Kelly Bensimon Says She's Planning 2 Weddings with Fiancé Scott Litner: 'Why Have Just 1?' (Exclusive)

The 'Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy' star tells PEOPLE all about her upcoming "I dos" with Litner, whom she calls "a really special person"

Kelly Bensimon will be sending out double the wedding invitations next year.

The Real Housewives of New York City alumna tells PEOPLE that she's planning two weddings to fiancé Scott Litner, one smaller ceremony for those in her closest circle and then a big celebration where all family and friends can celebrate together.

"Why have one when you can have two?" the real estate agent and model jokes Tuesday, while promoting her stint in Peacock's upcoming Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy. "So we're working on setting dates for all of that."

At least one date has been set: June 22, 2024, where she and Litner will exchange "I dos" in the backyard of his family home.

The second bash will be held in the Hamptons, though Bensimon still has to sort out her vision for that.

"When this first started I was like, I'm going to be so relaxed about this. I’m going to be like, the coolest bride ever.' But then I started doing it," she recalls. "At this point, I think I might just become a total brideszilla! I just think I could really wear those shoes well."

Related: 'Real Housewives of New York’ Alum Kelly Bensimon Engaged to Financier Scott Litner: ‘Over the Moon’

Bensimon has been married before, to famed fashion photographer Gilles Bensimon, from 1997 to 2006. The two share daughters Sea, 25, and Teddy, 23.

Litner proposed the question to Bensimon after a year of dating while they were on vacation in Wisconsin over the Fourth of July weekend. She had just finished filming RHUGT: RHONY Legacy, which marks her extended return to the Real Housewives franchise after her three-season run on RHONY ended in 2011 with the completion of season 4.

"Right before we went away, I was walking with Luann [de Lesseps] and I said, 'I'm in a complicated situation,'" Bensimon recalls. "And we didn't really have the chance to go through it while we were filming, but then I came back and boom — I'm engaged!"

Related: All the Celebrity Engagements of 2023

The finance executive popped the question with a custom emerald-cut, five-carat diamond ring from NYC jeweler Material Good. The two happened to be at Lake Genova, which Bensimon tells PEOPLE is "one of my favorite places."

"It was very sweet," she says. "He's so thoughtful."

That appears to be par for the course with Litner. "He's just a really genuine, nice, kind person," she gushes. "He has a beautiful family, and is great with my girls, and is just a very grounded. You know, I'm a very grounded girl — I just have ungrounded tendencies. But I typically have my feet on the ground, and he does too. So we just get along really, really well."

"When I first met him, I didn’t even say anything. I was speechless — which is not like me, I always have something to say," she adds. "But he blew me away. He’s just a really special human."

Friend and RHUGT: RHONY Legacy costar de Lesseps approves. "He's very nice, very handsome, and most importantly, adores Kelly," she tells PEOPLE as Bensimon adds that de Lesseps was one of the first people she called to tell about the engagement. "I think they make a lovely couple."

De Lesseps, 58 — who Bensimon insists will be invited to both weddings — also supports Bensimon's decision to have more than one celebration for her nuptials.

"Look, I had a three-day wedding — not that it turned out so great, but that’s another story," she teases, referencing her 2017 Palm Beach wedding to ex-husband Tom D'Agostino Jr. "That was the best weekend ever. I mean, the marriage didn’t turn out so well, but what a party!"

Fans can expect to see laughs like that between Bensimon and de Lesseps on RHUGT: Legacy.

"We had so much fun," Bensimon said. "I honestly didn’t even miss a beat. When I got off the plane, I was just loving life and having the best time, drinking as much rosé as possible because I was on vacation. And then it was like, 'Oh my God, wait a minute — I'm supposed to be filming!'"

"I'm so happy I'm back and with such a great cast," she adds, of costars Kelly Killoren Bensimon, Luann de Lesseps, Dorinda Medley, Sonja Morgan, Ramona Singer and Kristen Taekman. "Everything happens for a reason."

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The first three episodes of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy will be available to stream on Dec. 14, with new episodes available thereafter on Thursdays.

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