Dorinda Medley Talks Selling NYC Apartment of 20 Years for $2.5M: 'Time to Start a New Chapter'

Douglas Elliman. Inset: Noam Galai/Getty

Dorinda Medley is saying goodbye to her New York City apartment of more than 20 years.

In an interview with PEOPLE, the 57-year-old Real Housewives of New York alum confirmed she has listed the property, which is being offered at $2.5 million, as first reported by realtor.com, but she's not going far.

"Contrary to what some may think, I'm not leaving New York City," Medley tells PEOPLE. "But 2022 for me is about change. I see my life different now, and I want an apartment that's more suited for my lifestyle; an apartment that's all mine. It's time to start a new chapter in a different location."

"I've lived in that Upper East Side apartment for 21 years," she adds. "I raised my daughter there, and so much of the reason I stayed — even through my divorce and when I married [my late husband] Richard — was because of Hannah." Medley shares Hannah, her only child, with ex-husband Ralph Lynch.

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Douglas Elliman

Her daughter was also what made the space feel like home, she shares.

"I mean, that apartment was bought for Hannah, and for me to be a single mom and be with all the other moms. But the reasons I lived there are no longer relevant to my life. Hannah is living on her own now, and she said to me the other day, 'Mom, why are you all the way up here?' And it made me really look around and think to myself, 'She's right. I'm done with a mommy neighborhood. I need an apartment that suits Dorinda,' " she added.

The 1,200 sq. ft., two-bedroom, two-bathroom Upper East Side apartment built in 1972 features views of the city, and luxury finishes like marble countertops and hardwood floors throughout.

Douglas Elliman

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Medley says she's now looking for a place somewhere closer to Midtown.

"I see myself in a really large 1 bedroom with a little terrace, somewhere that's just for me — no kids, just my place. I'll have it decked out like a beautiful, fantastic hotel room; someplace I can feel luxurious but also a home that's closer to the action," she said.

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The reality star also owns Blue Stone Manor, her historic home in Massachusetts' Berkshires (and the setting for Peacock's buzzed-about upcoming all-star Housewives spinoff).

Medley said of the estate, "The Berkshires [property] is much bigger than me. That's everyone's house, that's where I do all my entertaining. I want my New York City apartment to be just for me. No guests!"

courtesy airbnb

Her longtime friend and realtor Lori Cooper is not only selling Medley's current place, but also finding her a new one.

"Lori Cooper sold me that apartment 21 years ago, and Lori Cooper is selling that apartment 21 years later," Medley says of the agent, who has built a following for herself after her own Real Housewives of New York City appearances.

"Tell me that's not loyalty!" she adds.

And though she wants to move a few blocks further south in Manhattan, Medley does have some stipulations on the location.

"I told Lori, it's gotta be below 75th Street, but the cutoff is Bergdorf's," Medley said, with a laugh of the famed department store on Fifth Avenue and 58th Street. "She promised me she's not going below Bergdorf's!"