Bronwyn Newport Was Grinning Her Way Through The Traitors

Bronwyn Newport knows how to make an entrance. The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star has made a name for herself by wearing outfits that test the limits of what might be considered appropriate, normal, or even wearable. (Rainbow feathered Dolce & Gabbana coat, anyone?) Her beauty philosophy, however, is a different story. “Beauty-wise, it’s always very, very tried-and-true for me,” she tells Bustle.

Rather than chasing an entirely new look, Newport, 41, focuses on skin health and preserving what makes her feel like herself. “For me, such a big part of beauty is who you naturally are,” she says. “I’ve obviously had a rhinoplasty. But I always want a big, beautiful smile — that’s always the finishing look, where you are yourself.”

It’s why her partnership with Colgate is such a natural fit. “I always have this big goofy grin everywhere I go,” she says. “I never look like I’ve been there before or I’m used to it or I’m cool. I always look like [I’m] giddy to be invited to the opening of an envelope.” For Newport, it’s about making sure “the health behind my skin and my teeth and my hair is done properly.”

Still, being a Housewife has made her more aware of how her appearance is perceived. Her imperfect teeth became a talking point among viewers early on, for example — but she’s learned to separate other people’s opinions from her own. “It’s hard to put yourself out there in every way on the show, especially your physical self, to be consumed and digested and discussed,” she says. “But I also really live for a woman in the year of our Lord 2026 being like, ‘No, this is what I want to look like, and this is how I want to feel.’”

Ahead, Newport opens up about filming The Traitors, the fan reactions she’s still processing, and why she’s approaching her next chapter with an open mind.

What is your favorite beauty treatment, and what’s the last one you treated yourself to?

It’s always about really great skin prep. I’m a big believer in retinol and lasers. I get a lot of glam done and my hair done, and when I don’t, I really don’t. I’m a ChapStick-and-mascara person. I said this in my first confessional ever that “sexy” is not really my aesthetic.

Your fashion is super adventurous and maximalist. Do you take the same approach to beauty, or do you keep certain parts more classic?

My approach has always been that the clothes are the star of the show. I’m not even the star of the show — it’s the outfits I put together. Beauty-wise, I stick with products that I know and have loved and used forever. It’s about the simplicity of knowing that all of that is taken care of and elevated and fabulous.

There were a lot of comments online about how you reacted in the episode where you took your castmates to San Francisco. How are you handling them?

It’s a lot. It’s so nice when something I do or say resonates with people. I was sharing quite a bit about what it feels like to be in a new chapter. San Francisco was home for me for so long, and so many people were appreciative of what I shared about publicly going through a separation and pending divorce.

One of the beautiful things about sharing my life on the show is getting to physically watch yourself and ask, “Wow, was that a choice that I liked? Was this a way that I responded?” I’ve realized I tend to act a certain way, and I don’t know if I love that.

There was some feedback this week about the way I handled certain things that made me think, “Yeah, that’s fair. I could have handled that better.” I don’t know that I’ll ever get another opportunity to respond to a diss at a party celebrating my separation, but if I do, I’m now armed with all the right ways to do it.

Has the “Hypocrisy & Bulls*it” song grown on you at all?

No. Shockingly enough, it has not. I have a feeling I will never hear the end of it, but it’ll just be one of those earworms that I have to deal with.

What can you say about the Traitors experience, and who were you most surprised to see in the castle?

I was surprised to see everyone because they do such a good job of keeping it quiet. I know that everyone was surprised to see me because I didn’t tell a soul. I was trying to buy things undercover, shopping at all kinds of different places and buying vintage so nobody would think, “Why is Bronwyn buying all this plaid?”

It was so fun. That’s maybe one of the last special things in the world: truly getting to surprise somebody. It’s a beautiful production to work on, and they’ve put together a cool group of people and a fabulous game.

I don’t always smile so much on Housewives. The dinner-party games usually aren’t smile-inducing. But on Traitors, I was grinning the whole time, running through the Scottish Highlands, being like, “I’m at work right now!” as we’re doing a challenge, or I’m wearing some crazy vintage outfit and arguing with somebody about whether I’m a Traitor.

Would you say that being a Housewife has made you better at reading people, or does it make you more suspicious of people?

A little bit of both. I like to think that I can see a train wreck coming now that I’ve been through so many Housewife dinners. I tend to feel the storm building as the entrées are ordered.

But it also makes me a little suspicious. I wanted to be so good at the game aspect of Traitors, but there’s no real way to plan for it. You never know what your role will be, how it will evolve, or who else will be there. The best strategy is to have no strategy. You’ll get to see how that plays out for me — pun intended — as I make a new strategy every day.

What is something you’re excited to explore or embrace in this next chapter of your life that you might not have been ready for a year ago?

Oh my gosh, everything. This was a lot more change and upheaval than I thought it would be. I always like to say that I’m dumb, not stupid, but sometimes I’m like, “Wow, this was very different from what I thought it was going to be.” I thought I really understood what a separation and divorce was going to look like, and I did not.

It’s interesting to sit with the idea that there’s a lot of grief and sadness and closure, which always tend to have a negative connotation, but that it can also bring so much optimism and hope. The dual-edged nature of that is that everything is possible again, and that’s a really beautiful thing to be able to say. I don’t know if I’ll enjoy or stick with everything I try in this new era of my life, but it’s fun to try things out.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.