The Moment
Luann de Lesseps is not hiding her happiness – or her boyfriend – anymore.
The 60-year-old Real Housewives of New York City alum was photographed in Cancun, Mexico, splashing in the surf and packing on the PDA with her boyfriend, real estate pro Michael Riemerschmid. We’re talking full daytime telenovela: yellow string bikini, hand-holding, kissing, him lifting her in the ocean like it’s the final scene of a rom-com.
She kept it simple – delicate earrings, no visible makeup, big smile. He went classic in blue swim trunks and full-on silver fox energy. The two were seen hugging, gazing into each other’s eyes, and generally behaving like teenagers on spring break… teenagers with really good moisturizer and established credit scores.
The photos land after months of curiosity over Luann’s love life, ever since she was spotted last year with a sizable ring on that finger and quietly let it be known she was dating a new man. Now we’ve got the answer – and it’s less about engagement and more about enjoyment.
The Take
I’m just going to say it: this is the best Luann storyline we’ve had in years.
There’s something almost radical now about a 60-year-old woman in reality TV land being photographed on the beach looking happy, healthy, and thoroughly uninterested in sucking in her stomach for the cameras. No contour, no lashes, no glam squad shot in the background – just a bikini, a boyfriend, and some turquoise water.
For a woman whose romantic history has played out like a very expensive soap – a Count, a whirlwind marriage to Tom D’Agostino Jr., divorce in under a year, flirty headlines with younger Bravolebrities – this Cancun chapter feels different. Less “Countess chasing a plotline,” more “divorced friend who finally booked the trip and left her insecurities at TSA.”
The PDA is a lot, sure. But it’s not desperate. The vibe isn’t, “Please cast me again,” it’s, “Please bring more ice to the cabana.” That’s a key shift.
If you zoom out, Luann is quietly rewriting a TV trope: women on reality shows are allowed to age only in one direction – toward invisibility or scandal. What she’s doing here is door number three: **visible, sexual, but calm.** The drama is in the ocean waves, not in the relationship (for once).
Think of it like this: earlier seasons were Luann’s high-wire act – titles, marriages, social climbing. Cancun Luann is the performer who’s already survived the falls and now sings at the lounge, barefoot, with a good cocktail and better lighting. Less tension, more pleasure.
Receipts
Confirmed
- Luann de Lesseps, 60, was photographed in Cancun, Mexico, in a yellow string bikini, kissing and embracing boyfriend Michael Riemerschmid in the ocean, holding hands, and cuddling in the water, according to widely distributed paparazzi photos dated mid-January 2026.
- Riemerschmid, described as a real estate agent, is seen with Luann in multiple images from the same trip, all showing clear, affectionate behavior between the two.
- Last year, Luann sparked engagement speculation when she wore a large stone on her left ring finger; at the time, an insider clarified it was an aquamarine gifted by a suitor from one of her shows and that she was not engaged.
- Luann has previously spoken in 2024 about dating a 62-year-old model, calling him a “husband commercial type of guy but very nice” in an on-record chat with host Derek Zagami.
- On the Season 2 reunion of Bravo’s Southern Hospitality (aired February 2024), cast member Joe Bradley explicitly stated he and Luann did not hook up, while admitting he was “probably too flirtatious” with her while still in a relationship with Summer House star Danielle Olivera.
- Luann’s marital history is well documented: she married Count Alexandre de Lesseps in 1993, had two children (Victoria and Noel), divorced in 2009, then married Tom D’Agostino Jr. on New Year’s Eve 2016 and split in 2017.
Unverified / Previously Disputed
- Fan and tabloid speculation that Luann was secretly engaged in 2025, based solely on the size and placement of her ring, was denied by people close to her at the time.
- Viewers and event-goers previously claimed to see Luann and Joe Bradley being “flirty” at a pre-taped Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen appearance and at a Hamptons event. Both Bradley and sources close to the situation have denied any cheating or physical relationship, and there is no confirmed evidence that they ever dated.
Bikini-clad Luann de Lesseps packs on the PDA with hunky boyfriend in Cancun https://t.co/wPbdxSBhof pic.twitter.com/t0ujCPBJ9Q
— Page Six (@PageSix) January 14, 2026
Sources: widely syndicated celebrity photo agencies, mid-January 2026; Bravo’s Southern Hospitality Season 2 reunion (Feb. 2024); Luann de Lesseps’ on-record comments in a 2024 interview with Derek Zagami; prior televised appearances on Bravo programs.
Backstory (For Casual Readers)
If you lost track of the Housewives multiverse somewhere around the Scary Island era, here’s the short version: Luann de Lesseps became famous as the “Countess” on RHONY, thanks to her then-marriage to French aristocrat Count Alexandre de Lesseps. They divorced in 2009, and she later married entrepreneur Tom D’Agostino Jr. on New Year’s Eve 2016. That union exploded in under a year and came with its own cheating rumors and endless headlines. Since then, Luann has juggled cabaret shows, reality cameos, and a dating life that occasionally overlaps with the Bravo universe – often with more chatter than clarity.
What’s Next
So where does this leave Luann now?
In the near term, don’t be surprised if this Cancun PDA tour becomes part of her onstage banter – she’s made a second career out of folding real-life drama into cabaret patter. If cameras are rolling anywhere in her orbit, this new romance is almost guaranteed to get a mention, if not a full subplot.
The bigger story, though, is how she chooses to frame this chapter. Does she lean into the “still got it” bikini narrative, or pivot to something quieter and more grounded – a woman who’s been married twice, weathered public scandal, and still believes in having a hot vacation with a man she actually seems to like?
At 60, Luann isn’t selling us the fantasy of forever anymore. She’s selling the idea that you can have a complicated past, a public dating history, and still step onto a beach in a tiny yellow bikini like it’s your first spring break. For a lot of women watching – especially the over-40 crowd who’ve been told they should “age gracefully” by wearing more linen and less joy – that might be the most interesting plot twist she’s given us yet.
What do you think: is Luann’s very public, very sunny Cancun romance empowering, a bit too performative, or exactly the kind of middle-aged love story you want to see more of?
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