The Real Life Neff Davis Opened Up About Her Current Relationship With Anna Sorokin
Since Netflix dropped Inventing Anna, people (me) have been obsessed with knowing anything and everything about the real-life people behind the fictional retelling.
We know the show gets a LOT right about the real story behind the fake German heiress who conned New York City’s elite — but what about the current relationships between Anna and everyone featured on the show?
Well, Neffatari Davis — better known as Neff — told Vulture exactly where she and her former bestie currently stand:
"We speak as much as we can, which is like once a month right now," Neff explained. "I spoke to her yesterday, actually. It’s like, if I’m bored, I’ll pick up. I try to give her some type of stamina to keep going because she literally has no one out here in America. I mean, of course, she talks to her dad and mom, but they’re so far away, and they’re so confused about her fame."
Neff also said that, while they speak frequently, she can’t “answer every phone call.” "It’s almost like a seesaw. I have to set boundaries. Sometimes I won’t answer the phone because I had to let her know I have my freedom. I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m not going to be able to answer every single phone call from jail. But if you need some panties or some coconut milk for Thanksgiving, I’ll send it."
She added that she was forced to set boundaries with Anna during the trial in 2017. "I definitely had to set boundaries during the trial because Anna started losing her mind a little bit when it came to being famous in jail and by herself without family here in America. As far as our friendship now that she’s been released…I’m all the way on the West Coast. She’s in Orange County, New York."
Neff also confessed that the last time she saw Anna in person was right before the notorious Morocco trip. "The last time I saw Anna, she had paid her bill at the hotel. She’d pulled up in a Tesla and was like, 'I’m out, bitch.' I was like, 'Okay, rich stuff.'"
"It was all brand new to me when Jessica reached out and told me that Anna says I’m her only friend in New York," she continued. "I’m like, 'Okay, this ended up bigger than just a rich guest at my hotel who provided me with a lifestyle I was already trying to achieve on my own.”
Nowadays, Neff said she actually talks to journalist Jessicca Pressler (her name was changed to Vivian Kent in the show) more frequently than she does Anna.
"We’ve kept in contact once a week for three years. It’s like having a mom in New York."
Neff admitted that Netflix gets a lot right about her character and her relationship with the other players in Anna’s life — including Rachel Williams. “I really don’t have any feelings toward her. Me and Rachel were never friends. Anna was the only middleman between us. She has said unkind things, and she doesn’t really care for me. But that’s fine.”
"She really loved Anna. I mean, loved her to the point that she really wanted to be her, in a way — even though she might not want to admit that now."
She also opened up about one of the most stressful parts of the show — and probably life for the real people: the Morocco trip when Anna, Kacy Duke, and Rachel booked the most expensive suite at a fancy Moroccan resort and then were unable to pay the bill.
Neff said she had "such anxiety" watching that episode on the show. "The director of that episode, Nzingha Stewart, gave me such anxiety because of the way she shot it. I kept thinking, 'What would I have done?" She said. "My mom watched it, and she was like, 'You would have faked passing out in the lobby and gone to a hospital, and we would have gotten you a plane ticket.'"
"But I’m so relieved. I almost went — to the point that I’m the one that booked the hotel for them. From Instagram, it looked like they had an amazing time. I didn’t know until Jessica contacted me how bad it went."
