StayingAfterSunday

You've got it right, I think. As someone who married a Jeff Lewis type (and there is a "type" associated with his behavior), there is NO act involved when he begins his slow burn which quickly escalates into verbal abuse and, lately, threats of firing. He uses people until his rage gets the better of him at which point he lets them go, then expects all to be forgotten at a time he deems appropriate. He uses Jenny, whether she formally "worked" for him or not. Okay, maybe the last few years she was employed by the show rather than by Jeff Lewis Design. If their actual relationship was staged for the sake of the show they would've fooled me. I am thinking specifically of Jeff's calling Jenny to come to the bedside of Grandma. He sure appeared to have needed Jenny's motherly assistance both as support to him and to the grandmother. He is narcissistic to an extreme. I think the term, "narcissistic," is overused, but in Jeff L's case it would seem the best description. Gage is beginning to assume that long-suffering expression I've seen on the faces of many victims of narcisstic abuse. It would not be surprising if he has learned to block out much of Jeff's cruel behavior by simply going through the motions, doing what is expected of him, and dreaming of the day when he can gather the courage to leave. He stays with Jeff because of the show and the money-- that's my guess. If I had to offer Gage one important piece of advice it would be this: Leave now before Jeff beats you to it (which he will, I promise). Narcissists cannot bear to be left; they must be the ones to do it first. I'm still wondering, too, about the firing of Paul and Franky. Didn't one of them get fired by Jeff earlier on in this season or the last, only to return again, quite predictably? If Flipping Out is, indeed, gone for good, I'll be shocked.

I feel only empathy for Jen and Larry, since I went through a similar situation many years ago with my son. My way of dealing with it went against the "tough love" approach. Some may have accused me of enabling, but I am beyond grateful that my son is 30 years old now and hasn't used drugs in years. He has a very good job, will be married soon, and worked as a D&A counselor in his earlier years of recovery. That first real job seemed to help him with his sobriety as much as it helped the recovering youth with whom he worked. He was much younger than Ryan when he got clean, but still.... I believe a parent's pure love will steer a child straight before the alternative: being tossed on the street to mingle with others of the same ilk. Also, Ryan's parents obviously are contributing to his recovery by supporting his rehab efforts, no matter how many times it takes. In any case, Jen and Larry would not even BE on Teen Mom, along with appearing at those obnoxious interviews with Dr. Drew, were it not for Maci signing up for the show in the first place, albeit a decade earlier. After all, someone had to initiate MTV's filming, thus allowing the nation to view Maci's messed-up, baby-out-of-wedlock, world. And they're all still allowing it. I remember Maci announcing she'd prohibit her son from filming due to Farrah's immoral presence, but she's still filming, and so much for yanking Bentley from the camera's prying eye. I believe the producers coax Jen and Larry to participate on this show; otherwise, another feeble storyline would dry up. As it stands, the show is choking by on its last breath. I give it another season, and that's being generous. In the meantime, it's not easy for me to find fault with Ryan's parents. Just don't get me started on his wife.

Re: Jon's alleged number of fights over the years. Has the possibility been considered that he engages in street fights as a form of entertainment? Some English travellers (a/k/a Romany, gypsies, gipsies) have been known to take to the streets and go all in for bare-knuckles brawls, sometimes planned in advance and other times occurring impulsively. Spectators from their community will cheer their favorites on, similar to a pro (okay, semi-pro) boxing match. It would not be a leap to think that TLC might distort or misrepresent this past time of Jon's in order to convey something more dramatic and risky for the sake of a good story line. Of course, Jon and Rachel would be required to play along, but I think we've seen that the benchmark is pretty low for reality-show participants. I'm not by any means suggesting that Jon is, in fact, a traveller or associated with their community, but it is something to think about when all of those fights were discussed on the show. For what it's worth, I found this little flyer from 2015 advertising 24 affordable traveller and gypsy caravans (or pitches) for rent in Jon's hometown of Weston-super-Mare. https://www.homechoicensomerset.org.uk/Data/Pub/PublicWebsite/ImageLibrary/GT leaflet.pdf

It was painful to watch Emily try to articulate a simple sentence. Then the sagacious insight shared by one of her friends, "I don't want him [Diego] to be like a teenage boy one day and a dad the next day." Has no one let her in on the secret that Diego is, in fact, a teenaged boy? Then there is Emily trying to express in fifty different ways just why it isn't OK for a guy to treat a girl like that, meaning the way he treated her or treats her. It just isn't OK, and, like, she just doesn't want her daughter to think it's OK to be treated like that by a guy.

