S01.E02: The G.O.A.T.

[Talented Tenth]

As a blossoming friendship forms between Nina and Caroline Stanbury, Ayan questions Nina's loyalty.

[LakeGal]

I am not sure I can keep watching this.  Ayan is enough to turn me off the show.  If I had all the money in the world I can't see picking this hot place to live.  I was bored watching it.  I still don't remember who half the women are.  

[Keywestclubkid]

I'm from Africa dont talk to me about colonizers who arnt supposed to be there ...lol I died when she was talking about thanksgiving 

[pasdetrois]

I hated how they treated the goat as a TV prop. Not to mention the carefully coached children.

Along with the tired, clumsy posturing, this show is unwatchable. I'm out.

Also, Stanbury has developed a grayish pallor and an oddly heavy chin area. It's weird.

Edited June 9, 2022 by pasdetrois

[Straycat80]

Ayan was on WWHL dressed in a very glamorous reunion type dress. She said some very, very shady things about Caroline and Lesa who she claims is her best friend. Even Andy, Crystal from BH and the guest bartenders were shocked and side eyeing her.  She’s trying very hard to be crowned Queen of the HW’s. 
 

On the show, since it’s new, I wish they would put up the names of these women more during their clips, I still don’t know half their names. 

[Imara219]

4 hours ago, Keywestclubkid said:

I'm from Africa dont talk to me about colonizers who arnt supposed to be there ...lol I died when she was talking about thanksgiving 

I mean Thanksgiving is so weird. Unpopular opinion: as a Black American I don't understand why we like this as a legitimate holiday instead of a for play holiday. 

I know I'm at a table for one but for now I enjoy Ayna and I like the show. 

[Keywestclubkid]

Just now, Imara219 said:

I mean Thanksgiving is so weird. Unpopular opinion: as a Black American I don't understand why we like this as a legitimate holiday instead of a for play holiday. 

being half Native American I dont get it either ... like why are we celebrating what was the beginning of an attempted genocide of a people ..like it was no big deal ... sorry we stole all your land and killed your people have a turkey leg and be grateful ... ...

[Thumper]

Hearing Ayan’s backstory about her abusive father was enlightening as to her reactions.

[TexasGal]

Ayan is like if the most overdramatic housewife from every cast was thrown in a blender, with some steroids tossed in.  She's too much for me.  And I was with the hostess (Lesa?) wondering if the goat was a pet, or what?

[Straycat80]

27 minutes ago, TexasGal said:

Ayan is like if the most overdramatic housewife from every cast was thrown in a blender, with some steroids tossed in.  She's too much for me.  And I was with the hostess (Lesa?) wondering if the goat was a pet, or what?

She said on WWHL that the goat escaped, got lost, but was found and we have to keep watching to see what else happened to the goat. 
the goat was a gift, in Ayan’s  culture you give a goat, or animal,  as a gift.  She gave Andy three baby (live) chicks as a gift too. Wonder what he did with them. 

Edited June 9, 2022 by Straycat80

[howiveaddict]

What's with Ayan wearing a fur coat in the 113 temperature.  Then later she had on this weird outfit with this cut out card board looking circle and square on it.  At that time she complained that her wig was too hot.  Too hot for wig but not for fur coat?  I know she thinks she is a fashionista, but I find her outfits ridiculous looking.  

[princelina]

5 hours ago, Straycat80 said:

She said on WWHL that the goat escaped, got lost, but was found and we have to keep watching to see what else happened to the goat. 
the goat was a gift, in Ayan’s  culture you give a goat, or animal,  as a gift.  She gave Andy three baby (live) chicks as a gift too. Wonder what he did with them. 

Some cultural things don't translate so well in other cultures - such as giving live animals to people who don't want them, have no use for them, and don't have the knowledge or the wherewithal to care for them.  And I'm sure she knows better; she's just kind of an asshole.

That being said, all I can picture is Andy and his son living with three chickens who have the run of the house, like Joey and Chandler 😂

[MaggieG]

Ayan's outfit and wig at that lunch were ridiculous. She made fun of Nina's outfit but I thought Nina looked pretty and casual. 

What is up with Sergio constantly crying when he looks at Caroline? 

I kind of love Sara showing up in multiple scenes with no make-up and still looking amazing. 

I also thought the grocery trip with Lesa and her son was cute. 

