‘Bravo’s Love Hotel’ Host Joel Kim Booster Dishes on Helping ‘Real Housewives’ Find Love

Some of the most popular members of The Real Housewives franchise are checking into Bravo’s Love Hotel. Shannon Storms Beador (The Real Housewives of Orange County), Gizelle Bryant (The Real Housewives of Potomac), Ashley Darby (The Real Housewives of the Potomac) and Luann de Lesseps (The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy) have previously been burned in the relationship department. Now they are hoping to put that all behind them and find lasting love.

Beader came off a very public and tumultuous breakup. Bryant looked to build a romantic connection with her two daughters gone from the nest. Darby wanted to dive back into the dating pool and get over self-described daddy issues. With two divorces, de Lesseps has been single for seven years with  hopes that third time’s the charm at this stage of her life. 

Helping them on their journey is the resident “Love Concierge” Joel Kim Booster. The actor, writer, and comedian brings forth a stable of single and successful stallions looking to catch the eyes of the women. The tailored experience takes place at the luxurious Grand Velas Boutique Hotel in Los Cabos, Mexico. This piece of paradise serves as the backdrop as the Housewives decide if they want to check out coupled up or solo.

Here Booster dishes on what’s to come. 

What were your first impressions on the show concept and your hosting? 

Joel Kim Booster: I was really excited. I had been a Bravo fan since high school. Crazy to say half my life I’ve been a Bravo fan, but practically true. I was really excited to get this immersive incredible experience. I keep telling people it was like going to the Star Wars Land at Disney World and living this fantasy a bit. It was a brand new format. It was like we were learning on the job. That was really exciting to not only meet and get to film with these icons, but also do it in a brand new format Bravo has never done before. It was all exciting and definitely scary and daunting. I sing the praises of our showrunner and executive producer Trifari Williams. She came from The Bachelor world and Queen’s Court and really understands this world. She was in my ear 12 hours a day just teaching me how to be a reality TV show. Her and I will say I was telling everyone during my off hours I was binging Love Island USA. Ariana Madix was a huge inspiration for me on this journey. 

I was thinking about something like this, were you channeling any White Lotus. It has those vibes as the ladies arrive in the premiere as the “Love Concierge. “ 

We were all living our White Lotus fantasy a little bit. Sans getting murdered, I was Murray Bartlett for sure. 

This show has a relatability as these women demonstrate you can still look for love at different stages of life, even after you’ve had your heart broken so many times before. It gives that hope. How was it for you to see these Housewives trust the process and bring their barriers down? They’re used to being filmed, but I feel this is more personal in a way and almost out of their element. 

Yeah. It’s interesting because they are used to being filmed and in our lives for roughly a decade or more. Dating reality shows are a much different reality than the structured reality they are used to on Housewives. I don’t think any of these women were used to being filmed this much and for such long periods and on their downtime too, in between the actual structured parts of the day. There was filming everywhere. They really clung to each other in a really sweet way. I keep telling people that, yes, there is drama. Trust me, there is drama. This is a Bravo show after all. There are really fun, juicy, dramatic moments every Bravo fan is thirsting for.

 At the end of the day, you really do get to see these women form this bond and sisterhood at the end of it. Without spoiling anything, there is definitely overlap in who they like amongst the dating pool, but it never gets to a place of toxicity. It always comes back to girl code for these women. They really do have each other’s back at the end of the day. That is a really fun side we get to see. We’re so used to these women embroiled in conflict for 16 to 18 episodes of these Real Housewives shows. To see them be on vacation together, stepping out of the hallway in matching swimsuit coverups and laughing. It’s genuinely, as a fan and someone witnessing it firsthand, was really fun to see. 

It’s probably freeing for them knowing the guys don’t really know these reality stars from TV. 

I have deep affection for all these gentlemen who really came on. Genuinely, the ones who said they did not know this world really did not know this world. So, it was really fun. As much as I was guiding the women through this process, I was also really seeing these men experience Housewives for the first time. Getting to hold their hand through that experience was also fun as a host. 

Anyone in the group of ladies surprise you? 

I would say Gizelle I think. It’s part of her narrative on the show, but she is someone who is used to having a lot of control. Her journey on the show is a very interesting one because she is a really guarded person, and for good reason, on her franchise. I get to sit down with each woman individually throughout the season. My sit-down with Gizelle was one of my favorites because it was really a genuine moment where I think it took her a while to let these walls down for the men. She gets there. It’s beautiful to see. I think it’s a side of Gizelle. I think fans are going to be delighted to get to experience it. She is in defense a lot on her franchise, so it’s nice to see her surrounded by women who have her back and also get to let these walls down and experience love. 

Late last year, there was some controversy on social media where you criticized Shannon’s behavior on set. You have since apologized. Where do things stand between you two today? 

I don’t think Shannon or I want to relitigate or go back to that moment. It was really unfortunate. I’m a small fish for Shannon. I don’t think she is thinking about me much these days. My one big thing I want to emphasize is anything that might have transpired was after cameras wrapped and were down. What you see on the show is exactly how it played out. There was not a third narrative not on the show that you don’t see. I hope and pray it doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of watching the show. As far as anyone who is not online, it was fine. I just hope people are able to watch the show and enjoy it and not be distracted by the stuff that happened online. 

How was it filming there in Mexico? 

It was wild. You step into paradise. It’s a beautiful hotel, and they are not even paying me to say this right now. It’s a great place. I will say any five-star resort will make you crazy by the end of it if it’s the only place that you experience for three weeks straight. I was definitely getting stir crazy by the end of it, but it’s a champagne problem when you step out of your balcony and see the beautiful landscape of Los Cabos’ Grand Velas Hotel. Ultimately, it was a three-week fever dream in a lot of ways. 

What can you say about what these women go through in terms of dates and situations where they get to know these men and themselves on a deeper level? 

You’ll see each of their experiences on the show is quite different as each of their experiences in love has been quite different. I think the one unifying factor is that they’ve all chosen men who have hurt them in some shape or form. I think it’s interesting. Whether or not they find love on the show,  I’m not going to spoil anything for anybody. I will say my biggest thing as host is that I wanted them to have a positive experience. I wanted them to walk away from this experience having learned something about themselves and why they choose the people they choose and what they’re looking for and what they want in a partner. It’s a different journey for each of them. 

Have you learned anything about yourself from your own relationship going through this with them? 

It was really interesting because I’d just proposed before I went to film the show. Love was really on the brain for me. It was really nice to come back from shooting after  taking these women through their own experiences and then going back and FaceTiming my partner and being like, “Wow, I’m really glad I’m not in this spot.” 

Being such a big Bravo fan, who do you think would benefit from this experience? Who would you recruit for Season 2? 

Heather Gay, Paige Desorbo, Sutton Stracke, and Adriana de Moura from Housewives Miami. Trust me, I’ve been thinking of this. I think everyone who watches this show has their own dream roster for Season 2. Cross your fingers we get to see some  new Bravolebrities in the mix. 

With you as host…

Listen, I would dip my toe into that pond any time. I had a blast doing this show. 

Bravo’s Love Hotel premiere, April 27, 9/8c, Bravo