Roxanne 
Hannah Berner is looking back at her Summer House exit with a very different perspective.
Hannah Berner Says Bravo Thought She Was “Too Much For Reality TV”The former Bravo star recently appeared on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, where she reflected on being fired from both Summer House and Bravo’s Chat Room, and how losing those jobs ultimately pushed her to go all in on stand-up comedy.
Hannah appeared on Summer House from Seasons 3 through 5, from 2019 to 2021. During the end of her Bravo run, she was also featured on the network’s all-female late-night talk show, Bravo’s Chat Room.
At the time, Hannah publicly said she was leaving the network to focus on “new career ventures.” However, she has since claimed that she was actually fired from Bravo after behind-the-scenes drama with other cast members.
“I had gotten fired from [Summer House] and a talk show,” Hannah told Dax on the Monday, June 8 episode, while explaining what led her to fully pursue comedy.
Hannah said she believes her firing came down to the network needing the cast to be able to move forward together.
“It was a matter of, ‘You need everyone to be friends.’ Not everyone was getting along. It was a choice … I was gonna be the one kiboshed,” Hannah said.
Still, Hannah now sees getting fired as part of her story.
“I just say, getting fired [equals] star power. It’s a thin line between love and hate. Getting fired, they were like, ‘You’re too much for reality TV.’ I was like, ‘Iconic,’” she said.
Hannah’s final season on Summer House was controversial, with her relationship with then-boyfriend Des Bishop, her tension with Kyle Cooke, Amanda Batula and other cast members, and her fallout with the group becoming a major part of the show.
While her time on Bravo ended on a rocky note, Hannah said she learned a lot from the experience and used the rejection as motivation.
“And I get a call, ‘You’re fired from Summer House, you’re fired from Chat Room.’ And I remember thinking, ‘Now I need to get a Netflix special,’” Hannah shared.
She admitted the firing gave her the kind of drive she needed to take comedy seriously.
“I got such a chip on my shoulder. ‘Cause you have to be crazy to stand up every night. You have to have some kind of addict mentality. And I remember thinking, ‘I love when people put me down or cut me out, or I feel like no one wants me here.’ And to come back stronger. I just love that. I love the rising of the phoenix. I love the underdog.”
Hannah also noted that reality stars do not usually make the jump to Netflix comedy specials, which made the goal even more appealing to her.
“Also, no one in reality TV gets a Netflix special. So I was like, ‘Let’s f***ing go.’ … I never put any of my energy towards hurting anyone. I literally was like, ‘And now we’re moving on,’” she said.
Since leaving Bravo, Hannah has built a major career outside of Summer House. She cohosts the successful Giggly Squad podcast with fellow Summer House alum Paige DeSorbo and has become a full-time comedian.
She also reached the goal she set after getting fired. Her first stand-up special, We Ride at Dawn, premiered at No. 2 on Netflix in July 2024. Her second special, None of My Business, launched on Disney+ and Hulu on Friday, June 5.
Hannah said the biggest lesson from her journey is that people cannot control what happens to them, but they can control how they respond.
“I just want people to know things are going to happen to you regardless. S***ty things happen to you every day. It’s how you react to it,” she said.
Hannah’s Bravo exit may have felt like a major setback at the time, but she is now framing it as the moment that forced her to bet on herself.
And according to Hannah, getting fired did not end her career. It gave her the fire to build an even bigger one.
