Jax Taylor’s abuse of Brittany was on full display this week after making it clear he had bugged the home he no longer lives in and has left her on the hook for unpaid mortgage payments and the payments that will be due moving forward. There seems to be some sort of hoopla unfolding with the designer of Paige’s new sleepwear line. Bethenny Frankel and Stassi Schroeder ripped the runway for Sports Illustrated, making both moms and reality TV fans super proud. Kristin Cavallari appeared on Watch What Happens Live and dropped a truth bomb. And Scheana Shay managed to turn her candid conversation about getting hemorrhoids after anal sex into a sponsored ad with Preparation H. Sigh.
Ariana Biermann drops major bombshell on Next Gen: NYC premiere
This week, the highly-anticipated Next Gen: NYC premiered and while I am still undecided about how I feel about the cast, there is one particular storyline that has me seated. I mean, I am enthralled.
It’s Ariana Biermann’s. Besides the obvious storyline of her being a former reality TV kid, part of her story also includes the damning claim that her mom, former Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kim Zolciak, burned through pretty much all of the money that Ariana earned over the years, since she was about 14. Ariana made this claim during a confessional on the very first episode. Drama right out the gate.
During the confessional, Ariana reflected on how she was able to land major brand deals on Instagram, but has hardly seen any of the earnings from those deals due to her parents, Kim and her not-yet-ex-husband, Kroy, draining most of that money amid their longstanding financial woes.
For the most part, the show has been fairly well-received so far, despite my fear that it was going to be pretty insufferable. I had a lot of questions about why anyone in their right mind would put Riley Burruss with this cast, worried she might be tokenized, but with the kids of Real Housewives sharing a pretty rare bond, it makes a decent amount of sense.
I think a huge part of the reason the show is a hit so far is because a lot of audience members who have watched Bravo shows since inception have built parasocial relationships with the children of their favourite TV stars, so the concept of the show certainly has potential. But what will truly make it stand out is leaning into the unique stories - like Ariana’s. We heard their parents’ stories, now we want to hear theirs.
Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion drama heats up
This week, several bombshells pertaining to the cast of Real Housewives of Atlanta dropped and…people have questions. First, Brit Eady, the subject of an explosive storyline that unfolded this season, revealed that she would not be attending the reunion taping, citing a falling out with her castmates.
Brit also revealed that the woman in the photos that Kenya Moore displayed at the grand opening of her hair spa which ultimately prompted her firing, which I wrote about here, were not in fact her. This is what’s leading to a lot of the questions that fans have.
Since news broke that Kenya shared Brit’s revenge p-rn, people have been at odds over whether the incident was worth Kenya being fired over, mostly because Brit had been pretty threatening the night that prompted Kenya to seek retaliation in the way she did. Some fans didn’t feel like it was fair for Brit to be able to threaten violence against Kenya and not be penalized, despite Kenya being fired over showing the images. Now, with news that the woman in the photo wasn’t even her, fans are feeling even more as if Kenya being fired was not only unnecessary, but unfair. Especially because of her long-standing relationship with the network.
With the seating chart for the Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion also being released this week, some are wondering why Drew is sitting at the end, considering her contributions to this season and her vulnerability in lifting the veil behind her contentious divorce from Ralph. But it looks like recent developments in the Porsha and Shamea beef will be centre stage, as will they, seated on either side of Andy.
Paige DeSorbo makes two huge announcements
Just days after launching Daphne, a sleepwear collection named after her beloved cat, Paige DeSorbo is announcing that this was her last summer in Summer House, and that she won’t be returning to the show next season.
She made the announcement on Instagram stories last night, calling her time on the show “rewarding”, and thanked the fans, her castmates and…the network? As I mentioned in a previous piece, the finale ending with that amazing get-together between Paige, Amanda and Lindsay seeing baby Gemma for the first time was a great tease for a show with a new concept. And Paige thanking the network and ensuring it’s not the last time we see her could definitely have been a preview of what’s to come. I actually think I’d be way more interested in a show about these women and their lives in New York City than what happens during their summer weekends out in the Hamptons – especially with so many recent career developments for pretty much everyone.
Carl also announced he won’t be returning to the show. Despite the rant that Gabby went on early on in the season about Carl bringing ‘nothing’ to show, I really enjoyed him these last few seasons. I think his sobriety journey was incredible to watch and inspirational for people looking to pare down their drinking, particularly for people who, like him, find themselves in environments with a lot of drinkers and a lot of alcohol. And I would pay good money to rewatch the collapse of his engagement to Lindsay again for the first time. It was a theatrical masterpiece.
The casting news certainly leaves a lot up in the air about what’s coming next season – but if we’re lucky, we’ll get a show with more of a focus on how Lindsay is navigating motherhood, whether Amanda wants motherhood, and Paige’s ascension to the ultimate success.
