Sonja Morgan, 61, Ends Nearly Two-Year Romance with ‘The Viking’

Bravo icon Sonja Morgan has revealed the heartbreaking end to her year-and-a-half long romance with ‘The Viking’ in an exclusive chat with the Daily Mail. 

The Real Housewives of New York City alum, 61, is currently entertaining fans nationwide on her improv comedy tour, Sonja In Your City, and has stops scheduled in Tampa, Florida and Orange County, California in the coming weeks. 

A tour full of laughter is the perfect way for Morgan to celebrate being an independent woman following her split from The Viking, the mystery man she had been dating for nearly two years.  

As it turns out, a star like Morgan is not immune from the perils of modern dating – she suggested he cut things off in a way many singletons can fully relate to.  

‘I was dating a guy that I met out here when I was off season renting an Amagansett and I call him the Viking because I don’t want people to know his name,’ she told the Daily Mail. ‘We had a really nice run like a year and a half and I just never had anyone ghost me before, you know? He went through a family situation.

‘He was going through a lot. And so I don’t think he could handle a relationship anymore because of his own personal situation. So anyhow, I sucked it up, moved on and I’ve been dating here and there,’ she explained. 

Now Morgan is looking for the real deal: ‘But I’m not investing my time in anyone unless I see that they really want a future together to grow old together because that’s what I’m looking for now.’ 

Morgan previously shared her life with her ex-husband, the late investment banker John Adams Morgan, who passed earlier this year at age 94.

The star was married to the J.P. Morgan heir from 1998 to 2006, and has daughter Quincy Adams Morgan, 24, with him. 

Recalling the romance, Morgan said her ex asked for her hand in marriage ‘right away.’ 

‘There was just no doubt he wanted a marriage. We didn’t talk about children until we were together, like married two years. And then we should decide to have a baby,’ she said. 

‘I was very good with my husband through his situation, and I don’t wanna get into that,’ she continued. ‘But I had to be there for him 100%, and then we decided to split. That wasn’t on the show.

‘I mean, they made it out like I was f**king around. No. I wasn’t. There was a reason beyond our control that we had to separate and it was very sad for both of us.’

Addressing his recent death, she said: ‘It was really hard. Then you go through the whole thing again. You nurse them through everything, and then you’re going through the legalities when someone passes away and the extraneous family, the close family, all of that. Again,’ she said. 

‘For anyone, not just for me. Just anyone that goes through it, you know, someone passing away. There’s all these things you have to do,’ she said. ‘The will, everything. All the loose ends have to be put together. It’s very unsettling.  

Morgan says the true fans who attend her comedy shows are aware of just how much she cared for her ex: ‘They know I really loved him. They didn’t care what the other girls had said about me or our relationship because they don’t know. 

‘They don’t really know. But the viewers know because what comes through the camera, the viewers really know. They know how you really feel. And they knew I really loved my husband. For whatever reason we divorced.’

Despite legally severing ties, the reality star sees herself as forever a Morgan. 

‘I’m always going to be a Morgan. I’m always going to be Mrs. Morgan if I walk in the Morgan Library. I’m always going to be Mrs. Morgan at the charity in Paris for the Morgan Museum,’ she said. 

It’s the name she became famous by after joining the cast of RHONY in 2010, which she remained on until 2021. The entire cast was replaced by new stars, but the original co-stars remain in touch thanks to their aptly-titled group chat, ‘OG Beauties.’  

‘We’re on a text chain OG Beauties,’ Morgan told Daily Mail. ‘Kelly Bensimon gave us that name. OG Beauties.’

The former co-stars reside in either New York or Florida, with Morgan, Bethenny Frankel, and Ramona Singer all calling the Sunshine State home. 

‘I ran into Bethenny at a Ryan Murphy, the Swans premier, and we were just so excited to see each other,’ she told Daily Mail.

A run-in with fellow RHONY alum Dorinda Medley also proved to be an emotional experience: ‘I ran into Dorinda backstage at… a women’s empowerment thing and we were in tears when we saw each other… It’s real,’ she said of their affection for on another. 

The care is sincere, with Morgan sharing how Singer once being out of pocket for several hours alarmed her pals: ‘We were all worried recently about Ramona because we didn’t hear for her for like three hours. And then I said, “Here she is, girls… She’s playing golf. She’s fine.”

‘You know, when you play golf, you’re gone for five hours. You’re not answering.  So we are keeping track of each other.’

Morgan was already pals with Luann de Lesseps, Singer, and Jill Zarin prior to joining the cast, and she credits their genuine friendships to the show’s success. 

‘We were friends before the show, all of us. That’s why Andy Cohen’s book said the best franchises are the ones where you really are friends,’ she told Daily Mail. ‘I think that was the downfall of our show is when they started trying to pop new talent in there that really didn’t know us or trust us even. So that doesn’t work, as we all saw.

‘We were all friends before and we still are. And no matter what happens, any kind of drama again, we’re like a family dealing with that and getting through it because we have too much to lose a friendship over a stupid squabble. We love each other.’

The women are still hopeful for another chance to return to small screens as well, with Morgan revealing they all have their ‘tentacles out there with different producers.’ 

‘We’re all working on getting a show. You know, we all have our tentacles out there with different producers. Obviously, the the want is there, it’s getting it all together and then in time to get the money raised,’ she said. 

‘After the writers’ strike, all funds were on hold,’ she explained. ‘We’re all trying to get something together with each other, and there’s definitely interest. It’s about who can get the money the fastest together for a pilot.’

