Reality Recap: Cruz, clarify, confess

The internet is slowly turning on the once beloved Jesse Solomon for his handling of a possible love triangle between him, Lexi Wood and Ciara Miller on Summer House. Teddi Mellencamp had some good news about her tumours shrinking or disappearing. And the Countess & Co. will be back on our screens this Sunday when Love Hotel premieres. I am seated!

Jax unravels in season two of The Valley

We’re two episodes into The Valley and we are off to a very aggressive start to the season. With the aftermath of collapsed marriages, allegations of substance abuse issues being tossed around and so many new beginnings, it’s the perfect smorgasbord of chaos.

There are a few takeaways from episode two – first, it’s that Scheana is an excellent addition to the show. She’s messy, she’s always got the gossip and she is willing to do whatever it takes to get the check. The second takeaway is that Janet, simply put, is not a very likeable person. And the last and most significant takeaway is that Jax needs help. 

Like, a lot of help. But I’m not entirely certain there’s a light at the end of the tunnel because it doesn’t appear he is coming from an honest place.

It was interesting seeing social media users using his son’s behaviour as an indication of just how bad things have become. People pointed to how much more open, receptive and affectionate Cruz was in greeting Zack compared to him pretty much sinking into himself when Jax arrived. 

As an independent occurrence, it may not mean anything, but when you add that to everything that we know up to this point, it certainly follows a certain trend line. To top it all off, Brittany literally asked the crew if they could go to her home and film instead because that’s how much she didn’t want to be there.

One narrative I’m seeing emerge on social media is that Brittany is undeserving of sympathy because Jax has been this way forever. This is a common and ignorant response to victims of abuse and it’s indicative of people who truly do not understand the impact or tactics of a partner with abusive or controlling tendencies. They may change their tune if they just keep watching the season, learning just how bad things were for Brittany as it goes on.

Paige makes first Watch What Happens Live appearance since breakup

Paige DeSorbo appeared on Watch What Happens Live this week for the first time since her split with Craig Conover. During her appearance, she answered questions about her changing relationship with Lindsay Hubbard, whether there’s a way forward for her two estranged besties Amanda Batula and Hannah Berner – and of course, her breakup and whether or not it was mutual.  

Andy kicked off her appearance with a fun little segment called Turning the Paige, where he fired off a series of questions about her and Craig’s split. First, whether or not it was a truly mutual decision, obviously speaking to remarks he made on the reunion of Southern Charm.

“Obviously yeah it wasn’t, but I feel like he was saying that because he wanted that like, victim, she did it, she caused this,” she told Andy.

When asked if she would like to counter or clarify anything Craig said throughout the rest of the reunion, Paige made it clear that pretty much all of what Craig said was either not truthful or inaccurate – which is seemingly a trend in many of his media appearances since the pair announced they were separating.

Paige then addressed a few rumours that have been circulating about her, like whether she was in fact dating that guy she was said to have been seeing and whether that relationship started during her and Craig’s.

“I feel like exes don’t owe each other anything but we’re in a different situation. I didn’t need him to defend me, but I needed him to not lean into it,” she said.

That’s what I mean when I said there was an air or trend of dishonesty in Craig’s media appearances. Paige genuinely doesn’t give off the vibe that she’s trying to throw him under the bus. I can’t say the same about Craig. Her description of him “leaning in” to the cheating rumours is a really accurate way to describe it because he had ample opportunity to shut the rumours down and his refusal to do that only fueled the fire against Paige. He did nothing to stop what seemed like a bit of a witch hunt, which was another thing Paige addressed – whether she feels like she or Craig experienced more hate in the wake of their breakup.

Paige says that despite it being a pretty even split, as a woman, she dealt with more misogyny, a lot of which I feel stems from the fact that Craig’s fans, many of whom are from the South and have traditional values that prioritize the feelings and experiences of men. 

When asked what she’s looking for in a man, she said she wants someone funny. And for those of us who have watched Craig, well, ever, he isn’t exactly the type to make you slap your knee. Or in Paige’s case, giggle. 

Kenya Moore releases Confessions YouTube video

“They tried to rig the game but they cannot fake influence.”

This is a quote by Kendrick Lamar and also the quote Kenya Moore used to start her new YouTube video entitled The Confessional They Tried to Silence, which is essentially a video in which she tells her side of the whole Brit Eady debacle. While it may sound cringey, there certainly was a demand to hear from Kenya, particularly with rumours of her being invited and then uninvited from the reunion, which TMZ asked Andy Cohen about here.

In the video, Kenya addressed Porsha’s recent YouTube video in which she alleged another housewife fed the info about the nudes to Kenya – and Kenya says that is a lie. Instead, she says, what she showed was online and available on multiple websites. 

She then got into whether what she did could be classified as revenge p-rn, which she insists it isn’t. 

“The photos that were revealed are not considered revenge p-rn. I went so far as ‘Oh my God did I do something wrong?’” she said, before explaining the process of engaging an attorney to advise her on the matter as it pertained to federal law.

“I shared photos that were readily available online. I did not commit revenge p-rn, I shared a publicly available photo that was accessible online. If I showed Kim Kardashian’s sex tape right now, is that revenge?”

I don’t quite know what to make of this comparison, but whether this falls into the category of revenge p-rn has been a pressing topic, so I am glad that she addressed it, and even more glad that she sought out legal advice.

Immediately following this revelation, Kenya laments the fact that she shared the photos in the setting she did – namely the fact that it was in her salon. She also addressed the comparison of her joking around with a friend in a previous season about carrying protection against Phaedra, rightfully highlighting the reunion that Phaedra brought a taser in the event something popped off with Kenya.

All of this shows just how much grey area there is in terms of what is okay, acceptable, and a fireable offence. And I think that’s what is making it difficult for people to look at this issue objectively. We’ve been so busy saying “but what about that time that…” rather than drawing a clear, hard line in the sand about what is right and what is wrong. But on the other hand, that’s the network’s job to do, not ours.