'The Real Housewives of Dubai's Lesa Milan hopes watching season 2 provides some clarity about her falling out with Chanel Ayan.
It's been nearly a year since Lesa Milan wrapped filming season 2 of Bravo's The Real Housewives of Dubai, meaning it's been about a year since her friendship with one-time bestie Chanel Ayan came to an end. Now, the two both get to relive it along with the viewers.
"It's-- I wouldn't say behind me, but I've kind of been busy with kids and husband and lifestyle and [my company] Mina Roe, that it's kind of taken me away from all of that," Lesa reflects to ET. "So having to relive that, I think, is gonna be the most difficult, but guess what? I get to see her perspective, 'cause she's out there playing victim, so I want to see why."
"Victim" is a trigger word for Ayan; the season started off with drama over that term, after co-star Sara Al Madani used it to describe Ayan in interviews discussing season 1, so it's telling that Lesa would pull it out now. When it comes to their falling out, Ayan's largely put the blame on Lesa, while Lesa throws it right back at the model. Lesa says the friendship ended over "miscommunication" and "loyalty."
"I'm big on loyalty," the 35-year-old proclaims. "I'm, like, the most loyal friend. As you can see from season 1, I was ride or die. 'If you have a problem with her, you have a problem with me' type of energy. I expect that in return, and I didn't get it."
Both Lesa and Ayan tell ET, it'll take fans the entire season to understand why their friendship unraveled the way it did. Their fourth-wall breaking showdown in the trailer, during which Lesa tells Ayan the show isn't worth losing their friendship over, seemingly goes down in the finale.
"The show is really real life; Ayan and I are friends in real life, or we were friends in real life, so I would choose her over the show, over and over again," Lesa says. "And I felt, in that moment, she wasn't choosing me over the show."
Ayan proved to be RHODubai's breakout star in season 1, something Lesa suggests went to her head when cameras went back up for season 2.
"People from season 1 definitely showed up very different season 2," she smirks. "I think a lot of the dynamic shift is due to that exact thing."
Castmates and viewers alike question whether Ayan's budding friendship with former Ladies of London star Caroline Stanbury had anything to do with her and Lesa's falling out; in sneak peeks for the season, Lesa makes a comment about "snakes," pointed at Stanbury, and cracks a joke about Ayan jumping aboard the "Stan-wagon." While Lesa won't put all the blame for her friction with Ayan on Stanbury, she does credit her with playing an integral part in it.
"I draw the line where your loyalty [lies with] someone who tried to destroy me, right?" Lesa teases, referencing the jabs Stanbury tossed at her maternity fashion line at the season 1 reunion when Lesa attempted to defend Ayan.
"Someone who I, actually, had issues with because of me being loyal to you," she continues. "You're going to have to see how that whole thing plays out. ... I feel like, we're all adults and responsible for our own actions, so it would be irresponsible in some ways to even put all of that on Stanbury."
Going into season 2, Lesa felt as if she and Ayan were "on our island, by ourselves" with what she dubs "the forgettable four" -- Stanbury, Sara, Caroline Brooks and Nina Ali -- on another. The factions quickly wiped the slate clean, creating space for "juicy" alliance shifts. Lesa says she's "cool with everyone except Ayan" at present.
"Maybe a conversation can fix it, maybe it can't," she muses. "You'll have to see at the reunion."
"Everything is repairable, honestly -- unless you sleep with my husband, I feel like I can get through anything else," she notes. "It wasn't that deep, to be honest."
Nina did not return for season 2 ("Karma's a b***h," Lesa smirks); in her place is newcomer Taleen Marie, a "fiery" addition to the group whom Lesa claims is responsible for a lot of this year's drama, along with Ayan.
"But there might be a pot-stirrer," she offers, too. "I would put Stanbury behind-the-scenes pot-stirring, and Brooks in-your-face pot-stirring."
"Sara just be minding her own business, and me? I'm the one throwing the shade," she cracks, noting that the cast "all irk my nerves in some ways" and no one is free from her clap-backs.
"They just come out of nowhere, you know?" Lesa says of her quips.
"You know what? I think as a group we showed up, we clocked in and it's gonna be such an epic season," she says. "Everybody showed up. There's no weak link on this cast. I feel like everybody came and gave it 100. I think some people were more themselves than others, but overall, I think it's a hot season."
While it may seem like the drama outweighs the fun, Lesa says the season is actually the opposite. She calls it a perfect mix of The Real Housewives of Miami, Beverly Hills and Atlanta.
"I actually enjoyed filming season 2 more than I did season 1," she says. "We had a great cast trip to Bali that I think will probably be the most exciting [part], all the lavish lifestyle fun and everything. My expansion of my brand, so we were just maternity fashion before, and now we've tapped into skincare and lots of drama, of course, unfolds over that, because the girls are sometimes haters."
She's also excited to show off her family life with husband Richard Hall and their sons, Maximillian, Sebastian and Kristian. As for the suggestion in the trailer that there's trouble at home, Lesa makes it clear: Rich is "not going anywhere."
"My husband and I are doing great," she declares. "Relationships have high highs, low lows, all of that."
"We're great," she reiterates. "That's my biggest supporter, that's my best friend. ... I mean, he would have to find another me. Impossible! Even if I had a twin, impossible."
The Real Housewives of Dubai airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo starting June 11. Episodes stream next day on Peacock.
RELATED CONTENT:
