‘The Real Housewives Of Dubai’ Star Lesa Milan Says She Was “Wrong” For Thinking She Had A “Strong Friendship” With Chanel Ayan

Lesa Milan can do it all. Not only does she bring the shade as a reality star, but she’s also a mom-of-three and proud founder of the luxury maternity brand Mina Roe. Now heading into her sophomore season on The Real Housewives of Dubai, Milan must further juggle a cast of larger-than-life personalities, including her once-close friend Chanel Ayan, who has formed an unlikely bond with Caroline Stanbury.

While Milan and Ayan are still thick as thieves at this point in Season 2, the trailer indicates that their friendship will soon hit a rough patch. The former BFFs have since seemingly unfollowed each other on social media, with Ayan claiming that she had been blocked by Milan.

“I feel like I thought we had this really strong friendship and as things played out this season, it proved that I was actually wrong,” Milan told DECIDER ahead of tonight’s episode, noting that she has been “living her best life” amid Ayan and Stanbury’s “fake relationship.”

But after hearing that Ayan is hopeful that they can rekindle their friendship in the future, Milan admitted that she would be open to having a conversation with her co-star. “It would be really sad to just throw away all those years of friendship over a TV show, because these are our real, real lives. So I’ll never say never, but I’ll say right now, I’m OK. I’m good where I’m at,” she said when asked if she sees a path forward for them.

Stanbury, on the other hand, might not get the same grace from Milan. Despite agreeing to move on from their past beef in the premiere, the two women seemingly spark another feud as the season goes on, per the trailer.

“I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt one time and if you mess that up, then I’m gonna see you for who you are, or who I always thought you were,” Milan explained. “And I feel like you’re gonna see that play out quite a bit with Stanbury and I.”

Milan recently stopped by DECIDER’s offices to talk about The Real Housewives of Dubai’s “hot” second season, her plans to step into the role of “momager,” and her night in the V.V.I.P. section at the Beyoncé event. Check out the full story below.

DECIDER: I am absolutely loving this new season. How are you feeling about watching everything back?

LESA MILAN: Honestly, I feel like we’ve been off air for so long, and I’ve been dying for everyone to see Season 2 because it’s so good. I think Season 1 was like the warm up, and then Season 2 we came in hot.

I think you have the most adorable family. You said in the premiere that your sons were accepted into Manchester City Academy, which is so cool. How are they doing now? Are you mapping out your retirement plan?

Listen, I am so proud of them. They are so committed to football, we call it soccer. They’re now signed to Manchester City Academy, which is amazing. It’s such a big deal in the soccer world and I’m tapping into my little momager role. I’m like, OK, I think I might have to put Mina Roe to the side a little bit or sell it because I am really loving negotiating and getting their stuff done. And I think momager, it’s fitting.

You also say that your husband is a bit of a stage dad when it comes to soccer. What is the most stage dad thing he’s ever done? 

Well, besides shouting every week on the sidelines and coaching when he’s not the coach, it’s everything. He’s really on it with the boys, but I think because they want it so bad, that he wants it for them. I think every English guy, their dream was to become a footballer, so I think he’s living vicariously through them a little bit.

I love to see how close you are with your mom. What has been the hardest part of living so far away from her? And since she said she’d consider moving to Dubai, have there been any updates on that front? 

Yes, there has been. It’s been really difficult. When you are an expat living halfway across the world, you don’t have the luxury of dropping your kids off to Grandma’s so you guys can have some alone time. Every trip that my husband and I take, we either take it as a family, or he goes and then I go. We can never go together. So there’s so many of those little things that [are] missing. With her moving [to Dubai], we’d get to have a little bit of Lesa and Rich time, which we don’t get a lot of.

She is very close to moving. She’s so much closer than when you guys saw that episode to moving now. So, fingers crossed. She’s coming, we’re gonna go apartment shopping. If I find something that she loves, then we’ll see … Honestly, she’s so committed to her career, she works so hard. It’s amazing but my kids are getting older. Max is turning 10 this month and he’s not going to need Granny for candies in the next five years. He’s gonna be shutting the door probably on all of us. So I think now is the time for her to tap in before it’s too late.

Not only are you on the show and a mom of three, but you also have your business Mina Roe. How do you balance everything?

Well, I always say this, and I’ve said this in a few interviews — I don’t balance, because balancing is suggesting that I give more than one thing equal amount of energy and I don’t. My kids are my priority. But I do find a way to integrate, and being organized really helps, especially with the mom guilt. So I try. It doesn’t work all the time, but I try so hard to just give them my undivided attention and not scroll on social media because that’s so hard while I’m with them. And I think that helps when I go off to my office and I’m getting the work done there. I don’t feel guilty because I already committed and gave them that special time. It’s hard, I’m struggling, I really am, but I’m working through it by integrating.

