S08.E08: Unsure And Insecure

[Shauna]

I thought it was interesting the way Brandon said "WE thought Julia we adapt to the farm better".  Paraphrasing, but the point is that he said WE, meaning he and his parents.  I guess they're all in this together, as a unit?  He needs to break away from them and start adulting. 

[Shauna]

On 1/23/2021 at 6:41 PM, Ucross said:

What am I doing wrong? I only get the first segment of the preview, and then the rest is a preview for the grown-up Toddlers and Tiaras show.

I think Stephanie has had a psych eval...could she be on some sort of strong meds? I'm in no way dissing anti-depression meds, but she reminds me of a very severe case of a friend who was overprescribed Prozac (it got straightened out). Could she actually think her cat is a bird? She also called it "Turkey..." Why on earth would someone call a cat a bird?

Aside from that and a somewhat dull Sequim scene, fill me in on what I missed!

Well, in defense of Stephanie, I call my dog mom, mommy, or mama.  So, there you go.   (shrugs)

[magemaud]

On 1/23/2021 at 10:24 PM, Frozendiva said:

Does Ryan know that the watch cost that much? He might sell it for $100.

Judging by the way he was looking at Stephanie’s family ring, I got the impression Ryan has a good idea how much he can sell the watches for. And ANY amount he gets is pure profit for him! 

The matching pink “trousers”* might be a little harder to get rid of

[Shauna]

2 hours ago, gotta watch said:

You should see my daughter and me. We call our cats turkeys, birds and old dogs. It's a term of affection with us 🙂 "My cat was laying on my feet like a good puppy!" I don't think I would do that if I lived alone though.

My son and I call our greyhound a horse.  In fact, a couple people, without a word from me, have said:  that dog looks like a horse.  No joke. 

[nutella fitzgerald]

3 hours ago, Booger666 said:

Brandon is such a little shit.  He could care less that Julia is absolutely miserable.  He just wants a sexy little go go dancer who also likes to shovel pig shit.  He and his parents deserve each other and shouldn’t bring anyone else into their toxic family.

I am going insane trying to figure out what on earth Julia sees in him! He has a weaselly face, he still lives with his parents, and he completely ignores her feelings unless she threatens to leave the country. What does he have going for him?

[Cancun]

9 hours ago, Leilani said:

Sunglasses come in cases and so do watches. Cheap ones under $100 come with cases for both so I would THINK if you're going to gift them AND pack them in your suitcase you don't pack a $3000 watch sans case let along sunglasses in just a cloth bag.

Is Mike a hoarder?  All of three of them thought putting a suitcase on the couch amidst 100 pillows is fine when shooting for a show with millions of viewers?

And nothing says “comfortable” like perching on the edge of the sofa. 🙄

[renatae]

4 hours ago, Christina said:

That's a positive. The negative shows the line on the right side along with the left, but it's faded by the time this photo was taken. The solid line on the left if a positive result

Jovi hacked me off once again when he immediately went to "You're LYING to me about this" which apparently was what he accused her of with her first pregnancy. Turd.

[renatae]

On 1/23/2021 at 12:13 PM, magemaud said:

Stephanie refers to him as her “27 year old fiancé” more than she says his name 

"But my fiancé and I aren't actually engaged because he hasn't proposed yet."

Edited January 25, 2021 by renatae

[Pepper Mostly]

On 1/23/2021 at 1:13 PM, magemaud said:

Stephanie refers to him as her “27 year old fiancé” more than she says his name 

She and Rebecca are having a Cougar-off.

On 1/24/2021 at 2:47 AM, Maximadc said:

If Brandon has a full time job he can easily afford his own place. 10000$ debt is nothing nowadays. His parents don’t want him to leave the farm, and he is too scared to move out. Julia is his once-in-lifetime chance to stop his parents abuse. Otherwise he will be living with them for the rest of HIS life.

Brandon is shaping up to be an abuser too. He's already gaslighting Julia, telling her she's overreacting and why is she so upset about taking care of some "cute animals"? Tells her she's wrong to feel the way she does. Get out, Julia. Brandon's just as bad as his nasty old father. 

