Ghosts of Housewives Past: Jill Zarin, Alex, and the Rest

[Rap541]

Amazon offers the whole season streaming for 7.99

I have to make two minor sales at work tomorrow to own it.

[Mrs peel]

On ‎2‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 11:46 PM, Rap541 said:

Amazon offers the whole season streaming for 7.99

I have to make two minor sales at work tomorrow to own it.

You're a bad person RAP541, I had been planning on doing some de-cluttering tomorrow.....guess there's always next weekend.

[BodhiGurl]

Rewatching S4 - man Cindy Barshop was ridiculous... the dang hangers in Morocco... the seat saving for Luann made her lose her shat... the Sook... lordt. So glad she was a one and done. Awful.

[WhoaWhoKnew]

5 minutes ago, BodhiGurl said:

Rewatching S4 - man Cindy Barshop was ridiculous... the dang hangers in Morocco... the seat saving for Luann made her lose her shat... the Sook... lordt. So glad she was a one and done. Awful.

Yeah. I usually skip this season because of her. 

[Gam2]

I thought Cindy as a mother was pitiful. She couldn’t even manage one of her twins in a restaurant with her parents present and had to call one of the nannies to come get that child. Plus her business just grossed me out. Why in the world they hired her to be on this show always puzzled me. 

[Sun-Bun]

4 hours ago, Gam2 said:

Why in the world they hired her to be on this show always puzzled me. 

Cindy Barshop ranks as my least favorite Real Housewife *ever.*  She was just so damned unlikable and boring, not to mention unattractive in every way---she had a constant snarl on her resting bitch face. And her condescending attitude towards Sonja was just plain mean. Then there was her poor mothering skills, her stupid waxing business, her fugly apartment, her creepy relationship with her brother...she quite literally made me uncomfortable in every single scene she was in. Such a dud!!

[RedDelicious]

5 minutes ago, Sun-Bun said:

Cindy Barshop ranks as my least favorite Real Housewife *ever.*  She was just so damned unlikable and boring, not to mention unattractive in every way---she had a constant snarl on her resting bitch face. And her condescending attitude towards Sonja was just plain mean. Then there was her poor mothering skills, her stupid waxing business, her fugly apartment, her creepy relationship with her brother...she quite literally made me uncomfortable in every single scene she was in. Such a dud!!

And she kept trying to make Quogue happen.

[RedDelicious]

Season 1 Marathon happening now and it's glorious. 

[crgirl412]

2 minutes ago, RedDelicious said:

Season 1 Marathon happening now and it's glorious. 

THANK YOU!!!  S1E2 is on now!! 

[crgirl412]

Bethenny mentioned "Jason" and I I was so confused.  I forgot about Jason #1!!!  

[BBHN]

Keep an eye out for Tom in season 1...

[crgirl412]

OMG!!!  Is that THE Missy who is Ramona's tennis partner in the match against Jill and Luann????

[crgirl412]

Victoria told Allie that she had never been to a concert to which Allie responded that she had been to tons of concerts.  Very, very surprised!!  I was in 8th grade, at a Catholic grade school yet, when I went to see Madonna on the Virgin Tour in 1985!!   

[njbchlover]

Horrible, crappy weather in NJ/NY - loving a Season 1 marathon on a day like today!  

It's amazing to me how much Bethenny's face has changed over the last ten years.  Not just her face, but her self-confidence and snarkiness....she was so much funnier then - now, she's super self-confident and can be so brutal to everyone.  I remember now why I liked her so much back then!  

[crgirl412]

6 minutes ago, njbchlover said:

Horrible, crappy weather in NJ/NY - loving a Season 1 marathon on a day like today!  

It's amazing to me how much Bethenny's face has changed over the last ten years.  Not just her face, but her self-confidence and snarkiness....she was so much funnier then - now, she's super self-confident and can be so brutal to everyone.  I remember now why I liked her so much back then!  

YES!  Bethenny looks SO different!!!  I forgot the distinct shape of her face!  Luann, Jill and Alex still look the same.  Ramona in some ways looked better and worse back then.  

I liked B better back then too! 

[crgirl412]

TOM!!!!!!!

The blonde and brunette (who is stunning, btw) sitting with Ramona seem like they would be good fresh meat new additions to NYC.

[Spooky]

Well, crap. There goes my afternoon. Started out watching Hoarders and then cleaned for two hours, took a break for lunch and now this gift from the gods is on. 

Avery has always been the smartest person on this show. Ramona is certifiably batshit crazy, but she and Mario did a good job raising her. 

[enchantingmonkey]

It made me smirk when they showed LuAnn neglecting the 10-year-old Noel so she could go out and have a night on the town.  And then LuAnn's nanny (Rosie?) getting a talking head in which she explained how the wealthy NYC denizens all have nannies to make their lives easier.   