Morgan envisions a show that would focus on their lives in Florida: ‘It wouldn’t be Real Housewives in New York, but it would be us girls, sort of like I don’t wanna say Golden Girls, but you know what I mean. Timeless lifestyles of women you grew up with. Still being involved with our lives, but maybe in Florida, you know? Not in New York anymore.’ 

Since Morgan departed Bravo last year, the network has come under increasing scrutiny for allegedly fostering toxic environments for entertainment.   

But under the right circumstances, Morgan believes anyone can be susceptible to behaving out of character and having ‘blow-ups.’ 

‘Well, it is TV,’ she told Daily Mail of the criticism the network has faced. ‘It’s for entertainment. It’s not necessarily the way we live our lives with each other on a daily basis. I would think anyone who went through COVID and had to live in tight quarters knows how you can have blowups being in each other’s space. So it’s the same thing today.

‘You can go on an all girls trip with 10 of your favorite bachelorettes and friends and you can still have blow-ups when there’s travel and jet lag and lack of I don’t know about you but I get very unregular when I’m traveling. 

‘I have stage fright when it comes to the toilet when I’m traveling. But all those factors, drinking, being in a different place, that’s the same with COVID. You’re on somebody else’s diet, somebody else’s timeframe. So yeah, you may say, “Oh, the show cultivates a toxic environment.”

‘But we can all be in a toxic environment if we don’t handle it properly. When you’re filming twenty hours out of the day, it’s a lot to manage.’

Morgan’s awareness of this may be the reason she continues to look as good as she does.

At 61, the Bravolebrity looks amazing – and she says part of it is due to having high quality relationships. 

‘I always said, doing the show, there was quite a bit of drama,’ she said, ‘But I think if you live your life truthfully, and you go to bed with a good conscience and you sleep well, that will always show.’

‘I always tell people when I grew up, you know, modeling in Europe, Italy, France, I learned over there that they take it very seriously about just getting everything off your chest and moving on. Keep it moving,’ she said. 

‘The latest science shows that people that live the longest have good relationships and the more the better, but quality relationships.’

Diet and rest also play a vital role in maintaining her appearance: ‘They see me partying with the girls on a vacation or even at a brunch in the city. But on the off film times, I’m resting, getting my good sleep, making sure I eat well.’

‘I follow Mediterranean diet,’ she said, before giving a shout-out to the MIND diet and  occasional red meat consumption. 

‘The latest science shows eating red meat once a month or once a week. Once a week. Red meat, once a week. That’s it. And I love meat and potatoes,’ she said. 

‘The other thing is besides sleeping well which keeps your cortisol levels down, your stress down. The other thing is to make sure you have downtime for yourself,’ she said.

Off screen, Morgan’s life has continued to contain plotlines straight out of TV.

Earlier this year she landed in controversy after she was banned from the NYC restaurant Tucci over a $1k bill.

According to reports, Morgan had expected her meal to be comped – and allegedly had a fit when she was told it wasn’t on the house.

Speaking with Daily Mail about the squabble, Morgan says she had been invited to a restaurant comp and was having issues with her card. 

‘I was invited to a restaurant comp, which I always was,’ Morgan, who said she previously had comped meals at the eatery, explained. 

Page Six previously reported that Morgan had initially reserved a table for three before arriving with four other people. They added she settled her bill and left a tip within two days of the meal.

In response to the debacle, Tucci owner Max Tucci told the site Morgan was ‘taking advantage’ of the restaurant. 

‘Took advantage of what?’ Morgan told Daily Mail, referencing Tucci’s response. ‘Using my American Express Platinum, as I did!

‘I ended up having to pay because I was leaving with my friends and I said, “You know, I don’t have my card with me and my bank account at Chase had a problem,”‘ she said. 

‘I couldn’t pay right then. Said I’ll pay you tomorrow. And then when I called, I didn’t hear back till Monday, and they’d already gone to the press. And I always tip. I think everyone knows that.’

‘I did tip,’ she stressed, adding she initially wasn’t able to tip the bartender as she ‘couldn’t do his Venmo’ and says a text chain she has proves she tipped. 

Reached out for comment about Morgan’s comments, owner Max told Daily Mail: ‘My response has been published many times with the truth of the situation. The facts are clear – there was no agreement for a complimentary dinner for Sonja. Her assumption otherwise shows poor judgment, which is consistent with her past behavior of not tipping our servers. She knew it, the team knew it, and I even texted it to her.’

Another saga making headlines was the sale of Morgan’s Upper East Side townhouse. 

The star explained it had been on-off the market for years as she was often approached to lease it for a high amount – which she couldn’t resist. 

Since it officially left Morgan’s hands, it’s been turned into a sober living facility.  

Addressing the home’s current use, Morgan said she had been approached by a sober living facility to rent the home prior to selling it, but turned them down over concerns for her neighbors. 

‘I was approached by a sober living just before I sold and to rent for two years, and I said no,’ she said. ‘I didn’t wanna do that to my neighbors. I know all my neighbors. I know all my neighbors! Who doesn’t on the Upper East Side?’ 

‘To bring in traffic which is transient because they don’t stay there forever,’ she elaborated. ‘It’s gonna be different people each couple of weeks or a month. Right?’ she said, adding, ‘That’s not something my neighborhood would enjoy.’

Daily Mail has reached out to Release Recovery, the sober living facility now inhabiting Morgan’s former home, for comment but have not yet heard back. 

Nowadays Morgan can be found touring the country for her improv show, where she’s shedding her old identity for a bit of fun on stage. 

‘I’ve dated royalty. I’ve dated rock stars. I married into a very discreet, powerful American family that’s considered royalty,’ she tells Daily Mail. ‘I know I’ve done that and I don’t have to do that anymore. So when I go on tour, if I want to do chair dances and make people laugh and talk about sex, I can do that.’