Alex McCord and family.Photo:Alex McCord/Instagram; Bravo
Alex McCord/Instagram; Bravo
Alex McCordis back in Brooklyn!
TheReal Housewives of New York Cityalumna gaveBravofans a major dose of nostalgia on Monday whenshe shared a photo to Instagram of her family— including husband Simon van Kempen and their sonsFrancois, 20, andJohan, 18, — standing outside her former Brooklyn townhouse during a vacation to the Big Apple over the holidays.
Viewers will recognize the locale from McCord’s time on the series.
A founding cast member on the show when it premiered in 2008, McCord and her brood lived in the borough, much to the dismay of her cast mates, who labelled her as déclassé for not living among the Manhattan elite.
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Alex McCord during a trip to ‘Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen’ in 2017.Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
McCord exited from the show in 2011, after the completion of season 4. Three years later, in September 2014, she announced they were relocating to van Kempen’s native Australia after 18 years in New York City. The decision was made, McCord said at the time, to be closer to family.
“Over the last few years, all of Simon’s family have reconvened from as far as Europe to all live within 20 minutes of each other on a collection of beautiful beaches on the north coast of New South Wales. We are the last of the family to move back, and it’s time,” she toldBravo’sDaily Dish. “Our children have never had the opportunity to live within walking distance of grandparents and cousins, and with our two boys aged 10 and 8, it’s the perfect time for the extended family to enjoy each other.”
“We both love New York City, and Brooklyn specifically, almost as much as each other; however, we’ve been there, done that,” she added. “It’s now time for a new adventure. We both firmly believe that change is necessary in order to grow, and to do that, we need to get out of our comfort zone.”
And change they did! McCord, who once worked in visual merchandising, went on to get her PhD in Psychology. Van Kempen became a lawyer after a previous career in the luxury hotel business.
Meanwhile, McCord and van Kempen — who met in 1999 on an international dating site, and married a year later – left Brooklyn with a considerable profit on their Brooklyn townhouse.
Alex McCord and Simon van Kempen.Bravo
Bravo
The couple bought the 6-bedrooms, 5-bathroom building (configured as a three-family home) for $1.275 million in 2005 and sold it less than 10 years later for $2.695 million, according to public records. It was valued at $2.2 million whenRHONY’s first season was airing.
Built in 1901, the home is located between Brooklyn’s popular Boerum Hill and Cobble Hill neighborhoods. It underwent an considerable renovation since, and exchanged owners again in 2021, this time for $3.6 million, records state.
In addition to spending time in Brooklyn during her trip back to the States, McCord and her family also took in a considerable number of N.Y.C. sights according to pictures shared online, including visiting Coney Island, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, the Vessel sculpture at Hudson Yards, and seeing two Broadway shows (Merrily We Roll AlongandHarmony).
“Impossible to pack 20 years or 16 years or 11 years or 9 years into a week,” McCord wrote on Instagram. “So we enjoyed every minute and did some touristy things we had never done before as well, just because ❤️.”
All seasons ofThe Real Housewives of New York Citycan be streamed on Peacock.
source: people.com