On 1/24/2021 at 9:18 AM, greekmom said:

Exactly.  He has a job which you can move that credit debt to a line of credit or pay it off with a loan and lower interest. Especially now with interest rates being low due to covid. The storyline does not make sense.  He's on the farm because mommy and daddy want him to.

 

Brandon could sign up with Consumer Credit Counseling, get on a program and get rid of that 10K in well under 2 years. I once had over 30K in CC debt and it was gone in 5. I paid off every penny, but CCCS negotiated my interest rates down and the $$ was automatically deducted from my bank account every month. Worked great. Brandon's an idiot. 

11 hours ago, itsadryheat said:

Sometimes in a less than healthy relationship, parents want adult kids around to act as a buffer between spouses. The preview for next week of the three of them was quite disturbing. Something dark going on with the swingers.

They are fucking twisted. Betty weeping at the thought of Brandon moving out! "I'm losing my SON!". Drama drama, tears tears. Whoever upthread said she uses tears to get her way was spot on. If he moves out he's moving out. Not going into exile, never to be heard from again. Jesus, Betty's ancestors probably came here on wooden ships and never saw their families again. Some of them pushed west in covered wagons. And she's having an attack because her boy might move to another town. 

10 hours ago, Frozendiva said:

An expensive watch should come in a nice case and box. I think even my old Swatch one did.

Yes, I think Stephanie got those watches from a guy who has a folding table at the flea market. 

10 hours ago, alotmorestupider said:

 

My, isn’t Brandon a dismissive little shit. Oh you hate this Julia? I think animals are awesome so you must be way overreacting. The preview of his parents going ballistic at the thought of their almost-30 year old son moving out is so ludicrous it’s almost funny. Except Father Brandon looks kind of terrifying when he’s mad and Mother Brandon probably uses her tears often to get their way. They pushed him to date and are now furious he wants to be married and live his own life. What the actual fuck do they want from this kid? 
 

Why is Amira so hung up on Andrew? Are there no chubby emotionally manipulative men in France? If she needs time to recover and isn’t comfortable trying another option to fly to the US, why doesn’t she say so?? He’s too busy enjoying his nicely marbled filet mignon to care what being detained felt like. I hate when people don’t speak up and just expect their partner to feel exactly what they’re feeling. Stand up for yourself, FFS. 

Father Brandon is a ticking time bomb. Everyone walks on eggshells around him and no one dares to contradict him. And Brandon is going to be just like him. 

Poor Andrew. I really feel for his struggles as he suffered through Amira's detention. 

9 hours ago, Leilani said:

Andrew out here booking tours and eating gourmet meals and getting massages and drinking margaritas during and after Amira's ordeal is a red flag

A huge, flapping red flag. He's one of those douche bros who's always talking about what a nice guy he is. So why do "bitches" always treat him terrible? He's a nice guy! Hey check out my hot girlfriend! Ugh. 

6 hours ago, mamadrama said:

To catch you up: Rebecca was previously married to a foreigner, Sumit's family doesn't want him with Jenny, and Stephanie has an illness. 

And Ronald has a gambling problem.

3 hours ago, Christina said:

Everyone knows it's the fat from ICE CREAM that's good for the brain; butter is old news. The frauding on this show is getting offensive to my delicate sensibilities. I'll go drown myself in ice cream to think more better.

Obviously the production crew hates Andrew as much as everyone else. People like him do not think they come across like they do, and then get irritated that people call them out on being shitty. There was no reason to air him talking to Amira about all the fun inclusions he was doing, or not show the things he did do to try and find her; there was just a single sentence where he said all the people he called, including the embassy, which I thought was her dad when I saw it the first time. They showed it all because he's an ass.

 

I read somewhere once that even the biggest asshole in the world thinks he's a nice guy. That stayed with me. Andrew illustrates this perfectly. 

