Rowan Francis Henchy is stepping into the spotlight by joining Next Gen NYC for season 2, but she won’t be alone thanks to acting icon and mom Brooke Shields’ guidance.
“She’s nervous the second I leave the house, like, I can go and get a coffee, and she’s stressed, she’s a mother,” Rowan, 23, exclusively told Us Weekly of her mom’s reaction to her starring on the reality TV show. “She just really stressed [for me to], be myself.”
Rowan, the eldest of Shields’ two daughters, recalled the actress, 61, recently telling her, ‘‘Don’t be the girl throwing up, be the girl holding back that girl’s hair.’ And I was like, honestly, yeah, and that can pertain to all walks of life.”
Rowan — who will make her reality TV debut when Next Gen NYC premieres on June 24 — revealed that despite Shields’ hesitation over the idea, she has “always really let me make my own decisions.”
“I think she also stressed that you’re doing this for you, and I don’t want it to become [about me],” Rowan told Us. “Obviously like right now, the headlines, her name is in a lot of these headlines, because it makes sense, because people don’t know who I am. They know who my mother is, and that’s amazing.”
Rowan explained, “I know her as my mother, but I also know that the world sees her as this amazing icon that she is. But she said, ‘This is a chance for you to be you, and I want you to really express what you like.’”
The New York native shared that she has “so many things that I love,” noting she hopes fans will get to see that she loves “to work and I love this entertainment industry.”
Rowan, a Wake Forest University 2025 graduate, noted that growing up she watched both her parents “work so hard” — embodying a kind of work ethic that appears to be in her blood. (Shields shares Rowan and daughter Grier Hammond Henchy, 20, with husband Chris Henchy.)
“I love creating things and producing things, and I love comedy and news and journalism,” Rowan told Us of her possible career trajectory. “And I think [my mom] was, like, ‘Use this as a way to really learn more about what you like and what you don’t like.’”
Rowan noted that she’s been behind the camera and worked as a booking producer for Good Morning America. While she made her TV debut on an episode When Calls the Heart earlier this year — in which Shields was reprising her role as Charlotte Thornton — reality TV is a different animal.
“Now I’m in front of the camera, which is always what I wanted to do,” Rowan revealed, adding that her mom has been very supportive.
She recalled, “Every time I was speaking about it, [my mom] was like, ‘You felt so excited, and you have to make your own mistakes, and all I can say is I’ve raised you to be smart, kind, and respectful, so you better hold on to that, and hopefully I’ve raised you well.’”
Shields exclusively told Us earlier this year that she’s probably been “a reality TV person in my life for my whole life” after becoming famous as a child model and actress, noting cameras following her have “always been part of my unfortunate world.”
The You’re Killing Me star admitted that that type of access to her child wasn’t something she was thrilled about.
“I was very hesitant, I was very worried, I was very concerned,” Shields confessed about Rowan signing on for season 2 of Next Gen NYC.
Shields told Us that she reminded Rowan, “You’re an adult, I can’t tell you what to do, but what I can tell you is, do not make this the end of your career, make it the beginning.”
The actress also warned her daughter that “you can ruin” your future and career with “one bad behavior night.”
Rowan, however, told Us that there weren’t any “red flags” when she decided to join the cast, teasing that she’s not the one who gets into trouble on the new season.
“I did not find myself very heavily in the drama per se, but I did — I was a listener, and when my input was requested it was given,” she revealed. “I also need to keep in mind, like, these people have been friends for much longer, and I am someone who is new to this friend group, so I never wanted to speak out of place.”
Rowan added, “I never found myself butting heads with anybody. I was satisfied with that, and I think that’s just kind of who I am.”
Season 2 of Next Gen NYC premieres on Bravo Wednesday, June 24, at 9 p.m. ET.
