Ramona Singer’s life has been a wild ride and she’s finally ready to talk about it.
In Singer’s new memoir, “Life on the Ramona Coaster,” the reality star opens up about realizing her husband of more than 20 years, Mario, was having an affair and how she’s navigating the dating scene as a changed woman.
“Forgiveness is very important,” the “Real Housewives of New York” fixture recently told Page Six. “I forgive [Mario]. Sometimes people just lose their way and you can’t help them find it.”
In January 2014, the Bravo star allegedly discovered her then-husband in a romantic tryst with a younger woman at their Southampton home and tried to rebuild their relationship last year, but quickly realized the efforts were futile. The couple is set to finalize their divorce this fall.
“I realized it was completely over last August,” she admitted. “Two people need to try to make a relationship work and if you’re both not in it to win it, it’s not going to happen.”
The reality star is still coming to terms with how her celebrity recognition may have contributed to her ex-husband’s insecurities, explaining, “I can’t go anywhere without someone recognizing me and that bothered him. Men like to feel important and it takes a very secure man [to live with that].”
“I think … turning 60 changed him,” she said of her estranged husband.
While the native New Yorker says she was “completely blindsided” by her husband’s infidelities, Singer is ready to take her shot at finding love again as a new woman.
“I’m dating – not putting any labels on anything,” Singer said over a glass of rosé at Beautique in NYC. “When you’ve been in a relationship for many years, you don’t want to jump into anything too quickly. I’m living in the present.”
Reflecting on how her turmoil has strengthened her, the 58-year-old explained, “I learned a lot from the betrayal of my ex. It kind of made my barriers drop a lot and it’s made me a softer, more compassionate person.”
“I only know I’ve never looked better,” she boasted.
The confident businesswoman isn’t afraid to outline her ideal man now that she’s single and ready to mingle.
“My dream guy would be someone who is not threatened by me,” explained Singer. “I would need someone who is very bright because I feel I’m very intelligent, someone who has children in college or older, someone who has a great sense of humor and doesn’t take anything too seriously.”
“Someone I can cook a meal with,” she continued. “We could have a bottle of wine and watch ‘Game of Thrones’ on TV in bed naked or whip up a dinner party for 18 people or go out on the town and dance. I would want someone just as happy walking around in jeans and a T-shirt as a tux. Is that asking too much?”
Ramona Singer through the years:
