After starting out as Zoe’s assistant, Goreski was promoted to associate and style director for the stylist’s company when The Rachel Zoe Project premiered in 2008. Two years later, Goreski left the company, shocking fans and Zoe alike.
Zoe claimed during a 2011 episode of her Bravo show, which ended in 2013, that Goreski started to “pursue our clients” within a week of him leaving. While he denied the allegations, Goreski’s relationship with his former boss has remained icy for more than a decade.
Scroll down to see Zoe and Goreski’s ups and downs over the years:
Credit: Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Belvedere
Rachel Zoe and Ex Assistant Brad Goreski’s Feud Breakdown: From Coworkers to Not Talking
Rachel Zoe thought she found her right-hand man in assistant Brad Goreski but their working relationship came crashing down in 2010.
After starting out as Zoe’s assistant, Goreski was promoted to associate and style director for the stylist’s company when The Rachel Zoe Project premiered in 2008. Two years later, Goreski left the company, shocking fans and Zoe alike.
Zoe claimed during a 2011 episode of her Bravo show, which ended in 2013, that Goreski started to “pursue our clients” within a week of him leaving. While he denied the allegations, Goreski’s relationship with his former boss has remained icy for more than a decade.
Scroll down to see Zoe and Goreski’s ups and downs over the years:
Credit: Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Belvedere
Rachel Zoe and Ex Assistant Brad Goreski’s Feud Breakdown: From Coworkers to Not Talking
Rachel Zoe thought she found her right-hand man in assistant Brad Goreski but their working relationship came crashing down in 2010.
After starting out as Zoe’s assistant, Goreski was promoted to associate and style director for the stylist’s company when The Rachel Zoe Project premiered in 2008. Two years later, Goreski left the company, shocking fans and Zoe alike.
Zoe claimed during a 2011 episode of her Bravo show, which ended in 2013, that Goreski started to “pursue our clients” within a week of him leaving. While he denied the allegations, Goreski’s relationship with his former boss has remained icy for more than a decade.
Scroll down to see Zoe and Goreski’s ups and downs over the years:
Credit: Gregory Pace/BEI/Shutterstock
2000s
Brad Goreski began working as Rachel Zoe’s assistant in the 2000s. Their close friendship was documented on The Rachel Zoe Project, which premiered in September 2008.
Credit: Spg/Shutterstock
September 2010
The trouble began when Brad Goreski left Rachel Zoe Inc. to start his own career. While the duo announced their amicable split — set to take place at the start of October 2010 — with raving statements about each other, rumors swirled that the real reason for the professional breakup was a New York Times profile about Goreski.
At the time, word on the street was that Rachel Zoe was upset about her assistant had been given the spotlight.
Credit: Dan Steinberg/AP/Shutterstock
March 2011
It was announced that Brad Goreski had been given his own Bravo show, It's a Brad Brad World. “Dream come true!!” the stylist tweeted at the time.
Credit: Amanda Schwab/Starpix/Shutterstock
September 2011
Rachel Zoe said she felt “used” by Brad Goreski during an episode of her show. “[Within a week of leaving, he] started [to] pursue our clients, started going to all these events, and doing all the things he said he had no interest in,” she added.
In a separate episode, she'd alleged that Goreski tried to steal her clients.
Credit: Amanda Schwab/Starpix/Shutterstock
December 2011
Brad Goreski responded to Rachel Zoe’s onscreen comments during an interview with The Daily Beast.
“I think it’s unfortunate that she decided to take the angle that she did because it’s not the truth,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that all of the time that I spent with her, and the many lengthy conversations that we had discussing my departure from working with her, that she would choose to character assassinate me on television.”
During his interview, the former Fashion Police host said that he gave Zoe ample notice before leaving the company. He also noted that he trained his replacement and stayed a bit longer than he’d hoped to complete a job.
“I just think it’s unfortunate that she feels so competitive with me in a way,” he added. “Because I left to create a name for myself — not to ride on any of her coattails. She’s so incredibly successful, that a stylist starting out — I don’t know what kind of threat that is to her. Maybe she thinks I’m incredibly talented. Who knows.”
As for client stealing, Goreski denied the allegations.
“That’s not the truth,” he shared. “And she knows that’s not the truth. I didn’t even say goodbye to a lot of her clients because I didn’t want anything to be misconstrued as me soliciting anybody.” However, the paper did note that Goreski had styled Zoe’s client Demi Moore.
Following her former employee’s comments, a representative for Zoe sent a statement to The Daily Beast.