[seacliffsal]

Okay, not defending Jovi too much, but he probably doesn't drink while gone for work and was just getting in relaxing mode after a long flight.  I might have a tendency to do the same, but try to hide it in a Bloody Mary or Mimosa (tomato juice, orange juice...healthy...).

Natalie manipulates through her moods.  Angry, frustrated then when she gets what she wants, all happy (until the next thing she wants).  She reminds me of toddlers throwing temper tantrums until they get what they want.  I couldn't believe that she reprimanded Mike about a roll and butter in front of his mother.  I think Mike's mother realizes that he is going to make a HUGE mistake, but is going to do what he is going to do so is trying to keep a positive relationship with Natalie so she can continue to be in their lives.

Although I agree with Julia-calling Brandon during the workday to throw a fit and offer an ultimatum is just wrong.  Deal with it after work.  If he had to leave work early it won't sit well with his employer.  I also think she purposefully put the dirt on her face as a sympathy ploy for both her father and Brandon (although Brandon didn't face time with her).

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

1 hour ago, Kdawg82 said:

Julia should just leave. I don't think she's *that* into Brandon. She's materialistic and immature. I wonder when exactly she washed the dirt off her face after the 7 minutes of "farm work" she did. How many facetimes did she have to do where she complained of "looking like a pig?" Let me guess...no apartment will suit her highness, they'll all be too far from any city, they'll be not enough $$ for her needs & then, surprise! She'll be "stuck in house with baby" that she had no clue she could possibly make from putting part A into slot B🙄

 

I don't blame Julia at all. Brandon used the classic trick of asking someone to "help out" without explaining that "help out" actually meant "do everything yourself." Now, right on cue, Brandon's whining "But you said you'd be okaaaaaaaaaay with it." Judging by Brandon's language during that phone call, he'd presented Julia's proposed chores to her as "Feeding a few cute animals" instead of shoveling literal crap all day for no pay in his parents' pathetic excuse for a "farm." (PRO TIP: Real farmers don't need to work three separate 40-hour-a-week jobs to keep their farms financially afloat.) If he'd told Julia what was really awaiting her, she never would have come. IMHO, her ultimatum was appropriate. She's rightfully resentful over the bait-and-switch.

1 hour ago, suzywallis said:

YES!  Thank you!  I said the same thing!  She was getting all freaked out and I saw ONE FREAKING LINE!

Years ago, Consumer Reports advised against home pregnancy tests for this very reason: they're too inexact, it's too easy to misinterpret the results, and any doctor is going to administer their own pregnancy test to verify it. Might as well just go to the doctor in the first place; if your test is negative, you'll already be there to ask why you're having morning sickness and/or missing your period or whatever.

[seacliffsal]

10 minutes ago, Pepper Mostly said:

 

And Ronald has a gambling problem.

 

And everything is Jihoon's fault...

[Gobi]

Mike should start drinking hot buttered rum and tell Nutalie that it’s to raise his IQ.

[Mrs. Hanson]

10 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

And everything is Jihoon's fault...

And, for a blast from the past:  Mohammed frauded Danielle.  (Always good to keep the classics, right?)

Brandon is a gaslighting jerk.  Had I been Julia I would have been asking Dad for the money to fly home, and as I stated earlier:  Leave at 8 am after everyone is at work, leave a note saying I am in flight, do not look for me, I am gone.

Andrew has a right, I guess, to enjoy the stuff he paid for, I would NOT be blabbing about it to Amira.  "Wow!  That Jet Ski really is A BLAST!!!!"

Did Natalie really nag on Mike in front of him mom?  Look, my hubby can eat a stick of butter for dinner and guess what?  Not my business.  Because butter is life.

Yara - Yep he got off the plane with a Jack and Coke and it is 8:45 am.  Not my cup of cocoa but you mentioned it once, now let it go.  He likes to drink all day  - deal with it or use better birth control!

 

Edited January 25, 2021 by Mrs. Hanson

[Pondlass1]

Who wears short shorts with holes for a plane ride? Ugh! A thousand bums have sat on those seats.

