A Douglas Elliman agent is so interested in appearing on The Real Housewives of New York that she auditioned four times — and still didn’t get the part.
As first reported by the New York Post, Taja Abitbol Cone has continuously auditioned for a spot on the show but got rejected four times so far. a veteran agent of 23 years, Cone focuses on luxury markets in New York City, Hamptons and Miami and, according to her bio, has owned several restaurants. Her brother, Victor Alia, is also a Douglas Elliman agent.
“My life is so perfect for TV that it’s unbelievable to me that they don’t see that,” said Cone, whose husband, former Yankees and Mets pitcher David Cone, is a commentator for the New York Yankees on the YES Network. “And that’s the truth.”
Taja Abitbol Cone
The show centers around the lives of wealthy housewives around the country and it has been closely linked with celebrity real estate over the years. Episodes often track the women in their efforts to buy and sell luxury homes while housewives like The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Dorit Kemsley are married to affluent real estate developers.
“I don’t think they get the Yankee logo — how important that is in New York,” Cone said. “Are they serious?”
Several former stars also work as real estate agents. Last week, news leaked that former The Real Housewives of New York star Kelly Bensimon was joining Douglas Elliman’s team in the city. According to her agent bio, Cone has worked in real estate for the past 23 years.
“Purchasing a home is a dream come true for most, and that’s a service I love to provide,” she says in her work bio.
Cone did not immediately return Inman’s request for comment. According to the Post article, several well-known women have been trying to get on the show — actress Tori Spelling and Deidre Scaramucci, wife of one-time White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, among others.
Anthony Scaramucci and Deidre Scaramucci
“I thought, potentially I could show them what we are really like,” Scaramucci, who famously filed for divorce from her husband when she was nine months pregnant in 2017, said. Scaramucci received an email about joining the show from a casting agent but, after going through four interviews, was not selected.
A casting agent who works on the show told the Post that they work hard to find the right fit for the show. Many women who come from enormous wealth or old money do not want to expose themselves by drawing attention to their lifestyles.
“All the ‘Housewives’ are hard to cast,” the casting agent said. “We are lucky if we interview six to 10 people a season. Nobody with integrity is going to go on a reality show like that where you are flaunting your lifestyle and flashing cash.”
A publicist who has worked with the The Real Housewives franchise said the show attracts those who “don’t have a whole lot going on in the first place.”
“They think their lives will be transformed,” the publicist said. “They think there will be an element of happiness that will result in being famous. They don’t understand that most people watch the show because they are watching train wrecks.”