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Oh my gosh, the giant Viking physical therapist! 😍 Be still my beating heart!

Delana has certainly been through a lot in her life, but there was also a lot of backstory that we didn't get, e.g. why does her daughter live with her brother, and why hasn't she spoken to the daughter for six months? The grocery story trip wasn't a routine visit to the store. Delana said she'd not been out of the house for a year, so I think the scene (along with the obligatory shower scene and the upwards shot of the Poundticipant to make them look even bigger) was set up by production, and it went wrong almost immediately. Likewise, the van they were 'given' was, I am 100% certain, paid for by production. The guy from the garage told Delana it wouldn't cost her a dime, he didn't say it was free. Production knew that Delana had to get to Houston to see Dr Now, or there would be no TV show, so that's why I think they paid for it. I was astonished that she managed to lose enough weight to qualify for surgery, and I wish her well. But, OMG, the start of this show was hard to watch. the mattresses with no sheets; the little dog sniffing the mattress as soon as her butt moved off it; the skid marks on the office chair and her pants; the size of the breakfast (which had magically transformed into a cup of yoghurt by the time she got to Houston); what the hell was underneath that bed when they unpacked it from the U-Haul? I was all set for her to fail, particularly after the first weight gain. But good for her, and her husband. If he does work for amazon, he'll be doing a busy, hard job, so kudos to him. Their new place in Houston looked much nicer than the Tennessee trailer. I also think this was a first for My 600-lb life where the Poundticipant actually does The Simpsons "I wash myself with a rag on a stick" thing . Plenty of them use long-handled brushes or sponges, but this was an actual rag on a stick.

I like the new format, with the winning chef gaining immunity in the next elimination challenge, which is the Project Runway formula that's worked well for years. I agree with everyone that, if you know you're coming on the show, you prepare. Even though each Whole Foods store will have a different layout, you'd think the chefs would familiarise themselves with the products and in which sections different ingredients are found. And also practice unfamiliar techniques that turn up every season - pasta, desserts, leftovers, using different spice blends, etc. David was very annoying and, in a challenge involving using leftovers, given his restaurant specialises in using waste food, you'd think he'd have nailed it. Glad he didn't. I thought Kristin nailed it, and it was good that they chose someone to replace Padma who already has a history with the show, and good charisma with Tom and Gail. Overall, a very good start.

Wow, living with Nikki and Jasmine must be absolutely exhausting. But Igor/Justin seemed such a jerk with everything he said, trying to make jokes that fell flat as a pancake. Likewise, Meth-mouth Sam only seemed to make comments about sex, which weren't either funny or appropriate to whatever conversation he involved himself in. I felt sorry for Rob. I'm in the UK and Sophie's mother is, as we would say here, "as common as muck", which I suppose is the equivalent of saying someone is white trash. Sophie should have stood up for Rob, he is her husband and she should have had his back. He was trying to explain that, on his income, with the cost of the K1 Visa, he couldn't also afford a new apartment and if he got a new apartment, he couldn't have afforded to bring Sophie to the USA. The strip club footage was shown deliberately to get that exact reaction out of Jasmine. If she behaves like that in public, she's probably ten times worse indoors. Gino's comment about him not wanting intimacy with her because of the way she speaks to him suggests he is going through hell at home. That said, he is a bit of a jerk and is enough of a 90DF veteran to have known that there'd be repercussions from the bachelor party. I thought Ashley looked great, that dress was fabulous. I'm not sure I buy the storyline about secrets and lies around his family situation. I suspect their relationship is fine but the producers had to come up with a storyline that involved family drama. I'm sure Citra will be a wonderful mother - she is sweet and kind. Sam will break her heart, everything about him says he's a wrong'un. Clayton and Anali are sooo boring. They have zero chemistry and are even more boring than Devon and Nick who I had completely forgotten existed!! No doubt more drama from Nikki and Jasmine next week. I say after every tell-all that I won't watch the next season but I always do. So I suppose I am part of the problem - after all, if we didn't watch, they wouldn't make this shit-show.

I actually said out loud (with only the cat to hear) "What the f**k has she done to her face?!"

Jasmine's breast implants are horrendous, like two canteloupes stuck on her scrawny sternum. They look rock-hard and I can't imagine they feel natural, because they certainly don't look it. Clayton and Anali have absolutely zero chemistry, they don't even seem to like one another very much. The same with Ashley and Manuel, and Sophie and Rob. I feel sorry for Citra, because she's in a vulnerable situation, with a drug addict who's probably heading to jail. Her father will be horrified, because in Indonesia drug possession carries a minimum mandatory 4-year prison sentence. No matter how good Sam's intentions are, his actions are saying something different. I thought Devin and Nick's wedding was lovely. She looked beautiful and they both seemed really happy.

Oh wow, the menu at Beatnic looks A-maz-ing. I've added to the list of places I must eat at next time I visit NYC.

