Kyle Richards made a big move (and Mauricio literally made a big move, like, out of their house and into a new condo where Matt Damon also lives, NBD) when she removed Mauricio’s last name out of her Instagram profile. And Candiace Bassett from Real Housewives of Potomac showed off her baby bump (aw!) at an event she attended. The previews for next week’s episodes of just about everything look like they pack a punch, but as for this week, here’s what went down:
Ariana Madix’s new boo meets the group…kinda
This week on Vanderpump Rules, the trip travels to San Francisco. Ariana brought Daniel along, and Lala didn’t hold back in sharing her opinions about him. But with Tom Sandoval also coming on the trip, fans were curious to see how, exactly, that interaction might go.
Of course, there wasn’t an interaction. And why would there have been? Ariana is a grey rock mastermind, she said it herself. And her tactics of no contact, no communication and especially no introducing the old douchebag boyfriend to the new, hot boyfriend, seem to be working for her.
My first impression of Dan is that he’s cool, he’s smooth, he’s quiet, and he’s everything that Tom is not. Seeing the small bit of him we got to see this trip, I can see why, just 10 days after her contentious split from Tom, something about him enticed her. She is desperate to get away from every last semblance of Tom – and that’s exactly what Dan provided.
He seems to be on the trip more for moral support than to actually interact with the group, often going off and doing his own thing. But I can’t fault him for easing his way in. This is an intense, incestuous group after all, so a slow and steady approach might just work in everyone’s best interest.
Carl’s (partial) recap of his crucial conversation
The demise of Carl Radke and Lindsay Hubbard’s engagement continues to play out on this season of Summer House. And in this week’s episode, Carl had to recap the heartbreaking (but also eye-opening) conversation he had in last week’s episode with his mom and stepdad, which I wrote about here, to Lindsay.
Early on in the episode, Lindsay asked Carl how his visit with them went. In an attempt to soften the blow of his stepdad’s tough love, he was pretty tight-lipped about how the conversation actually went, leaving Lindsay with very few details about what was said, but with the feeling that she was being rejected by his parents.
At her bridal shower, she addressed this with Carl’s mom, who would have clearly rather been anywhere else in the world than there in that moment having to have such an awkward and difficult conversation. Only after it was “resolved” with hugs, smiles and copious amounts of not-so-reassuring head nods from her future mother-in-law did Carl really give Lindsay the full rundown about how the conversation played out.
Despite Lindsay’s current career as an influencer (yawn), we have to remember that she has a background in public relations and at one point, owned her own firm. The woman knows how to spin a story and shift public perception – and she’s in the thick of doing just that in this episode and judging by the trailers, the ones to come.
Paige DeSorbo, whom she hasn’t had the best relationship with over the years, even remarked on the changes she’s noticed, acknowledging that Lindsay has been “nice” recently, not a word she’d be likely to use to describe her up until recently.
Lindsay knows her relationship is in trouble. And I think the reason Lindsay can be so polarizing is because at times, it can be very tough to determine whether Lindsay is being a master manipulator or just a flawed human being like the rest of us. After that episode I can’t help but feel like whatever changed behaviour we see in her is all a part of her positioning herself to be the victim of all victims for when things finally fall apart.
Motherhood takes centre stage on The Valley
During the first few episodes of the show, the motherhood chatter and subject matter on The Valley felt very forced. But this episode, we saw Nia Sanchez be the most vocal she has been about her experience with post-partum, naming it for the very first time.
This week, she revealed that up until this point, she only referred to it as the “baby blues” in an attempt to minimize it. For weeks, we’ve seen her visibly suffering her way through post-partum, and I thought seeing her turn to her sister-in-law, who is a post-partum advocate, and have the conversation about possibly needing medical intervention, was a great way to encourage other women to seek out the support they need, whatever that may look like.
Don’t get me wrong – there is a lot of drama happening outside Nia’s storyline. Michelle and Jason Lally are very visibly on the express train to separation. I mean, it was confirmed just yesterday that they are both in new relationships. And good old Jax Taylor is just being messy as hell and letting Kristen Doute take the fall for it.
But I think the juxtaposition of what appears to be very trivial, frivolous nonsense, happening in tandem with these very real-life experiences is what makes for good reality TV. The high school drama that we all know and love so much is happening alongside Kristen and Luke’s doctor’s visit to try and find out why it’s taking them so long to get pregnant. Jax and Brittany Cartwright see a tantric expert to help rediscover intimacy in their relationship.
Brittany, in a moment of absolute vulnerability, opened up about her concerns that Jax is no longer attracted to her after giving birth. Her concerns over her stretch marks and weight gain are felt, seen and shared by so many women.
Seeing Nia and Brittany navigate the impact that motherhood has had on their lives offer up a lot of visibility and validation for women who are having similar experiences. And I think when the audience can establish that deeper connection with the stars of any given show, they’re guaranteed to keep watching. But Bravo knows that already.
Be that as it may, Kristen and Luke revealed on their podcast, Balancing Act, that the cast has not been approached for a second season and that they won’t be getting a reunion. Not having a reunion is pretty commonplace for shows in their debut season. But only a few episodes in and I’d say there would certainly be a lot to talk about. For the extended version of why I and so many others were wrong in our initial judgement of the show, you must read this Vulture article!
Attached - Ariana Madix and Daniel Wai move into her new place in LA, April 18, 2024
