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Carole Radziwill: I Like Meeting New Men—Even Jerks

The RHONY star shares how George Clooney inspired her new book.

By Sarv Kreindler Feb 12, 2014, 8:00 AM ET

Carole Radziwill proves that when you have a novel called The Widow's Guide to Sex and Dating, it only makes sense that you'd have a sense of adventure when it comes to your own love life.

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The Real Housewives of New York City star tells Us Magazine, "It turns out I enjoy dating. I’ve yet to have a bad first date." Even the bad ones are worth the experience: "I like meeting new men, even if they are jerks. I always learn something. I’d go out with anyone once. But to get me on a second date is tricky. That requires chemistry, magic and fairy dust."

The newly single star broke up with longtime boyfriend, rocker Russ Irwin, last year. And she says that marriage was a big reason for their split. "We broke up for the reason a lot of couples break up. We weren’t in the same place," she says. "He talked of marriage and I was not in a marrying state of mind. But we remain close friends. Sure, it's a cliché, but it's also true."

Speaking of perennial bachelors, Carole also reveals that her famous ex, George Clooney, partially inspired the love interest in her new book, which is available today. "Anytime you create a character that all women will fantasize about there’s always going to be a little Clooney in it whether you’ve ever kissed him or not," she says. "I know who I had in mind when I wrote Jack. When Carly Simon tells who she wrote 'You’re So Vain' about, I’ll tell you who Jack is."

The new season of RHONY returns March 11 at 9/8c. Want to catch up on Season 5? Stream it in its entirety online.