Cat

RHOA Finally caught up on the show. It is crazy to me what a dumb ho Porsha is. She thinks that with the NDA in Bravo's contracts, she can say anything about anybody and never be sued. Wrong. Kandi hit the nail on the head when she said that with anger management, Porsha has taken her aggression with fists to aggression with words. Her lies were so ugly and vulgar. The drugging allegation was especially wretched. Nominally, Porsha is a pretty woman but her smug face in Maui saying all those things looked coarse and ugly and plastered with makeup. I hope she is DONE on RHOA and that her ass is cooked at Reunion. Phaedrea is Teflon! This chick throws the dirt and never gets backsplatter! This is incredible to me. She's the one who fed Porsha with the Shamea rumors, and it's probably one reason why she was late to the Maui dinner -- she thought she was going to be caught out in a lie. She must be thanking her lucky stars Frick is such a ratchet idiot and commanded all the attention. BTW I hate the Frick & Frack moniker but love Kandi's "Freak & Fraud" shade. Wasn't expecting the reveal in the previews that Bob smacked Sheree around. I can't believe he was sitting in the car and acting like what he said about "finishing the job" is totally normal.

This is exactly how I have been feeling. While not as toxic as last season, there is something very End of Days about the show this season. LVP is done, either by her own admission or the waning view of the audience. Bravo would be ok with her leaving because the network is clearly priming Erika as the star. And I get it. I love Erika and her fabulousness and humor. I especially loved her last night, when she revealed a little more about herself and didn't sweat the small stuff (aka Dorit). But she can be shark-eyed and manipulative, and I can't help but wonder if Rinna and Eileen aren't her minions sometimes. I'm not sure how I feel about the Bravo pimping, except that instead of being dragged to the water to drink the Kool-Aid, I would rather take myself there in my own good time. In a way, LVP got her revenge on Yolanda when Yolanda left the show, but Yolanda got her revenge by leaving Erika there to usurp LVP's place. Ooooooooo. Eileen can go. At her core, I don't feel she is happy or satisfied within the confines of this show. Rinna will probably stay because even Depends ain't sniffing around her butt these days. But I'm literally every time she appears on screen. You cannot buy anything she says. Kyle will have to be pried off this show, such is her eagerness to be the OG of BH. Dorit and Eden are so inconsequential. When I think of the HWs or FOHs who have come and gone -- Adrienne, Taylor, Camille, Marisa Zanuck (I liked her ok?), Brandi (S2-3), Yolanda, Kathryn, FAYE -- I mean, who is Dorit in dis world? She is a very pale, silly facsimile of some fabulous (if sometimes anxiety-ridden) larger-than-life characters. If the aforementioned were still on the show, she and Eden would never have been considered for new HW positions. Heck, even Dana/Pam was more fun. After catching the reviews of Naomi Campbell and RuPaul on WWHL last night, I would DIE if superfan Naomi was cast on the show. She said she wants to be on BH. She is literally the queen of bitchy shade and if RuPaul joined her on BH, so much the better. BH has made me look forward to my other fave NY even more, though.

Omg RHONY I've been waiting for this! Thank you for posting! And I can't believe Jill is in the teaser! Never thought that would happen again. Bethenny had great hair last season but now it looks so severe. It is aging AF.

Charisse's is the only viable tagline imo -- why did they waste it on her? Everybody else's is godawful. Robyn's green eyes one -- wtf?

Same. This is why I like Kandi too. And that dumbest Poorsha was so dumb, she thought that by threatening people with gossip and lies, she guaranteed her place on this show. This lie is so clearly something Kandi would not bother doing. She showed her ass and I hope she gets dragged through to Reunion about it. Lol and Sheree telling her to drop the drug thing? That's not even code anymore. She's hinting that Poorsha has a problem with them.

I guess I should qualify that. Bravo want straight men ADDED to their existing audience. I believe straight men already watched (I heard Million Dollar Listing is popular with that demographic? And RHs have a husbands audience), but you know how marketeers on these networks can get. I have no idea how Bravo's ratings/demos are doing, but I do enjoy RHs and Southern Charm lol.