Great point. As it now stands, these delusional chumps deserve no sympathy when the truth is revealed. I really believe some of them know they're being played, but ego and lust prevent them from pulling aside the curtain and exposing the lie. They're just as guilty as the catfisher since they, too, are playing a game. It would probably be a lot cheaper, though, for these people to join that online platform (the creators refuse to refer to it as a "game") called, "Second Life," where pretending to be someone else is the whole point.

I have got to see that movie, then, to gain a better understanding of what might be going on with Karine. If her excuse for the way she looked goes beyond her having just gotten out of bed with no time to apply makeup, a touch of lipstick, or comb her hair, then it's got to be something else. Her appearance, as well as her affect, have changed considerably since last season- which, according to the timeline, is about four months.

I don't think Anfisa - or Jorge - are interesting, and they sure as hell aren't interested in each other. It's becoming all too apparent that the two of them keep their story going for the sake of that TLC paycheck and little else. That picture of Nicole above: Too funny. Every time I look at Nicole's face I try to picture her 80 pounds lighter. Okay, 100 lbs. lighter. Her face seems actually misshapen and bloated due to her obesity. It's really a shame because she could be pretty if she took care of herself. She might even be able to snag a guy with sincere intentions, unlike Azan. Of course, none of this even begins to address Nicole's lack of common sense, etc.

Maybe I'm the weird one but I like Jorge. If he'd lose some weight and get in shape he'd look like a different person. Jorge was honest when he said (on the tell-all show from last season) that his infatuation with Anfisa and the subsequent deception on his part resulted from the fact that someone of her caliber was taking an interest in him. Evidently he allowed his ego and his male member, no doubt, to compromise his character. Anfisa's nasty outbursts and astounding sense of entitlement strike me as much more offensive than anything Jorge has done. Jorge's sister got it right, IMO.

I wonder if we'll see more of the couple best remembered for two things: "...maybe a small glass of wine" and the anticlimactic proposal-that-wasn't.

Russ - or anyone, for that matter - can clearly see that Pao's body type conforms more to the adult entertainment niche than it does to anything else. (I just don't see Pao strutting down the catwalk in Milan.) With this in mind, Russ is justified in feeling offended when Pao continues to pursue this elusive career that seems to miss the mark of respectability. It's getting tiresome to hear Russ talking about supporting his wife, his wife not supporting him, supporting each other, blah blah.

Justin Ritter (Tulsa) is my absolute favorite. He's hilarious, no small feat when dealing with such horrific circumstances on a daily basis.

I guess it's all about individual taste, but I find neither Briana nor Brittany beautiful. Brittany looks like a young version of her nasty mother.

Agreed. As for the ass whooping I think Stephan has gotten plenty of them from that aunt or whomever raised him. His breaking down in tears after his aunt berated him at the baby shower made me wonder if he was actually afraid of the consequences still to come. About Kyler and Lexi: Yet Kyler is just the type who will mope around and be inconsolable when she dumps his ass. He likes feeling so important and special by the likes of Lexi the former cheerleader --never mind the fact that Lexi's personality is as dynamic as a piece of soggy toast. The more I think about it, I'm convinced the show's producers went out and found as many people as they could with IQs south of 80. If this show comes back for a new season I will not be tuning in. Stephan/Lexi/Lexi's mother: Stephan's face as he raged and ranted, fists clenched and eyes blazing, reflected evil. Only a dull, stupid girl like Kayla could be so clueless as to not recognize this. He will do more than hit her if she refuses to accept the obvious. That baby could also be endangered by this human landmine of a father. When Lexi's mother said she felt sorry for Izaiah and Kayla she was thinking about the 18 years of sheer hell they will have to endure with Stephan in the picture. Configdotsys, your suggestion is right on. That tape may very well prove valuable in keeping an unsupervised Stephan away from the family. They will need to file a police report, though, every time he erupts or steals or exhibits any more sociopathic behaviors. The importance of documenting these incidents cannot be overestimated.

Oh, yes to all of this. I got so tired of hearing the two of them talking all over the place about nothing. "Ups and downs," "a rollercoaster," "everything we've been through," and on and on. I was tuning them out after hearing the same nonsense replayed, none of which made much sense. To be honest, I thought Ryan had some personality although he did come off a little "ADHD" at times. Jackie's constant "pouty face" was starting to wear on me. If I were Ryan I could not stand to look at that all puss of an expression all day. Not only that, but I thought Jackie had little to no personality. The decision day "PDA" shown between the two of them threw me for a loop; perhaps Ryan, in particular, should pursue a career in acting - or comedy, or both. I cannot for the life of me understand why in the world the "experts" thought these two were a good match. Same thing for Jon and Molly. Jephte and Shawniece. I love Shawniece and her hearty laugh. These two have a good chance of making it because I think Shawniece's easy going nature and sense of humor are what Jephte needs to help him loosen up a bit. I read that he's the eldest of 14 boys. At least I think I read that; if so, it may explain his lack of experience in dating, falling in love, etc. Who has time to chase girls when you've got 13 younger siblings to (presumably) watch out for?

Of course it's going to be Jephte's kid. Even so, the question remains as to whether they are still married.

Agreed. Bipolar is overdiagnosed. A person's drug use may complicate a medical practitioner's diagnosis. The challenge of making an accurate diagnosis of bipolar disorder becomes less straightforward if a person is using drugs to self medicate his bipolar condition or if his "bipolar" symptoms are a direct result of his drug use.

Pastor Tea (for what it's worth) left out the principal figure when she stated the Biblical hierarchy for marriage and family. God should have come first, then husband, followed by wife and children. Besides that little omission, the Pastor does not reflect a loving heart or spirit. The manner in which she reacted to Bar just seemed so callous, so devoid of compassion. I think she's a fraud and I don't like her. I do like Ashley, though, and find it quite remarkable that she is able to maintain her composure and poise during her mother's soapbox antics.

Dr. Drew looked different, i.e. younger, in the sit-down interview with Ryan, MacKenzie, etc. It was the classic "just-got-Botox injections" face. It looked as though he had trouble moving his mouth to talk or smile. One key factor that differentiates these two conditions is that one has a physiological basis while the other (borderline) is a personality disorder, although mental illness, as you stated, may co-exist with borderline personality disorder.

I noticed it with Amber as well. The slow, drawn-out words spoken in almost a whisper. They need to pull themselves away from Keeping up with the Kardashians, since the "K" girls seem to be role models for way too many young women these days.

I just cannot - cannot- take the Brianna and Danae pair seriously; in fact, I'll do the right thing and just leave it with that. Yes, there is something endearing about Jade's boyfriend, Sean. He's cute to look at, too. She, on the other hand, is so bland that it's hard to see what attracted him to her. Come to think of it, with the exception of Ashley, all of these girls talk in robotic monotones. What the hell? Who are they trying to imitate? Maybe the Kardashians? Your comment about Ashley was right on. I laughed so hard at your remark about sleeping with one eye open. Despite her apparently latent wicked streak, I'll say this much about her, though. She seems like the only one of these girls who is able to articulate her thoughts in an intelligent manner. True, the bar for comparison is not set very high, but still... I will also give Ashley a few points for poise and composure; however, I think we've seen how that attribute in Ashley has the potential to flip completely to the opposite pole. Then there's puff-daddy (Kyler). I'm getting a vibe from him that someone is his family has convinced him that this pregnancy was all Lexi's doing. Seeing him strut around in his baseball attire all the time makes me wonder if the he and his family believe Lexi's getting pregnant prevented him from playing baseball in college or maybe deprived him of a potential baseball scholarship or something. I know, I know. Looking at his dumpy physique this would seem unlikely, but you never know. As far as Kayla and her boyfriend, I just don't know what to say. She's another one who's three minutes away from brain dead. He's just performing for the cameras. This whole show is a disaster. I really hope they don't renew it. These idiots don't deserve the airtime, let alone those MTV paychecks.