I usually love the French accent but Amira talking English with dad was really irritating me for some reason. They talk in monotone. Why didn’t they speak French and subtitle?

The Steph story is ridiculous. Wish we could see more scenes of Belize 🌴 I’m stuck in the frozen north. In fact, instead of padding the episode with nonsense why not let us see more scenery.... erm, but not the smelly messy hobby farm 😳 

All cast members past and present seem to have a thing about dumping suitcases on beds and tables and sofas.. and don’t get me  started on packing practices.

And apparently another unwanted baby on the way with selfish crazies for parents.

Mike, crazy Natalie will drive you to drink. Find a local girl. You seem like a decent guy.

[Mahamid Frauded Me]

Every time Natalie talks about Za Ring she sounds like she is trying to cough up a hair ball.  I saw in Brandon's driveway a motor home or 5th wheel, why not convince his parents for him and Julia to move in there?  I am also convinced that Ryan erased all text's and traces of his ladies prior to Stephanie arriving.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

16 minutes ago, Mahamid Frauded Me said:

I am also convinced that Ryan erased all text's and traces of his ladies prior to Stephanie arriving.

If I were Ryan, I would have immediately asked to see Stephanie's phone. What's good for the goose...

[AZChristian]

35 minutes ago, Pondlass1 said:

The Steph story is ridiculous. Wish we could see more scenes of Belize 🌴 I’m stuck in the frozen north. In fact, instead of padding the episode with nonsense why not let us see more scenery....

I cannot grant wishes to everyone, but this is just for you, @Pondlass1.  It was taken when we were in Belize.

[Pondlass1]

Thank you ❤️ One day when the borders open.......sigh::

[Boo Boo]

I guess this will sound like age shaming, but since I'm actually a year older than Stephanie's proclaimed age:  I'm uncomfortable watching grandma trying to get some off the 27 year old she is basically trying to buy.

What the hell happened to Natalie?  I used to think she was very pretty, while being very nutty.  Now I'm not even seeing the pretty.  It's like her face has caught up to the crazy.  All she wants is a baby and Mike's the quickest way to get it apparently.  

On Brandon, it wouldn't surprise me if he's been on his own and moved back to his parent's farm to set up this storyline.  

 

 

[Pepper Mostly]

37 minutes ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

If I were Ryan, I would have immediately asked to see Stephanie's phone. What's good for the goose...

Stephanie is deflecting. Wait till Ryan finds out about the cousin schtupping. Though I bet he knows. I bet the cousin spilled as soon as she left. They'll both soak her. HAhahahahahaha

[AZChristian]

19 minutes ago, Pondlass1 said:

Thank you ❤️ One day when the borders open.......sigh::

If you ever get there on a cruise ship, we highly recommend the zipline/cave tubing excursion.

[Christina]

4 hours ago, essexjan said:

I'm giving Andrew a bit of a pass here. If he booked a package trip and his flight home is a fixed date, what else is he going to do for the remaining days of the trip? Sit in his room and cry? I don't blame him at all for enjoying the facilities he's paid for over the remaining duration of the trip. I'm damn sure I'd do that.

Just like with Mike, if Sharp as picking up the check, I'm ordering the Tomahawk steak and brisket nachos. They had payed and scheduled to film those services so I don't fault him for taking advantage of them, but there is no excuse for embarrassing the country with that pathetic Electric Slide and he didn't need to gloat about it to her nor did they need to show it, except they don't like him either, is my guess.

 

1 hour ago, Pepper Mostly said:

Poor Andrew. I really feel for his struggles as he suffered through Amira's detention. 

I read somewhere once that even the biggest asshole in the world thinks he's a nice guy. That stayed with me. Andrew illustrates this perfectly. 

He had to eat those gourmet meals for two all by himself. Just awful. No wonder he needed a massage.

 

1 hour ago, nutella fitzgerald said:

I am going insane trying to figure out what on earth Julia sees in him! He has a weaselly face, he still lives with his parents, and he completely ignores her feelings unless she threatens to leave the country. What does he have going for him?