I would like to get into some of the drama this season. In the first episode, we see you and Stanbury agreeing to move forward in your friendship. However, the trailer indicates that that might not last very long. What can you tell us about that?

Well, for me, if someone says that they’re sorry, I’m gonna take it as you really mean it until you prove otherwise. So I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt one time and if you mess that up, then I’m gonna see you for who you are, or who I always thought you were. And I feel like you’re gonna see that play out quite a bit with Stanbury and I.

It looks like there will also be some tension between you and Ayan. What can you tell us about that? And did you feel like Stanbury stole your best friend? 

You can’t really steal something that was never mine. I feel like I thought we had this really strong friendship and as things played out this season, it proved that I was actually wrong. So she didn’t steal anything from me, she just basically picked up where that one left off. So for me, we’re gonna see a lot of this stuff play out and I don’t want to ruin it for the viewers, but I’ll say they are living their whole fake relationship thing going on and I’m living my best life.

I spoke to Ayan a couple of weeks ago and she said that there’s still hope for your friendship. Do you feel the same way? Or is the friendship over for good? 

I feel like we need to have a conversation. I think we need to take accountability, whoever’s wrong, and maybe, maybe – I never say never because I genuinely did love her and it was a real friendship. And it would be really sad to just throw away all those years of friendship over a TV show, because these are our real, real lives. So I’ll never say never, but I’ll say right now, I’m OK. I’m good where I’m at.

I am curious about your take on the whole Caroline Brooks vs. Stanbury feud. Whose side were you on in that situation? What do you think of Brooks calling Stanbury a “see you next Tuesday”? 

I know in pop culture now it’s the “see you next Tuesday” with the “y” on it. It’s like a new thing, but it’s such a horrible word. It’s such a horrible word. So even if I was on Caroline Brooks’ side, she lost the battle when she dropped that bomb. It’s like, come on, girl, that’s too low. So I’m on neither of their sides, but I can see both sides.

I would love to ask you about this Beyoncé event. You were up in the V.V.I.P. section partying with Jay-Z and Kendall Jenner. Do you have any favorite memories or juicy tidbits from that night you’d be willing to share?

Listen, we had the best night. I know we keep talking about it, and people, especially everyone in America is like, ‘OK, guys, we went to the Renaissance [Tour].’ But it’s not the same. You couldn’t even buy tickets to go [to the event]. And so I think we felt really special that we were invited. When we ended up in the V.V.I.P., it was just so special and so fun. And what happens at the Beyoncé concert stays at the Beyoncé concert. 

I’m not sure if you saw, but Lala Kent compared Ariana Madix to Beyoncé in the Vanderpump Rules finale. As someone who has breathed the same air as Beyoncé, do you think anyone can compare to her?

Listen, I’ve breathed the air and I’ve dressed her twice in Mina Roe. So I will say maybe not. I feel like you cannot [compare]. Apples and oranges. Both gorgeous, though. 

You recently got to hang out with West Wilson and Jennifer Fessler. I’m curious: have you been keeping up with the Summer House drama, and what are your thoughts on everything going on with West and Ciara’s fallout? 

I’m behind, but [Ciara’s] revenge dress alone makes me want to tune in to catch up even faster. Because I really liked West when I met him and I didn’t know he was down for the swirl. But now that I know that I’m like, OK, I like him even more, but now I want to really watch to see what happened because how do you fumble that bag? I don’t get it. I mean, she looks amazing, so I need to catch up. I’m probably four or five episodes behind. So I need to work it out. I’m a Bravo fan, so I need to.

Maybe you can offer him some advice: how does one stay grounded amid reality TV stardom? I think that’s what they’ve implied was what made him fumble the bag.

You think? Oh, if that’s what it was, I’m gonna slap him. I hope that’s not true. I just hope that’s not true. I didn’t get that vibe from him when I met him. He was actually so charming, so nice. I had to tell him a few times I’m married with three kids, but such a nice guy. So I’m gonna have to watch to see how it plays out.

Are there any other Housewives or Bravolebrities that you’ve gotten close with since starting on Real Housewives of Dubai?

Oh, so many, it really is like a sorority. And believe it or not, I know people see the cattiness and the drama on the show, but girls really look out for each other. I’m very close to Guerdy [Abraira] from [The Real Housewives of Miami]. I love, love, love Kenya Moore. She’s like a big sister to me. Anybody who I have forgotten and you’ve been so kind to me, don’t be mad. There’s so many of them. 

Is there anything else you can tease about the rest of this season?

It’s gonna be hot. I’m tuning in like the rest of you because there’s a lot of unsolved mysteries that we need to all come together and solve.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The Real Housewives of Dubai airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.