If Maci's kids are in daycare it's just as likely to be because she's competing with her friends -- you know, the common folk - who do go to a regular job each day before dropping their kids off at daycare. With social media blaring everything a person does every second of every hour, Maci has to have something relatable to report. Maybe Taylor and Maci are scrambling to come up with a way to prolong their always-boring storyline, but I'm thinking they need an "older child" to serve as a live-in babysitter. Hmmm... About Ryan's lackluster - even rude - response to the pregnancy news: I laughed. Then I thought, Ryan will definitely warm up to the idea once he begins to see the baby as a "gift" to his mother. I have always thought Ryan felt severe guilt and sorrow when his parents' visits with Bentley ceased. Now he can rectify that through this other child. Not a great reason for either Ryan or MacKenzie to bring another life into this world, let alone the twisted TM world.

Lawd, what a spectacle, all the way around. It's total fakery? I doubt it; can you really make all this shit up? I do believe these shows are more scripted, though, than one would like to believe of "reality" shows. About Lamar and Andrea's wedding. First of all, if Andrea really did keep her guests waiting three hours then shame on her. To hear her bellowing that she is the bride and it's her day, blah blah, blah, was lame and immature. Another parent teaching her kids the "me first and to hell with you" mentality. (Christine, are you listening?) I really like Lamar and can't believe I'm saying this about a 16-year incarcerated ex-gang banger, but I think he's too good for Andrea despite her self righteous claims to Mormonism. I give the marriage just long enough for Lamar to find an apartment. The epilogue stated he is employed at an airline, so hopefully he hasn't become too dependent on Andrea's salary as a real-estate agent (if it's even true). Another thing about the wedding: Where was Lamar's daughter? I tried to find her in the group photo, but could not.

I got that feeling, too, about Dmitri and Ashley, particularly during the scene when she spit the coffee back into the cup upon Dmitri admitting his sexual romp with Jocelyn. So contrived.

Or maybe he has the "ghost wife" and her presumed children hidden away in the attic or teeny-tiny basement. Maybe one of the premium wives slips a tray of broth and stale bread under the door once a day for the exiled wife and her children. I could go on...These families are so strange they provide excellent fodder for a thriller novel or a Lifetime movie channel script. I hope Angela saves herself a hefty therapist bill and sees that excellent advice written by Spiderella2. Better yet, I hope she reads it and executes a plan. I think April and Auralee whip up contention for sport. If Angela leaves, they will recruit some other sucker to fill her spot. I think competing with one another is the stimulus that keeps some wives in poly marriages "happy." And competition makes the prize more desirable. It's a big win all the way around for the man, and it's a way for the women to convert their unhappy situation into something tolerable.

Oh, yes to all of this! I got a kick out of your last paragraph since those shows provide ersatz therapy for me, too. I draw the line at "Intervention," though, as this show depresses me more than anything else. Auralee and April are so similar it's eerie. Did you notice April's creepy smile is her attempt to duplicate Auralee's same faux smile? How interesting it was to watch April's inability to sustain that grin; when it quickly dissolved, the expression that replaced it could not conceal her true nature: A look of raw malice. It gave me the chills. I'm not sure about Angela just yet, but I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. Being sandwiched between two scheming troublemakers like April and Auralee would bring out the worst in anyone. Angela should create an exit plan now, before she's corrupted by that household's malevalent underpinnings.