Jamie-Lynn Sigler used her love — and slight obsession — of Bravo shows to help cultivate new friendships after moving from Los Angeles to Austin.
“The No. 1 thing where I know people are my people is when they watch Bravo,” Sigler, 42, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting her partnership with Novartis. “I’m like, ‘Oh, OK, we can go to lunch.’”
Sigler, who shares sons Beau, 9, and Jack, 5, with husband Cutter Dykstra, noted that “obviously sports has bonded me with a lot of other great mamas that I’ve gotten to meet,” but the Bravo connection remains superior.
The Sopranos alum teased that while she is “obsessed” with The Real Housewives of New York City, Beverly Hills, Orange County and Salt Lake City, her network favorites don’t stop there.
Sigler also watches Vanderpump Rules and Summer House, telling Us that she “bought a ‘Send It to Darrell’ sweatshirt” during the Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss cheating drama.
Us confirmed in March that Sandoval, 40, and girlfriend Ariana Madix — who was named Us Weekly’s “Reality Star of the Year” in October — called it quits after nine years together in the wake of the scandal. As the affair continued to make headlines, Leviss, 29, sent a legal notice to Lala Kent and other costars about sharing an alleged video of Sandoval and Leviss.
It was at that point that Kent, 33, coined the now famous phrase, “Send it to Darrell” in reference to Leviss’ attorney contacting her directly instead of going through Kent’s representation, Darrell Miller.
“Raquel, tell your little Mickey Mouse lawyer that if he has stuff to send over, he can send things to my lawyer, same with the rest of my friends and cast, alright?” Kent said in a March Instagram Story. “I don’t know if you know how this works, you’re pretty brand new to the game. … Send it to Darrell!” She later sold merchandise with the phrase.
Sigler confessed to Us that she was all-in on the drama, which was dubbed “Scandoval” and ultimately led to Leviss walking away from the show ahead of season 11.
“The way that Scandoval consumed me … I’m not proud of. It rocked my world the way it did many other people,” Sigler said. “There were many times where I had to stop myself and be like, ‘Jamie, this is not OK. This is not OK. The amount of research you’re doing about this.’”
Being open about her not-so-guilty-pleasure viewing habits are just part of Sigler’s recent revelations. Since moving her family to Texas in March 2021, Sigler has become even more transparent about her battle with multiple sclerosis (MS), which led to her partnership with Novartis.
“I’m excited to talk about this collaboration with Novartis and this three-step guide that we created,” Sigler told Us, referring to the guide available on ReframingMS.com. “It talks about reflection, reframing and reaching out because the wisdom and the experience that I’ve been able to gain over these last seven years since living [publicly] with it is like learning how to ask for help, learning what my needs are, how I still can fully participate in my life despite having physical limitations due to my RMS.”
Sigler — who was diagnosed with MS in her 20s — hasn’t let the health issue keep her from being a mom, actress or podcast host. In fact, she has mastered showing the highs and lows of her MS battle while cohosting the “Not Today, Pal” podcast with former Sopranos costar Robert Iler.
“It’s just a 30-minute moment of fun and silliness and him making me uncomfortable and me reacting. People write in and we give our quote ‘sweet and sour’ advice, he’s the sour, I’m the sweet, but we also get personal about what we’re dealing with in our life,” she said of the concept. “He’s a recovering addict. I obviously live with RMS, so it’s an opportunity for people to get to know another side of us, to see our relationship and hopefully to make people laugh.”
Learn more about Sigler’s partnership with Novartis — and how she manages Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis (RMS) — by exploring the three-step guide at ReframingMS.com. Listen to the “Not Today, Pal” podcast here.
With reporting by Andrea Simpson
