'I'm Just Not Going to Take a Risk'...

Kelly Bensimon is opening up about calling off her wedding

Published Time: 21.07.2024 - 21:31:15 Modified Time: 21.07.2024 - 21:31:15

Kelly Bensimon is opening up about calling off her wedding.

The Real Housewives of New York City alum, 56, called off her June 29 wedding to financier Scott Litner four days before the ceremony after “he refused to sign a prenuptial agreement.”

Now, Bensimon told The Daily Mail in an interview published on Saturday, July 20, that the situation was not “something that just happened.” She said it was "building up over time and the prenup was a big deal for me."

"It's like when you're a single parent, whether you have thousands in your account or you have a 100 million in your account, women are going to need to protect themselves, and I'm just not going to take a risk," she said.

Bensimon feels that her transparency surrounding the prenup has "opened a lot of doors."

"It's about having personal respect and value, which I have. I'm raising two girls, who are really important to me. But the prenup is really important because it talks about more than just your own personal value," she told the outlet, noting that "the biggest takeaway from this is just about protecting myself and my friends and being a solid female that people can come to."

The TV personality shares two daughters Teddy and Sea with her ex-husband Gilles Bensimon.

Speaking of the perception people have of her after seeing her battling it out with Ramona Singer and Bethenny Frankel on the small screen, she said, "They're like, 'Oh, she's a bitch.' I'm not a bitch."

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"I'm super honest and I have a strong sense of integrity, and I think in this day and age when we're raising these girls in this tumultuous environment, it's imperative that women really stick up for themselves and for each other," she added. "It's more than just a prenup — more than that."

In retrospect, she told The Daily Mail that she regrets having moved in with Litner before getting married.

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p> "Do not live with your partner before you get married unless you don't want to really get married and you're just together and you're having a more unique relationship, not a traditional relationship," she said. "If you want to trust a relationship, do not live with him or her before you get married."

Elaborating on her advice, she added, "Because things are different once you live with people. The stakes are different. Everything's different when you're actually married. Totally different."

Bensimon was set to tie the knot with Litner on June 29, but called their wedding off on June 25.

She told PEOPLE exclusively at the time, "Ultimately, my decision is nobody’s business, but I understand that there is speculation and gossip, and I want to put an end to all of it. To be clear, he refused to sign a prenuptial agreement, and I refused to marry him. Full stop."

In a statement, she added, "Litner thought that I would enter this union without legal protections in place, that I would leave everything to faith. But I’ve worked really, really, hard as a single mother and have always made smart decisions for myself and my family, and that will continue."

Earlier this month, Bensimon moved back into her former apartment building in New York City, according to Page Six.

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The outlet reported that she rented out her original three-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment in the luxury co-op in lower Manhattan for $28,500 last summer when she got engaged to Litner and because her former apartment is still being rented, she is staying in another unit in the building.

Bensimon is known as the "unofficial commissioner" and broker specialist of the historic building, nicknamed the Police Building, and called it her “home for 3 decades” in an Instagram post.