He's infatuated with her and lets her tell him what to do, as long as his parents aren't around.

[christmaslights]

I bet that watch has a 3000$ "retail" price tag, but was marked down to 39.99 at TJMaxx

 

[christmaslights]

I don't blame Andrew for staying in Puerto Vallarta. he lives with his mom outside Sacramento in a daycare center. I'd pretend to get covid and self quarantine myself down there.

 

[Persnickety1]

Why were Stephanie's shorts white cotton when she left her house but blue denim when she arrived at the airport?

One of many little things that drive me crazy(ier).

C'mon, TLC, do better.  

[Tango64]

* Those watches were all cheap gaudy crap from a flea market or a discount store. No way in hell one of them cost $3,000. As others have pointed, even a $100 watch come in a nice box. And what's with giving him a whole bunch of watches? Watches are practically obsolete. Is she going to give him a bunch of typewriters too? But I suppose there must be a market for ugly ass watches in Belize, because you know that kid doesn't have a nice display at home of all the watches she's given him.

* Stephanie is kind of a sad case. Desperate, deluded, no taste in clothes, and she seems drunk or doped up most of the time.

* Julia was misled and Brandon is starting to seem like not such a nice guy. At first he just seemed naive and sheltered, but now he's manipulative and insensitive.  That preview of the dinner scene where he tells his parents they're moving out looks really bad. Dad is scary and abusive, Mom is unreasonable. What kind parents act like that when a 27-year-old brings up the idea of getting his own apartment? Answer: These scary, messed up parents.

* That's no farm. It's a modest home that's all hoarded and junked up, with some caged and neglected dogs, a puppy mill, and some other "cute" but useless animals that just create more work than the parents can handle. Brandon isn't going to inherit a real working farm or a decent home, and he seems to at least understand that.

* Drinking liquor at 8:45 am is not a good look. I'm pretty free with my drinking but I wouldn't do that, and it would embarass me if someone I cared about saw it. The mimosa or bloody mary makes it more socially acceptable even though it's still early drinking, but sometimes appearances count.

* Natalie is a crazy, emotionally abusive bitch. She is making it so clear that she doesn't really like Mike and just is willing to settle for him so she can get married. He will never be good enough and she will nag him until he drinks and eats more just to cope with it. And if my partner ever chastised me for having butter on a roll, in front of another person, and especially in front of my mother, that would be our last meal together.

[KeeperOfTheIce]

11 minutes ago, Tango64 said:

 

* Natalie is a crazy, emotionally abusive bitch. She is making it so clear that she doesn't really like Mike and just is willing to settle for him so she can get married. 

It was very telling during one of her interviews when she said she would rather be married than right when she was talking about their little argument.
 

 She’s in this just for the sake of being married and possibly having a child. 

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

17 minutes ago, Tango64 said:

And if my partner ever chastised me for having butter on a roll, in front of another person, and especially in front of my mother, that would be our last meal together.

The funny thing about someone who would chastise you for using butter: nine times out of ten, their preferred alternative is margarine, which is demonstrably unhealthier (as it includes super-harmful trans-fatty acids). My wife and I refuse to even buy margarine. We use canola, olive or peanut oil (depending on the recipe) for cooking, and butter for putting on food.

Edited January 25, 2021 by Sir RaiderDuck OMS

[magemaud]

3 hours ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

 Might as well just go to the doctor in the first place; if your test is negative, you'll already be there to ask why you're having morning sickness and/or missing your period or whatever.

There potentially could also be a language issue when following the directions. I predict it turns out she’s not really pregnant. 

Edited January 25, 2021 by magemaud

[lilysmom]

2 hours ago, Mahamid Frauded Me said:

Every time Natalie talks about Za Ring she sounds like she is trying to cough up a hair ball.  I saw in Brandon's driveway a motor home or 5th wheel, why not convince his parents for him and Julia to move in there?  I am also convinced that Ryan erased all text's and traces of his ladies prior to Stephanie arriving.