Damn, Jill never misses an opportunity to toot her own horn or pat herself on the back.  I think she's even done both at the same time in a couple scenes.  

Edited March 7, 2018 by enchantingmonkey

[RedDelicious]

"You'll look younger than what your chronical age is."  S1 truly is a gift from the gods. 

[AuntieDiane6]

Last season is on On Demand!

[enchantingmonkey]

Did Alex and Simon toned down their desperation to be one of "cool kids" after watching themselves on S1?  I don't remember them being this awful by S3, but maybe I just got used to their nonsense.  

Whatever happened to S1 Jason?  I thought I heard Bethenny call him her soul mate in one of the episodes.  

[Christi]

I cant wait for the Herman Munster boot scene?

Luann's dog Aston is still living the life and looks happy and healthy on her Instagram...so cute?

[Christi]

I LOVE seeing the old shows! It would be so cool if before each new episode,(of any of the HW cities), they would run an episode from the first season.  Much more fun than just showing last week's episode, which has already run a million times that week

[enchantingmonkey]

Francois stabbing S1 Jason's burger with his toy kangaroo was hilarious.  I don't even know why I was laughing so hard. 

WTF Bravo!?!?!  The schedule says you were going show the S1 reunion!  

[Gam2]

I haven’t watched this show in years but do remember that particular dinner. Alex and Simon and their demon children were hours late for Jill’s dinner. After they arrived and the food was finally served, that child ran around the room yelling and grabbed a knife to stab that hamburger. Alex and Simon just sat there like two bumps on a log because they thought that was acceptable behavior. I was appalled by the entire thing and wanted to slap A & S right upside the head for allowing their children to be so out of control. Had that been my child, I’d have yanked his ass up and taken him to the ladie’s room for a good whoop ass. No wonder we have a country full of spoiled, out of control young people. God help us all.

[SCS]

1 hour ago, Gam2 said:

 Alex and Simon and their demon children were hours late for Jill’s dinner. After they arrived and the food was finally served, that child ran around the room yelling and grabbed a knife to stab that hamburger. Alex and Simon just sat there like two bumps on a log because they thought that was acceptable behavior. I was appalled by the entire thing and wanted to slap A & S right upside the head for allowing their children to be so out of control. Had that been my child, I’d have yanked his ass up and taken him to the ladie’s room for a good whoop ass. No wonder we have a country full of spoiled, out of control young people. God help us all.

 

I have to make a wee correction: It wasn't Alex & Co who were late-- it was the Singers because Ramona delayed them by making an issue of what to wear. Alex addressed the boys' behavior later in an interview: she said she and Simon actually wanted to leave Francois and Johann at home but production insisted everyone bring the whole family. Filming was delayed (in great part due to the Singers' late arrival and the usual taping snafus) and the boys started acting out. That said, I agree with you that A or S should have grabbed Francois the instant he attacked that burger. I wonder if production urged them to not intervene since it made for great TV but, from my perspective, that child needed a meet 'n greet with my grandma's wooden spoon.*

 

*the wooden spoon was almost never used in my misspent youth, only invoked, which was usually sufficient. ;-D

[RedDelicious]

Despite the sparkly Barbie dress and except for her vow renewal, that might be the best Ramona ever looked. They were all so young!! Ten years is a long time. Alex was 34, Jill 44, Lu 42 I think, Bethenny 37 or 38. Ramona 51. 

[link417]

4 hours ago, Gam2 said:

No wonder we have a country full of spoiled, out of control young people. God help us all.

Said every previous generation about every subsequent generation.

Those kids were terrors, though, even in light of Alex’s explanation. My parents wouldnt’ve cared how long we sat waiting, they would have taken turns wearing my ass out if I had acted like Francois and Johann.

3 hours ago, SCS said:

*the wooden spoon was almost never used in my misspent youth, only invoked, which was usually sufficient. ;-D

LOL, I’m from the Deep South and my dearly departed grandmother invoke and implement the tried-and-true classic:  the “switch.” I even had to pick it out! Makes me laugh looking back but I sure as hell wasnt laughing then. ?

1 hour ago, RedDelicious said:

Despite the sparkly Barbie dress and except for her vow renewal, that might be the best Ramona ever looked. They were all so young!! Ten years is a long time. Alex was 34, Jill 44, Lu 42 I think, Bethenny 37 or 38. Ramona 51. 

Heh, in my head I read that as if the Ramona part had been tacked on as an afterthought since it’s set apart from the rest. Like “Oh yeah, Ramona was young, too . . . She was 51.”

[RedDelicious]

@link417 ?She was definitely dressing (too) young! And so much static from Ay-ver-eee. Tall boots are a look that Ramona never mastered. We might refer to her aesthetic as looking like a smacked @ss. Forgive me. Very untoward! ?