Haha omg glad I wasn't the only one. For all her wealth, Carlton seemed to look, live and act tackily. Her outbursts about witchcraft and racism felt cheap. Contrived. Same with the "I love women's bodies" stuff. If she's bi-curious or likes to be a dominatrix or whatever, more power to her, but it all felt contrived and 'look at me, I'm so daring.' I understand that along with Cindy Chupak on RHoNY, she is one of the least-liked HWs ever, so I can see why BH dropped her. I'd even go as far to say that I marginally preferred that raging b!tch Cindy over her.

Those moments are when I love Erika. But there are moments -- in her VTs -- where she really DOES care about how she is perceived. For example, in her scenes with Tom, she is bending over backwards telling us in the VT that Tom truly understands her, treats her so well, etc. She clearly doesn't like it when people imply she is only with Tom for his money. I am interested to see her scenes next week with her mother, and see another side to Erika. I am willing to cut Eileen some slack. I keep thinking about Reunion last year where she told LVP "I don't really trust you" (fair enough) "and I don't like you." The latter was said in such a hard tone. I've loved ED on Y&R and Days for a long time, I've loved the empathy of her portrayals, which is why I was shocked at how humorless and absolutist she was. I guess that is what grief can do to you. You don't see light at the end of the tunnel; everything is hardened and brutal. You become hardened, too. At least, that is what my personal experience with grief has been. Maybe, after a while, Eileen will be able to enjoy the show (and even LVP) for what it is and who they are. (Even though she is adamant that grief was not the reason she had issues with LVP last year). ETA: I hope things are slowly getting better with your grief this year, Soaplovers. It's a long process but... hang in there! Oh, by the end of Season 1, it was clear what the BH template would be: glamorous, aspirational wealth, tongue-in-cheek moments (everything Camille) -- laced with dark Hollywood secrets (Kim's addictions, PrickKelsey, the Armstrongs and their toxicity ending with SUICIDE, Adrienne's secret about her kids, etc). Eventually, the dark nasty secrets became fodder for the show. I watched Seasons 1-2 transfixed tbh, but when they tried to recreate those kind of stories in Seasons 3,4 and 5, Brandi and Kim were like sledgehammers (which is too bad because wrong-side-of-the-tracks Brandi was an initially interesting addition to the show in S2). Brandi had a specific purpose with production to bring out all the mess, and when she left, the burden of action fell to others -- specifically Rinna, and Eden. I don't know if Bravo's rebrand away from women and gay men (I guess we are out of fashion atm ) will affect whether production rethinks the formula for RH shows -- or scraps them (which would be too bad imo. There is still life in the old dog yet!).

The chances of Erika doing better than LVP are high, considering LVP was the second to leave when she was on DWTS. Interestingly, Erika's partner will be Gleb Savchenko, the same dancing hottie that was LVP's partner! Bravo couldn't have scripted it better themselves. You better believe LVP vs. Erika is ON. I think LVP views Erika as her biggest rival on the show. As for BH this season, I don't know about boring but... BH lost some of its lustre last season. Rinna and Eileen really went scorched earth with LVP; LVP's denials, plus Yolanda's 'miraculous recovery' made things worse. I didn't like anybody. This season's theme of lingering payback of seasons past is not helping matters. Erika seems one of the least tarnished, but she also feels calculated and ruthless. LVP has aged in the space of a year and is going through the motions doing the same old charity work/back-biting combo. Rinna bulldozes people for a story. Eileen is... Iceleen. And Kyle is... Kyle. I don't feel there's a core of niceness left with anyone. Just a lot of meanness and resentment. And that dulls some of the sparkle. JMO. Sorry I seem like such a downer on BH this year. I hope I don't spoil the enjoyment of those who love it. I still watch it because it's always been one of my fave franchises.

Is RHoS good? Like RHoMelbourne enjoyable? I loved that show from the get go!

