In her sixth season overall and fifth as a diamond holder, Sutton Stracke is finally carving out a niche in the realm of friendship on the show. After Garcelle Beauvais, her steadfast companion, unexpectedly left the series last season and severed ties with fellow cast members, Stracke is now focusing on strengthening bonds with the other women. She attributes her newfound success in friendships to a more serene and empathetic approach. However, Stracke was taken aback by some of the criticism directed at her during the premiere of Season 15 last week.

During an interaction between Erika Jayne and Bozoma Saint John in the opening episode, Jayne made a surprising comment about Stracke’s physique, harshly jesting that she wouldn’t call the socialite “slim” but would liken her to a “box.”

“That was painful,” Stracke shared with DECIDER in a recent Zoom interview. When questioned about any discussions with Jayne regarding the remark since it aired, Stracke admitted she hadn’t approached her and was contemplating bringing it up. At the time of filming, they were just beginning to rebuild their friendship. Despite acknowledging the comment as “not a nice thing to say,” Stracke remains optimistic that her rapport with Jayne will “improve” as the season unfolds.

“I wish those words hadn’t been spoken,” Stracke remarked. “I’ve always appreciated her company when we’re not at odds. She’s intelligent, she’s sharp. There’s more to her than meets the eye.”

In our conversation with Stracke, she also discussed the criticism following Beauvais’ departure, her experience of clashing with Jennifer Tilly this season, and whether she’s contemplating reverting to her maiden name now that her marriage has been annulled. Dive into the full interview below.

DECIDER: First things first, I was happy to see your mom Reba in the premiere episode. Did you ever think that she’d be there filming with the girls?

SUTTON STRACKE: The timing was impeccable because it was my son’s high school graduation, so she had flown in for that. We got really lucky. She’s 83 now. It’s a hard trip all the way across the country, so I always love it when she comes here, but it’s few and far between. So no, I never thought that she would be here in Bel Air filming with all the girls and me, so it was fun. 

Is she loving this new fame?

You know, I don’t know. She doesn’t pay attention to that stuff. She’s more concerned about her dog and going to the grocery store. 

Kyle very quickly brought up the elephant in the room in Episode 1: Avi. There seems to be a lot of murkiness about what went down there. You said that things got complicated. Was there a disagreement? A fight? Some fans have theorized that it has to do with finances. Is there anything you’d like to clear up?

Well, it had nothing to do with finances. No, it was just time for me to change things up. I live by myself now and my store is now all e-commerce. So, all of these things that I needed a lot of help with just kind of naturally disappeared. So that was it. There’s nothing really anything tawdry or nasty. It’s just the position ended.

There’s also been a lot of criticism surrounding Garcelle’s exit from the show. I think a lot of fans have been confused about why you and the other girls are confused. Some feel like Garcelle was iced out from the group, others think you didn’t have her back enough. What do you say to those viewers? 

Well, I think that I had a lot to be confused about because I never got to talk to Garcelle about any grievances that she had, and I wish she had just come to me. But, you know, the other girls, I can’t speak for them. 

In the premiere episode, you shared that your marriage of 17 years was annulled, and that your ex thought it would make you become better friends. And do you have any plans to drop Stracke from your name?

Yes. This is what’s kind of bopping around in my life … the name change.

Has the annulment helped your relationship?

Maybe he needed the annulment. I certainly didn’t. It was difficult for me, but we just took our youngest son to college in August and the three of us spent the weekend together, and we had a really great time. Christian and I finally got to the place in divorce where we’re friends. He lives in London, so I don’t see him that much. But I will text him, keep him updated on what’s going on. And he does the same for me. We just want our children to be happy and feel loved, and they do. So that’s the most important part.

Switching gears a little bit. In tonight’s episode, we see Erika open up to you about Tom and his prison sentence. At one point, Erika says that she’d hoped he would die before he would have to go to prison. What was your reaction to hearing that? 

Well, it’s so abrupt to hear someone say, “I hope that they die before they [go to prison].” I think I was a bit speechless. But when you think about what she said, I kind of get it. He’s … I don’t know … Erika can always surprise me. 

I also have to ask about a body-shaming comment Erika made about you in the premiere. What was your reaction to hearing that? 

Yeah, that one hurt.

Have you spoken to her about it since that episode came out?

No, I haven’t. I’m kind of on the fence about it. It hurt. It was not a nice thing to say, but we were just in the beginnings. Our relationship was maybe still there. Hopefully, we’re going to see this relationship get better.

I was going to say, I was feeling like you two were getting off to a better start this season – body-shaming comment aside.

Right. I wish she hadn’t said that. Yeah, I mean, we did. I’ve always enjoyed her when we weren’t fighting. She’s smart, she’s witty. She’s more than you think she is.

She also got into it with Dorit this season. I know Kyle said that friendship is still pretty rocky. How were you and Dorit this season?

I think that Dorit and I might have some surprises for the audience. I just came into the season feeling very much like, “OK, let me calm down and let me listen to these people and let me try to understand where they’re coming from.” I think it really helped. It helped me and it helped my relationship with these women, for sure. 

I’m not sure if you saw it on Reality Hot Seat but Kate Chastain said the Beverly Hills cast is “not the warmest,” and Heather Gay claimed that while the SLC cast is close with you guys, there’s still an elitism that’s hard to break through. What do you say to that?

Well, I hadn’t heard those things. Heather Gay is great. Kate and I have met a few times. She’s a Florida girl. Personally, I don’t get it, but OK. I mean, I’m sorry that people feel that way about our show and our cast on other Bravo shows because we’re actually not. We’re fun. We’re fun, I promise. We might have to sit at several separate tables sometimes, but we’re a pretty fun group of girls.

When you and Jennifer Tilly went on Watch What Happens Live three years ago before she joined the cast, she said, “If we did fight, we would fight on camera to make for a good show,” and you replied, “It wouldn’t be fake but we would resolve it.” What was it like to have your first on-camera rift with her this season? And was it a low-blow for her to bring up Garcelle?

It was exactly what I said three years ago. I mean, we had to work on it. I think in that moment, I think Jennifer even surprised herself.

It’s funny because on that episode of WWHL, she was hesitant to join because she didn’t like seeing you get into it with the other women, and now you two will be having your moment this season.

She’s a super fan of the show. When I was on the show and she wasn’t, she was very protective of me truly in a sisterly way. So, I think we’re going to see kind of a shock this season with Jennifer and me. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.