Reality Recap: Parties, divorce, cookies

Bethenny Frankel is keeping it real as always, letting people know that Harry Hamlin’s sauce is ‘not great’. Something strange is happening to Brandi Glanville’s face, and Botched star Terry Dubrow says she needs to get the ‘ticking time bomb’ properly diagnosed. Jen Shah may be returning to Real Housewives of Salt Lake City sooner than we anticipated thanks to yet another sentence reduction. Candiace Dillard is letting us know how she really feels about life after having a baby. And when life gives you lemons, turn it into a brand deal? Britani Bateman announced a partnership with Kerastase one week after Lisa delivered one of the most iconic and well-intended reads of all time. 

Kathy Hilton throws an epic holiday party filled with fashion and Bravolebs

Nothing Kathy Hilton does is basic. Everything is over the top. And that was exactly the case at her 2024 holiday party. The guestlist included cast members from The Real Housewives of Orange County, Salt Lake City and Potomac, along with stars from other network shows like The Valley, Vanderpump Rules, Married to Medicine and Southern Hospitality. We can probably all agree that Kathy Hilton didn’t have a damn clue who a lot of the guests there were, but whoever curated the guestlist was in their bag. 

While photos of the event show a luxe evening filled with glitzy, glammy fashion against the backdrop of her crazy Bel-Air mansion, and a Moet & Chandon vending machine, it was what happened after the party that seemed to have become the main story.

Hours after reportedly causing a scene at the event, Vanderpump Rules alum James Kennedy was arrested on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. Sources who attended the event told media outlets he was behaving erratically throughout the evening. 

Party guests reported seeing him speed off the red carpet to avoid doing interviews. Some say he was being chased around Kathy’s house by a friend, running away angrily. And during Thursday’s episode of The Viall Files podcast, Nick Viall, who also attended the party, said he had seen James barking orders at a someone he had introduced to him as his best friend just minutes before. 

Unfortunately, the claims being made are very believable. Having watched James on TV for the better part of the last decade, we’ve seen this behaviour unfold many times, or at least allegations of it, including by ex-fiance Rachel Leviss, but a lot of it was mostly before he got sober, a lifestyle he says he was able to maintain for at least two years. So what happened?

Well, with the show being over, at least as we know it, I think a lot of the cast is panicking. Lisa Vanderpump was James’ fierce protector. There are rumours that he was filmed physically abusing his ex-girlfriend Kristen Doute on camera during the taping of Vanderpump Rules, but that the footage never aired because Lisa intervened with production. And with the show no longer forcing interactions and visits between them, he is now further away from someone who was very much a mother figure to him.

I think James’ work and livelihood is drying up, which means paying for that house he and Ally purchased recently is not going to be so easy without those TV cheques. And he, unlike Lala, Scheana and Brock, does not have a place lined up for himself on The Valley. Sometimes that’s all it takes for an addict to turn back to old habits. 

If he has, in fact, returned to drinking, I hope he remembers all the resources that helped him stay the course the first go, like AA, which he credited with helping him hold himself accountable. But in the meantime, I think we’re seeing the very real impact that the show’s cancellation is having on some cast members.

Mia’s delusion is on full display

This week, Mia invites Gordon down to her apartment from his apartment a few floors above (sigh) to sit with her and the kids while they bake cookies. She’s dressed to the nines, either for him or for the cameras – and Gordon notices this and compliments her upon entry. Dangling the carrot. Classic.

Before Gordon gets there, she broaches the conversation of their separation with her son Jeremiah, saying:

“Remember I told you we were getting a divorce?” Mia asks. Jeremiah looks perplexed and says she never explained that to him, then asks why she and his father were getting a divorce.

Putting her children on the spot like this about something that, despite what she may believe, they were completely unaware of was just so odd and so off-putting. So naturally, when Gordon arrives, she asks him for help navigating the conversation. 

“I was explaining to Jeremiah that just because mommy and daddy are getting a divorce does not mean we love them any less. We’re always going to be a family,” she said, before asking her son whether it still makes him sad, as if her little revelation is the cure all for a young child navigating his parent’s divorce which was really only confirmed to him five minutes ago. 

Jeremiah explains that he wants his parents to be together, to which Mia responds:

“I mean we are, practically. Daddy just lives upstairs.” 

Gordon chimes in, advocating for his son, saying it’s okay for him to be sad, before making it clear that this is what Mia wants. Not him and not the kids. And though he’s ‘resigned’ himself to the fact that it is happening, he would prefer the family stay together.

I’m so glad Gordon is speaking up not only for himself, but for his son as well, who is clearly navigating some very complex emotions – on national television, if I may add. Meanwhile, Mia is making every single interaction where Gordon rightfully feels and expresses his emotions seem like they’re tied to his bipolar diagnosis, which is hugely harmful to the bipolar community, but also factually inaccurate, because it’s a lot more likely that his emotions are tied to the fact that he’s a human being. With feelings. 

Fans are growing increasingly turned off of Mia’s desperation to make it seem like the weird and unfair situation that she’s put her estranged husband and children in is sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. It’s a façade that is not only misleading but so unnecessary. There are Housewives that have navigated messy divorces before. The situation is tumultuous and it’s okay if things are not neatly tied with a bow. 

All of this makes me feel like she is wanting to control the narrative so that she doesn’t have to face the reality of the situation – which is that she had an ongoing affair with someone she decided she wants to be with after her husband began outwardly experiencing financial and mental health issues, which directly impacted the quality of her life. And rather than just be a big girl and say she feels like the grass is greener on the side where she has a life with Inc, she’d rather pretend they’re still a family and that “Daddy just lives upstairs”. Get it together, girl. And stop lying to those damn kids.

Melissa Gorga and the sprinkle cookies

I’m surprised Teresa Giudice’s back is not broken from carrying her sister-in-law and her brother for all this time. In her latest charade, Melissa Gorga has announced that she’s starting a line of sprinkle cookies – years after Teresa complained about Melissa gifting her sprinkle cookies instead of pignoli cookies. 

Bravo stars making businesses out of shady moments is nothing new. Eddie Osefo turned the phrase “Happy Eddie” into a cannabis business after being called Happy Eddie as an insinuation he was flirting with other women. Pavit became a food influencer after being shaded by the Real Housewives of New York for travelling to Vietnam to eat. And as I mentioned, Britani has a deal with Kerastase after being accused of having “high body count hair”.

But in this case, it’s unlikely Melissa’s cookie line will thrive. Bakers – real bakers - are already calling her out over her ingredients, which include benzoyl peroxide and chlorine. 

As fans are diving further and further into the rift between these family members, awaiting the news about what’s to come next season, the overwhelming majority seem to be siding with Teresa, who cheekily responded to her sister-in-law’s new business venture with a simple, “You’re welcome”. Oh, Teresa, how far you’ve come from the days of flipping tables and calling Danielle a “prostitution whore”.