Oddly, one of the things I never considered before agreeing to do a reality show was how it would change my life. I was stressing about things like: Will I do anything embarrassing? Will my words be edited to appear inflammatory? And of course, will I look like crap on national tv? But I never thought about being recognized in public. As the debut of the show approached, my friend Carmel, who appeared in TLC’s “Say Yes To The Dress,” told me she’s recognized on a daily basis…something I wish she had shared with me BEFORE I agreed to do the show. When I told David that I was freaked out over the possibility of being recognized, he said, “Honey, your only worry should be NOT being recognized!” Spoken like the child actor within.
Wednesday, the morning after the show’s debut, I cautiously left my loft…and breathed a sigh of relief when no one did a double-take or commented. I went to the store, chatted with David, had an unusually boring day…hmmm, this is weird, we were on TV and no one’s reacting! Although I was relieved that my life hadn’t changed overnight, it was sort of surprising that nobody cared. Day 2, Thursday: nothing. Day 3, Friday: two lesbians from Chicago walked by the store, saw our GWLBWLB poster in the window and told us they loved the show. Hey, it was something for David to cling to.
Walking down 6th Avenue on Friday night, I smiled when I passed Bed, Bath and Beyond, where the whole reality tv thing began for me and David when we caught a taxi and were suddenly immersed in an episode of, “Cash Cab” in 2007. My reverie was interrupted when a group of gays shrieked, “You’re on TV!” and gave me the “thumbs up” as they passed (love my gays!) Of course the first thing I did was call David: “David, a posse of gays on 6th Avenue just recognized me!” David, without missing a beat, quoted our favorite line from episode one, uttered by Sarah when she finds out her gay bff is getting married: “IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MEEEEEE!” A few minutes later, two guys chased me down 18th Street and said, “We saw your show! Can we take a picture with you?” “Wait, are you guys STRAIGHT?” I said, “They told us straight men wouldn’t watch this show!” Anthony said, “Our girlfriends made us.” YES!
Saturday night, David and I walked through Chelsea and not one gay man said a word to us. In Chelsea! David was disappointed, but I was glad to return to anonymity. I can’t predict what this week will bring, but I don’t foresee, “GWLBWLB-mania.” That said, I’m proud of the show and I love that fans are responding to it. If they’re motivated enough to chase me for a photo, I’m happy to give them what they want.
PS: I was wearing a 1960s black wool coat, Meg Cohen cashmere scarf, Madewell wool beret, Gentic Denim black jeans and a 1980s tweed, snakeskin and leather bag. -ELISA
Pretty darn cool!!