Ting, ting, ting! Everyone’s favorite friend-of-the Housewives is back to tease The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City with more audacious announcements, foot-in-mouth commentary, and a new-and-improved “medium body count” hairdo.
Just like a cockroach, you can’t quite deter Britani Bateman, which is great news for fans of good TV, and horrible news for Meredith Marks (who recently labeled Bateman and co-star Whitney Rose “S--tney 1 and S--tney 2”).
“That was interesting. I think that was hitting below the belt, but I won’t comment on that. I would never say something like that,” Bateman told the Daily Beast’s Obsessed. “I want to keep it classy.”
After all, Bateman’s used to it. She’s been called out for her “high body count” hair, screamed off a sprinter van in the middle of Mexico, and dismissed on arrival by the second coming herself, Mary Cosby. Some would have run for the hills the first chance they could, but Bateman welcomed it all with an almost masochistic energy.
“I’m called the bounce-back queen,” she said. “Yes, it was hard, but I also have this ability to not take things personally unless I need to. I feel like one of my strengths is being able to listen to feedback and sort of sift through what’s true and what’s not true. And if it’s true, I’m willing to look at it and change. And if it’s not true, then why bother?”
Season 6 of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City sees the group traverse uncharted waters, from a Below Deck Down Under crossover on the high seas to a Greek pilgrimage led by the Orthodox icon herself, Angie Katsanevas. The premiere takes the women to humbler pastures, as Katsanevas spearheads a camping trip to rural Utah during the dead of winter. It’s not exactly aspirational, but it’s the exact backdrop fans have come to expect for another all-out brawl.
To no one’s surprise, Bateman lies squarely at the center of the drama, but it might just be a calmer start than her bombastic introduction. Last year, she found herself ping-ponged between Bronwyn Newport and Cosby within five minutes of entering the group.
“They tore me apart like velociraptors. It was shocking,” Bateman said. “Like Bronwyn would say, my soul left my body. I really didn’t expect that.”
Fresh off one of the harshest freshman seasons in Housewives history—one Bateman said was much worse than any hazing she ever faced in her sorority—the singing starlet returned with an emboldened attitude. Last year, she was a deer in headlights. This time around, she knows what to expect.
“Being thrown into this group of Type A, really strong-willed, outspoken women, there’s no lack of strength,” she said. “I’ve never been in a group like that.”
“I’m usually the queen bee of my friend group,” she added. “I feel like we all get each other because we’re all very similar in that queen bee type of way. I don’t mean like a mean girl, but kind of like a nice Regina George.”
Sure, Marks is still yelling “you can leave!” at decibels previously thought impossible while half the cast dismisses her entirely, but Bateman isn’t the meek Karen Smith of the group anymore. That’s immediately clear in the premiere, where Bateman launches barbs at both Marks and Rose.
“[This season,] I surprised myself over and over, because with my heart beating out of my chest, I was able to step up to the plate and do what needed to be done.”
While she describes the season as “mercurial,” Bateman said she was “able to relax a lot more just knowing what to expect and how this group of women’s personalities congeal, and how things ebb and flow.”
“I’m a girl that just wants to have fun!” she added. “It’s a good group to have fun in. When we’re not screaming at each other, we really do have a great time.”
The most fun she had all season? The cast cruise, hosted by Below Deck hunk Captain Jason Chambers.
But, even on the ice-cold camping trip, Bateman brought her signature flair to spice up the trip, offering up yet another announcement about her relationship with Jared Osmond, while giving the ladies video cameras to document the journey.
“I mean, I’m the video girl. I figured, why not? You know. If I’m gonna be shaded for that, why not make it a thing?”
Truly, Bateman takes it all in stride, from the cast crusade against her recording conversations to the “high body count hair” insult heard ‘round Utah. Rocking a chic lob, Bateman hinted that her hair journey will continue into the new season, and Katsanevas’ salon may take the credit for her newest look.
When the world tosses Kerastase Thermique Bateman’s way, she makes a shampoo-flavored lemonade.
“I am who I am. I show up and I present myself exactly as authentically as I possibly can, with all the good and the bad,” she said. “And if you like me, you like me. If you don’t, you don’t. There’s nothing I can do about it.”
“I really just don’t like to take life too seriously because it’s too short. Why belabor things that don’t really matter? Like, why worry? I don’t know. Just have fun!”
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST on Bravo and next day on Peacock. Viewers can catch up on our recaps here.