I'm still in. 

[SemiCharmedLife]

I was amazed at the Thanksgiving dinner inside the Ferris wheel.  I wonder if all of the compartments were done up like that, or if that was something Nina organized.  Nina must love throwing parties.  So far, I'm impressed with her party organizing skills.  

[amarante]

10 hours ago, SemiCharmedLife said:

I was amazed at the Thanksgiving dinner inside the Ferris wheel.  I wonder if all of the compartments were done up like that, or if that was something Nina organized.  Nina must love throwing parties.  So far, I'm impressed with her party organizing skills.  

It appears it is this Dine In The Sky attraction.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/food/2021/08/29/ain-dubai-what-to-expect-from-the-gourmet-dine-in-the-sky-experience/

I would imagine that because it was televised it was extra special but perhaps the hostess also brought in her own florist and dishes.

[izabella]

Nina's life growing up in a Lebanese immigrant family in Texas was interesting, as was her marriage story.  She said she met her husband through her cousin's brother in law after he saw her picture, and then he flew to see her in the US every couple of weeks.  Her husband said he closed his banking business to open real estate businesses, and then sold those to go into cryptocurrencies and bitcoin.  Bitcoin is known for being the dark web payment method used for arms, drug, and sex trafficking, among other things.  So I'm kinda wondering if he's shady. 

[Hiyo]

Possibly. For all the glitz and glamor, Dubai is a very shady place, financially. Not saying everyone who made their fortune there or is wealthy there is shady, there are lots of people there who are honest and have made their money through ethical means.

But Dubai is not the glitzy utopia the Dubai PR people and the show itself try to market the city as.

Quote

What's with Ayan wearing a fur coat in the 113 temperature

We could ask women in Texas the same question ;)

[Welshman in Ca]

9 hours ago, izabella said:

Nina's life growing up in a Lebanese immigrant family in Texas was interesting, as was her marriage story.  She said she met her husband through her cousin's brother in law after he saw her picture, and then he flew to see her in the US every couple of weeks.  Her husband said he closed his banking business to open real estate businesses, and then sold those to go into cryptocurrencies and bitcoin.  Bitcoin is known for being the dark web payment method used for arms, drug, and sex trafficking, among other things.  So I'm kinda wondering if he's shady. 

How anyone can be so wrong about something is astounding. Does the same apply to anyone who has invested in say $s make them shady because 100 people used dollars to buy drugs?

As for her husband, he may well be shady but not for the reason you say.

[TheCouchPotato]

Never thought I’d say this but the Dubai women actually make the BH women look less pretentious. 

Something is off about Caroline’s relationship with her fiancé/ husband.  He is her midlife crisis and she is his beard. 

Edited June 11, 2022 by TheCouchPotato

[princelina]

9 hours ago, TheCouchPotato said:

Something is off about Caroline’s relationship with her fiancé/ husband.  He is her midlife crisis and she is his beard. 

I agree!  I liked her previous husband, her big English house and her kids.  And she made a satisfying HBIC on Ladies of London.  Now it's just weird, down to her little dogs.  It's like she has turned from LVP into Ken 😄

[TheCouchPotato]

29 minutes ago, princelina said:

I agree!  I liked her previous husband, her big English house and her kids.  And she made a satisfying HBIC on Ladies of London.  Now it's just weird, down to her little dogs.  It's like she has turned from LVP into Ken 😄

Haha! Yes, it all looks so weird and made up. I thought it was so odd how her fiancé just lingers around when her friends come by.  When she tried on that diamond necklace, he started to tear up after she insulted him. He loves that screen time. 

[princelina]

1 minute ago, TheCouchPotato said:

Haha! Yes, it all looks so weird and made up. I thought it was so odd how her fiancé just lingers around when her friends come by.  When she tried on that diamond necklace, he started to tear up after she insulted him. He loves that screen time. 

Yeah, I don't know if I'd call her his beard necessarily, but maybe he's there to make her "look good" after she got dumped by her husband, and she's helping him to get into "show business" and he's over-emoting?

[Hiyo]

In case anyone was wondering, this was from the end of Ladies of London, when Caroline first moved to Dubai.

[NowVoyager]

My favorite ladies are the Lebanese woman, the Emirati and the Jamaican woman. They are beautiful, glamorous, & fun; but they also have some depth, relax the full glam at times & teach us about the local culture. 

