Former The Real Housewives of New York (RHONY) star Heather Thomson might have left reality television behind, but her time in the spotlight has far from diminished. Nowadays, the former TV personality can be found hosting the podcast Health Harmony & Heather and travel retreats, while finding new ways to evolve her health and wellness plan.
Currently, the mother of two has partnered with Hapbee, a wearable product that uses magnetic fields to help elevate your mood, boost productivity and sleep better. To learn why she chooses to use it, her message to women worldwide and what she has to say about her time on The Real Housewives of New York, keep scrolling!
First for Women: As a working mother, how important is self-care to you, and how do you find the time to do it?
Heather Thomson: I think self-care is very important because it’s world care. If you’re taking care of yourself, you’re caring for everybody. I’m never going to be the best every day, but I can be my personal best every day, and that’s everything.
FFW: Why did you partner with Hapbee, with its neckband and sleep pad?
HT: I found Hapbee through Heather Thomson Travel and Adventure. I started a series of retreats called Pure Freedom so that we could come back together, mind, body and soul, to start to heal.
Hapbee became a tool that I started sharing with people to help them find serenity and calmness. I introduced this five years ago at our retreat, but I’ve been an authentic user since the beginning of time.
I also think options are really important in our lives. For me, I can choose to have caffeine in the form of coffee or I can choose to put Hapbee on, which gives me that same effect without any of the downsides.
I don’t want to take it because I do not like melatonin. I love that we have it in our bodies, and there are things that I would rather do before swallowing down a tablet like that. The Hapbee is one of them. That is my sleep choice, with no hangover the next morning.
FFW: Aside from Hapbee, what else is in your morning routine?
HT: So my morning routine combines a few different things. The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is check in with myself. How am I feeling? Did you have a restful night’s sleep? Am I feeling tired? I do a self-check-in, and then, depending on my answer, I start my routine. I may need to meditate for 15 minutes before I start. I may need to lie down with my Hapbee in the morning because I didn’t get a restful night’s sleep, and I want to get 20 more minutes of really solid rest in.
FFW: What advice do you have for all the other working mothers out there?
HT: Women and mothers have worked very hard for too long, proving that we can do it all when there’s no need to prove that. We need to focus on ourselves so that we can go out there and bring to the world that powerful feminine that is us in the best way we can each and every day.
Remind yourself every day to support the women in your life. Remind them just how powerful they are. Let go of some of that ancestral, dated baggage so we can be better for the next generations. Because not all women feel powerful, and many of them, I feel, are brainwashed in the sense of the rhetoric that’s been coming at us for decades. Women are unique and incredible and bring a very important piece to the puzzle of life.
FFW: What was being on Real Housewives of New York like for you, and do you still keep in touch with your castmates?
HT: I definitely keep in touch with some of my castmates. It’s kind of like going to summer camp together. It has its highs and lows, but you create bonds that last a lifetime.
Carole Radziwill and I are still close friends. Kristen Taekman, her husband Josh, and I are all still close friends. I see Dorinda Medley popping around the Berkshires. We don’t really hang out too much, but we are friends from the show. I ran into Luann De Lesseps the other day, and it was like no time had gone by. I’m also still friendly with Andy Cohen, who is the biggest housewife of all.
I don’t speak to Sonja Morgan, and I have zero commonality with her at all, but if I saw her, I would have an affinity and I do care about her as a human being.
To me, the Housewives’’ experience was incredible. I had the opportunity to do something outside of my comfort zone. I’m glad I left when I left, but it was a wonderful experience.
Everybody goes on the show for vastly different reasons, but if you look at it from its beginning to its current state, I think there is one common thing: the women on there are all out there to be loud, proud women, no matter what that means.
What is your favorite Real Housewives franchise aside from New York?
HT: Beverly Hills. I watched the show when I was home with my daughter Ella before I joined The Housewives, but I was hooked.
