Bravo has unveiled the first teaser trailer for its coming reality show, The Real Housewives of Dubai. The show is the latest entry into the Housewives franchise, which has featured women from Beverly Hills, New York and Atlanta.
The Dubai spin-off is the 11th instalment and the first to take place internationally. In addition to revealing who is in the cast, Bravo also announced when the show will debut. Here’s everything you need to know.
When is the release date for ‘The Real Housewives of Dubai’?
Bravo has announced the show will have its premiere on June 1.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Real Housewives of Dubai’?
The 30-second clip revealed that Dr Sara Al Madani, Nina Ali, Chanel Ayan, Caroline Brooks, Lesa Milan and Caroline Stanbury will be appearing as cast members.
Here's a rundown of who they are, for those who may not be familiar with them.
Stanbury, 45, was previously on another Bravo reality show, as she starred in Ladies of London from 2014 until 2017. She then moved to Dubai, where she lives with ex-footballer and husband Sergio Carrallo.
Meanwhile, Emirati entrepreneur Al Madani, who is a single mother, has amassed a large social media following as she grows her many businesses, with interests in fashion and technology, as well as the restaurant industry.
She started working at age 15 and has also held government roles. In 2014, she was selected as board member of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Al Madani joked that she is a “goal digger, not a gold digger” during a video interview with Curly Tales.
Ali is a Lebanese-American influencer who used to go by the moniker Lipstick Mommy. She is married to British businessman Munif Ali and they have three children, Sophia, Nour and Ayan.
A co-founder of Fruit Cake and attached to Phoenix Store, a cryptocurrency mining hardware retailer, Ali has a diverse business portfolio. She was born in Lebanon, but her family moved to Austin, Texas, when she was 4.
Dubbed Dubai's top model, Ayan, who was born Ayan Pillott, has worked on campaigns for Piaget, Moschino, Van Cleef & Arpels and Chanel, and is described as an Amato muse. The Kenyan model has been married for more than 20 years and has a son aged 16, who also models. She moved to Dubai in 2004.
Also starring in the show will be social media star Brooks, who describes herself as a “Dubai real estate director, philanthropist and mom” on her Instagram. She is also the owner and founder of The Glasshouse Dubai, a luxury beauty salon and spa soon to open in City Walk.
Finally, Jamaican designer Milan, born Lesa-Gayle Wee Tom, is a former beauty pageant regular. She was a contestant in Miss Jamaica Universe 2009, and the Miss Caribbean World, Miss Hollywood Teen USA and Queen Miss Jamaica Caribbean World pageants in 2010.
She is no stranger to reality TV, having been cast in BET’s College Hill in 2008. She was linked to athlete Usain Bolt in 2010, but she is now married to British financier Richard Hall. The couple have three sons.
What does the teaser trailer reveal about the series?
Not very much as the clip is only 30-seconds, but shows the women wearing sparkling, gold glittered gowns while walking through the sand dunes.
"Turns out all that glitters IS gold. The new Housewife royalty has arrived, and they’re taking over Dubai! Get on the list for the premiere June 1st!" Bravo wrote alongside the trailer on the network's Instagram page.
Andy Cohen, executive producer and reunion host for The Real Housewives, first revealed plans for the new show in November.
“Get your passports, our 11th city! We are going to the billionaire’s playground, the city of gold, the desert oasis — The Real Housewives of Dubai. This is going to blow the lid off the entire franchise," he said, appearing on the Today show.
In Bravo's description of the show, the network promises that the group of "lavish women" will prove "everything is more extravagant in the "City of Gold". A mix of old and new friends, the group will grapple with tensions when long-standing friendships get challenged.
"The women quickly learn that if you can’t handle the heat... get out of Dubai," the network's description said.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 435hp at 5,900rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,800-5,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Price: from Dh498,542
On sale: now
Persuasion
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The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions
There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.
1 Going Dark
A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.
2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers
A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.
3. Fake Destinations
Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.
4. Rebranded Barrels
Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.
* Bloomberg
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