I noticed the motor home also. My thought was that Momma Brandon bought that and had it moved in "just in case" Brandon is serious about moving out. This way he can either move in there OR she can pull the motor home and park it outside his new residence and live right next door to him!

[Twopper]

1 hour ago, Boo Boo said:

On Brandon, it wouldn't surprise me if he's been on his own and moved back to his parent's farm to set up this storyline.  

I dunno about this.   I can imagine his moving out, but moving back as soon as something bad (rent increase, horrible landlord) happened or his mother cried for him.   without the farm plot line, there is no there there in the story of Julia and Brandon.   the only other story I see is that julia and Brandon move in together, fight over money because of his debt, and she gets a job at a strip club that doesn't care about whether she is legally entitled to work.  Then they fight over her job. 

This reminds me of a roommate I had for 24 hours.  She was the one child out of 3 that the parents had nominated to take care of them in their old age and never marry.  They weren't that old at the time, but the mother had hysterics when their daughter moved in with me,  I was really pissed because I had moved so that we could be roommates.  The parents were fine with her brother and sister going away to college, marrying, and moving to different towns.  

2 hours ago, Pepper Mostly said:

Brandon is shaping up to be an abuser too. He's already gaslighting Julia, telling her she's overreacting and why is she so upset about taking care of some "cute animals"? Tells her she's wrong to feel the way she does. Get out, Julia. Brandon's just as bad as his nasty old father. 

definitely a red flag.  

 

3 hours ago, nutella fitzgerald said:

I am going insane trying to figure out what on earth Julia sees in him! He has a weaselly face, he still lives with his parents, and he completely ignores her feelings unless she threatens to leave the country. What does he have going for him?

He is a US citizen.  That's all I got. 

In a hotel, I put the suitcase on the luggage rack.   At home I use the bed or push to chairs together, but I put a towel underneath.   I don't travel by air anymore, so basically the only dirt on my suitcase is from the trunk of the car or my drive.  We use the luggage carts at the hotel.

[SemiCharmedLife]

15 minutes ago, KeeperOfTheIce said:

It was very telling during one of her interviews when she said she would rather be married than right when she was talking about their little argument.
 

 She’s in this just for the sake of being married and possibly having a child. 

She needs to remind herself of this next time she explodes about some little thing Mike does.  Also, I thought it was telling that she uses "womanly ways" to get what she wants- very old school.  I'm sure she is all about having a child, even if it means a short term marriage, if her efforts at changing Mike don't work.

[SemiCharmedLife]

4 hours ago, Silver Bells said:

If Natalie calms down, gets some meds and marries Mike, I hope she can bring her aging Mother here to live too.  Is that allowed?  Deep down, I think she misses her Mother.  After awhile, she could get a little job to help with the bills and maybe get a nicer house near a city.  There are possibilities if she tries.  They both have to give in a little to make it work, if they want a better life and relationship.  I guess that pertains to all of them.  They all need a plan.

I don't know about bringing over relatives from Ukraine, but I have in-laws in Mexico and it is SUPER difficult for them to move here.  They can, however, apply for visitor visas and stay for up to 6 months at a time. That might be really nice for Natalie's mom.  I really like her, too, and would love to see them reunite.

[SemiCharmedLife]

Ryan has told Stephani that he has "lost" some of the other watches she has given him.  I'm sure she knows he is selling them. And he outright admits during his TH that he would rather have the money.  She should just give him the cash directly and save him the effort of reselling her gifts.  But, then, that may seem too much like her paying a kept man and I'm sure she's in denial.

[sempervivum]

3 hours ago, nutella fitzgerald said:

What does he have going for him?

Uh, he has pretty good hair?

31 minutes ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

The funny thing about someone who would chastise you for using butter: nine times out of ten, their preferred alternative is margarine, which is demonstrably unhealthier (as it includes super-harmful trans-fatty acids). My wife and I refuse to even buy margarine. We use canola, olive or peanut oil (depending on the recipe) for cooking, and butter for putting on food.

Like this X 1000. Natalie is living in the past in terms of current nutritional research. (FYI, Sir Raiderduck  avocado oil is great for cooking, too- very high smoking point and mild taste).