It's been so long since I posted on this thread! I'm sorry! I saw the 2ne1 goodbye song, I thought it was beautiful and it was very moving for me to listen. I really loved this group. Not much to post although Twice released a new single and a co-ed group called KARD made their debut. And TOP joined military training. And made his unit do this:

LVP is relishing Rinna being caught in a lie, and I don't think it makes her look exceptionally mean. Last year Rinna and Eileen painted themselves as the paragons of truth and virtue. EVERYBODY was gossiping about Yolanda's 'journey', and Rinna got caught saying the Munchausen word on camera and thought the audience would turn on her (mistakenly as it turned out). So she and Eileen came up with how LVP (aka that evil, dog-stroking Bond villain with mind-control powers) pressured her into saying the M word on camera. It was a [!@#$%^&*] mess and ruined everybody's standing on the show. Seeing Eileen and Rinna hoot "OWN IT! Tell the truuuuuuth!" has meant that LVP and some audience members like me have been waiting for the two self-righteous ones to fall from their 'truth' pedestal. Rinna is just upset because she has been exposed as an idiot who is as manipulative as everybody else on the show. I notice that Rinna has stopped bleating about "the truth" and started calling it "my truth." Interesting distinction. Carnie Wilson is awesome and I would love her on the show more regularly as a FOH. She saw both sides and paved the way for peace. Now I hope we can put this issue to bed once and for all and Kim never has to come back to talk about her 'sobriety' like she says she doesn't want to do (but goes on other shows to talk about anyway).

OMG, I can't believe I am saying this as an LVP fan but so much WORD to everything you said! Especially the bolded. I sense LVP is kind of tired. Kyle lives and breathes her sister as a SL, don't let all the dramatic tears and "Stop talking about my SISTERRRRR!" fool you. Erika is fun but at her core she is still cold as ice. People accuse LVP of chess-playing, but there is something pre-plotted and calculated about everything Erika says or does on this show. Oh, and I can't stand Mikey, her 'creative director.' Eileen is.. sigh. A huge disappointment. I love aspects of her personality, the self-deprecating aspects, but there is something very controlling and resentful and humorless about her sometimes. Dorit is sweet but inconsequential. Rinna... sigh. Rinna is digging such a deep hole for herself. You know, she wasn't wrong about Kim being not sober back in the day, and she may not be wrong now. I don't think Kyle is an enabler, like running to the nearest liquor store to fill up Kim's fridge, but when she attacks others into sweeping it under the carpet, she is essentially giving her sister a free pass to abuse on the quiet. Rinna also wasn't wrong about Yolanda and Munchausen's (imo). When you are taking malaria pills for lyme disease, something is not right. I think Yolanda was going through those leaky implants + the worst of menopause + deep depression as she realised My Love would rather fly around the world raising money for charity than stay and look after her. No, where Rinna goes tragically wrong is when she backpedals because she is so afraid of making the audience/HWs angry at her. So she deflects, says whatever 'for the show!", brings other people into it or, when her back is really against the wall, she whips out that 12-year old Romanian gymnast body and starts gyrating it into PK's leering, sweaty face. I fear this is what we will think of from here on in whenever we think of Rinna and the Real Housewives.

Ugh I forgot all about that! Dumb ho. Idiot just parrots whatever she hears. If she was an undercover lesbian during her Chrisshun/re-virginated years, sometimes the ones most in denial are the loudest antis. I don't think Kandi denied her claims, she pretty much said "I am very open about sex" on The Talk but denied that she and Porsha ever did it. Which is consistent with what she is saying on the show. However, I do think Porsha's allegations have Kandi's back against the wall to a certain extent. The fact is, Kandi IS open about sex and sex toys and the like. But she's kept her private arrangements quiet. I don't recall her talking about threesomes and female partners until this season tbh. The rumors were there before, but she and Todd never directly acknowledged them. Which I can understand as it is their private bedroom business and they don't have to explain themselves. But Porsha has brought that out onto the show now. And while Kandi is smarter than Porsha and has the upper hand in their back-and-forths, Porsha (and Phaedra's) tea spilling has put her on the defensive. She was defensive on Sunday's episode, and judging by the previews she is going to be even more defensive in the next episode. Porsha's claims have upset her.

Me watching RHoA episode like Did anybody catch Cynthia's comment about Porsha and lines though?? Kandi wasn't the only one spilling tea. Cynthia's talking heads and reactions were the enjoyable parts of this episode. I did NOT need to see her vadge rejuvenation, however. I also felt so bad for Riley having to go through that cringeworthy recording. It wasn't even Kim Zolciak-recording-Tardy-for-the-Party enjoyable. While most of us already knew about this gossip, IA that it has made the show dark and murky with these threats to 'destroy' each other's reputations/marriage etc. Both Kandi and Porsha are Going There and as a result it's about to get nastier. Especially at Reunion. I don't think Porsha has quite lost herself that HW's paycheck, though. Not after this episode. Also because Carlos King... ahem, thinks she's great for the show. It's sad to think that Porsha was presented as a borderline debutante/Christian wife/civil rights royalty, and now she is (allegedly) a busy hooker with a nose for blow. Or maybe the deb/Christian wife was just a cover, as Kandi suggests, in which case, that is even sadder. As for Kandi, I doubt she was thrilled about the 'Marvin' revelations.

