RHONY: What Happened To Luann De Lesseps' Son, Noel?
Anyone who remembers the early days of "The Real Housewives of New York" will remember the breakdancing son of cast member Luann de Lesseps, Noel de Lesseps.
The countess and her ex-husband, Count Alexandre de Lesseps, had two children together, daughter Victoria de Lesseps and Noel, who are technically French aristocrats due to their father's relation to a 19th-century French diplomat. Audiences first met the family all the way back in Season 1 of "RHONY" in 2008, notably featuring the "Money Can't Buy You Class" singer wrangling a young Noel and his pet bird to bring to their Hamptons home. As he grew up, Noel appeared in episodes sporadically throughout his mother's 13-season run on the Bravo series. Fans may remember when Noel popped up at socialite Tinsley Mortimer's Season 9 party in 2017, where he was awkwardly mistaken as cast mate Ramona Singer's arm candy.
We've watched the countess pursue her cabaret dreams, and it turns out that her son has a similar passion for the arts.
Noel de Lesseps channels his energy into painting
Money can't buy you class, and it can't buy you artistic talent either! As an adult, the son of "The Real Housewives of New York" star Luann de Lesseps, Noel de Lesseps, has made a career in the New York art scene. The young artist attended the Maryland Institute College of Art before dropping out to focus on his own projects. According to his website, one of Noel's first major exhibitions of his work was in 2018 at The Watermill Center in New York State. Aside from showcasing his paintings on Instagram, he has been featured in galleries and exhibits in NYC, New York State, and Switzerland (where he split his time growing up). Plus, Noel sells his paintings on the online bidding site Artsy to the tune of $4,000+.
"I like figuring out a painting," Noel noted during an interview with Document Journal in October 2022. "It's a reflection of the world, coming through me." He also revealed he's in the process of creating his first feature film, among his other art-related hobbies. "Some other practices I keep are writing, hat-making, brush-making, drawing, performance art, video, and cooking! I make a mean stew," he added.
"RHONY" fans may remember Noel's affinity for skateboarding, which led to him founding his own skateboard brand, Fancy Fool, back in 2009. Well, it seems that he developed another skating brand called 2am Skateboards, which was last seen selling merchandise in 2018.
Luann de Lesseps is proud of her 'artistic' children
The last time Noel de Lesseps made headlines in the Bravo verse was when he, his sister Victoria, and his father Count Alexandre de Lesseps, filed a lawsuit against Luann de Lesseps in 2017, per People. Long story short, the court case focused on how Luann failed to create a trust for her children, which was mandated as part of her divorce settlement with the count. The lawsuit was eventually dropped in 2019, with Luann ensuring on "Watch What Happens Live" that "everything's great with [her] kids."
"I'm very close with my kids. I'm very lucky. They're both doing great, and they're artists. And they're, you know, working artists and selling their work," Luann gushed to Bravo in December 2021. "And they're in the city with me. So that's great. They both live between here and the Hamptons. They're fantastic."
On Mother's Day 2023, the countess reminisced to Page Six how one of her favorite Mother's Day gifts was when Noel homemade a ceramic vase for her. On a 2022 episode of "Housewife to Housewife," Luann reflected on how she's grateful she can look back on her kids' appearances on "RHONY" as a "living photo album, basically, of their lives."