FaithsMum

Oh, I agree with you. From their point of view I think they're idiots if they don't use this huge platform they have to hawk some shit that no one would want otherwise (and possibly even with their Bravolebrity status *still* don't want!) As a viewer though, some episodes feel like one long advertisement for their crap and that gets on my nerves at times. Compared to the other franchises, OC is one of the least worst offenders for it though as they're all brain dead morons without the sense to constantly shill. I mean, Tamra's business which is often part of her storyline is geography based. It doesn't matter how much her fans want to attend that joke of a fitness studio if they live 2000 miles away. Your last last couple of sentences made me LOL. In Shannon's case it's that she thinks it'll help her marriage if she sees herself and what she does wrong. Yeah Shannon, tell me - how's that working out for you? I might admire them though if they came out and said "look, I've got money - look at my fourteen bathrooms and my marble mausoleum! But what I really want is fame. Even D List fame. Any fame, and I'll even humiliate myself to get it. Oh and I want to brag about my wonderful life because, you know, this is as close to it the little people are ever going to get" The heart wants what it wants, who would I be to argue with such shameless honesty?

Yeah, OPI's always amuse me because of their pun esque names. While I wouldn't buy a varnish based on it's clever name, as a new brand it would make me remember them. I'd at least take a look at them if I were to see them in a shop whereas I'm pretty sure in six months time (I read on here they're not going to be in store til the autumn) I won't even remember who Kristen is let alone that this is her line. I guess Bethenny and I have that in common!! I'm with you on Sonja - I liked her too. Her delusions make me kinda uncomfortable these days. Her brand of crazy isn't even fun anymore, it's sorta sad because half the time she comes across as delusional and the other half (with men) desperate.

I do agree with you about your sisters children to some extent. While I'm the first to poke fun at my own shit, and I'm happy for others to make their own jokes, my children don't, and wouldn't. And no one says anything in front of them either. I have a pretty thick skin and I grew up in a family that teases and mocks one another for all kinds of things which to outsiders would seem very inappropriate but since I recognise that not everyone is like me, I wouldn't want my children to grow up hurting people's feelings because saying something that would have been funny in our home is offensive in someone else's. My children already have me as a mother, they've got enough crosses to bear! I don't like Heather either, btw. We mostly share the same opinion of her. I think the difference is this show means these woman are forced to interact and unlike in the real world where if we were to publicly scream at a co-worker, we'd be in all kinds of shit, that is in their job description. If a friend was getting a little too mean or whatever, we just wouldn't - to sound like a five year old now - be their friend anymore. Because of the show, these women don't have that option not to interact with someone they loathe at least until their contract is up. It's not a real life environment, I guess that's what I'm trying to say but it's 4am so please forgive me! I do agree that just because someone is being nasty doesn't mean you have to be either but I think tolerance levels must be so much lower on a reality show because interacting with them is your job and you don't really have the option of just staying out of someone's way. I would never in a million years go on any reality show but I imagine it probably wouldn't bring out the best of me if I was forced to spend large amounts of time in the presence of these nutjobs and I'd possibly stoop to levels I wouldn't necessarily in my real life. (I went to type out specific names originally but then realised I was listing them all!) Not that I think any of them are all sweetness and light away from the cameras but I think reality shows probably exacerbate the less endearing parts of your personality added to the fact they're all fighting for their scenes not to end up on the cutting room floor. It's an artificial environment and not all the rules of real life can be applied, I don't think.

No! I do too, probably because I say "varnish" rather than "polish." (Even my phone wants it to be something from Poland since autocorrect capitalised it!) I paint my nails everyday (I find the process therapeutic!) and so I'm obsessed with varnishes. I have more than 500 - the vast majority are OPI, Nails Inc or Essie. I took a look at Kristen's line and all I can come up with is "meh." We pay more for, well, everything in the UK than across the pond but at $8 I kinda think that's pretty expensive when I could go buy L'Oréal or something like that for a similar price. They don't look to be that big a bottle either and, really, there's nothing special about them. It doesn't take much for me to buy a nail varnish, or several, but I wouldn't even impulse buy if I saw them on a shelf. I don't get it. It's not like Kristen's known for having amazing nails, like Ramona was for her love of Pinot. It seems a bit random to me. Oh, and the names sucks. At least Kristen's doing something with her time on the show though which is more than can be said for Sexy J.

