S. 2. Ep. 5. The Maid of Horror.

[EtheltoTillie]

Airs February 9, 2021

Old wounds are reopened as Jen and Lexi fight about financial tensions at the salon; Bria focuses on throwing an extravagant bridal shower as Lexi works hard to finish a challenging 3D nail set, causing the divide between the sisters to grow. 

Looks like more drama!  

[HulaTallula]

This show kills me because it's my hometown and I recognize all the locations. Bria's bridal shower is in the same venue where my sister had her wedding. 

[RoxiP]

Jen and Bria are ridiculous.  You know it is bad when even Foxy and grandpa are rolling their eyes. I think even Matthew thought it was too much.  I do appreciate how much those little boy are loved. 

I can see why they would have been hesitant to have Lexi speak but it should have been addressed beforehand...and who has speeches like that at a bridal,shower anyway?  

[EtheltoTillie]

I was going to make fun of the excessive party favors but I was touched when I learned that Big Mike helped with the bows. 

But:  Jen saying I know money’s tight but I’m going to squander thousands on the shower of Bria’s dreams. Big nope from me.
 Either they really have more money than they’re letting on or they are dumber than six boxes of rocks. 

[EtheltoTillie]

Gee, Bria could poke that little boy’s eyes out with those talons. 

[EtheltoTillie]

What’s with the weird chair fetish in this family?  Lexi has giant high back dining chairs topped with bats. Jen is always pictured in a gold throne with a 20 foot chair back. 

[RoxiP]

Is it customary for family to throw showers for other family members in Long Island?  that would be considered tacky here in the south. But then tacky is kind of this family's default is it nit?

 

[EtheltoTillie]

2 hours ago, RoxiP said:

Is it customary for family to throw showers for other family members in Long Island?  that would be considered tacky here in the south. But then tacky is kind of this family's default is it nit?

 

Unfortunately true, though.  Also, the shower is supposed to be a surprise, but here the bride is involved in planning her gift grab.  I swore a few years ago I would never attend another shower after sitting through a baby shower that included two hours of oohing and aahing at onesies.

Edited February 10, 2021 by GussieK

[EtheltoTillie]

Still watching and still posting. Talk about tacky—Bria wore wedding gown fir the shower. The flower girls were ott but actually beautiful. 

[LucyEth]

So only 50 people were at the shower after all and it was still ridiculous.  What the hell was the purpose of those “flower girls”?  I didn’t get that at all.  I do agree that Lexi speaking at the shower should have been discussed in advance.  Lexi was hurt to find out at the shower. I felt bad for Lexi, it is hard for her to see Bria marrying someone she hates and her relationship with Joe has ended, but I think she could have just put on a brave face, but then I guess she reached her breaking point.  I was glad Foxy and Grandpa thought all that stuff for the shower was absurd, but Mike wanted it for Bria.  He seemed like a sweet man and certainly a loving dad.  

Gussie K I had a similar experience, there we so many women at a baby shower I attended that she was opening gifts for hours.  I finally told my table mates, I am leaving, I can’t sit here anymore I have been here 5 hours already!  Sheesh, how much are we expected to endure.

I lived on Long Island and other places in NY and the mother of the bride and or the bridal party always gave the bridal shower.

[HulaTallula]

The usual thing in New York is for the mother or sister or maid of honor to plan the shower. I was matron of honor for my sister but since I live out of town, I didn't plan the shower; her best friend did it. The bride often does have some say, but not like this where she's effectively throwing her own party. 

Having to downscale for Covid must have killed Bria--Long Island weddings are huge. 

[EtheltoTillie]

34 minutes ago, LucyEth said:

So only 50 people were at the shower after all and it was still ridiculous.  What the hell was the purpose of those “flower girls”?  I didn’t get that at all.  I do

I lived on Long Island and other places in NY and the mother of the bride and or the bridal party always gave the bridal shower.

Lawn Guyland is a trip, isn’t it?  I grew up in Queens. It’s part of LI. But these are NY regional customs.  

The purpose of the flower girls was to show that you have a spare couple of thousand or more to throw around to hire two models dressed in real flowers. Must be a new thing in the bridal industry.  Bria was probably compiling a Pinterest board since the age of whenever Pinterest started. 

[snarkish]

1 hour ago, GussieK said:

Lawn Guyland is a trip, isn’t it?  

DEAD!!!! 😆

I was going to say the whole shebang seemed very "Jersey Shore" to me. Loved Lexi and and Bria discussing "FLOW-ez" on her nails. (FWIW, I was born in NJ and lived there until I was 11, and thanked my parents for getting me out of there because early recordings of my voice as a child make my ears bleed. And since I am 4'10" and half Italian, afraid I would have looked like Snooki eventually).

Glad to see BioMom showed up and they explained that to us. As much as I cannot stand Bria, I give her a single prop for doing her best to be a good Stepmom and decent to Jade. However, I do think they are trying to outdo anything she could possibly do for the boys when it comes to gifts/clothes/experiences. The whole scene at the playset seemed like they were all trying to get the boys attention at once. Could have been for the camera, but it also hit home because my son's Dad and his family would do the same with him in front of me, and my parents. Poor kid never knew which direction to look and was constantly showered with too many gifts. 