Unpopular opinion: I have sympathy for the Model & I think she is misunderstood. I certainly get why she gets on folks' nerves. But, to me her bravado is a thinly veiled attempt to mask the trauma from her childhood abuse. I also think there is a bit of a language barrier & some things get lost in translation. Yes, she is fluent in English, but notice how often she (humorously) mixes up colloquialisms.

[candall]

On 6/9/2022 at 11:26 AM, pasdetrois said:

I hated how they treated the goat as a TV prop. [...]

Hello, I'll be tonight's bleeding heart speaking out on behalf of the prop animals.

Doesn't anyone in that self-absorbed ego universe care enough to [order the servants to] set a bowl of water down for the freaked out little goat?  It fell in the pool TRYING TO GET A DRINK OF WATER, FOR FUCK'S SAKE.

Ayan can sprout wings and a halo in the upcoming season and she won't be off the hook, for me.  She made a big production of unloading a live goat on her hosts, because that's a charming custom from her country, and then handwaves away all the problems she's created.  "Hey, it's your goat now, babe.  Don't be looking at me to solve your goat problems, lol tra la."

I felt very bad for the little animal when it was lost out on the street--wet, hungry, confused.  Yeah, yeah, I heard they "got it back," but then what?  Did they tie it to the patio table for the night? 

I think harshly of people who cause animal suffering for a tv show, much less for the sake of making a splashy entrance.

[CharlizeCat]

I guess I have no heart. I didn't really believe much of Ayan's story about her childhood. It if was true, I think it was embellished. She has completely soured me from the first syllable she utter last week. There is something very inauthentic about her, not to mention being completely self-absorbed. And who brings somebody a basket of onions as a gift? Don't get me started on the goat!

Have we learned any backstory yet on the tiff between her and Caroline S.? Do she have that kind of money to buy some of that jewelry she was trying on? Obviously, her fiance (husband?) can't!

Yes. I was also upset about that poor little goat. I know that goats are very intelligent, so I hope it found its way and I am glad it was rescued from wandering around the streets. I hated everybody's cavalier attitudes about that whole scenario.

I will give this show another week. I am kind of digging it for the sheer OTT-ness. But otherwise, it's kind of boring.

[tranquilidade]

45 minutes ago, CharlizeCat said:

I guess I have no heart. I didn't really believe much of Ayan's story about her childhood. It if was true, I think it was embellished. She has completely soured me from the first syllable she utter last week. There is something very inauthentic about her, not to mention being completely self-absorbed. And who brings somebody a basket of onions as a gift? Don't get me started on the goat!

Have we learned any backstory yet on the tiff between her and Caroline S.? Do she have that kind of money to buy some of that jewelry she was trying on? Obviously, her fiance (husband?) can't!

Yes. I was also upset about that poor little goat. I know that goats are very intelligent, so I hope it found its way and I am glad it was rescued from wandering around the streets. I hated everybody's cavalier attitudes about that whole scenario.

I will give this show another week. I am kind of digging it for the sheer OTT-ness. But otherwise, it's kind of boring.

A gift should be something the receiver would enjoy.  Ayan is not doing that.

[izabella]

On 6/11/2022 at 10:06 AM, Welshman in Ca said:

How anyone can be so wrong about something is astounding. Does the same apply to anyone who has invested in say $s make them shady because 100 people used dollars to buy drugs?

As for her husband, he may well be shady but not for the reason you say.

No, because dollars can be used to buy anything and everything, not just drugs.  Bitcoin cannot be used to buy groceries, pay rent, or anything much online either, except for dark web payments.  And crypto is very much a ponzi scheme.  There is no intrinsic value to it.  The value is achieved mainly by the early investors who work hard to get other investors to buy into the scheme and make the early investors rich.   Hence, the shady aspect of it all which is why I side eye a guy who sells presumably legit business to invest it all into crypto. 

[UMAngela]

1 hour ago, izabella said:

Bitcoin cannot be used to buy groceries, pay rent, or anything much online either, except for dark web payments. 

I’m not defending Bitcoin because I am opposed to it as a currency, but it is accepted by many retailers. It’s certainly moved beyond the dark web into the mainstream. 

