Palm Beach's old money elite expose the outrageously dirty secret of newbie Netflix reality stars... and name 'tackiest' most hated influencer, as turf war explodes
They portray themselves as the society queens of America's most exclusive enclave amid a barrage of Botox, ballgowns and bad language.
Certainly, the way the cast of new Netflix reality hit Members Only: Palm Beach flaunt their 'luxury lifestyles,' one might imagine they're in the top echelon of that rarified world filled with charity galas and celebrity events.
But, the Daily Mail can now reveal, the five main characters in the show don't even live in President Trump's adopted hometown - and that the filming was done elsewhere.
The real society insiders of the billionaire Florida paradise have a bitingly different view of the show's recent arrivals who appear desperate to make it among big hitters.
'It's all very embarrassing and completely unrepresentative of the true Palm Beach,' one society icon told the Daily Mail. 'We should really view the whole thing as an unrealistic comedy.'
Another veteran Palm Beach insider was more scathing.
Netflix's new show Members Only: Palm Beach has a cast of so-called 'society queens' ruffling feathers with real affluent locals: From left: Rosalyn Yellin, Taja Abitbol, Gale Brophy, Suebell Robins and Hilary Musser
Palm Beach socialites have turned up their noses at the new Netflix show, especially its portrayal of manufactured drama over who wears the 'queen bee' crown between Musser (left), 60, and Yellin (right), 54
'Some of those gals look like they just fell off the turnip truck, no matter how big their monthly payment for a Porsche or G-Wagon,' the second source said.
Netflix has been heavily promoting the eight-part series featuring real estate developer Hilary Musser, 'hospitality industry innovator' Taja Abitbol, aspiring singer and fashion designer Ro-mina Ustayev, former tech entrepreneur and DJ Maria Cozamanis and 'passionate philanthropist' Rosalyn Yellin.
It follows the women as they navigate friendships and rivalries, each trying to become the 'true queen of Palm Beach,' according to the streaming giant.
Despite frequent boasts of 'living on the island,' none of the five principal cast members actually has a home in Palm Beach.
Abitbol, 53, for instance, has lived with former New York Yankees pitcher-turned-commentator Dave Cone, 63, in a $2.5million five-bedroom home in Boca Raton since 2021 - that's 29 miles from Palm Beach's iconic Worth Avenue shopping area.
The youngest cast member, Ustayev, 39, also lives in Boca in a $3.35million house with homebuilder husband Roman Ovrutsky.
Her 'mentor' on the show, Yellin, 54, lives with husband Jonathan Yellin in a $6.5million five-bedroom spread in Highland Beach. It is indeed magnificent, but is located more than 30 miles from Worth Avenue and Trump's Mar-a-Lago compound.
Marginally closer to Palm Beach is Cozamanis, 51. She lives with chiropractor husband Damon Cozamanis, 59, in a $4.3million four-bedroom home in Delray Beach.
Only five-times married Musser, 60, has hovered around the exclusive enclave for any length of time. But she lives across the Intracoastal Waterway in West Palm Beach. She has built a waterfront mansion in West Palm that is currently on the market for $42.5million, and she owns a five-bedroom waterfront home valued at $14.4million.
The show resonates with the new money versus establishment battle currently playing out for real in Palm Beach, as waves of super-rich hedge funders and tech tycoons continue to make their way into town and challenge the old-world order.
Cast member Abitbol, 53, is often shown as pouty and prone to dramatic freak-outs with her fellow 'socialites'
Abitbol has lived with former New York Yankees pitcher turned commentator Dave Cone, 63, in Boca Raton since 2021 (pictured together in December)
Abitbol's $2.5million five-bedroom home is 29 miles from Palm Beach's iconic Worth Avenue shopping area
Viewers have watched as Musser and Yellin feuded, Abitbol flounced and tattooed Cozamanis regularly dropped the F-bomb.
Meanwhile, a desperate-looking Ustayev, 39, has been raising eyebrows for her 'tacky' dress sense and 'loudness.'
One scene in the show has come in for particular ridicule by the establishment: Gale Brophy, 70, a businesswoman with reported ties to the Trump family, cast as the current queen of Palm Beach, emotionally hands over a golden baton to Yellin with all the reverence of a papal seal, apparently to anoint the latter as her successor.
'I can't even believe they did that,' our society source said. 'That was one of the most embarrassing parts of the whole thing.
'There is no such thing as the baton. That was absurd. It's simply not done.
'Yes, people hand down certain responsibilities to a younger generation as they get older, but that has absolutely nothing to do with Gale Brophy.'
It comes after the Daily Mail previously revealed that Brophy was escorted from a show celebration party hosted by Abitbol, amid accusations that she was spotted drinking out of a fellow guest's champagne glass.
