Bach and Bougie! Inside “Real Housewives ”Star Bozoma Saint John's Surprise Bachelorette Island Getaway (Exclusive)

Janine RubensteinThu, May 21, 2026 at 5:00 PM UTC

0

Bozoma Saint John celebrates her surprise bachelorette party at private island resort Ambergris Cay
Credit: Courtesy Bozoma Saint John -

Real Housewives Star Bozoma Saint John was whisked away by pals for a luxurious bachelorette weekend on the private island of Ambergris Cay

The entrepreneur and former executive, 49 is gearing up to wed fiancé Keely Watson

"You would think that they were getting married!" she tells PEOPLE exclusively of her close friends

Everyone could use a set of friends like Bozoma Saint John's core crew.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hillsstar, 49, who's preparing to marry fiancé Keely Watson in two ceremonies later this year, was just bride-napped by her closest girlfriends over the weekend and whisked away to the private island of Ambergris Cay in Turks and Caicos, PEOPLE can exclusively report.

"Let me tell you, this is beyond my dreams," a still shocked Saint John told PEOPLE in an interview during the trip. "I wasn't aware of where I was going, who was going, or anything. They wouldn't even give me information on what to pack! And I really like to be in control."

From Back Left and Around: Luvvie Ajayi Jones, Francine Stewart, Leander Dolphin, Justina Omokhua, Cari Champion, Erika Priestley, Bozoma Saint John
Credit: Courtesy Bozoma Saint John

The real people in charge were her besties, entertainment executive Justina Omokhua and author Luvvie Ajayi Jones, who spearheaded the entire weekend. Rounding out the surprise bride tribe was attorney Leander Dolphin, marketer Erika Priestley, journalist and TV personality Cari Champion and they were joined by hospitality executive Francine Stewart.

"It's been a labor of love because you're dealing with a lot of people who admire Boz," says Omokhua. "She has a lot of friends, some closer than others, but she's a very giving person and we felt like the trip has to match her energy. She needs to feel poured into because she's always pouring into others."

Ambergris Cay private island resort
Credit: Courtesy Bozoma Saint John

Thus they decided on a near week-long retreat to the private island of Ambergris Cay in Turks and Caicos, where they curated numerous events around the theme "Bach and Bougie", a play on the hit Migos song "Bad & Boujee". "They know I'm bougie," says the former marketing executive and founder of Eve by Boz hair line known for her love of sartorial flare and the finer things. "But this is bougie times six."

The idea for Ambergris Cay came from Ajayi Jones. "I had visited with my husband in September of 2024 for our anniversary trip. It was just such a nice place that felt worlds away from everything else, and for Boz who's always doing 15,000 things and is very much in the public eye, we wanted her to kind of get a break from that."

Advertisement

Bozoma Saint John and friends celebrate her bachelorette party
Credit: Courtesy Bozoma Saint John

Even though the cameras she's used to weren't there, the itinerary still read like that of a Housewives shoot day. After first stopping off in New York City for a pre-party with friends who would not be making the trip, Saint John was then whisked away to Turks and Caicos where she and friends then boarded a private jet over to the secluded island. "By the time we landed I was just overwhelmed with gratitude and excitement," she says. "It's a beautiful property with 11 suites and overlooks the Atlantic ocean. It's peaceful, quiet and luxurious, I love it here so much."

Bozoma Saint John and friends party at Ambergris Cay
Credit: Courtesy Bozoma Saint John

That said, the happy group had no problem disturbing the peace with all the fun they had planned. "Green, yellow and red are the colors of the Ghanian flag, so we incorporated that into the dress code," Omokhua says of honoring Saint John's roots and where she plans to hold a traditional ceremony. "Last night was Dancehall night," adds Ajayi Jones. "Justina comes out wearing a corset, poom-poom shorts, gold knee boots and a blonde wig!"

Bozoma Saint John
Credit: Courtesy Bozoma Saint John

The packed itinerary also included chef's table dinners, sunrise yoga, pickle ball lessons, massages, an emotional video package produced by Champion and even conch diving. "It's wonderful to be surrounded by people who love you," says Saint John, "but also who celebrate you like it's their own win. There's something quite remarkable about that."

Bozoma Saint John and friends enjoy her bachelorette weekend
Credit: Courtesy Bozoma Saint John

For the TV star, this period of joy has been a long-time coming.  "I don't want to cry, but it does make me feel quite emotional that they have been by my side through, of course, my first marriage, which ended with my husband's death [from cancer in 2013], through the loss of a child, through my beautiful daughter, Lael, who they're all amazing aunties to, to my very disastrous dating over the last 12 years or so."

Keely Watson and Bozoma Saint John
Credit: Courtesy Bozoma Saint John

She continues, "it's actually been amazing that in this relationship with Keely, it's been so surprisingly different, so easy. One of the things that I have loved about being in love this time is the ease of it, but my girlfriends have never been far in terms of celebrating me and being so excited for me. You would think that they were getting married!"

Bozoma Saint John enjoys her bachelorette weekend
Credit: Courtesy Bozoma Saint John

They're also sworn to bachelorette secrecy. "This is the crew that won't blink an eye if I decide to run into the ocean naked or take 12 shots in a row because they will be taking them with me," she says. And while she plans to have her Housewives friends present at either her stateside or Ghanian wedding ceremony later this year, this weekend was all about the home team who got her to this point.

"This is a great season to be in and I wasn't sure that it'd find me, but it has," says Saint John. "And so I'm going to live very presently in it."

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”