[Chatty Cake]

Two episodes in and I’m already sick of Ayan, her voice, her ugly ridiculous outfits, ugly ill fitting wigs, her gifting a goat for attention, saying how great she looks while putting down others and using a terrible childhood to justify her being a complete asshole the entire time she is on camera.

I hope the goat as a gift was staged. Maybe someone was taking care of the animal and he didn’t escape but was removed when his scene was over.

I really wanted to see old Stanbury, not the midlife crisis one. 

I like the actual housewives Lesa and Nina as well as Sara. Brooks is overdoing it with the messiness which is not needed since they are giving Ayan so much camera time.

[izabella]

3 hours ago, Chatty Cake said:

Two episodes in and I’m already sick of Ayan, her voice, her ugly ridiculous outfits, ugly ill fitting wigs, her gifting a goat for attention, saying how great she looks while putting down others and using a terrible childhood to justify her being a complete asshole the entire time she is on camera.

Yes, this.  She's taking the approach that everyone has to deal with her being so annoying because she was abused as a child.  Well, at some point, she needs to realize she's an adult now, and needs to take responsibility for her own actions and behavior.  Abusing other people with her antics and expecting some kind of deference from everyone is ridiculous.  People need to stop catering to her whims and tell her to go to therapy.

[mytmo]

I've seen more realness in a Telenovela

[hoodooznoodooz]

On 6/9/2022 at 12:45 PM, Straycat80 said:

Ayan was on WWHL dressed in a very glamorous reunion type dress. 

Those gloves, though! They looked like those loose, clear, cellophane gloves you’d wear if someone hired you to assemble deli sandwiches.

Edited June 20, 2022 by hoodooznoodooz

[JAYJAY1979]

I actually think with all the women being so diverse that all the typical petty stuff isn't needed.

Ayan is exhausting.  In fact, she and Caroline S are so alike that they don't have see the positive in one another..hence why they dislike one another.

[kassa]

On 6/12/2022 at 6:00 PM, CharlizeCat said:

o she have that kind of money to buy some of that jewelry she was trying on? Obviously, her fiance (husband?) can't!

My guess is Caroline is very good at "promotional consideration" deals. As in "I'll promote your store on international television in exchange for those $5000 earrings." And they trot out the superluxe stuff for show and she goes home with her earrings and everybody's happy.

[DeeplyShallow]

54 minutes ago, kassa said:

My guess is Caroline is very good at "promotional consideration" deals. As in "I'll promote your store on international television in exchange for those $5000 earrings." And they trot out the superluxe stuff for show and she goes home with her earrings and everybody's happy.

Yes, her (and Sergio’s) IG posts following the wedding were so gross. Everything was tagged. Probably her underwear too. I checked out her IG out of curiosity, and it was so commercialized. Even the days after; there’s nothing authentic about her. Her life is for sale and it just seems so…meaningless.

[Vivigirl10]

I'm late to the party, sorry, just started watching.  I was prepared after the first episode to stop watching because of Ayan.  I cannot stand people who are "characters", not real people and no one you could have a conversation with.  My two perfect examples would be Noella (stopped watching because of her) and Erika Jayne (same).  So I was super surprised at Ayan this episode.  She showed a real friendship with Lesa and shared something personal with Sara. She's got a good sense of humor.  She loves her husband.  I do think that things get lost in translation with her where she sometimes doesn't grasp a joke and takes things literally.  The one point I will 100% side with her on is it IS rude to have a  conversation revolve around a party that one dinner member was not invited to.  Isn't that basic etiquette?  Did Ayan handle it well?  Absolutely not.  Will I probably hate her again the next episode?  Likely!  

Agree with everyone that Caroline's whole presence is just weird now.  Her relationship is odd and she just doesn't look good either.  Where is the money coming from???!!  Other than Lesa and Ayan, no one can really seem to articulate how they make their money, other than they are an "entrepreneur".  

On 6/11/2022 at 12:49 AM, izabella said:

Nina's life growing up in a Lebanese immigrant family in Texas was interesting, as was her marriage story.  She said she met her husband through her cousin's brother in law after he saw her picture, and then he flew to see her in the US every couple of weeks. 

I'll admit I wasn't hanging on every word of the story but the fact that he flew to see her in the US every couple of weeks does not jive with her tale of poverty where they were living in a studio apartment and broke when they got together.  Am I wrong?  Did something seem disingenuous on her end?