It is a cold world. A lot of these footballers are trainees when they are 15. Then at 18 or 19, they might make the first team. Suddenly they get a couple thousand a week. These boys, mostly white or black, usually come from working class or very poor backgrounds. Football is the way out. They are making more in a week than their parents made in a month. And some haven't been taught how to save & spend. So they spend it on the Footballer Lifestyle. Payments on a Porsche, a mortgage on a designer pad, and brand-name clothes. Money on parties and ladies. Because you want to be taken seriously by your fellow players and the press. They are reading about Cristiano Ronaldo who lives large and gets over $500,000 a week. A WEEK. That is crazy money. They think all they need is a lucky break and Man United will snap them right up and give them that salary. But 99.9% don't get snapped up like that. Most will play in the mid- and low-table teams, and it's a hard slog to avoid relegation. Moreover, they've just met their girlfriend, and she likely comes from the same background they do. She wants better than what she grew up with, too. She wants the house that looks like a Disney castle, and the boob job and Maloof Hoofs (think Tanya). She wants to keep up with the other footballers' wives. So that means more money spent and an even bigger mortgage. As long as that weekly salary remains in 4 digits, everything should be ok. But suddenly, you hit 35 and nobody wants to sign you. You become a civilian again. You have to downsize your lifestyle. You hope to get into coaching, but maybe you don't have the skills (most coaches now have degrees in sports education). You hope to get into TV punditry (like Lineker). But just as foreign players in the Premiership got the biggest salaries, so too do they get the most offers to appear on TV. Because they were bought over as already-big names. TV would rather a world-famous Dutchman who speaks English perfectly than a grunt from Sunderland FC. So these ex footballers go a different direction, maybe flipping houses or a landscaping business. But you have to have some savings and be wiley with your money. It's easy for ex players addicted to the old lifestyle to get caught out. I think Ashley Ward got caught out. And he got caught out because once Dawn got the TV job, they figured the lavish lifestyle could continue unabated. Sorry, that was a really long essay, but the economics of footballer life is a fascinating thing here. Being a footballer is considered a dream job. But this is also a country that looks down on people because of class, and football has always been considered strictly lower class. Because that's the background of most of the players. Yeah, I would say that Ampika is definitely somebody who needs to be in complete control of her finances. Even though she has a nice lifestyle and (probably) a nice alimony, she has a business and she never wants to feel worried about money. I think she's probably OCD about it. It's probably why Dawn would never ask her for money. Leanne, though, was Dawn's BFF and viewed her like a sister, and that's why she agreed to the loan. Unfortunately, just like money is the #1 cause of marriages breaking up, so too can it cause friendship breakups. This is amazing. And Shamea's face at the end when Porsha lamely claims she's got a lot of info about Kandi is a PICTURE.

I can't take the credit. I am only a casual viewer of RHoCh. In fact, I am rewatching the first ever episode right now. I think it was DaytimeFan and possible Cheap who linked to stories about the Wards. It was never me. Sorry! Speaking from what I know of Dawn Ward via the tabloids and the first season, it seems clear to me that she and her husband were mortgaged to the back teeth. For an EX footballer (unless they are top-tier walking brand like David Beckham) to afford an 11-bedroom grand manor like that, outright? Not possible They wouldn't have the savings. Two live-in maids and a butler? Who is paying those salaries? That fully-staffed interior design company looked like a loss-maker too. I'm not surprised the Wards are in heavy debt, but their credit must be particularly poor because instead of going to the bank (where they probably already owe money), they went to friends to borrow money. That's worrying. I also wondered whether Lauren's husband was losing money and that's why he hated her OTT shopping. IA with NBA -- I think Magali could ask to come back to the show and the producers would snap her up. The rivalry between those two alpha females Dawn and Magali has never been topped (and it's pretty much why I haven't kept up with later seasons of RHoCh). The irony is that Magali was probably the one who lived the most frugally and within her family's means on that show (a beautiful but regular family home, no outsized McMansions and crazy cosmetic surgeries for her) but she is the one who walked away from the TV money first.

