“Real Housewives of Miami” star Guerdy Abraira wiped away tears while listening to her husband, Russell Abraira, downplay how much he stepped up during her breast cancer battle.
“I can’t put into words — I’m not gonna cry, I’m not gonna say much — but I can’t put it into words. I don’t know what to tell you. We’ve been together for 28 years, and…” Guerdy begins to tell Pvnew in an exclusive interview alongside her adoring spouse before getting choked up.
Russell shoots her a loving look as he takes over the conversation. “I mean, you get married for a reason — ’cause you love a person, and you wanna spend your life with them.”
“I guess people see it on screen and make a big deal out of it,” he adds, referencing Bravo fans branding them “relationship goals.”
“But this is everyday life. Whatever she needs, I’m gonna help her with. If something happens to me, whatever I need, she’s gonna help me with. … I’ll do anything for her.”
Guerdy, 46, lets out an “oh, my God” and grabs a tissue.
Though some may deem Russell’s unconditional care for the Bravolebrity — particularly amid her health struggles — as “special,” he insists he’s just living his authentic life with his wife.
“He is a very special person,” Guerdy makes sure to note of the firefighter captain, 45. “From meeting him, there’s an aura about him. People tell him this all the time. They flock to him, and he doesn’t have to say much. He’s not a shy person; he’s a very reserved person. … He will speak up — when needed.”
One of those times took place as cameras rolled for “RHOM” Season 5. Guerdy — a successful wedding planner — was running herself ragged, and Russell sat her down to remind her of the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
The couple — high school sweethearts who married in November 2002 — are parents to sons Miles, 16, and Liam, 11.
“Everything in life happens for a reason,” she tells us, explaining, “Because of that conversation, I pulled back with my career and then I get diagnosed with cancer. So I’m thankful for him to put me in that position and to understand what’s important. All of a sudden, I had the time to deal with the cancer.”
They’re admittedly both grateful that discussion was filmed because it forced Guerdy to stop and listen to what the Miami native had been trying to tell her “for a few years.”
When the pair agreed to star on the reality series ahead of its Season 4 resurgence, they were ready to “be real and share the good, the bad, the ugly and show [their] real lives.”
But things got scarily real when Guerdy was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2023 — a week before the currently airing sixth season was set to begin shooting.
Cameras captured a particularly emotional scene showing her and Russell discussing her fears of chemotherapy — which she ended up undergoing after two surgeries, along with radiation — as well as how their boys had processed the news of her disease.
The Haitian beauty announced at BravoCon in November 2023 that she was cancer-free. She tells us she’s proud she chose to document not just her journey but that of her primary caretaker: Russell.
“He comes with that journey because there’s no me without him,” she says, adding, “I got lucky being with him ’cause, still to this day, he walks into a room, and I [smile], like, ‘He’s mine.’ I’m still excited about our relationship, and we make it count.
“Now more than ever, that time we spend together, we make that a priority. We are so much closer in the weirdest, newest ways. It’s like a whole different version of each other, but we’re the same people.”
“The Real Housewives of Miami” airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo.
