Who are Sai De Silva's parents? 'RHONY' star not happy with co-star Jessel Taank's comparison of childhood 'struggles'
ANGUILLA, EASTERN CARIBBEAN: On 'The Real Housewives of New York', Season 14, Episode 10, Brynn Whitfield discovers that Jessel Taank irritated Sai De Silva by comparing their childhoods after she left the night before.
Here's what we know about Sai and the current state of her relationships with her mother and father.
Sai has shown fans how much of a devoted mother and fashionista she can be, both on and off television, since her debut on 'RHONY' in 2023.
However, in one episode, Sai explained her family history, including her mother and father.
Sai did not reveal her parents' identities to the other housewives, but she did disclose that, although she is from Brooklyn, she did not grow up there.
She grew up in a variety of locations before relocating to Brooklyn at the age of 16—without her parents.
Although she did not go into detail about growing up with her mother and father, Sai did hint at the difficulties she faced as a youngster and the "daydreaming" that led her to where she is today.
With that in mind, here's what we know about Sai and the current state of her relationships with her mother and father.
Sai, who was born in Los Angeles, came to New York when she was two years old. She said on her blog Scout The City that she "moved around a lot," but that she "always came back to New York."
However, she discloses to the girls on 'RHONY' that when she initially went to New York, her father was already residing in Florida.
Sai took the leap and went to Brooklyn, New York, after attending many schools. "I moved to Brooklyn in an apartment with my roommate from high school. The rent was super cheap, I worked at Sears, I made it work; and, like, I’ve been on my own since I was like 16," Sai said.
Sai ultimately and simply informs the ladies that her parents "didn't take care of her" despite the fact that her mother was present, claiming that her mother "couldn't afford to take care of her."
Everyone who knows Sai admires her for being able to make it on her own in Brooklyn at such a young age, with Brynn Whitfield adding, "My heart goes out to her and at the same time kind of like holds hands and relates to her."
Sai's connection with her parents appears to be complex.
Although she praised her father in an Instagram post for Father's Day in 2020, she had nothing to say about her mother — other than a 2023 Mother's Day Instagram post in which she says that Mother's Day seems "a little different" for her without her mother.
The words might imply that her mother has died. However, no evidence of this has been provided.
There has also been suspicion that Sai's connection with her mother is strained as a result of her mother's potential drinking and bipolar disorder.
Erin Lichy bothered by 'RHONY' co-star Jessel Taank stealing everyone's struggle story
Jessel mentioned over a cast meal that she had nothing growing up. She aspired to be a fashion designer. So, at the age of 22, she came to New York with little money. She stated that it was horrible and brutal.
Erin seemed bothered that Jessel heard everyone's story, and she wanted to have the same story as everyone. But that's not the reality. Brynn Whitfield feels it's not even necessary. "These are not comparisons that you can make," Erin added.
Erin also questioned if Jessel's parents didn't help her at all. Besides her education at King's College in London, Jessel claimed she wasn't sponsored by her parents at all.
Hearing that, Sai wished she could do it with someone who would pay for her education as well.
When Jessel mentioned how she had to stay at her uncle's place when she first moved with just $20 in her bank account, Sai retorted, saying she neither had a roof over her head nor money at one point in time.
Who are 'RHONY' star Jessel Taank's uncles?
"They were forced out of their homes in East Africa because there was a lot of political unrest," Jessel told the 'Wives of Anguilla.
"And they had it super tough. Like brutal. My mom’s two brothers decided that they wanted to become photographers, and so they moved to Paris, and were sleeping on park benches. They were eating scraps, and they were basically homeless. My Uncle Max basically was discovered by Yohji Yamamoto."
On her mother's side, Max Vadukul is the eldest of Jessel's famous photographic uncles. Mradukant was his given name at birth.
"So, you think I'm Max Vadukul," he stated in a National Geographic documentary about himself called Self Portrait, which was released in 2000. "Not really. It’s a big lie. I’m really Mradukant Vadukul. I’ve had to become a Max. I had to kill Mradukant."
According to his website profile, Max was born in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1961, to Indian parents from the Gujarati diaspora, as he explained to the Housewives of Anguilla.
Jessel was born in England as a result of the turbulence caused by Kenya's independence, which drove her parents and uncles to relocate.
But Max's memories of his time in England aren't the finest. He recalled his difficult upbringing as an Indian boy growing up in England, as well as the bullying he faced at school.
His family was likewise harassed while residing in England. Max had a pleasant upbringing in Kenya but said arriving in London was a different experience.
Nilam, Jessel's mother, had a significant influence on Max's future career. Max, like Jessel's parents, opted to flee to Paris when faced with an arranged marriage.
Max stated that as a youngster, he understood that becoming a photographer was his passion and that he had to do everything he could to make it a reality.
He later married Nicoletta Santoro, an Italian fashion editor who worked at Condé Nast International and Vogue Italia, and the couple has twins, Eloise and Alex.
According to his website, designer Yohji Yamamoto engaged Max for multiple ad campaigns while he was only 22 years old in 1984, catapulting him to popularity.
His work has appeared in French and Italian Vogue, as well as Rolling Stone, Esquire, W, Town & Country, and The New Yorker, among others.
According to his website, he became a staff photographer for The New Yorker in 1996.
He has photographed scores of performers, politicians, and celebrities over his distinguished career. One of his best-known photographs is of Mother Teresa.
Max has also shot superstars such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Mick Jagger, and Rod Stewart. He even shot the album cover for Aretha Franklin.
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Max Vadukul is not Jessel's only notable photographer. Nitin, another uncle, became well-known for his hip-hop photos. Nitin, Max's younger brother, was born in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1965.
According to the New York Times, he moved to England with his family in 1969.
According to The New York Times, he got his start as an assistant for Ray Massey, an advertising photographer who employed special effects.
He began performing advertising photography projects in Paris, much like his brother, shooting campaigns for Nike and IBM.
He relocated to New York City with his brother in the 1990s.
Nitin took images that were out of the ordinary, and he utilized Adobe Photoshop to his advantage when he began photographing hip-hop artists such as LL Cool J, Missy Elliot, Dr Dre, and Jay-Z.
According to the Times, he even photographed Eminem with a chainsaw on the cover of The Source, the premier hip-hop magazine at the time.
According to the source, Nitin Vadukul's work became so successful that performers began contacting him for shootings. According to The New York Times, he also broke out of the hip-hop mold when Newsweek featured his photographs of then-Senator Barack Obama in 2004.
Later, in Los Angeles, he made music videos for performers.
Nitin married Marianna Morrison, and the pair had two children, Nitin and Aysha, before divorcing. According to The New York Times, he died in February 2018 at the age of 52 from colon cancer that had spread to his liver.
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How did Jessel Taank's uncles help 'RHONY' star launch her career?
Jessel has spoken out on her website and on 'RHONY' about how her uncles helped her start her career.
On her website, she stated that she was "motivated by the drive and ambition of her uncles," and that she "eventually followed in their footsteps to begin her career in the fashion capital of the world."
"I would never have been given this opportunity to, you know, live in New York," she told The Daily Dish.
"I wanted so badly to be a part of this world. I lived with one and worked with the other. I just remember calling them and telling them my plan, and they were like, without even blinking, ‘Yes, of course. We can help you.’ If they had said no, it would’ve been a very different path for me."
Jessel says she was perplexed by the responses of the other Housewives in Anguilla to her tale of her uncles' and how they got their start.
"I was so confused, 'cause, like, my family is my story," she told The Daily Dish.
'The Real Housewives of New York City' Season 14 airs on Sundays at 9/8c on Bravo and the next day on Peacock