Lexi...poor Lexi. I always said she had a tough outer later, especially when it comes to Matt. But it's obvious that the breakup with Joe is affecting how she reacts to Bria and the shower/wedding. Although I do agree the salon business should NOT be on her shoulders entirely. She seems like she's spent her life keeping her feelings inside, and possibly swallowing them. Which makes me also think about her bariatric surgery and weight loss. As much as I adore her and her style, the whole dragon getup at the shower was as tacky as the flower women. I get she has a quirky style, but she could have knocked it down a notch for the shower, instead of standing out like a sore thumb. 

Jen...the "1970's Cher" look is not a good one on you. The bangs make it worse. 

[radiochik]

Are speeches at a bridal shower a Jersey thing? I've never heard of that and I thought it was ridiculous.  My dislike for Bria grows with each episode.  It's gotten to the point that I think I'm just hate watching because it just irks me that they are throwing all this money into a bridal shower/wedding after the father has died and money is tight.  Yes, I get that Big Mike would have wanted all that but Big Mike also had their finances in order.  Stop spending money on wedding stuff when you can't pay the bills at the salon.  

[LucyEth]

I think the lack of money and understanding is created drama for the show.  They owned 2 businesses, I find it hard to believe they did not have an accountant and things were not in order.  

[EtheltoTillie]

14 minutes ago, LucyEth said:

I think the lack of money and understanding is created drama for the show.  They owned 2 businesses, I find it hard to believe they did not have an accountant and things were not in order.  

I think It's less about having accounts in order than really understanding what money is coming in.

The salon would have been closed for months because of the pandemic.  Then their business is down after the reopen, because of COVID precautions.  But I doubt the salon was ever their main source of income.  Rather, it was a good business for years (grandma also a hair dresser) and a means to get a reality show.

As for the plumbing company, in NY construction and nonemergency repair work was shut down for a few weeks in the first half of 2020.  So it's not clear what Mike's company would have been doing during that period. That's the period he was ill.  Who knows who is running this company now and what work they are performing.  Again, more drama, no information.

Bria is a piece of work, and Lexi is a talented person with a lot of angst.  I wish her well.  I really admire her talent in creating those sculptures, even though I would never wear such nails.  As an aside, I just don't get why the sharp talon style is so in right now.  I see it on other shows as well.

Edited February 12, 2021 by GussieK

[LucyEth]

7 hours ago, GussieK said:

think It's less about having accounts in order than really understanding what money is coming in.

Yes!

[Real Housewife LI]

8 hours ago, LucyEth said:

I think the lack of money and understanding is created drama for the show.  They owned 2 businesses, I find it hard to believe they did not have an accountant and things were not in order.  

Owing a business doesn’t mean it isn’t profitable or successful. We own a business in a similar trade as big Mike. Some years we lived like Rockefeller...and others we were dipping into savings to make payroll. Living on Long Island property taxes on their house alone are $2000 a month.....never mind insane insurance costs, utilities, etc. 

cuomo did a hard lockdown in NY. Trades were shut down for 3 solid months....you got a $10,000 a day fine if you tried to work. 

[LucyEth]

34 minutes ago, Real Housewife LI said:

Owing a business doesn’t mean it isn’t profitable or successful. We own a business in a similar trade as big Mike. Some years we lived like Rockefeller...and others we were dipping into savings to make payroll. Living on Long Island property taxes on their house alone are $2000 a month.....never mind insane insurance costs, utilities, etc. 

cuomo did a hard lockdown in NY. Trades were shut down for 3 solid months....you got a $10,000 a day fine if you tried to work. 

I didn’t mean there was plenty of money, I meant that I think they would have professional accountants keeping their books who would inform them of exactly where they stood financially.  Also, I live in NY and have lived on Long Island, so I know the deal.

[RoxiP]

Those two flower girls meant to less suckers bearing gifts

 

[EtheltoTillie]

BTW as I mentioned before, I grew up in Queens, and in my working class youth in the 60s, a shower was held in someone’s basement. Maybe 20 or 30 people. This elaborate stuff is a modern invention. 

[HotHW]

On 2/12/2021 at 9:31 AM, radiochik said:

Are speeches at a bridal shower a Jersey thing? I've never heard of that and I thought it was ridiculous.  My dislike for Bria grows with each episode.  It's gotten to the point that I think I'm just hate watching because it just irks me that they are throwing all this money into a bridal shower/wedding after the father has died and money is tight.  Yes, I get that Big Mike would have wanted all that but Big Mike also had their finances in order.  Stop spending money on wedding stuff when you can't pay the bills at the salon.  

No, speeches are not a Jersey thing. But I'm guessing they're a narcissistic thing. I've been to dozens of showers and none were like this nonsense. 

Anybody else getting the vibe that Bria knows how long Matt's attention span really is and that is why she is rushing this ridiculous wedding? Just months after the dad died, and literally in the deep throws of the pandemic in her area, there is no logical reason for her to not postpone her wedding, if a big event is what she wanted. But I get the feeling she knew if she pushed it back another year,  Matt could have impregnated another 2 women easily by then. She needed to lock him down quick while he was willing. My guess is she also knows the reality of this being forever is slim, so agreeing to a JOP wedding now and save the big party till your 1st anniversary for example, would be quite the gamble. Bria is just not a nice person, plain and simple. 

And Jen doeth protest too much, eerily reminiscent of Teresa Guidice. Like "lemme say how clueless I am to everything financial so that when the Feds watch this they know I had nothing to do with it". Either she's really dumb and her daughter is just evil, or this money drama is all made up for the show.