mamadrama

I feel this way about all of them. The one person I have nothing but sympathy for is Susan Cone. We seem to have an either/or attitude when it comes to people like Mark, Sarah, India, etc. We don't have to, though. It's still possible to dislike someone for their actions towards others while also feeling sympathy for the things they were truly victims of. Just because we're posting critical comments about Mark, Sarah, et al doesn't mean we can't also appreciate the horrible things they went through. Just because I think Mark did his own amount of damage doesn't mean that I don't feel bad for him or don't think he was victimized. I can be worn out from seeing Sarah's brand while still accepting that she went through something traumatic. This situation is complicated with multiple perps and victims (sometimes the same person).

That's one of the reasons why I was wondering when the episode was meant to have taken place. I hope they'll address the halt of foreclosures, stimulus checks, etc.

I've gone from refusing to refer to Elizabeth as "Princess" to calling her "Queen." IMO this series has really highlighted The Vow's shortcomings. It's also actively making me dislike Mark. In hindsight I don't think The Vow presented India or Catherine in the light they deserved. Catherine is far more sympathetic in this one. I wonder if there was some contention from the people involved in The Vow since they knew the Oxenbergs were doing their own series.

People believing that it's an actual shortcut is one of the biggest problems. My mom had gastric bypass 13 years ago. The weight dropped off quickly but she was ultimately unable to make the lifestyle changes that were necessary for her to keep it off. It's a difficult surgery to qualify for and recover from and you have to be dedicated. Of course, if Angela applies the same dedication and fervor that she does in henpecking Michael and them wimen..

It's a last resort for people who can't lose weight through diet and exercise alone.

Welp, my 40yo ass would be all over Bennett: good looking, educated, professional guy who loves to travel. We could do facials together in our presidential suite in Prague.

Okay, now THAT I'd watch... (jk...sort of)

The more I read about Mark, the less I like him.

I'm also glad that she's able to have some humor about some of the stuff. She has some good perspective. As annoying as her mom was in the series, she did a good job lining up the mental health people India needed.

Do we know when this episode is meant to have taken place? That money didn't go very far around here. If my friends or family are examples then that money was used to play catch up with the utilities, car payments, and other bills that had been backed up. Some people didn't get their unemployment until months after they applied and some didn't qualify for it. Some are still waiting to get their stimulus money. We used our stimulus checks to get our second vehicle up and running so that I wouldn't be here alone with the kids without a way into town. We're 45 minutes to the nearest hospital. Becky quit her waitressing job before she knew there was going to be a pandemic. Had she stayed on then she might have qualified for the unemployment. She didn't know that, though. The benefits were meant to help cover the self employed, but that's been hit and miss.

My book sales have doubled during the pandemic. I think this would be a great time for Darlene to start self publishing stuff. The publishing industry is one of the few industries that's seen an uptick in 2020. This episode was bleak, but I appreciate them doing it. I just hope to see SOME kind of upswing in the future for them.

India had some interesting things to say about Mark Vicente in this article... https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-socialite-india-oxenberg-escaped-the-nxivm-sex-cult-and-leader-keith-raniere

She had me side eyeing the whole signature on the Irish constitution thing (there are no signatures on it) and the fact that the Republic of Ireland HAS NO real royal family (the monarchy is questionable and complicated). It was jarring for me to go from watching The Conners struggling with eviction to watching folks drop $600 on dinner.

I WISH I'd had all of mine filmed. At the time I was like "ugh" but a decade later I've forgotten a lot of what happened. Ari knew they'd be filming her delivery when she signed up for the show. I thought the birth scenes that the show has filmed so far (Olga, Emily, Karine, etc) have been very respectful and tastefully done. I've been happy to see that they don't shy away from topics that are still not that talked about in public-miscarriages, emergency deliveries, etc.

Yes, that was the good thing. The worst part, other than the embarassment, is that a child was involved.

Yeah, I know we're not meant to victim blame but some of her choices were very poor-like pulling her kid out of school and quitting her job before she'd even seen the house in Barcelona.

Those attitudes, and others, are why I don't belong to any online mommy or parenting groups. I don't like them either.

It was definitely about Bonnie. It was the exact same story she told in The Vow, right down to the same word choice.

I was like that with my vaginal deliveries... I'm kinda like that now and my oldest is 13. It DOES happen with c-sections, but it also happens with vaginal deliveries. It happens with medicated ones and with natural ones. It happens with first babies and with second, third, and fourths. It happens. Everyone is different. The problem is with Bibi's ignorance in thinking that it's factual that it always happens with c-sections.

Considering what's happening IRL with some of these couples (*cough* Deavan) I have zero shits to give about their storylines.

I don't get it, either. It's a little like the Fyre Festival. What did they think people would do when they showed up and had no villa? No activities? No 5* dining? Maybe Paolo was so delusional he literally thought things would magically come together at the end. If he planned on breaking up with her a week before the wedding. This was a weird one.

Well, I mean, we can't ALL be judo champions at 11... 🙄

Yes! They have occasionally referenced some of the things that Mark had problems with, but Keith was doing/saying bad and weird shit from the very beginning and Mark was right there. Filming it. I think that is also what happens when, as a documentarian, you're so close to your subject (or give them a lot of control). Mark supported a man who gaslit his wife into licking a puddle and called her "ugly" because she refused to faceplant a tree.

I think this situation is complicated. IMO Sarah, Mark, Nippy, and Bonnie (to an extent) are definitely victims. They were also at fault and part of the problem. I don't really find it to be an either/or thing here. That's what it sounded like to me-they scored a convo with Keith AND apparently with Nancy.

I can't believe that they'd basically done nothing to prepare for a baby and we're waiting on Mama to bring everything. A baby is technically due at 40 weeks, but they're full term at 38 and can come even before then. Dummies.