Sonja Morgan is looking back on her reality TV career with a new perspective.

The Golden Life star says her years on The Real Housewives of New York City did more than give fans iconic Bravo moments. According to Sonja, the show helped her support her daughter, Quincy, while also teaching her how to protect her private life.

“I learned how to navigate my private life from my on-camera life,” Sonja told Us Weekly in its annual Reality Stars of the Year issue. “And a lot of people know I don’t have my daughter on. I don’t have family members. It just was not going to happen.”

While Sonja spent years opening up her life to cameras, she made a clear decision to keep Quincy out of the Housewives spotlight.

For Sonja, that boundary was important. But she also recognizes that the show gave her opportunities that impacted her family in a meaningful way.

“I figured it out that well, it allows me to support my daughter,” Sonja explained.

Sonja then proudly shared that Quincy graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, crediting the fans and Bravo for supporting her journey.

“She graduated summa cum laude from [The University of Pennsylvania], and that’s because of the viewers embracing us and supporting us,” Sonja said. “Thank you to Bravo — and thank you now to E! — [for giving] us this shot, to continue to be the best family members we can and to support those who need us.”

Sonja added, “That’s what I finally learned is that’s what it’s for. That’s really what it’s for.”

Now that Quincy is grown, Sonja says she is “finally an empty nester” and ready to focus on the next phase of her own life.

“I finally sold the house in New York because I don’t need it,” Sonja shared. “It was just me living there at some point.”

Sonja said she has created a peaceful life for herself in Palm Beach and is open to love, but not forcing anything.

“Maybe before I wanted to be married, but I wasn’t really able to,” she said. “Now I feel like I’m more able to be in a serious, lifelong relationship. But dating is a challenge today so what I’m going to do now is just slow things down.”

Sonja’s reality TV journey began in 2010 when she joined RHONY during Season 3. She remained a cast member for 11 seasons before later returning to Bravo for Luann & Sonja: Welcome to Crappie Lake and The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip.

Now, she is reuniting with Luann de Lesseps, Ramona Singer, Kelly Bensimon and Dorinda Medley on The Golden Life, which follows the former RHONY women as they take on Palm Beach.

Sonja said she is excited to be back with the women because they do not always get to spend that kind of time together when they are not filming.

“We don’t get to see each other when we’re not filming,” Sonja explained. “I was so excited, mostly about doing E! because we’ll be back together and I know that’s what the viewers wanted.”

She added, “After we had such a long run, I mean, we’re on TV now over 20 years, it’s unbelievable. We’re still here.”

Sonja also admitted that while fans see the glamour, they do not always see the hustle behind the scenes.

“When we’re not filming — because we would spend five months every year together to do the other shows that we’ve done — what happens that the viewers don’t see is [that] the hustle is real,” Sonja said.

She pointed out that Luann is busy with her cabaret tour, Sonja is doing her comedy tour, Ramona is dating seriously and Kelly is constantly working events.

“So, yeah, this is the time we get to be together for reals,” Sonja said.

Sonja also reflected on her longtime connection to Harry Dubin, who became a familiar face to RHONY viewers over the years.

According to Sonja, Harry became “more interested” in the show and the “spotlight” than he was in her.

“That’s not what I loved about Harry,” Sonja admitted.

Because of that, Sonja said she stopped talking to him for about seven years until his father was on his deathbed. The two eventually began speaking again, but Sonja still does not love having Harry around the friend group all the time.

“I don’t love Harry being in our friend group all the time,” she said. “I don’t love it, because I like to keep my friendships one-on-one and separate from the show. But it happens.”

As Sonja enters this new chapter, she says she has learned to be proud of what she has built and what she has survived.

“When you gain experience, you start to see the grass isn’t greener and you start to be happy with where you’re at, and you start to have self-esteem,” Sonja said. “I’ve become very proud of my accomplishments, what I’ve been through [and] how I’ve come out the other side.”

For Sonja, The Golden Life is about finally enjoying herself after years of raising her daughter, working hard and taking care of everyone else.

“The only regret when you get to your 60s is, ‘Boy, I wish I’d started this sooner,’” Sonja said. “But like me, so many moms out there, we’re so busy raising our kids and taking care of people that we need to take care of [and] by the time you get here, you’re like, ‘Wow, I’m going to really enjoy myself now. This is The Golden Life.’”

The Golden Life premieres Tuesday, October 20, at 10 p.m. ET with a special 90-minute episode on E!. The series will continue airing Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET.