Owning Manhattan’s Jessica Markowski Says Jonathan Normolle’s Podcast Comments Took Her ‘by Surprise’ (Exclusive)

Much of the drama on Owning Manhattan’s inaugural season centers on Jonathan Normolle’s insults toward his fellow agents during a podcast he recorded with castmate Jessica Markowski.

Markowski tells PEOPLE she was caught off guard by the negative comments while reflecting on the release of the show’s first season, which follows the agents at Ryan Serhant’s eponymous brokerage, SERHANT.

“I think we had goals of doing a podcast to talk about business and interview interesting entrepreneurs,” she says. “That was the whole mindset of doing a podcast, but when I went in there, it kind of was something that took me by surprise.”

The season sees Markowski navigating tensions between Normolle and another friend of hers, up-and-coming agent Savannah Gowarty, a newcomer to New York City from North Carolina.

On the controversial podcast episode, which Markowski and Normolle recorded in SERHANT’s studio, Normolle criticizes Gowarty’s real estate skills, asking, “What the f--- would she do with a deal?” 

“If I owned the firm, I wouldn’t give her a deal, because she would fumble it,” he says. “And then Ryan loses money. If Ryan gives deals to us, he knows we’ll close it, so there’s a difference there.”

After Normolle later goes on to offend one of Serhant’s clients, the Million Dollar Listing: New York alum opts to fire him in the finale.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

Asked whether she agrees with the decision to let Normolle go, Markowski says she has confidence in Serhant’s choices.

All About the Happy Days and Dallas Star,...

p>

“Ryan is my boss,” she tells PEOPLE. “I trust his judgment and decisions.” 

“I trust his instinct and intuition on anything he does, who he keeps or lets go,” she continues. “It is his company. It's either you're in or you're out for him.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The New York native says she’s remained friendly with Normolle since his departure from the company.

“We saw each other at the Netflix party,” she says. “He seemed really happy. I'm happy that he's working at a different brokerage, seems like he's doing well."

She shared a similar sentiment about Gowarty, who left SERHANT following the season’s filming.

“She's stopped by the office,” she says. “We're friendly; we're cordial. She works with a top team at the brokerage she's at right now at Compass. She's killing it and I'm very happy for her to be working with such mentors and she's going to be a rock star.”

Markowski tells PEOPLE that as a reality TV newbie, she’s learned a lot from experiencing the cast's interpersonal drama.

“I've never done a reality show before, so definitely working with all different personalities all at once was eye-opening,” she says. “It was a lot, but ultimately it was a great learning experience.”

Related Articles

Follow Us

Carlos Marqués-Marcet Orchestrates a Del,...