Edited March 8, 2018 by RedDelicious

[JAYJAY1979]

Love seeing how karma is truly a witch...luann was so snooty and acted superior back then so I kind of find it fitting that karma has punished both Ramona and Luann..bethenny better be careful

[link417]

3 hours ago, RedDelicious said:

@link417 ?She was definitely dressing (too) young! And so much static from Ay-ver-eee. Tall boots are a look that Ramona never mastered. We might refer to her aesthetic as looking like a smacked @ss. Forgive me. Very untoward! ?

LMAO! That’s a new one for me, I will be adding the bolded to my list of colorful phrases I should work into everyday conversation. ?

[Guest]

17 hours ago, crgirl412 said:

YES!  Bethenny looks SO different!!!  I forgot the distinct shape of her face!

Yup

I have always liked that face shape.

There is only a nebulous explanation of how her masseter muscles were re-shaped.

Edited March 8, 2018 by artisto

[LilaFowler]

1 hour ago, artisto said:

There is only a nebulous explanation of how her masseter muscles were re-shaped.

Botox injections. Personally I think she needs to ease up on those because she's really starting to look strange.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, LilaFowler said:

Botox injections. Personally I think she needs to ease up on those

Interesting

Went to the googler

Apparently....when the masseter(s) cannot move....jawbone thinning occurs

http://www.tmj.org/site/page?pageId=411

[LilaFowler]

I think she said that her doctor initially suggested the injections because she was clenching her teeth too much and it was giving her headaches. I vaguely recall this in an interview, maybe on WWHL.

[SuprSuprElevated]

7 minutes ago, LilaFowler said:

I think she said that her doctor initially suggested the injections because she was clenching her teeth too much and it was giving her headaches. I vaguely recall this in an interview, maybe on WWHL.

Lithium may have also helped with that teeth clenching thing.

[ghoulina]

17 hours ago, Gam2 said:

I haven’t watched this show in years but do remember that particular dinner. Alex and Simon and their demon children were hours late for Jill’s dinner. After they arrived and the food was finally served, that child ran around the room yelling and grabbed a knife to stab that hamburger. Alex and Simon just sat there like two bumps on a log because they thought that was acceptable behavior. I was appalled by the entire thing and wanted to slap A & S right upside the head for allowing their children to be so out of control. Had that been my child, I’d have yanked his ass up and taken him to the ladie’s room for a good whoop ass. No wonder we have a country full of spoiled, out of control young people. God help us all.

I am of two minds about that scene. For one, the kids shouldn't have been there to begin with. But I think A&S are used to taking their kids to most things with them. And I think all the kids were at that final dinner? Theirs just happened to be younger. Kids that age can be a real handful, especially boys. But I think it would have been better if things had been timely. I believe they were there for HOURS, filming. No wonder the kids got crazy. And I don't envy anyone who would attempt to discipline their kids on camera. I don't think A&S are very strict anyhow, but they may have been apprehensive to say anything with all the cameras on them. They had probably had enough producer shennanigans and were just like, "fuck it". 

[Gam2]

If the show filmed for hours, those boys should have been left at home with a sitter. Once that one boy was running around with a knife stabbing someone’s food, he should have been removed by one or both of his parents and taken home. They didn’t have to discipline their kids on camera. They were irresponsible for taking two little kids to that dinner in the first place.

[SuprSuprElevated]

On 2/2/2018 at 9:52 AM, Rap541 said:

would not be psychologically healthy for Jill at all. 

Or me.

On 2/2/2018 at 1:30 PM, film noire said:

“Jill will probably not be coming back based on the different dynamic last year over my dead rejuvenated snatch.  Never happen", Frankel snorted.  "Life must go on.”

[zoeysmom]

1 hour ago, Gam2 said:

If the show filmed for hours, those boys should have been left at home with a sitter. Once that one boy was running around with a knife stabbing someone’s food, he should have been removed by one or both of his parents and taken home. They didn’t have to discipline their kids on camera. They were irresponsible for taking two little kids to that dinner in the first place.

The show when it was first filmed was called "Manhattan Moms", that is why there was so much focus on the kids.  So I am guessing producers thought it important all the children be there.  

I felt for Alex and Simon because Ramona was hours late.  I did think when the kid started screaming he should have been pulled from the room and been disciplined.   I was kind of rooting for Ramona to get a spanking for being hours late.  Jill had knocked herself out getting the private dining area in that particular area.  This was the good old days where the RH actually picked up the tab.

20 hours ago, enchantingmonkey said:

Did Alex and Simon toned down their desperation to be one of "cool kids" after watching themselves on S1?  I don't remember them being this awful by S3, but maybe I just got used to their nonsense.  

Whatever happened to S1 Jason?  I thought I heard Bethenny call him her soul mate in one of the episodes.  

