Jessel Taank didn’t hold back while responding to “despicable” rumors about husband Pavit Randhawa’s sexuality that she accused castmate Erin Lichy of spreading on The Real Housewives of New York City Season 16.
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The Real Housewives of New York City After Show Podcast is streaming on Peacock.
Sai De Silva revealed in Episode 6 that Erin had allegedly repeated rumors about Jessel and Pavit’s marriage to her makeup artist during BravoCon 2025. On The Real Housewives of New York City After Show, Jessel shed new light on how the drama began in the first place.
By Jessel’s account, Erin had given her a heads-up that an unnamed podcaster informed her that there was a blind item floating around about someone in the RHONY cast. However, Erin supposedly told this person that she didn’t want to know any more specifics and never found out what the blind item was.
“She did find out and has, since then, been spreading this rumor, unbeknownst to me, to God knows who,” Jessel claimed on the RHONY After Show.
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What was the rumor about Jessel Taank’s husband, Pavit?
According to Sai’s makeup artist, Erin allegedly claimed to have “proof” that “Pavit is gay and got caught” at his gym engaging in oral sex with men. As Jessel put it on the After Show, the rumor “basically insinuates that Pavit is cheating on me, he’s unfaithful.” In Episode 6, Erin insisted that she “didn’t say anything” about Jessel’s husband, however.
How did Jessel Taank respond to the rumor about Pavit?
On RHONY, Jessel claimed that Pavit “doesn’t go to a gym,” before also saying that Erin “needs to watch her f–king back.” She added on the RHONY After Show, “He doesn’t even hold my hand in public, so that’s kind of crazy to assume.”
Jessel continued, “The fact that she’s saying, ‘I know something that will ruin her family,’ and it’s this, that, and the other, I’m sorry, what? Like, if he was, hypothetically, gay, it would never ruin our family. Like, we would walk through those steps to make sure that, God forbid, like, he felt secure and whatever. … It’s f–ked up.”
RELATED: Jessel Taank Breaks Down Husband Pavit’s “Very Serious” Food Influencer Career (EXCLUSIVE)
Jessel Taank and Erin Lichy’s RHONY Season 16 drama, explained
Even before RHONY Season 16 filming began, Jessel and Erin were already feuding about drama that took place on The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th. Having caught wind that Erin was telling people that she was “fake,” Jessel eventually demanded that she leave her Lunar New Year Party in the Season 16 premiere amid their argument on the matter.
The two eventually had a one-on-one meeting but were unable to make much headway. In fact, Jessel abruptly departed their sit-down, having already referred to recent headlines about Erin’s finances, calling her a “one-man Ponzi scheme” and “a bootleg Houdini.”
Jessel and Erin’s friendship rift continued to deepen in Episode 5. The reason? Erin found out that Jessel had made a joke to newbies Erika Hammond and Daisy Toye about her Hamptons house flooding actually being “an insurance thing.” After Erin confronted her on Moskito Island, Jessel clarified that she never used the word “scam” and said she had only been making a “senseless joke.”
Nevertheless, Jessel apologized to Erin in Oct. 13’s Episode 6. “I never meant to hurt you,” she said. “It was something that was, like, fleeting. We shouldn’t have said it, you know? And I don’t know what you’re saying about my husband, but we’ll figure that out.” A bit later, Jessel added, “There’s a deep-seated reason why I feel the way I do about you. And I think that we, like, need to hash it out. But it’s not here, it’s not now.”
That, of course, was before Jessel found out exactly what Erin allegedly said about Pavit, however.
As Jessel and Erin’s drama continues, don’t miss details on RHONY‘s filming locations.