“Rachel and Rodger are amused by his convenient interpretation of events and have no additional comments,” their message read.
“One of the biggest struggles in starting out on my own was developing a celebrity client base,” he shared. “People knew me as the assistant. People didn’t really know what my own style was or what my mark was going to be on the red carpet.”
That same month, his show premiered. Luckily for fans invested in the drama, he addressed the fallout with Rachel Zoe during an episode.
“We don’t speak to each other,” he said. “I would love to be able to speak with her. I think I have conducted myself with honesty, with dignity and with grace. And I will continue to do so no matter what is said about me.”
Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Rachel Zoe/Shutterstock
February 2012
Us exclusively reported that Rachel Zoe snubbed Brad Goreski during a Marchesa fashion show. Before the show began, the reality star stopped to give a quick hug to someone in the front row. However, she refused to acknowledge Goreski, who was sitting right next to the friend.
"He kept staring at her thinking that she would say something to him, but she turned her back on him as she was speaking to the woman and then walked off," a source told Us at the time. "Brad seemed really miffed by the whole thing.”
Credit: Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
March 2012
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Rachel Zoe said that she would never watch Brad Goreski’s reality show.
"I won't ever see it … I don't think it even matters enough to me, to be honest,” she said.
That same month, the former Vogue staffer released a memoir, Born to Be Brad. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly to promote the book, he talked about why he took the high road when discussing his former boss in its pages.
“I really wanted to celebrate that time that I worked with her because it was so amazing. It was such an incredible period in my life,” he said. “I loved being around her and when it was time for me to leave, it was done. For me at least, there’s no drama. There’s nothing left there, and I still feel the same way even after almost a year and a half of being out on my own.”
Credit: MediaPunch/Shutterstock
2013-2015
During various appearances on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, the former friends discussed their relationship (separately, of course). In March 2013, Brad Goreski noted that “[his] door is always open” when it came to reconnecting with his old boss.
“My phone is available to her if she ever wants to speak again. I'm here," he said. "But at the moment, that's not her choice. I was happy to be her assistant, and I'm now happy to be on my own.”
One year later, Rachel Zoe said that — while she didn’t regularly talk to Goreski — she would give “greetings” when she saw him around. “Like, 'Hey, have a nice day,’” she added.
After another year passed, Brad shared a similar story.
"I still adore Rachel," he said in January 2015. "I'm so pleased for her and her clothing line and her kids and her family, and I wish her all the best and continued success."
Credit: Sara Jaye Weiss/Shutterstock
July 2021
More than a decade after their falling out, Rachel Zoe discussed the drama during another appearance on WWHL.
In the episode, Andy Cohen asked Zoe the “No.1 question” people what to know about her. “It’s the same as the No. 1 question every time Brad [Goreski] comes on the show,” the Real Housewives franchise host said. “How is your relationship?”
While she was questioned, Zoe shook her head repeatedly, causing Cohen to ask her if it was “uncomfortable” to run into her old friend at fashion events.
"I don’t see him,” she responded. Later, she added that, “People should be professional. They should.”
Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
January 2026
Rachel Zoe revealed that a major factor in her decision to stop working as a celebrity stylist was she “couldn’t trust assistants.”
While she didn’t name Brad Goreski directly, she spoke about her troubles with past employees. “I think after being completely betrayed, for lack of a better term, in various ways, by enough assistants and not being able to trust them with my clients and stuff to represent what I do and how I am with my clients, it just wasn’t worth it anymore,” Zoe told People.
“The definition of insanity is when you do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome,” she added, noting that she “never wanted” to let her clients down, but she couldn’t be everywhere at once.
Zoe explained, “You have to be able to entrust that in people that represent your work, and if you can’t do that, the system is broken.”
Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Marchesa
March 2026
Rachel Zoe reflected on having assistants during a sitdown with Interview Magazine, telling them the topic was “triggering.”
“I’ve had the best in the world who are like family, but it also goes the other way,” Zoe told the outlet. “There’s betrayal and dishonesty and all the things. It’s the hardest job to fill, always.”
Brad Goreski saw Zoe’s quote posted on Interview’s Instagram page, and clapped back in the comments section.
“Triggering for the assistants as well — Taylor, Jill, Jordan, Tara, Me …,” Goreski claimed, referring to four other assistants who previously worked for Zoe.
Jordan Johnson Chung, one of Zoe’s prior employees, replied to the post as well. “@bradgoreski accurate,” she wrote, seemingly siding with Goreski.
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