Cindy Barshop

Cindy Barshop
Nationality	American
Occupation	Entrepreneur, television personality
Known for	The Real Housewives of New York City (Season 4), Completely Bare, VSPOT

Cindy Barshop is an American entrepreneur and television personality who came to public attention as a cast member on the fourth season of The Real Housewives of New York City, which aired on Bravo in 2011. Before and after her tenure on the reality television series, Barshop built a career as the founder and owner of Completely Bare, a chain of spas specializing in hair removal and skincare services based in New York City. She later founded VSPOT, a wellness brand focused on women's intimate health. Beyond her business ventures, Barshop has spoken publicly about deeply personal aspects of her life, including her experience raising a transgender child and her recovery from brain cancer. Her willingness to discuss topics often considered taboo has kept her in the public eye long after her single season on The Real Housewives franchise.

Career

Completely Bare

Barshop established herself as an entrepreneur in the beauty and personal care industry through the founding of Completely Bare, a spa chain in New York City that offered hair removal and skincare services. The business became her primary professional identity and was a central element of her public profile during and after her time on reality television. By the time she joined The Real Housewives of New York City, Completely Bare had become a recognized brand in the New York metropolitan area.

The Real Housewives of New York City

Barshop joined the cast of The Real Housewives of New York City for its fourth season, which aired on Bravo in 2011. The season's cast included returning members Luann de Lesseps, Ramona Singer, Jill Zarin, Alex McCord, Sonja Morgan, and Kelly Bensimon, with Barshop as one of the newer additions. During her time on the show, Barshop was featured alongside her business endeavors with Completely Bare and her personal life as a single mother of twins.

Barshop appeared on the series for only one season and did not return for the fifth season. Her time on the show, while brief, contributed a number of memorable moments to the franchise's history. In a 2016 retrospective feature, Bravo revisited Barshop's contributions to Season 4, noting that she had been "responsible for" several "unforgettable moments" during her time as a cast member.

Following her departure from the show, Barshop continued to be referenced in media coverage related to the Real Housewives franchise. A 2026 Us Weekly feature cataloguing former RHONY cast members and their post-show lives included Barshop among the many women who had passed through the series over its long run.

VSPOT

After her time on reality television, Barshop continued to expand her entrepreneurial portfolio. She founded VSPOT, a wellness brand and service provider focused on women's intimate health and wellness. The venture represented a continuation of Barshop's approach to business in the personal care space, with a specific focus on areas of women's health that were often underserved or stigmatized. In a 2020 interview with Authority Magazine published on Medium, Barshop was described as having "a history of talking about the things no one else will," and her "fearless attitude" was cited as a defining characteristic both on television and in her business endeavors.

Through VSPOT, Barshop positioned herself within the growing wellness industry, offering services and treatments designed to address women's intimate health concerns. The brand reflected a broader cultural trend toward openness about previously taboo topics in women's health and self-care.

Personal Life

Motherhood and raising a transgender child

Barshop is the mother of twins, who were born circa 2009–2010 based on their reported ages in subsequent media coverage. In August 2019, Barshop revealed exclusively to People magazine that one of her twins, Jesse, then nine years old, is transgender. In the interview, Barshop discussed the importance of creating a supportive family environment, stating, "When a child feels comfortable and open, identity issues are able to be discussed in the family environment."

Barshop's decision to speak publicly about Jesse's identity was influenced in part by a public controversy involving television host Mario Lopez. In June 2019, Lopez made remarks about parents of transgender children that drew widespread criticism, and he subsequently issued a public apology. According to Bravo's reporting, Barshop was "inspired" by the conversation surrounding Lopez's comments to share her own family's experience.

In a follow-up interview with People published in September 2019, Barshop provided an update on her family's life after the public disclosure, saying, "Nothing's really changed." The article described how the family had continued their daily routines without significant disruption following the announcement, suggesting that the public revelation had been met with a largely supportive response.

Brain cancer diagnosis and recovery

In September 2023, Barshop publicly shared that she had been diagnosed with and treated for brain cancer at some point after her departure from The Real Housewives of New York City. In an exclusive interview with People, Barshop detailed the severity of her illness and the challenging recovery process that followed. She described the experience as profoundly debilitating, telling the magazine, "I had to relearn even basic things."

The interview revealed that Barshop's recovery from brain cancer had been an extended and difficult process, requiring her to rebuild fundamental cognitive and physical abilities. The diagnosis and treatment represented one of the most significant personal challenges of her life, occurring away from the public spotlight she had once occupied on reality television.

Coverage of Barshop's cancer story was picked up by multiple outlets. Yahoo Entertainment republished reporting on her health journey, amplifying the reach of her account. The Yahoo article emphasized the gravity of Barshop's medical experience, noting that the Completely Bare owner had "dealt with some very heavy issues after leaving the show."

Barshop's willingness to discuss her cancer diagnosis publicly was consistent with the openness she had demonstrated in other aspects of her personal life, including her earlier disclosure about her transgender child. By sharing her health struggles, Barshop contributed to broader conversations about cancer survivorship and the often-unseen challenges of post-treatment recovery.

Legacy

Barshop's tenure on The Real Housewives of New York City was limited to a single season, making her one of many cast members who have cycled through the long-running Bravo franchise over the years. However, her post-show public presence has arguably been more notable than her time on the series itself. Through her business ventures with Completely Bare and VSPOT, and through her candid public discussions of personal topics including transgender parenting and cancer recovery, Barshop has maintained a public profile that extends beyond her reality television origins.

Her decision to speak openly about raising a transgender child at a time when the subject was the focus of intense public debate contributed to increased visibility for families navigating similar experiences. The interviews she gave to People and other outlets provided a personal, humanizing perspective on transgender youth and family acceptance that reached a broad mainstream audience.

Similarly, Barshop's account of her brain cancer diagnosis and the arduous process of relearning basic functions added her voice to the growing body of public testimony from cancer survivors about the realities of treatment and recovery. Her story underscored the fact that recovery from serious illness is often a lengthy, complex process that extends far beyond the conclusion of medical treatment.

In the wellness industry, Barshop's work with VSPOT reflected a broader entrepreneurial approach to women's health that sought to destigmatize conversations about intimate wellness. Her career trajectory from spa owner to wellness entrepreneur illustrated the evolution of the women's personal care market over the course of the 2010s and into the 2020s.