Jennifer Tilly Says The Bachelor Helped Prepare Her For RHOBH

Before filming The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Jennifer Tilly got some tips from another hit reality franchise. Surprisingly, a look at the inner workings of the Bachelor Nation helped her get comfortable into her “friend of” role.

Bravo confirmed in May that the actor (best known for playing Tiffany Valentine in the Chucky movies) had joined RHOBH for its upcoming Season 14. She stars alongside fellow newbie Bozoma Saint John and returning stars Kyle Richards, Erika Jayne, Dorit Kemsley, Sutton Stracke, Garcelle Beauvais, and Kathy Hilton. Ahead of filming, Tilly had already read Amy Kaufman’s 2018 book Bachelor Nation, and she recently told Vulture that the intel prepared her for RHOBH.

“I’d say Housewives is the most challenging thing I’ve ever done ... I think it’s such an interesting kind of sharp left turn for my career,” she told the outlet, explaining that the book gave her some insight into how reality shows are pieced together.

“The Bachelor editors said — I’m paraphrasing — ‘When we get all the footage, it’s like we have a big box of Legos. And we’re like, ‘What are we going to create with these Lego blocks?’” Tilly said. “They can do anything. They can make you the girl next door. They can make you the villain ... It depends on what they want to show.”

Confessing that she’s “always been a Housewives super-fan,” the actor also told Vulture that she became more sympathetic toward cast members as a viewer after reading the Bachelor Nation book.

“When some Housewives were looking really bad on the show, and the fans are throwing mud at them, I had empathy for them,” she continued. “Because I thought, ‘What they’re doing is spinning a storyline out of thin air.’”

Behind The Scenes Of RHOBH

With The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 14 still in production, Tilly joked that she mustn’t give “away any plot lines,” but did reveal to Vulture that not everything is as it seems behind the scenes.

“I was like, ‘I live in Beverly Hills, and it’d be kind of fun to see Beverly Hills through the lens of really rich people,’” she said of her decision to join the show, adding that she assumed filming would mostly take place in the 90210.

“I thought that I was going to see a lot of people shopping on Rodeo Drive, but a lot of the filming that they do is in the Valley,” she disclosed. “The really fancy, elite places don’t want Housewives screaming at each other in their dining room.”

On top of Tilly’s presence on the show, fans anticipate that the marriage breakdowns of Richards and Kemsley will be front and center in RHOBH Season 14.

Meanwhile, returning diamond-holder Beauvais also recently teased what viewers can expect in the new season. “We’re starting right out the gate. Right out the gate. We’re really fun,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “I think it’s going to be really fun and fresh, I really do.”