Gale Brophy Sets the Record Straight About Netflix’s Members Only: Palm Beach

The longtime Palm Beach fixture shares her take on the new reality show that’s sparking drama, outrage and social rivalries

It’s “the season” in Palm Beach, where the uber-rich elite follow the sun, the money, and the charity gala circuit. But all is not settled in the land of luxurious couture and private parties — at least not on television.

Inside Members Only: Palm Beach

There’s a fierce jockeying for status and power under the palms in the form of Netflix’s new reality show Members Only: Palm Beach.

Billed as “a soapy reality series set in a posh paradise with a wealth of drama,” the show follows five affluent female cast members — Hilary Musser (property developer), Taja Abitbol (wellness guru), Rosalyn Yellin (philanthropist), Romina Ustayev (fashion designer), Maria Cozamanis (Palm Beach DJ to the elite), and friend of Rosalyn, Gale Brophy (longtime Palm Beach resident and philanthropist) — as they vie for attention and respect while throwing and attending lavish private parties.

Local backlash and questions of authenticity

The clashes on Members Only: Palm Beach center on old money versus new, while social status is often measured in fashion choices and which side of the canal you spend time on. Someone is always breaking the rules.

Think shades of Real Housewives, but with big yachts, bigger homes, and — in some cases — bigger boob jobs and Botox injections.

If the drama among the cast members wasn’t enough, the show has drawn criticism from some Palm Beach locals, who have raised questions about authenticity. Among the complaints: that much of the series was filmed throughout Palm Beach County rather than on the island of Palm Beach (a distinction longtime residents consider significant), and that the cast does not reflect what some view as the area’s traditional “old money” scene.

That’s where Gale Brophy comes in.

A longstanding socialite, philanthropist, and elite fixture in Palm Beach — known for chairing local charity events, having deep connections, and a storied equestrian background (she won the Kentucky Derby in 1991) — Brophy has turned her guest role on the series into a scene-stealing presence. She appears as the mentoring “mama bear,” a self-styled “Queen of Palm Beach,” ready to pass the baton to Rosalyn, though not all of the other women are receptive.

Reality TV, rivalries, and perspective

Tensions escalate quickly. Taja has Gale removed from her premiere party; Hilary (“I’m allergic to phony”) openly questions Gale’s authenticity; Gale critiques Romina’s fashion choices as not fitting Palm Beach norms; Rosalyn insists you don’t “show your boobs and your legs in the same dress”; and Maria — prone to emotional moments and bold claims (including that she once “kissed Ronald Reagan at the White House”) — is frequently accused by others on the show of — wait for it — stirring drama and seeking attention.

Cringe-worthy or binge-worthy?

As shallow as some of this may sound, Members Only: Palm Beach — like many reality shows — is a bingeable guilty pleasure, entertaining enough to pull viewers through eight episodes (they get better, or more outrageous, depending on your perspective). Plus, the sun always shines.

Much of the show’s watchability is due in no small part to Gale Brophy, whose gleeful gravitas appears to throw nearly everyone off-kilter — except her protégé and friend, Rosalyn.

With all the controversy and bickering surrounding the series, we thought it was time to ask Gale Brophy to set the record straight.

Interview: Gale Brophy, Members Only: Palm Beach

Congratulations on the show. How are you feeling about it?
GB: I think the producers did a fabulous job. I think it’s extremely entertaining, the girls are all very different, each one has their own personality which makes it great for watching. I feel good about it.

Did you know what the cast of characters was going to be like – do you feel it represents Palm Beach?
GB: The girls don’t live in Palm Beach. Only one, Hilary, lives in Palm Beach West. I’ve lived on the island for 20 years. I moved to Flagler — the beautiful intracoastal into Palm Beach.

How did you get cast for this?
GB: I was found by Rosalyn Yellin. We knew each other through charities at Mar-a-Lago and other clubs. We were friends for four years and then one day she said, “I’m doing this show and I think you’d be great — come on for guest appearances,” and I did, and the directors fell in love with me and thought I’d be perfect television. Before the show I didn’t know any of the girls other than Rosalyn.

Is it like ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ where you are given an outline but not a script, per se?
GB: It’s not scripted but they do give you an outline — that’s why I kept sounding so braggadocious. The producers were telling me behind the scenes, “They’re calling you a phony, you’re not real, you never lived in the city” (meaning when I talked about where I had lived in Manhattan). 1040 Fifth Avenue. You would think especially Hilary in the real estate business would know certain buildings. This is where Jackie Onassis was living.