Ha, true. Tbh at this point I think I'd prefer her hawking shit than her marital problems! In one way I commend her for her openness but, Christ, it's depressing and I would probably admire her openness more if she and David didn't have children. Shill away, Shannon!

I'm starting to think I'm not a very sensitive person because the "mocking" of Aviva is another thing I'm adding to the list of things that I can't get too worked up about. I have epilepsy which I wasn't born with or developed when I was very young, it was the result of a sexual assault when a patient apparently didn't much like my bedside manner. I only say this because like Aviva it was the result of a trauma and I've lived life without it. Since its become unmanaged I'm registered disabled. I was thrilled, I got a disabled parking badge! :) People make jokes about it all the time. The people closest to me make jokes about my anorexia that could be considered mocking and offensive. My brother today came to visit me and ate his way through my sweets and chocolate, like he normally does. He made a joke that he's "doing my anorexia a favour so I should stop complaining." I laughed because it was funny (and true!) 95% of the time those jokes are from people who love me and it's intended to be humorous but, when it isn't, when it's mean spirited, I just roll my eyes and keep it moving. I'd be more irritated if anyone were called out on it than I am that they said it in the first place. I'm a nurse who works on A+E so maybe I just have a really thick skin! :) These women are on a reality show. Their job is to bitch and snark. If Aviva was fat, they'd mock that. If she had a huge nose, they'd mock that. It doesn't make it right but I don't see a whole lot of difference tbh. No disrespect to anyone here but, to me, it's very PC to be outraged when IME those with disabilities are usually the first to poke fun at themselves (I used to work as a carer for the physically disabled) The Housewives did it partly because they dislike her and it's something obvious to pick on and partly as an attempt to be humourous IMO. Sure, it's a cheap laugh but so what? There are many of them about. For me personally, I'd rather have my limitations and craziness poked fun at than people take the more politically correct route of talking about my epilepsy/anorexia in the most serious terms only. As motorcitymom said Aviva used her prostheses as a freaking prop. She did that for the shock value and the attention. She wears her disability like a badge of honour and has frequently used it to get out of doing things she does not want to do, not can't, doesn't want to since her phobias apparently all stem from the amputation of her leg. As far as I'm concerned, if you behave like that then you're opening yourself up to what I consider pretty gentle mocking from the other women. Neither are right, but Aviva's no angel. It's one thing for people to be accepting of your physical limitations - which they absolutely should - but when they appear to only exist when it suits, they become fair game.

I'm so glad to be of service! Those earlier seasons were so much fun (that goes for all of the franchises, I think) and there was way more to snark about than there is now, plus even with all the fighting and drama, to me, they were so much less mean spirited. Now it's all power games, picking "teams" and shilling their shit. I'm on season five of my re-watch now. I'm watching interspersed with last seasons Teen Mom 2 in preparation for the new season in a few weeks as I only saw a few episodes when it was on so my NY binge watching has taken a backseat for now!

