Crystal Kung Minkoff Finally Exposes The Shady Truth Behind The Infamous 14 Friends Fallout!
Crystal Kung Minkoff Finally Exposes The Shady Truth Behind The Infamous 14 Friends Fallout!
Crystal Kung Minkoff is finally spilling the tea on the infamous “14 friends” drama, clearing up years of speculation and dishing on the messy fallout that rocked her personal life after joining RHOBH.
On the January 13 episode of her podcast Humble Brag with Crystal and Cynthia, Crystal revealed the shocking details behind her fractured friendships, including one ex-friend’s alleged attempt to sabotage her reputation. “It’s not 14,” Crystal, 41, clarified, referencing a prior comment by Lisa Rinna about losing 14 friends.
“I’m the one that said the number 14. Lisa brought it up because I told her off-camera. [There were] seven [from] one group.” The fallout began when an old friend, who had once been considered for RHOBH, turned against her.
“An ex-friend of mine wanted to do the show… but her husband didn’t support it,” Crystal revealed. “As her friend, I said, ‘I think that’s the right decision for your family.’”
But tensions rose when Crystal herself was cast. “I told her, and the conversation wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t great. She asked, ‘Why is it good enough for you and not me?’” Crystal explained.
Though she joined the show partly to use her platform to address hate crimes against Asians, she admitted she didn’t share that reasoning at the time, feeling it might come across as an excuse. After their final conversation, Crystal never heard from her friend again. “That was four and a half years ago,” she said.
The fallout didn’t end there. A group photo from her mommy-and-me circle surfaced—without her. “It broke my heart,” she admitted. “I sent letters and flowers to everyone, begging to make things right… No one responded.”
The rejection deepened when Crystal became the target of what she described as a smear campaign. “They started telling people I made up lies about them. Then they DMed cast members to destroy my character,” she alleged.
“It wasn’t just dropping me—it was, ‘Now we have to destroy her.’” Despite the negativity, Crystal found support in her closest allies.
“My best friends are amazing because they really stood by me,” she shared, adding that others privately warned her about the toxicity within the group. “You don’t think it’s ever going to happen to you.” Now looking back, Crystal appears ready to move forward.
“I’ve learned a lot about people, and I’m grateful for the friends who stayed true,” she concluded.
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Raissa Asunbo is a Content Editor at All About The Tea. She lives in Toronto, Canada and enjoys reading, watching movies, traveling and spending time with her family.