I’ve always theorized that the fall season brings some of the most iconic, talked-about moments on reality TV. I attribute this to the fact that we’re all spending more time inside, kiki-ing on social media, but after this week, it’s clear that something about the weather cooling down makes things heat up on some of our favourite shows. 

 

From what I understand, The Bachelorette finale aired recently but I wouldn’t know what went down because I lost interest at episode three. The men this season weren’t doing it for me. In a not-so-shocking turn of events, Margaret Josephs and Melissa Gorga are still talking about Teresa, while she’s podcasting with her kids and living her best life. Over in Orange County, Vicki Gunvalson is riding for Shannon Beador and I am here for this friendship! Phaedra Parks is proving to be booked, busy and badass, having recently being confirmed for the next season of Dancing With the Stars in addition to her much-anticipated return to the Real Housewives of Atlanta, which means Frick and Frack are coming back. And Lenny Hochstein’s fiancé Katharina Nhalik appeared kissing another dude sans engagement ring – which could only mean one thing: his ass got dumped. There’s no money I wouldn’t pay to have been a fly on the wall in Lisa Hochstein’s house when she got the news. Speaking of houses, Andy Cohen listed his West Village pad for a cool $14 million and kept it all in the Bravo family, awarding none other than Ryan Serhant the listing. What even is the commission on that? Asking for a friend.

Tamra Judge is crashing tf out 

Tamra has been giving us content we didn’t ask for, sharing the ugly after-effects of her brow lift and blue chemical peel. It’s not pretty, but neither is her spirit, so it makes perfect sense, really. What doesn’t make sense, however, is her emotional reaction to Vicki talking about her strained relationship with her daughter, Sidney. 

 

Sidney has actually spoken out on social media about why she refuses to talk to her mom. She says her main reason for not having a relationship with Tamra is because she does not agree with her mom being on the Real Housewives of Orange County and says Tamra is “embarrassing” the family by getting drunk and doing a plethora of other things that just don’t sit well with her.

Rather than, gee, I don’t know, get her ass off the show, she’s chosen not only to stay on, coming back after her time off, but also to talk about Sidney on camera despite Sidney’s wishes that she refrain from doing just that. So Vicki isn’t wrong in a lot of what she said.

 

Typically, I’d side with someone requesting that family members that don’t appear on the show not be discussed. But when it comes from Tamra, I have no choice but to wonder what sort of delusion and distorted reality she’s living in. She’s spent months dragging her former “best friend” Shannon, and therefore, her daughters through the mud over her DUI.

And as this X user pointed out, it’s only been two weeks since Tamra dragged Vicki, another former “best friend”, on her podcast when she revealed she had sepsis. But we’re supposed to have a bleeding heart for someone who has proven time and time again that hers is black? Bitch please. Go peel. And heal. 

Shannon Beador agrees to pay John ‘whatever he wants’, claiming extortion

In this week’s episode of Real Housewives of Orange County, the women take a relaxing trip to Sonoma, thanks to an invitation from Heather Dubrow, which means private jets and champagne for all. But unfortunately for Shannon, the trip was anything but relaxing.

 

First, Alexis Bellino was invited. Not even the luxury of a private jet could help ease the tension of being on a trip with your ex’s new girlfriend, or, fiancé, I should say, as of last week, anyway.

Not only that, but the trip took place during her deadline to respond to John Janssen’s threat of a lawsuit. He said she owed him $75,000 for what he says was a loan, a claim she clearly disagrees with. During the episode, she returns to some of the women in the group after a phone call with her lawyer, distraught over the fact that John did not accept her offer, which she says was about “half” of what he was demanding. 

As she’s talking to Gina and Emily about the phone call, Gina mentions the video. Oh, the video. Essentially, John and his mouthpiece Alexis have been going around town talking about doorbell footage they have of Shannon the night she got her DUI. And apparently it showed Shannon “almost hitting” John’s daughter. 

 

Shannon appeared genuinely clueless. So Gina was obviously mortified that she was the one to spill the beans on this, which obviously meant she had to elaborate. No sooner than we could say “lawsuit” did Shannon run to make a call to her lawyer, with instructions to “give him whatever he wants”. That tells me the video is bad. And who knows if she herself has even seen it? But based on the photo she showed Heather the night of her crash, I’d probably want to keep the video, and literally any other material from that night under wraps, too. 

Lesa Milan and Chanel Ayan’s friendship heads to Splitsville in explosive finale

This season of Real Housewives of Dubai has been fraught with tension between Caroline Brooks and…well, everyone, but also between besties Lesa and Ayan. It’s been tough to watch this friendship disintegrate, but seeing it implode during the finale was excruciating.

 

At the root of it all, Lesa does kind of have a possessive approach to her friendship with Ayan. She’s pissed that Ayan and Caroline Stanbury have built a friendship. But considering what we saw earlier this season with Ayan, revealing private information to Caroline, I kind of understand the root of Lesa’s concerns. Plus, Lesa has a valid reason for being on edge about Caroline.

The reason Lesa feels betrayed by Ayan’s decision to strike up a friendship with her of all people is because of the remarks she made about Lesa last season, implying that Lesa was a sex worker. This was an incredibly damaging claim worsened by the fact that Lesa is a Black woman living in Dubai and married to a white man. This X user pointed out that Lesa never had an issue with Caroline prior to the reunion last season, where she initially made the egregious claim.

In this last episode, though, I, like Lesa, believe Caroline. I don’t believe that she relayed to Ayan that Lesa was “bragging” during the lunch they shared to hash their sh-t out. Overall, I think Ayan lacks a lot of integrity, and maturity. The fact that she became enraged at Lesa for rightfully saying she was untrustworthy for sharing private information with Lesa’s known rival makes her exactly that, untrustworthy. And rather than just apologize and be a better friend, she instead found a way to turn it on Lesa.

She did the same thing in this instance, slamming Lesa for calling her a liar. But realistically, if Ayan did relay that Caroline said Lesa was bragging when Caroline didn’t really say that, then guess what Ayan? You are a liar. This will make for an interesting reunion, that’s for sure. And I give it up to these women for still being willing to sit across each other on a reunion stage, unlike our friends over in New Jersey. 

Photo credits: Nicky Nelson/ WENN

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