcome Indian beauty ideals, a failure to balance motherhood with personal ambition, and a failure to understand the mechanisms of reality TV (and yes…we get INTO it).

✨ IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 Intro

02:38 Navigating Reality TV and Conflict

03:17 The Dark Turn of Real Housewives

05:31 Upbringing and Family Background

08:59 Struggles with Indian Beauty Ideals

11:06 Facing Racism and Inherited Trauma

16:50 Balancing Motherhood and Personal Ambition

24:26 Freezing Eggs and Meeting My Husband

24:39 The Struggles of Miscarriages and Procedures

24:57 The Journey to Acceptance

25:51 The Reality of Raising Twins

27:26 Balancing Motherhood and Personal Ambitions

31:10 Impact of Fertility Treatments on Intimacy

36:19 Navigating Reality TV

40:16 Coping with Social Media Criticism

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Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan

Studio and Mix Engineer: Gulliver Lawrence-Tickell

Producer: Hannah Talbot

Executive Producer: Carly Maile

Head of Marketing: Kieran Lancini

How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.

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