I have three daughters. My youngest (who is 2½) is the most stubborn, strongwilled, determined child I've ever met - I can't tell you how many debates I've gotten into with my toddler about how she's *not* wearing sandals in winter, just so people can see her painted pink toenails. She puts her hand on her freaking hip, and stamps her foot. She calls my Mum and brother to tell them how "mean" I am. FaithsDad and I almost weep when we think about her teenage years! She's a handful. And she's *that* child. I don't know if you watch OC but I remember laughing when Heather said she'd roll her eyes at other parents when their kids were misbehaving until she had her youngest daughter who became *that* child... Because that's how I feel. Personality wise, she's nothing like my elder two. Honestly if I'd had her first, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have had any more! :) So with my daughter, I can understand Alex's reaction to an extent. IME, women take criticism of their children's bad behaviour as a criticism of *their* parenting. I always got the impression that it's something Alex heard often because of how defensive she was, and since it had come from Jill that didn't help either. If your child is a bit of a handful, and you often hear passive aggressive digs then it does become very tiresome. My daughter is wonderful; she's smart, kind and 90% of the time sweet, polite and well behaved but the 10% of the time she's a terror is what the Jill types focus on and although I don't react quite how Alex does, I do feel protective of my baby and it pisses me off when people who do not know her and only see her occasionally feel the urge to comment on her behaviour under the guise of humour. Alex did overreact, but I totally get it. I think if it had come from someone a) other than Jill and b) who had seen her kids more than a few times she probably would have laughed too. FaithsDad, my close friends and family and I joke that my toddler is probably going to grow up to be a serial killer but if anyone else said it, I'd probably punch them in the face! :)

I can see that, if it was anything *but* cancer. Do you think Vicki lacks so much self awareness that even though it's a case of playing semantics rather than an outright lie that she wouldn't realise that they'd be backlash from it? I'm not sure, tbh. Vicki has lasted ten seasons and knows how to play the reality game but at the same time I can see that since she knows better than any of us how much is faked/exaggerated/re-enacted on these shows that she may not see that it wouldn't be accepted in the same way as all the other bullshit they feed us is. Sometimes I think the problem with the reality "stars" who have been in the business a long time is that while they know how to play the game to keep themselves on their shows, they also get caught up in the exaggerated/re-enacted bubble and fail to realise that the audience is not oblivious to it, and will continue watching despite knowing a lot of it is semi-fake but it isn't a free for all, there is a line and some things - like this - would cross it. It's almost 1am. I'm not sure if I'm making any sense, sorry!

I'm kinda envious of you all watching the older seasons. I'd love to re-watch seasons 3-7. I'm in the UK, and the E! channel randomly shows episodes from season 1 and 2 a few times a week but that's it.

Why are these women always shilling wine/alcohol? Have any been successful? With the exception of Bethenny who was a little different in that she came on the show to advertise Skinnygirl, and unlike all the others it was not a byproduct of her "fame." I don't drink much alcohol and I don't drink wine ever (I also don't live in the US - I figure if Bethenny's Skinnygirl hasn't made it to this side of the Atlantic none of the others have, or are going to) but hypothetically speaking why would I want to spend $38 on "sparkling wine" when I could go buy a bottle of decent enough, made in France Champagne for a similar price? One of the things I like about Shannon is that she's not hawking shit. Well, other than selling out her marital issues to Bravo, of course.

I agree. While Brooks may not be the brightest crayon in the box, he's smart in a manipulative kind of way and I believe he's more than aware of his limits. I don't think he's so delusional to believe he can fake cancer and get away with it when his past has already resurfaced in the media several times. From what I can remember that was stuff that wasn't even on the show, and still, it was dug up and put out there whereas this is front and centre of the show/Vicki's storyline. Vicki may pretend he bought her a fur coat but I don't think she'd go along with a fake cancer as a) a storyline for her and b) to invoke sympathy for her polarising boyfriend. Plus Vicki has been in the reality telly game a long time now, she knows how it works and if it turned out to be fake the backlash would smack her in the face too. Even if she wasn't aware of it and Brooks was conning her too, they'd be too much speculation that she knew and played along - either way she would never recover in the eyes of the viewers. Ultimately, Vicki is going to protect Vicki.

I'm barely ten minutes into the episode but had to come here and say the Shannon/David eulogy with the freaking headstones and the playing dead was one of the weirdest things I've seen on this show... Which is saying something with these crazy bitches. But then I just don't get bog standard therapy let alone these bizarre role playing types Hey Shannon, imagine life without David. When you forgive, you have to actually forgive and we all know you're not going to be capable of doing that which is fine, I couldn't either. Eventually he will leave because he'll grow tired of you throwing it in his face, he'll probably have another affair too so stop prolonging the misery of yourself, your husband and your daughters because even your crazy, nagging arse deserves better than a man who doesn't even have the decency to show you enough respect as his wife and the mother of his children to end his fifteen year marriage before fucking someone else.