Ugh, Sai is probably the worse Housewife I've seen in ages. A nasty, bitter, jealous shrew. I totally got the Vietnam thing - as I understand it, Pavit had the chance to buy 3 first-class tickets for $900 each during Covid, as nobody was going anywhere and they were so cheap. Each round trip earns (I think he said) 15,000 miles, so for $2,700 he's earned 45,000 air miles, which can be used for other tickets or rewards. That is a really good deal. Even better if I misheard and it was 15,000 per leg, so 30,000 per trip. From a physical perspective, Abe is the husband I find most attractive, I like a man with a slight overbite. But he's revealed himself to be a prize creep so, no, he's gone right down in my estimation. Sai's husband seems like a lunkhead. Does anyone know what he does for a living? They can't be earning enough from Sai's "content creation" to pay for that fancy brownstone. He seems crude and unsophisticated, so I'm guessing he's probably some kind of Wall St trader. Jenna has found numerous excuses this season to duck out of outings with her cast-mates. Good for her!

For anyone who's interested, here's an article from The Guardian (UK newspaper) about Clacton. I've been there once, and it is an absolute dump. It has a district called Jaywick which is like a shanty town. I'm not surprised Mercy doesn't like it. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/19/clacton-on-sea-coastal-town-voted-brexit

I grew up in the town Tianna lives - Derby in the east Midlands. She lives in a council house (social housing - nothing wrong with that, but own it girl, you are not from money), and has champagne tastes on a cheap wine budget. She has a broad Derby accent (a sign of being low-class) but thinks she's all that, and on top of everything else is an Olympic-level nag, driven by jealousy. Her DR man needs to get out, as she has all the signs of being an abuser. Michael is what we in the UK would call a chav. Women steer clear of his type, as they tend to be controlling. Louise is insane to have married that idiot. Her son has more common sense in his little finger than she and Chickenman put together.

Here is the source of the cat with the nail file - it was an advert shown on TV here in the UK a few years ago, one of the best TV ads ever.

My dislike of Brynn increases every week. I agree with everyone above that Erin is miserable as sin, but I agree with Erin that it was inappropriate for Brynn to talk so much about Abe divorcing Erin at their anniversary party - and then deny she ever said it when it was caught on camera. The scene with ex-fiance Gideon was odd, as there was no narrative to explain what Brynn was doing at the classic car dealership. (BTW, I googled Gideon and he's been on reality TV before, many years ago, when he was on Blind Date (the UK equivalent of The Dating Show). There isn't a video available but there's this article, where his date, Katie, decided he was a 'cold fish' and went off and had a romp with the helicopter pilot instead. Despite the article talking about Katie and the pilot getting married, I googled him too and it doesn't appear that happened, or if it did, it's in the past now.) Jessel was marginally less irritating this episode, and I'm glad her husband is down-to-earth and calls her out on her bullshit. Jenna is my favourite still. I appreciated that she included Sai in the casting for her eyelash promo, and that she was using everyday women rather than models. Sai has ... issues. She seems unable to find joy in anything. And I thought all the women were horrible about the gift boxes Jenna gave them. So what if they were all from her product range? Jenna seems to have a much more generous heart than the rest of these shrews. I'd have loved a gift box like that (I am a sucker for freebies of any kind. Whenever I go to a show or exhibition, I always try to bring home in freebies goods to the value of at least what it cost me to get in.)

Yeah, Erin's dress was fugly, and it was obvious from the way she kept tugging at the sides that she was worried the tit tape wouldn't hold. I liked Brynn last week, but really disliked her this week. Struck me that she might be on something ... adderall or something else. I think Abe is hot as hell, but then I like a man with a slight overbite - Bill Hader, young Letterman, Rainn Wilson - and he is better looking than all of them, so very pleasing on the eye to me. It seems that nobody other than Ubah has any dress sense. Given several of them have worked 'in fashion', you'd think they'd at least know a stylist to help them, knowing they'll be on TV. The TH outfits, Jessel's in particular, are horrendous. Jessel is so entitled, and I'm glad her husband stands up to her ridiculous demands. I am really starting to like Ubah. I noticed, when they arrived at Jacob & Co, that she was friendly and polite to the doorman, saying "Nice to see you again" and briefly touching his arm. We've seen far too many HoWives treat people in service jobs as if they're invisible (at best) or with contempt (at worst).

I am liking the women (other than Jessel) and am finding this more like the old-style RHONYC where we see their houses and families, and it's not all about the next trip abroad (although I expect that is to come). I was moved by Brynn talking about her grandma, and completely understood that the grandma wouldn't have any clue about the need for her granddaughter to go to a salon for black women until her co-worker mentioned it. I can see why she has developed such a hard shell around her. I like Erin, but Jenna is my favourite. She doesn't even pretend these women are her friends. I think she's the coolest housewife we've ever had.

Oh, that is terribly sad. I hope it is a good outcome for both Michaela and Harold.