Tinsley Mortimer Debuts New Short Hairstyle After Previously Saying She’d Never Cut It
March 31, 2018Tinsley Mortimer is trying something new with her hair.
On Saturday, the 42-year-old Real Housewives of New York City star announced that she had done something she previously said would never happen: she cut her hair.
“In honor of the new season of #RHONY…I chopped my hair!! 💇♀️🍎 Thanks Ludmilla @oscarblandisalon,” she wrote alongside a picture of her new, shortened ‘do.
Mortimer’s haircut comes as a big surprise for RHONY fans.
In an episode from season 9 of the series, fellow New York City Housewife Carole Radziwill suggested Mortimer chop her hair to help the public forget about Mortimer’s headline-making mugshot, which was taken when the former socialite was arrested in 2016 for trespassing at an ex-boyfriend’s home.
But the idea of changing her hair sent Mortimer into panic mode. “I would never. I’ve always had long hair. Stop. I’m like sweating right now, having a nervous breakdown!” she said.
“I don’t feel comfortable with it. The way that I wear my fake eyelashes and curl my hair, it’s because I feel comfortable that way. That’s me,” Mortimer added. “I’m not cutting my hair, Carole. It’s not happening.”
Persisting, Radziwill insisted that Mortimer needed to reinvent herself. “If I was coming back to New York having been the ‘It’ girl, I would totally reinvent myself. Cut my hair, put some low lights in it. You can’t have the same curls you had when you were 28 and date the same boys and live the same lifestyle. You have to reinvent yourself,” she said.
But Mortimer wasn’t budging. “I’m not changing my look,” she later told the audience during a confessional. “I’ve had enough change in my life, especially last year. I’m not changing it. I like my curls, I like my lashes, I like my party dresses, I like my blonde hair, I like my long hair. I’m not changing.”
Tinsley Mortimer
Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
But there is one thing about Mortimer’s hairstyle that likely won’t change — her hair color.
“I haven’t seen my natural hair color in 20 years,” the reality star told The New York Times in 2017, crediting her stylist Kylie White for her trademark color, which he described to the newspaper as “multitonal — a soft baby blond with a golden blond base; she has icy and buttery pieces.”
“Being blond just makes me feel happier, like when the sun’s hitting you,” Mortimer added. “The blond pops. It’s cheerful.”
The Real Housewives of New York City’s 10th anniversary season premieres April 4 (9 p.m. ET) on Bravo.