Jesus fucking Christ, Leah - I'm way behind on TM2 gossip and this shit is the first thing I discover. You know, the nice part of me wants to feel sorry for Leah because she has this desperate need for men to validate her. Without one, she's nothing in her mind. That is very sad. However, she has three young daughters, one of whom has physical disabilities, so fuck you Leah. I really hope Corey and Miranda gain full custody of the girlses. No matter what shit Leah and her family put out there about Miranda, she clearly has a genuine affection for them and they could offer them a much healthier, far more stable environment than Leah and her dick of the week. I still maintain that Ali and Aubree individually are smarter than every single person on this show put together. I want them to become BFF's. Ali lecturing that lunchables aren't food and Aubree's husky little voice would kill me! I'm going to hell for this but, um, baby Cheetos just isn't, well... cute. I hadn't really noticed too much until FaithsDad asked me why she looks like the troll dolls our daughters play with.

I preferred that Piper too. She irritated me often but she's much better when she's on the receiving end of Nicky's one liners or bouncing off Red. I hated her again when she set up Stella, *not* specifically because she set her up but that she was so cold about it; she went to say goodbye before doing so after toying with her for several episodes when she had a girlfriend in Alex. I have a hard time getting for too irate with Stella for stealing from her when Piper had been making thousands of dollars a week, and only paying the others in food flavouring. 100% of those women are going to be in a worse situation than her when they get out of prison; Piper may have no job, and now she's split with Larry, no home but I doubt her parents are going to see her on the streets and starving or she's going to find herself in a position of communitting crimes again just to survive.Oh, I liked the Gloria/Sophia conflict too and was on both of their sides! Gloria *is* badass, but she's also kind - I loved it when she jumped in to defend Flacca to Piper despite the fact they'd been arguing two minutes prior. For me, Gloria is tough without being hard and I believe she genuinely cares for her girls. I really liked Gloria this season. Flacca, too - and I laughed when she said "I'm getting arrested for *not* dealing drugs!" I agree with you about Norma. I think it'd have been better if the cult of personality arc had played out sooner. That and Suzanne turning into E. L. James both went on for too long. Like you though, I liked it that Norma ended it herself. I wonder if she realised she was a lot like her "husband" - that that is who she was becoming and ended it so her followers wouldn't waste their lives as she did hers. I hope that was the reason, anyway.

This season disappointed me, rather than upset me. I missed Nicky. I love her scenes with Morello; last season after Nicky witnessed Christopher's visit and Morello was crying to her that no one is ever going to love her with Nicky responding that *she* loves her was one of the most touching scenes of the season, for me. I kept hoping Nicky would come back and was pretty pissed off that didn't happen. Piper is insufferable now. I have always found her irritating but now she's acting like a badass kingpin, I wanted to punch her. I felt bad for Flacca when she "fired" her for wanting to be paid for what they were doing. I get that prison is dog-eat-dog but most of those women know *real* poverty in a way Piper could never understand and it pissed me off she was ripping them off when she was making so much money off them. I then loathed her for bragging to Alex about how "badass" she was. I don't think Piper is a bad person; most people are neither all bad nor all good - I just don't like her. Her more redeemable qualities don't, well, redeem her for me and the less she is on my screen the better. The same applies to Alex who I dislike too - the talent in this cast really shows what a meh actress Laura Prepon is as well. I still love Morello, Red, Poussey, and Suzanne although none of them had great story arcs this season. Boo's friendship with Pennsatucky was, by far, my favourite of this season. I really enjoyed them together as they're such an unlikely pair and I hope it continues into season four. With the absence of Morello and Nicky scenes, this became my substitute!

I thought an inmate teaching a guard how to do his job was amusing. Pennsatucky has grown on me so much this season; the writers have finally made her into a real person with a personality that isn't related to her fire-and-brimstone preaching. They also showed just how vulnerable many of these women are, even the ones who aren't so likeable and are difficult to root for, like Pennsatucky.

