Reality Recap: Reunion, possessions, confrontation

Well first of all Brittany Cartwright has found herself a Caribbean man, a musician named Will Gittens. So there’s that. The cast of The Traitors has been revealed and Drita D’Avanzo from Mob Wives will be making her return to TV. Janet Caperna appeared on The Viall Files and didn’t do much to change the public perception of herself. And just ahead of the premiere of Next Gen NYC, Ariana Biermann is dodging jail time after her DUI arrest.

Summer House reunion starts off hot

This week, part one of the Summer House reunion aired and it’s fair to say that the tides are definitely changing in terms of how people are feeling about the castmates. Just a few months ago, fandom and admiration for Ciara and Paige was, for the most part, widespread. 

But in recent weeks, and in particular, after the reunion, there seems to be a growing sense of frustration and fatigue with these two formerly beloved castmates, as many are condemning their lack of support for Lexi throughout the season and the reunion and questioning whether they are in fact the “girls’ girls” they have long been thought to be.

As of this morning, two entire days after the reunion aired, Lexi is still a trending topic on X. Her relationship with Jesse was clearly the major conversation of the reunion as online chatter about the episode continues. A lot of people are feeling like she deserved more support from her castmates who are being criticized for laughing about much of what she experienced instead of rallying around her.

Personally, I was team Lexi up until she failed to stand on business after breaking up with Jesse (the first time). The week after their initial break up, the two of them walked into the house together, telling the cast that they had worked through their issues. She has to understand the impression that gives to the rest of the castmates – and the audience as well, for that matter, particularly after Paige advised that she stop dating him after all the drama that had already unfolded in their *checks notes* one-and-a-half-month relationship.

I really did admire the way Lexi stood up for herself and called him out for over his deceit, the toe sucking incident, and his overly flirtatious relationship with Ciara. But when she chose to get back with him, and then break up with him again, I think her housemates made the wise decision to stop getting involved. This is a house with a history of messy relationships. Do we need to rehash what happened between Carl and Lindsay?

Ciara was clearly bothered by some of Lexi’s remarks that she made on her press tour and just about everyone expressed some sort of concern over the fact that Lexi hadn’t really made an effort to get to know people in the house since she was holed up with Jesse so early on. So what is it that these women owe Lexi?

“Everyone’s laughing and we’re having a good time, but I would like to point out that Lexi does not find this funny at all,” Andy said at one point, a statement with which Lexi agreed. Might I point out that you are on a reunion episode with a woman who quite literally hosts a podcast about giggling? Simply put, these people have been at it for years. They can laugh it off in a way that she can’t. 

What I will say is that there is one person who benefits directly from the focus being put on Paige and Ciara’s failure in standing up for Lexi, and that’s Jesse. Because the real conversation should be about his awful behaviour this season, his misleading, his dishonesty. But even despite all that, we’ve found a way to blame women for a situation that really only unfolded because of a man. Ah, the patriarchy strikes again.

Legacy RHONJ cast members back in the spotlight amid family drama

A dormant volcano seems to have erupted this last week as Real Housewives of New Jersey alum Dina Manzo’s daughter, Lexi Ioannou, spoke out on Gia Giudice’s podcast, Casual Chaos, about her ‘uncomfortable’ relationship with her stepdad, Tommy Manzo. 

Long-time viewers will recall that Tommy is the brother of Albert Manzo, who is married to Dina’s estranged sister, Caroline Manzo. Tommy is currently serving an 84-month prison sentence over his involvement in hiring a mobster to assault Dina’s now-husband, David Cantin, who was viciously assaulted in 2015. 

Part of the reason Dina and Caroline are estranged is because Caroline wrote a letter of support for her brother-in-law Tommy during the court proceedings, which obviously disturbed Dina.

On the podcast, Lexi revealed that upon the collapse of her mom and Tommy’s relationship in 2012, she was violently shaken awake by Tommy, who demanded that she leave the house in the next 30 minutes. She said she left with nothing, not even the family heirlooms she and her mother have been trying to regain possession of since the split. 

Over the years, she said she heard from countless people that Tommy held onto everything she had and kept her room just as it was. So after his sentencing, Lexi reached out to Caroline’s daughter, Lauren, and begged for help getting her things back after hearing they would be on display at a garage sale. But according to Lexi, Lauren never followed through.

This prompted Lauren to share a two-part TikTok explaining her side of the story, which is essentially that she did agree to go and try and retrieve Lexi’s things, despite fearing the consequences of going there on Lexi and Dina’s behalf. When it became clear that she was trying to recoup their items, Lauren says she was kicked off the property. 

In a not-so-shocking turn of events, Ashlee Holmes has inserted herself into the drama and promises that her side of the story is “coming soon”. And while I have no interest in hearing what she has to say, I would like to point out that all of this sounds like fantastic material for a legacy RHONJ season. Just saying.

Vanderpump Rules stars make their way over to The Valley

Over on The Valley, Vanderpump Rules stars Scheana and Lala Kent are officially part of the cast, and the wider cast is starting to question whether Janet is getting Jason to do her dirty work. In an aggressive confrontation, Jason took Danny to task over his drinking and the incident that happened with Jasmine in which she said he made an advance at her.

Anyone that’s watched the show knows this confrontation was very out of character for Jason – leading Danny to believe that he may have been put up to this by his wife and cast sh-t-stirrer, Janet.

In a later scene, an obviously disturbed Jason gave a tearful apology to Danny for overreacting and coming at him as hard as he did, leaving us all to believe that all hope is not lost…completely. 

Meanwhile, Brittany lifted the veil on just how hard things have been for her amid Jax’s substance abuse and behavioural issues, saying that he had let months go by without the mortgage being paid after she moved into a rental unit during their separation.

Despite a meeting taking place between the two of them, it didn’t happen on camera, much to the dismay of the viewers. But he’ll be making what I imagine is a not-so-triumphant return to the show soon enough, this time, as a resident of the condo unit right next to none other than Tom Schwartz.