Why do you always have to defend your past and your charitable work?
GB: The other girls didn’t know it and they all kept saying, “She’s a phony.” I forgot to say on the show I chaired Feeding the Hungry last year and this year I’m honorary chair.

What’s been the reaction from people you know in Palm Beach?
GB: My friends on the island are so kind about it to me, but I know they don’t like it — and I don’t blame them. They’re extremely unhappy with some of the girls who they think had a little too much plastic surgery.

It makes some news on the island. They are happy I portrayed it the way the island should be, the dress codes, the do’s and don’t’s, the manners.

What’s your take on the cast?
GB: Taja is really Miami, she has a little place in Boca, a little pied-à-terre — that was just so she could say, “I’m in Palm Beach County.” Rosalyn is high land. Romina — I don’t know where she is, somewhere out in the middle in the woods, in Ft Lauderdale we think — you know that’s a different world to us Palm Beachers. That world — the dress code is different. Our butts are covered. I’m saying that in the proudest way.

What’s the deal with you and Taja — lot of friction …
GB: Taja was trying to get attention for herself so she can stay on the show because she got very little air time. She didn’t expect me, a guest appearance, to take that away. But then again she brought a lot of attention to me. My publishers said to send her a dozen roses saying, “Thank you for giving me all this press.” (laughs)

The Premiere Party

GB: At the premiere party, she had already planned to kick me out of the party. I was not drinking prior. You know how you walk into an event and somebody hands you champagne on a tray. That didn’t happen, because we were an hour late.

I was with Lisa Rowland, Larry Wohl and Dottie Herman — they could verify we did not get a drink and that I was not drunk. I was wobbly because when I was 45, I had a very bad horse accident, so my hips are very unsteady on high heels.

What really happened was Rosalyn called me over and told me that a very bad article about myself and her was coming out. She said, “Gale, Taja did this. You could sue her.” I’ve never sued anyone in my life.

So I walked into the party very hot. It was all lies. I walked over to Taja on the red carpet and said, “I hope you had nothing to do with that article.” That was it — then she called her “goons” to get me. She knew she was going to set me up to throw me out.

Do you have a favorite episode?
GB: The first episode is kind of like watching wallpaper, so it’s important to try to tell everyone out there to get past episodes two and three and then it really starts goin’. The 8th is the best —the finale, it blows up, trust me. I bring in covers of magazines that I did for Palm Beach Society over all the years.

Are you part of Season 2?
GB: I’m signed for two seasons. We have not gotten green-lit yet, but we should know soon.

While you wait and see, do you have any contact with the cast?
GB: I talk to Rosalyn every day. I am being polite to Maria and to Romina. I actually have a lot of respect for Romina, I think she stood up for herself — not that she will fit in Palm Beach, but she might. She’ll have to just tone it down a little. But she was great for the show, very entertaining.

Hilary is not the kindest person. I would not go out of my way to want to be friends with her. She’s here to sell a house … I was constantly defending myself. The only way I could defend myself was to say, “Hey, look, you didn’t win the Kentucky Derby, you didn’t win the World Cup in polo.” Yes it might have been in my past.

I’ve had a major life, first on Wall Street on the trading desk, then my race horses took off. I had my horse farm. I lived a big life. It was wonderful. I divorced 30 years ago and since then I’ve always made money.

Why did you do this show?
GB: Because I knew it would be good promotion for my movie. It’s based on my life story. It’s called Kentucky Reign. We finished the screenwriting. It shows the insiders of Wall Street and the thoroughbred race horse industry.

What’s your best life advice?
GB: Always give back. The more you give back, the more you receive. Being charitable and kind doesn’t mean writing a check, it means seeing if your neighbor needs soup.

And don’t let anything take you down — just keep moving forward. Visualize what you want and manifest. It will happen.

Season 1 of Members-Only: Palm Beach streams on Netflix. netflix.com

IG: @gale_brophy; @estatesbygalebrophy

Angela LaGreca

Editor, Co-Founder/Publisher

Angela LaGreca, Editor-in-chief and co-Founder/Publisher of Spark Hamptons, is a four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, producer, writer and comedian/host. Her TV credits include NBC’s “Today,” ABC’s “The View,” and, most recently, the primetime cable news program “Cuomo” on NewsNation. On the East End, she was the Creative Director at LTV, VP Features/Events/Photo Editor at Dan’s Papers, and has performed at Guild Hall, Bay Street Theater and the WHBPAC. Her publishing career began at Modern Photography, where she was managing editor. LaGreca lives in Manhattan and East Hampton and can be reached at angelatvmedia@gmail.com and angela@sparkhamptons.com .