Christ, this season was freaking boring. I kept watching in the hope that Nicky would make a comeback as I love her and she is probably my favourite. Nope. Piper has always been irritating, now she's fucking insufferable. Alex has replaced Piper with the whinyness. I love both Crazy Eyes and Morello but didn't enjoy either of their storylines. The only part of the season I really liked was the Big Boo/Pennsatucky friendship. I really enjoyed how they bounced off one another and Boo's concern for her after she was raped - and desire for her to see that it *was* rape - was touching. Otherwise, for me, it was a complete letdown. Edit: I do think they're preparing to continue the show without Piper now though which is why she's become part of the ensemble, rather than the lead. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part since I find her (and Alex) the least compelling of all the cast.

I didn't like it either and it was a big part of the reason I didn't like LuAnn. Alex was correct in that LuAnn was "haughty, rude and condescending!" I didn't like LuAnn til the pirates when I thought "yeah! You go be your slutty self, Lu!" I'd have liked her more if she'd owned it. I remember a lot of the others saying throughout the seasons that LuAnn was a lot of fun off camera but as soon as they placed a camera in front of her, she played up to the whole patronising "countess" shtick. I still don't think we've seen that LuAnn though - and I tune out to any mention of "the countess" as it's one of the things I find insufferable about her.

Sorry for the multiple posts, I'm on my phone! Kelly saying "Johan face, Alex, Johan face!" while Alex is marching down the beach, jaw out, looking like she's about to attack her with a knife is one of my all time favourite moments. I start laughing in advance now, because I know it's coming! (That and when drunk Ramona circles her hips and slurs "turtle time!" Scary Island was such a gift to us all) Since I imagine there's not too much opportunity to speak French in the suburbs of Sydney, I'm guessing not! I wonder if François is going by Frank/Frankie yet! My pretentious SIL named her son François, which is even more pretentious than the Van Kempen's as it was a family name for them whereas I'm pretty sure there aren't many François in Pakistan. Anyhow, by the time that kid was four he was insisting on using Frankie!

Totally! I always loved their excuses for why they went to St Barts in the off season. There's nothing wrong with going then because it's cheaper, just tell the truth! Watching it first time round (season 1 and 2) they annoyed me a bit but when I re-watch I have a certain fondness for them since ultimately Alex is a nice person and I hated how dismissive the others were of her and would never let her say her piece.

While they were ridiculous, I actually came to like Alex and Simon. They were pretentious, social climbing wannabe's but there was no real harm to them and a lot of the other HW were unnecessarily mean. I think of all marriages, in all franchises theirs will be the one that lasts. I think Jason 1 (that isn't the Jason she married) just wasn't too comfortable with talking in front of the cameras. Someone else may remember better but I think gossip outside of the show was that their relationship had progressed further than we saw, he just didn't like the cameras too much.

Yeah, like on BH when Kim and LisaR had that meet up/argument over the texts Lisa had sent her. It was brought up at the reunion yet the scene wasn't shown until the LF episode which baffled me since I would have put money on it that any argument would automatically have made the cut. If they have it on tape, I wonder if Andy will drag it out at the reunion.

I'm with you on the nicknames thing; I use a shortened version of my own name and so I have a habit of doing the same to others, without thinking or realising I have. In fact, everyone I know does it. And if we can't shorten it, like with my youngest daughters name, we lengthen it usually by adding a "y" on the end! So, like you, until I read it on here, it never entered my head either that people would find it offensive. Heather shortening names doesn't bother me *unless* she continues to do so after she's been asked not to.

Show off! :) I think if your hair remains thick and healthy looking then keep your long hair, but if age thins it out then I don't think it's flattering to keep it and ages you. Carole, for example, her hair is so thin and stringy to me and would look so much better if she went a bit shorter. I look a lot younger than I am and I hate that I get ID'd for cigarettes, yet these housewives would kill to look my age!