But the real intrigue among the serious establishment is Brophy's motivation for being on the show in the first place. One society icon who branded the show a comedy knows her well - and told the Daily Mail they believe it might be a sudden quest for fame, no matter the cost.
'The show makes Gale look very, very bad,' the source told us. 'But I wonder that she really knew what she was getting herself into and didn't care - that she just wanted the fame. I feel sorry for the way it makes her look.
Meanwhile, eyebrows have been raised over Ustayev's, 39, 'loud' demeanor and what critics call her 'tacky' dress sense
The youngest Palm Beach cast member, Ustayev, lives in a five-bedroom home in Boca Raton with her husband, homebuilder Roman Ovrutsky
Ustayev's $3.35m home is in one of the tony private developments in Boca
Highlights of the show are the fallouts and derogatory stage whispers.
So, do the real Palm Beach elite have their spats?
'Squabbles do occur, yes. But not in the way that they show it. It's much more quiet and low key,' our insider revealed.
'Someone might do something in a charity that another person doesn't like. And so they'll be annoyed at the other person. They'll stop talking for a while, or they'll go on to another charity.
'They may say a couple of things, you know, quietly. But they won't sit and like scream at each other as these girls constantly seem to do.'
Abitbol landed the role on the new show after a reported four failed attempts to be cast on Real Housewives of New York City, where she previously lived.
She's been involved in two lawsuits surrounding claims that she started a fire at the couple's Manhattan apartment in 2019 in a bid to have an interesting backstory in her battle for the NY reality show slot.
Ustayev and Yellin took the opportunity to pose with Palm Beach's most famous resident at Mar-a-Lago in May last year
The backyard of Yellin's home which sits on a canal and comes with a boat slip, a pool and a manicured garden
But the Yellin home is more than 20 miles from Worth Avenue and the president's Mar-a-Lago compound
Neighbor Daniel Rice claimed she tried to burn down her Manhattan apartment for the fame value - and caused water sprinklers to devastate his home.
Abitbol counter-sued for defamation but lost her case in 2024 and was ordered to pay all her neighbor's legal costs.
'There is ample evidence of plaintiff (Abitbol) attempting to gain notoriety from the fire by talking about it on talk shows and publicizing the fire on her Instagram,' Judge Mary Rosado wrote in her decision.
She was 'also featured in a New York Page Six article just three months prior to the fire as being named as someone who was 'obsessed' with getting on Real Housewives of New York and had apparently failed four auditions.
Army vet Rice's attorney wrote 'Abitbol's desire for fame and notoriety is well-known' in his case against her.
The now-reality star is reported as saying she lit a candle in the dining room of the four-bedroom apartment for her morning meditation, but it flared and set off the sprinkler system.
Cozamanis is closer to Palm Beach than most castmates, living with her chiropractor husband Damon, 59, in a $4.3million, four-bedroom home in Delray Beach
Cozamanis bought it for $2.7million in 2020, with a mortgage of more than $2million
Musser is described in her Netflix blurb as living in a $40 million mansion
Musser has built a seven-bedroom, 11-bathroom waterfront mansion in West Palm Beach, which is currently on the market for $42.5 million, and owns a five-bedroom West Palm Beach waterfront home valued at $14.4 million (above), with partial views of Mar-a-Lago
'People say it's hard to make friends here,' Ustayev, who moved to Florida from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in 2022, told Netflix's Tudum website. 'Because old money people don't like the new money people.
'But there are a lot of people faking it and acting like they are super rich when, in reality, they aren't.'
Somewhat dolefully, the insider referenced the challenges presented by newcomers and the old guard going head to head in the beachside town, which has been a beacon of privilege for 100 years.
One of the most 'embarrassing' moments for locals came when Gale Brophy (right) handed a golden baton to Yellin (left), seemingly anointing her the new 'queen' - something insiders say has never happened in Palm Beach social circles and has nothing to do with Brophy
The Daily Mail previously reported that Brophy was escorted from a December 2025 show celebration hosted by Abitbol, after guests accused her of drinking from another attendee's champagne glass
'I just hope that people don't take this show seriously, that people don't think that that's how Palm Beach is. Because it's not,' one of our sources said.
'Palm Beach used to be such a lovely place, and it still can be. And let's hope it stays on track and doesn't become what this show is.'
Another source told the Daily Mail that Palm Beach locals 'see Members Only as a bit of fluff, some see it as an irritant.
'But since no filming was actually shot on the island, everyone feels that it is hardly worth a cocktail party conversation.
'The only one of the series "stars" that anyone has ever heard of is Hilary Musser, a moderately successful Palm Beach Gardens realtor with just one listing on the island proper.'
