Quinn Fry Interview

From the San Clemente times -



San Clemente’s Quinn Fry opens the door to her life on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Orange County next week

Not too long ago it was San Clemente’s Moana Dixon, a runner-up on ABC’s The Bachelor. Then San Clemente High School alumni Tessa Keller and Alex Atkinson on MTV’s Laguna Beach: the Real Orange County and pro skateboarder Ryan Sheckler on the network’s Life of Ryan. And now Quinn Fry is stepping in front of the camera for Bravo’s reality show The Real Housewives of Orange County—a program in its third season that follows five women’s lives, women mostly from the affluent community of Coto de Caza. Fry, a divorced—but dating, she says—mother of two, will make six. In fact, her son, Colin Kirkpatrick, a senior at SCHS, filmed with her on a few occasions; but her daughter, Shannon Nichols, 31, stayed off the screen.

“[Bravo] said they were looking for five new families from San Clemente to Newport, and they needed vivacious personalities and people who were busy and who were the modern-day sense of the word housewife,” says Fry, who’s 52, but with a smile, will always say 29 and holding. “I thought, I’m all of those things, so I went.” And busy is working full time as a managing editor for an Internet event Web site and a major telecommunications company. “I could go to an event every night because of what I do for work,” she says.

While the season premiered November 6, she joins the cast on the episode that airs Tuesday, December 11 at 10 p.m. And while she’s a little nervous about how she’ll be perceived, she’s ready to “laugh it off.” “You know what, it’s just television,” she says. So before San Clemente’s newest reality TV star hits prime time, meet Quinn Fry, in her own words…

SC Times: Why did you want to be the next ‘Real Housewife?’

Quinn Fry: I’ve met such amazing women in Orange County—people who have come up from not a lot of money, people who have done really well as single parents, people who are the most wonderful, down-to-earth people—and I just felt that the show represented a certain segment of Orange County but not all of it. And I thought I’d round it out.

I think coming from Northern California, I’m a real grounded girl. I grew up on a little farm with cows and horses, and I worked my way up. I have what I have because I did it all; I didn’t get it through a divorce or through someone giving it to me. I just worked really hard, and I’m pretty proud of that. It’s hard to do: raising a family and working full time. I’m just really real.

SCT: How did you get on the show?

QF: They had a casting call at the Balboa Bay Yacht Club back in April. I didn’t have time to think about it: I saw the casting call on Friday and it was the next day on Saturday, so I just thought I’d throw my name in the hat.

SCT: What was the next step after the casting call?

QF: They came to the house. They told me that day, which was interesting to know that right away they must have liked me. They told me I was welcome to bring friends and family to ask them any questions. And that felt really comfortable because I was a little leery putting myself out there. My son was there and some good friends were there, and we asked them a lot of questions. What I got back was—besides loving the casting people, they were very cool—that, you know what, it’s about me. So if I want to say this, I can say this. If I want to show that part, I can show that part—it’s reality.

SCT: How has your life been affected with camera crews following you around?

QF: So far, they filmed a lot in the summer—obviously after work and a lot on weekends, so I was really busy. It was fun. It hasn’t hit yet, nobody knows about me, so it hasn’t been affected so far. My friends are extremely excited. Since it’s about the other five girls right now, I’m not affected.

SCT: Are the cameras with you 24/7?

QF: No, I worked full time during this whole thing. They were very accommodating. We kind of did a weekly schedule—because I’m really busy with events. They would say, ‘What are you doing this week?’ And I told them. And they said, ‘Can we go there?’ I would say, ‘Yes,’ or I would call whomever I was dating and say, ‘Can we go to dinner?’ They were very accommodating to my schedule, and it was only for a couple of hours. Maybe on a weekend it would be longer. The camera crews—there were three of them—were all amazingly cool.

SCT: What about your wardrobe? Did you have to revamp it?

QF: Yea, that was interesting. [Laughs.] If I would have known what I know now… A girl looks in her closest and she’s like, ‘Holy moly, I’ve got to go here and I’ve got to go there, and I can’t be seen in the same outfit like every single time.” I pretty much depleted my wardrobe, borrowed from friends and, luckily, I have some amazingly cool girlfriends with great clothes. I even went to Tadashi and Mikimoto [at South Coast Plaza] and different people in the mall to beg, borrow and steal from them.

SCT: You’re joining five other women on the show, how does your character fit in to the mix?

QF: I just felt like one of the girls after I met them all. I only really got to meet them on camera, so I haven’t done a lot of off camera with them—everyone’s just got such busy lives.

SCT: Each of the housewives has a quick bio on Bravotv.com: In your words, what would be your one-liner?

QF: I’m a woman of contradictions. I go to church, I read the Bible and I try my best to be a good person, but I have a strong sensual side. I’m dating in Orange County and it’s really hard to be single for 16 years and dating and trying to keep boundaries there. I’m a hard-working woman who’s trying to find her guy in the world. That’s longer than a sentence, but that’s kind of what I’m doing right now. It’s hard to find a quality man out there; it’s horrible.

SCT: Are people coming out of the woodworks? Are ex-boyfriends knocking on your door?

QF: Yes. [Laughs.] One ex-boyfriend did surprise me on camera. I didn’t know he was going to come out this way. Ex-boyfriends who have been out of the picture for a while want back in. You just really need to know who your friends are—your friends who were friends before [the show] are true friends.

SCT: What do you imagine your life will be like after the premiere?

QF: It’s so surreal right now; it’s normal right now. I see the publicity that comes out about the girls, and I’m like, ‘Wow, they’re everywhere.’ It’s hard to put myself in there because it’s not happened. I’m hoping that with this I can somehow give back to people: I’m more of a giver than a taker. So if I can go to a charity event or put my name on something to help somebody else, I think that’s going to be a way for me to feel like this has been worthwhile in putting my face and life out there for all to see. There’s got to be some good to come out of this and I’m hoping for that. I’m not thinking too much of what’s in it for me; I just don’t think that way.

SCT: What were some of your first impressions of the show?

QF: [Pause.] As far as the girls go, I wasn’t that impressed. I could understand why people had some negative comments to say. But now after meeting them they’re pretty nice people. I think people are harder on people who are on camera, because they only see a snippet of their life; they don’t really see the whole picture.

SCT: Are you afraid that your snippets will give people the wrong idea of who you are?

QF: Of course I am. I have no control of what film they use in all of those hours of filming. What everyone is going to see is just a little piece. What I’d like to say to anyone who’s looking at that is to understand that there’s a whole life behind that snippet. People are quick to judge without really knowing somebody, and I don’t think that’s right. I’m sure that’s going to happen. It’s just reality TV. It’s not who or what makes up Quinn Fry.

SCT: Have you faced any of the stereotypes that come along with the show?

QF: I’m unsure how [viewers] will react. They’ll probably bunch me into the stereotypical Orange County–, wealthy, shallow-, superficial-, gold digger–type of person that the show’s had some bad publicity on—I know especially the first year. Not everyone’s like that, even meeting the girls—they’re not like that. [But because the show hasn’t aired yet] I’m still stealth; I still can go to T.J. Maxx and shop without someone looking over my shoulder or go out of the house without makeup.

SCT: So…are you happy with your decision to open your life up on TV?

QF: Yea, I am happy. It was a lot of fun. If people don’t take it so seriously and just realize it’s a fun thing, it’ll be wonderful.