It's John Waters' conservative twin brother.

I thought they mentioned he was a nice Jewish boy from Mexico City. He was born and spent part of his childhood there before his family moved to CA. I'm assuming he has dual (or even tri-) nationality. Rinna played dumb and it was a bad mistake, especially as she and Eileen made it their mission to destroy LVP over something similar and even more innocuous last season. I get that Eileen is ride-or-die for her girl. But Rinna just needs to OWN that she is an incorrigible gossip. It keeps BH's wheels turning after all and it's not the worst character flaw in the world. When she backtracks or pretends like she doesn't know, it makes things 1000% times worse. The cover-up can be worse than the crime! ETA: Eileen is defending Rinna on her blog and saying "It's complicated/she didn't mean it." After the way she went after LVP last season like a rottweiler for apparently 'forcing' Rinna to mention the M word about StalinYolanda, I really can't forgive her attitude now. What's good for the goose is good for the gander, Nagleen!

Ooo interesting theory. You're probably right, especially as didn't Sheree bring Porsha to Kenya's housewarming to stir up drama? Or maybe that was Phaedra. And I wouldn't put it past Wig trying to keep herself in contention for Season 10. She looks like she is trying to do the most in that clip.

Why is Kenya going after Wig in that clip? I get that Kenya considers herself queen of RHOA. I get that she creates drama like nobody else. I get that she watched the show before appearing, may have met Kim briefly and heard allll about her from three other HWs. But Kenya cannot change history. She was not on the show during seasons 1 to 5 or whenever it was that Lazy Ass quit. She hasn't got the direct history that Sheree, Kandi, Phaedra, Nene and even Cynthia have with Kim. Kenya did not try to pull off her wig or give her the name Wig or tell her to CLOSE YOUR LEGS TO MARRIED MEN. Much as she wishes she had. I feel like she should have stayed in her lane and let Sheree or Kandi do the snarking. She did the same thing when Sheree came back and she went after her about 'Chateau Shebroke' like they have a history together.

Word on the street [(c) Aviva, (c) Carole saying "There is no word, there is no SHTREET"] is that the RHoDallas ladies are not getting paid anything, and that's why season 2 is actually happening. Because Bravo were able to keep salary costs to a minimum and the HWs are betting on a season 3 and a paycheck. This may explain why Tiffany has opted not to be part of the cast (so far it is Stephanie, Brandy, Cary and Crazy-Eyes). I'm guessing Keith Suburban's music career isn't bringing in the $$$. I still say they should have gone for Miami again with Lea, Adriana, Alexia, Marysol and Lisa

Bulimia Jaw in that RHOT clip is clearly angling to be another Jody. I like the Hamlin girls for the very reason DF mentioned: they are completely normal and relatable. However, neither are model material and should not be encouraged as such. That is the road to bad plastic surgery (Brielle Zolciak *cough*), empty, broken dreams and ruin.

SHE KILLED IT I've had my doubts about her in the past -- and I still have doubts about her longevity, but her vocal talent and her poppiest hits are without contest. Amazing half time performance! She gave it everything!

I enjoyed the Stephanie-Brandi friendship and that Resting Bitch Face who was married to the plastic surgeon, but the farting/poo talk was too much. Also, Leanne Locken and her BFF were trying to do the most and it fell flat. Leanne just looked crazy. I am on the fence as to whether the show should have been given a second season because I fear it will give LeAnn a long leash to indulge in her worst impulses. I tried to like Potamac, I really did but the charity/etiquette stuff... All these women's charitable foundations, and I'm not 100% sure where the money goes either. With crown jewels ATL and BH looking a little lacklustre these days, I'm wondering whether Bravo should revive Miami tbh. I am currently rewatching Season 2 and it was on FIRE. I know it's been a few years now and lots of things have happened (Alexia and Herman have divorced, for example; Lisa and Lenny finally had a baby by surrogate) but I would still be interested in checking in with those two, as well as Lea, Adriana and possibly the thirstiest of the thirsty, Marysol. Throw in Lauren Foster and Ana as FOH and maybe a Cuban newbie (no, I don't want the unlikeable Joanna Krupka back), and it might be more exciting than a show like Dallas.