Roxanne 
Ariana Biermann and Riley Burruss are opening up about the tension that caused a rare fight between the longtime friends on Next Gen NYC.
During Season 2, Episode 4, Ariana and Riley clashed after Riley felt unsupported by Ariana during a separate argument with Georgia McCann at girls’ night.
While viewers saw the conflict play out on the show, Ariana and Riley revealed on the Next Gen NYC After Show that there was even more going on behind the scenes.
From Riley’s perspective, Ariana has a pattern of waiting too long before stepping in when she feels disrespected.
“I wish she would’ve stepped in earlier,” Riley explained. “I feel like she always waits ’til the last second to step in, after people have already disrespected me a lot. I have friends who step in as soon as they see someone disrespect me. Ariana waits until after they’ve already done it, said it several times. And then, once she sees me about to say something really offensive, then that’s when she wants to step in. And now I look crazy.”
Riley said she wished Ariana had immediately interrupted the situation with Georgia and simply walked away with her.
“That should’ve been the end of that story,” Riley added.
Riley also noted that she has “never had to communicate that” type of support with her hometown friends.
Gia Giudice, however, had a different read on the situation. During the After Show, Gia said Ariana actually was “sticking up” for Riley, even if Burruss did not notice the way Ariana was trying to “de-escalate the situation” between her and Georgia.
Ariana then explained that she did not want to make the argument worse by adding more fuel to the fire.
“I wasn’t gonna yell at Georgia. I didn’t know why we were yelling at Georgia. I still don’t know why we were yelling at Georgia,” Ariana said.
She clarified that she agreed with some of Riley’s points, but struggled with the way things were being said.
“A lot of the things, I was like, ‘Period.’ But it’s the delivery,” Ariana explained.
Ariana said the fight made her realize that she and Riley may have different ideas of what support looks like in a friendship.
“I don’t know if we have different ideas of support. I don’t really know, which I’m still learning to this day, is, like, how to be the most supportive friend to her,” Ariana said.
When Riley later confronted Ariana, Ariana admitted she was shocked by the direction of the conversation.
“I really thought she was gonna come over and be like, ‘Thank you for having my back,’ not, ‘You’re the reason why all of that happened,’” Ariana said.
Following the argument, Ariana said she started to feel like no matter what she did, it was not enough for Riley.
“I started to feel like everything I do is never enough,” Ariana shared.
Still, Ariana made it clear she does not believe Riley had bad intentions.
“But, again, I know that’s not her intention or her goal,” Ariana said. “That’s not her heart.”
Despite the drama, Ariana and Riley are still friends today.
“Riley is one of my absolute best friends,” Ariana revealed. “I literally adore this woman and love her and know her heart. And I know how good of a person she is. This year, we’re definitely navigating our friendship.”
Ariana said that although the season was difficult for them, they have since worked through a lot of their issues.
“We’ve gotten to, now, like, a very great point in our friendship and have kind of talked through a lot of these different things,” Ariana said. “And I see her all the time, and we have a great friendship. And I think it’s just still kind of figuring out these kinks and how to fully understand each other.”
One major factor in their changing dynamic was that Ariana had just broken up with her longtime boyfriend Hudson McLeroy at the beginning of Season 2, while Riley was in a new relationship with her boyfriend Christian.
“This year, we’re in different phases,” Riley explained.
Burruss said Ariana is experiencing being freshly single, while she is in a committed relationship and no longer in the same place socially.
“I know when you’re freshly single, you want to have that friend that will go out with you and, like, meet all these people, and talk to the guys at the bar, and do all these things. And it’s like I can’t do that anymore,” Riley said.
She added that Ariana has never seen her in a relationship like this, which has made it harder for them to adjust.
“So, I feel like we’re in a disconnect because she’s never seen me in a relationship like this. So, it’s kind of hard to adapt. So, we’re trying to re-learn this version of us, and it’s pretty hard,” Riley shared.
Burruss also admitted that she is still figuring out exactly what she needs from her friendship with Ariana as they both continue growing.
“I have people who definitely fulfill me in my life,” Riley said. “And I want her to be a part of that life, but it’s hard when she’s not meeting that criteria.”
She continued, “Of course, we’re both main characters; we both have our own things going on. So, I think it’s also hard for us to take care of each other while also taking care of ourselves.”
Ariana and Riley’s fight may have been uncomfortable to watch, but it seems the two are still committed to working through their friendship.
For now, both women admit they are in different phases of life — but they are still trying to understand each other and figure out what their friendship looks like now.
