Kelsey Swanson is addressing ongoing speculation about her relationship and making it clear she does not identify with the “sugar baby” label, while also revealing how supportive her boyfriend has been behind the scenes.
Speaking on SiriusXM’s Page Six Radio, Kelsey pushed back on the narrative surrounding her decade-long relationship.
“I think this whole like sugar baby narrative blew up into something that it never really was,” she said. “I was never a sugar baby. He was never my sugar daddy. We were on a full-blown relationship, loving each other for 10 years. He just has money and was taking care of me, which what a lot of relationships are when you’re married. Just we weren’t married, so people call him a sugar daddy. It doesn’t make sense.”
She added that her boyfriend has also taken issue with how he’s being described.
“And he’s not happy that people are calling him that, by the way. He’s like, ‘Also, I’m attractive. Like, do people know what I look like?’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, they’ve seen you on the internet.’”
Despite choosing not to appear on The Real Housewives of Rhode Island, Kelsey said he is actually a longtime fan of the franchise.
“He loves Housewives and he loves reality TV,” she said. “Oh, yeah. No, he’s been watching it for decades at this point.”
She emphasized just how excited he was when the opportunity first came up.
“He was very excited. He was very excited. But at the beginning, he was on my casting tapes. We didn’t know it was the housewives yet.”
Kelsey explained that he initially participated when the project was being developed under a different concept.
“Well, they were pitching a show about big Italian families, and he has a big Italian family. So, I was like, ‘Yeah, do you mind like stepping in on this casting call I have.’ He’s like, ‘What is it about?’ Like, ‘I don’t know. Just put on a button down and talk about yourself and how much you love me.’”
However, once it became clear it would be part of the Housewives franchise, he decided to step back.
“I mean, it’s like well, we kind of had a feeling towards the end, right when he knew it was Housewives, he’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m out.’ He knew that like as a man in the housewives world, you just get obliterated.”
Even as blogs began identifying him, Kelsey said neither of them were particularly concerned.
“No, I actually wanted it to get out and he didn’t care either. He’s like, ‘Any publicity is good publicity.’ He was actually waiting for the moment for it to happen. He just didn’t want to be on the show.”
As her personal life continues to draw attention, Kelsey is making it clear that her relationship is not what people assume, and that her partner, while staying off camera, is still very much supportive behind it.