Reality Bites: Jill Zarin of Real Housewives of New York City

Jill Zarin, the straight-talking, red-headed firecracker who is one on of the main reasons we keep coming back for more Real Housewives of New York City, is having a busy summer. In addition to trying to keep track of her dog Ginger (“Ginger… where are you!” she hollers at the beginning of our interview), she’s keeping occupied with a various Hamptons charity events, a trip to Europe and filming season two of of Bravo's cultishly wonderful reality show. We recently got her on the horn, and here's what she had to say.

So, how was your Fourth of July party?
It was incredible because it didn’t pour. Last year it poured, and we had to have it in the house. I would say about 400 people came in all.

Highlights?
My co-stars, LuAnn and her husband Alex, Jason and Bethanny were there, along with tons of friends, my whole family –- my parents came in from Florida, my sister. The music was very “Jill Zarin” –- lots of ‘80s music, Donna Summer…

I worked with a man named Seth Ginsberg from creakyjoints.org, who has the same type of arthritis as Alison, and in lieu of housegifts, I had people make a donation. We raised about $10,000, so I’m really happy about that.

No Alex McCord crashings?
No, they were not at my house. But I ran into them on Saturday night at the Social Life party.

Awkward!
Yeah… the show has a gag order on us big time, but what I do want to say is that to set the record straight, Ramona was invited to my party, but she was in Aspen.

What else do you have planned for the summer?
I'm hosting a Help For Orphans International benefit to build a vocational school in Kenya. The event is on July 25th at Novah's Ark in Bridgehampton. It might be filmed on the show, but with any reality TV show, you never know what could happen.

How’s the tennis going?
I haven’t been playing that much because I hurt my toe. LuAnn’s been playing a lot and wants a rematch, but I don’t know…

What else is on your plate?
My husband and I are going to Europe in August without the film crew. Alison is in Paris studying French and art history.

What’s a typical Hamptons day for you?
Everyday is so different. You know, yesterday we went to West Hampton... Usually we go into town, go hang out on our friends' boat, attend charity events, people are always coming to dinner…

What are you reading?
I’m on page 60 of the Barbara Walters autobiography. It’s really good and seems very honest.

What about TV?
This is a very un-Jill problem, but my remote control is broken, so I woke up and the TV was on AMC, so I watched this Doris Day and John Wayne movie. She was living in Wyoming, before it was a state. And I’m thinking, what with my cell phone, email and computer, oh my god, they had none of that, that’s why they worked so hard. These days, in the age of mass communication, everything happens so fast, and I was thinking that the cowboy life seemed kind of nice –- when everything happened so slowly.

Do you ever slow down?
Well today is actually my first slow day in like two months –- no one is asking me to do anything, my house is empty. Every weekend it’s been full. Last weekend we had 22 people in the house.

Did you have any hesitations about doing the second season of Real Housewives?
Well, there were definitely no guarantees with anybody. I would say that we were all thrilled that the show got picked up again. The responses I get from people on the street are wonderful –- people asking about my parents, it’s so nice. I am doing a column for Hamptons.com called “Ask Jill," and I recently did some matchmaking. Some woman asked for love advice, I gave it, and then a man read it, contacted me saying he would like to meet her, I forwarded it to her, and they met in town this past weekend. If that happens, there is nothing better than that. I like to connect people!

Do you think the second season will differ from the first, now that you've seen yourself on TV and know the ropes a bit?
You know, maybe, because I think we were virgins at it… but now that I’ve seen it, I haven’t changed how I act. I can’t change. My husband and friends try to make me change… but they can't.