Denise Richards is sharing Charlie Sheen’s reaction to her new show. Kyle Richards and Morgan Wade seem to be reconnecting after joining forces to support Teddi Mellencamp. Shamea Morton has finally been given a peach for the upcoming season of Real Housewives of Atlanta. And word on the street is that Gretchen Rossi’s longtime partner, Slade Smiley, did us all a favour and threw a drink at Tamra Judge at a Real Housewives of Orange County event this week. 

 

Married at First Sight series brings the drama in the U.S. and Australia

It’s no secret that I am loyal to Bravo. But lately, a reality series on another network has swooped in and given some of my favourites a run for their money. Lifetime’s Married at First Sight is truly a show like no other, and the drama unfolding this season, on both the U.S. and the Australia versions, is chaos for the ages. The premise of the show is exactly as it sounds. A panel of experts and psychologists conduct in-depth interviews and tests with you, find you a match, and you meet the person you’re about to marry at the altar, on your wedding day. 

On the U.S. iteration of the show this season, two people matched with their partners, struggling to forge a connection with their new spouses finally gained clarity about the status of their marriages. First, there’s Allen, a sweet, decent-looking European guy that drives a nice car and lives a pretty simple life was matched with Madison, a stunning blonde who loves to party and hit the gym. 

Initially, he is super attracted to Madison, while she, on the other hand, seemed indifferent toward him, though she appeared committed to working on their connection. To help expedite that process, he spent $3,000 on a new wardrobe and purchased invisible braces when she revealed her attraction to perfect teeth. 

 

Then you have Michelle and David. Michelle is another attractive blonde, and she was pretty particular about what she was looking for in a partner, particularly as it pertained to “lifestyle”. She wanted someone who earned the same or more than she did, was independent and had similar future goals. But it seems like when she found out that David lived in his parents’ basement and had issues dressing for special occasions, she got the ick and couldn’t come back from it. The man bun also doesn’t help.

One day, Michelle received an uncharacteristically flirty text from David that read:

“You look so good, I can’t wait to eat you up.”

 

Immediately, she knew it wasn’t for her because their relationship hadn’t reached that level yet. And after some investigating and dodging his bullsh-t lie about the text being for his “cousin” (who ratted him all the way out, btw, good job cousin), she concluded the text was for none other than Madison, who, after all this, went to David’s room where the two professed interest in pursuing each other. This led to some explosive scenes and left Allen and Michelle reeling from the betrayal of their partners.

Though it’s clear Madison and David jive way more with each other than they do with the people they were matched with, all they had to do was wait until after the experiment to pursue each other. It would’ve forced the audience, and their current spouses, to be way more graceful with them. But by being sneaky, they are some of the most-hated people on the internet right now.

Something similar is happening over on Married at First Sight Australia, with two partners building a connection with people they weren’t matched with, and even going to dinner together, off camera. 

 

For me, this series beats out Love Is Blind, which it is most similar to in its concept, because the stakes are even higher. On Love Is Blind, you at least get to make a partially informed decision. On this show, you have to trust the experts. And with the stakes being so high, it’s natural that the drama is as heightened as it is. Imagine getting legally married to a stranger, only to see the person that could actually be a viable spouse for you matched with someone else? I don’t agree, but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a part of me that kind of understands. 

Kyle and Dorit finally have a breakthrough

A heated 4th of July party at Dorit’s house that started off on the wrong foot may have been the key to getting Kyle and Dorit over their months-long feud and finally back into each other’s good graces.

There were a few separate confrontations, one between Dorit and Sutton over those old allegations of Sutton putting vodka in her coffee (which is not entirely unbelievable), between Garcelle and Boz (not the Black queens in a dispute! It was very respectful, though), and then between Dorit and Kyle. But this time, Dorit halts the argument to ask Kyle plainly whether they are working on a reset or whether Kyle wants to continue on the path of destruction in their friendship. 

 

“I feel like Kyle and I have already done the dance. If we’re gonna do the dance over and over and over, then I’m doing exactly what I’ve been doing in my marriage, which is not something I wanna do…I need peace,” Dorit said in a confessional. 

This kind of reflection is just one example of how Dorit is becoming more self-aware now that PK is out of the picture. But also, the likening of her friendship with Kyle to her marriage is an indication that she’s developing a better understanding of the function of relationships, whether intimate or platonic. And if there’s going to be anything that gets her through her divorce in one piece, it’s strong friendships with the women around her. I’ve written extensively about how women are primed to fare better in life after divorce.

The two share an embrace, then head inside for a private moment in Dorit’s bedroom. On the way up there, though, Dorit reveals just how chaotic her home, which is typically perfectly organized, has become in the midst of her separation from PK. This brings a sense of relief to Kyle, whose life and home have also been in disarray in the midst of her separation from Mauricio.

The two bond and joke over Dorit giving up on her OCD-like tendencies, and Kyle reveals all the changes that she’s gone through on her end in her home, like taking over Mauricio’s side of the closet. Dorit asks her what that process was like, and Kyle explains the range of emotions she went through. 

This is exactly the type of breakthrough I was hoping the pair would have, considering they are navigating such similar situations. And while their husbands have bonded and become closer, they seem to have had difficulty getting there. So not only is this refreshing, but it’s also needed. For both of them.

 

Ciara reads West for the filth he is

During what the Summer House cast call a “family dinner”, Ciara takes the opportunity to confront her ex-lover West after paying him absolutely no mind upon entering the house, ignoring his motion for a welcome hug, moving his hand away instead. Queen. 

At the table, she’s asked by Kyle what she thinks about West’s haircut, and she fairly and correctly asserts that “it sucks”. Obviously, this escalates the tension at the table, and when members of the group say it’s awkward, it opens the floor to Ciara calling him out over a New York Times article.

“It’s also awkward because people try to be nice but then they put out a lot of press about sh-t. Keep the same energy as your articles. Especially your last New York Times article,” Ciara said to the group, before going on to ask him why he wouldn’t send a text warning her the article was coming.

West is clearly trying to shut the conversation down in hopes they can speak in private instead, a move that Ciara rejects in favour of having the conversation at the table, saying everyone is going to come to them separately and ask about the status of their relationship anyway. Social media users have suggested that her calling him out to the table is a skill she learned during her time on The Traitors, and the two worlds colliding is making me want to tune into that show, too. 

“I’ll be done with it but that’s so f-cking weak, it’s a bitch ass move,” she said. “You’re a f-cking loser anyway.”

To be clear, Ciara has every single right to speak to him this way. It’s been cosigned by what feels like the entire audience, pissed that yet again, she has been treated poorly by another, as she would say, “beta”. West has remained so tight-lipped with her, giving her absolute dust, despite flapping his gums to the press, because he wants to make sure the public perception of him remains decent, while the version of himself he presents to her is absolute trash. Unluckily for him, we’re not dumb, we’ve clocked his game, and we’re #TeamCiara all the way.

Photo credits: Lifetime

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