[evansmom10]

13 hours ago, alotmorestupider said:

Natalie gets weirder and weirder every episode. “Mike makes jokes and I’m not sure why”. Is she an alien?? Human, what is mirth? I think Mike’s mom meant that the fat in butter is good for a growing brain, like for a baby. Even so, it should be healthy fats (like from an avocado) but I think that’s what she was getting at. She seems like a great mom; I like that she was probing and offered suggestions but didn’t come off judgmental even though she was overall pessimistic about their prospects. Man, Natalie was absolutely giddy after setting a date. 
 

 

 

She reminds of Mork from Ork. But, Mork was happy!

[Twopper]

1 hour ago, Persnickety1 said:

Why were Stephanie's shorts white cotton when she left her house but blue denim when she arrived at the airport?

She referred to puddlejumper(s) and arrived on a  very small plane.  If she flew out ot Grand Rapids airport she would probably have had to change planes at least once on her way to Belize City and then maybe one or two small planes to wherever she ended up.   I would think she just changed in an airport bathroom ala Darcy.   The blue and white stripe blouse she is wearing would look better with white short instead of jeans.  I was going to replay this episode to notice what she wore to the airport, but maybe that was last week's show. 

[Frozendiva]

34 minutes ago, Twopper said:

I dunno about this.   I can imagine his moving out, but moving back as soon as something bad (rent increase, horrible landlord) happened or his mother cried for him.   without the farm plot line, there is no there there in the story of Julia and Brandon.   the only other story I see is that julia and Brandon move in together, fight over money because of his debt, and she gets a job at a strip club that doesn't care about whether she is legally entitled to work.  Then they fight over her job. 

This reminds me of a roommate I had for 24 hours.  She was the one child out of 3 that the parents had nominated to take care of them in their old age and never marry.  They weren't that old at the time, but the mother had hysterics when their daughter moved in with me,  I was really pissed because I had moved so that we could be roommates.  The parents were fine with her brother and sister going away to college, marrying, and moving to different towns.  

definitely a red flag.  

 

He is a US citizen.  That's all I got. 

In a hotel, I put the suitcase on the luggage rack.   At home I use the bed or push to chairs together, but I put a towel underneath.   I don't travel by air anymore, so basically the only dirt on my suitcase is from the trunk of the car or my drive.  We use the luggage carts at the hotel.

My old suitcase with the two working wheels was falling apart, so I got new spinner type ones. I got a soft side pair one year at TJ Maxx and a small hard side set at the Bay on clearance the other year. I wanted the built in lock. I would use my loveseat. I would put a towel over it to pack the bag. The hard side was new so I just took a rag and hot soapy water and wiped it down, then packed. I use the hotel luggage rack.

[Mrs. Hanson]

1 hour ago, Persnickety1 said:

Why were Stephanie's shorts white cotton when she left her house but blue denim when she arrived at the airport?

One of many little things that drive me crazy(ier).

C'mon, TLC, do better.  

Same reason Yara got into one color minivan on the way to the airport and got out of a different color one.  (Blue on the way there, White when she got out, or at least that is what my hubby noticed.)

Per Brandon's mom:  Look, I dig my kids, we are close and love each other and blah blah blah.  Do I want them living with me at age 27?  Unless it is short term, no.   Gotta let that little birdie fly sometime, mom!!!!

[Dobian]

Stephanie doesn't need a boyfriend, she needs a son.

Amira, there are lots of jackasses in France you can date, and you can talk in French with them.  Why do you waste your time and money trying to hook up with one across the ocean?

Next week, Mike and his mom get some fried chicken to improve memory.

Yara, you're having a baby with an alcoholic in a city you hate, you have achieved the American dream!

Who wouldn't want to muck the stalls of those cute wittle piggies that Brandon loves?

Brandon's dad is genuinely scary in that teaser clip.  Whatever part of that story is staged for the cameras, that abusiveness is real.  Julia needs to get away from these people or her dad needs to come to America and bust some heads.

[Jack Sampson]

Yara is with Jovi for 2 weeks before he leaves, right?  I'd get a paternity test on that baby as soon as it's born.

 

EDIT: The way Julia has the perfectly positioned dirt on her cheek when she calls her dad makes me think there's some storyline nonsense going on.  Farms are dirty, but you can wash your face before facetiming your dad.

Edited January 25, 2021 by Jack Sampson

[Bluesky]

5 hours ago, nutella fitzgerald said:

I am going insane trying to figure out what on earth Julia sees in him! He has a weaselly face, he still lives with his parents, and he completely ignores her feelings unless she threatens to leave the country. What does he have going for him?

Plus that weaselly face looks just like his mother’s weaselly face.  I don’t think I would have contained myself if someone dismissed how unhappy I was.  “Lots of people would love feeding cute animals”.  “It’s not so bad”.   What an idiot. 

I wouldn’t have lasted two days in that claustrophobic shithole.  

[AZChristian]

I don't like Andrew because he reminds me of Colt, but . . . 

If he paid in advance for a 2-week resort package including airfare, he would probably get NOTHING in the way of refunds if he left early, PLUS he would likely have to pay extra to change his plane ticket - IF seats were even available from Puerta Vallarta to the US during the pandemic.  

So he'd have been eating (pardon the pun) about 10 days worth of pre-paid resort time.  I'd probably stay, too, if I were in his shoes.

[nutella fitzgerald]

1 hour ago, Jack Sampson said:

Yara is with Jovi for 2 weeks before he leaves, right?  I'd get a paternity test on that baby as soon as it's born.

I shudder to think who would be such a terrible baby daddy for Jovi to be a better cover story. Maybe Brandon.

[seacliffsal]

I still wear a watch-so much easier/faster than pulling out my cell phone (IMO).  However, I would never wear any of the monstrosities that Stephanie bought for Ryan, nor would I buy a $3,000 watch.

[renatae]

22 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

I still wear a watch-so much easier/faster than pulling out my cell phone (IMO).  However, I would never wear any of the monstrosities that Stephanie bought for Ryan, nor would I buy a $3,000 watch.

Those ugly watches looked like they had cheap plastic, stiff watchbands. I love buying my hubby watches, but they all came with nice metal, actually attractive bands, not bands that look like they came from a carnival crane claw game. Oh, and boxes.

[Mr. Miner]

I have equal amounts of disdain for Lockjaw and the Big Doofus.

and Brandon and Jovi and Stephanie and Rebecca...

Edited January 25, 2021 by Mr. Miner

[renatae]

30 minutes ago, Mr. Miner said:

I have equal amounts of disdain for Lockjaw and the Big Doofus.

Lockjaw is getting so hard to look at. She has kewpie doll makeup that makes her look like Baby Jane. Listening to her is extra torture. She can't possibly know how bad she looks when she bats her eyelashes, can she?

[endure]

11 hours ago, Christina said:

Everyone knows it's the fat from ICE CREAM that's good for the brain; butter is old news. The frauding on this show is getting offensive to my delicate sensibilities. I'll go drown myself in ice cream to think more better.

Obviously the production crew hates Andrew as much as everyone else. People like him do not think they come across like they do, and then get irritated that people call them out on being shitty. There was no reason to air him talking to Amira about all the fun inclusions he was doing, or not show the things he did do to try and find her; there was just a single sentence where he said all the people he called, including the embassy, which I thought was her dad when I saw it the first time. They showed it all because he's an ass.

This is the fraudiest t season yet. I'm sure part of it is because Covid limited their options, but neither Andrew/Amira or Stephani/Ryan have any airtime to contribute to the show. Tarik and Hazel wanting to add a third is coming across as faked for screen time, and Rebecca and Zied are on this season. 

That's a positive. The negative shows the line on the right side along with the left, but it's faded by the time this photo was taken. The solid line on the left if a positive result

I don’t personally have an opinion about the test but she was nauseous in the car on the way to the airport.