Alex has said she is appalled at how they behaved Season 1.  I thought they were a welcome addition.  

Season 1 Jason got canned from his lucrative position and sued his employer after kicking Bethenny to the curb.

[Christi]

10 hours ago, artisto said:

Yup

I have always liked that face shape.

There is only a nebulous explanation of how her masseter muscles were re-shaped.

 

 

The biggest and most improved part of her face is her eyes.  If you look at before pics, the outer eye droops down gave her a  super tired, face melting kind of look.  More so when she isnt smiling. It was really a drmatic change when I saw the Season 1 reruns yesterday.

Per the Drs. on the internet, she had a Bottom Lid Eye lift.  It subtle and well done, but is a huge difference if you see side by side photos.

Edited March 8, 2018 by Christi

[film noire]

“...I have not had invasive plastic surgery, I have not had a nose job, I have not had anything done. I have had Botox in my jaw, I am so excited because I looked at the pictures I do look different.” ~Bethenny Frankel (in need of surgery to handle her lengthening nose).

 

Edited March 9, 2018 by film noire

[crgirl412]

On 3/7/2018 at 7:22 PM, Gam2 said:

I haven’t watched this show in years but do remember that particular dinner. Alex and Simon and their demon children were hours late for Jill’s dinner. After they arrived and the food was finally served, that child ran around the room yelling and grabbed a knife to stab that hamburger. Alex and Simon just sat there like two bumps on a log because they thought that was acceptable behavior. I was appalled by the entire thing and wanted to slap A & S right upside the head for allowing their children to be so out of control. Had that been my child, I’d have yanked his ass up and taken him to the ladie’s room for a good whoop ass. No wonder we have a country full of spoiled, out of control young people. God help us all.

Thankfully, they are now the problem of Australia.  Sorry, mates.

Edited March 16, 2018 by crgirl412

[zoeysmom]

A cake, a song, a photo montage and a shout out for exclusive resorts.  Nothing says remembering the good times like running down all the things you did for other people.  Jill always expect the expected.

[biakbiak]

To me that reads what Bobby did for other people.

[SuprSuprElevated]

1 hour ago, zoeysmom said:

A cake, a song, a photo montage and a shout out for exclusive resorts.  Nothing says remembering the good times like running down all the things you did for other people.  Jill always expect the expected.

I was going to say the same thing.  Happy birthday Bobby, but aren't I just a gem!  Blech!  Hope she never comes back.

2 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

To me that reads what Bobby did for other people.

Yes, but reflected back through her.  imo

[heatherchandler]

Of course she has to mention "on our boat and in our homes," "exclusive resorts" (gag) and picking up the check for everyone.  She is disgusting.

On 2/4/2018 at 6:15 AM, BBHN said:

 

Depth has never really been the selling point of any of these shows. It's always been about the superficial. And Jill isn't exactly all that much deeper than most of the other women. Occasionally you might get a poignant moment or episode here and there, but it's always been about a bunch of "rich" women living their lives...

 

 

Or as Brian Moylan calls the show, "Rich Women Doing Things."

[zoeysmom]

3 hours ago, biakbiak said:

To me that reads what Bobby did for other people.

I know in her heart Jill was trying to make it about Bobby and his generosity.  I just think it is interesting the comment goes back and forth between Bobby and pronouns reflecting Bobby as a solo act to ours, we and Camp Zarin.  My favorite: How many friends did we take with to @exclusiveresorts Homes around the world. Thank you for being the most .

Looking through Jill's Instagram she is still very devoted to the memory of Bobby.  I do find Jill's grief very real and he seemed very selfless.  The only thing he could not provide Jill with was his companionship for the rest of her life.

[Celia Rubenstein]

See, this is what I LOVE about Jill. She just can't help herself, lol. She wants to be warm but comes off as bragging. She wants to be gracious but comes off as grand. The other women have all (for the most part, anyway) learned how to temper their behavior and present themselves the way they want to be viewed, but Jill is just hopeless. The real her always comes shining through no matter how hard she tries to Mrs. Bobby Zarin, fancy lady ... she's just dumb old Jill from Long Island, desperately insecure and intent on proving her worth even when nobody is questioning her. She tries so hard to come across a certain way, yet she is never anything but 100% authentic because she just can't hide her real personality.  Even after all these years. I think it's hysterical.

[Natalie68]

I am not sure where to put this but I had a lightbulb go off this weekend as I was rewatching season 2.  Bethenny is talking about Kelly (people didn't really know Kelly yet) and the book Kelly wrote and snarking about her not being a journalist etc.  I think this is exactly where the chef/cook thing was born in Kelly's head!  Bethenny was doing the same thing in Season 2 that Kelly was doing to Bethenny during Scary Island.  Minimizing her accomplishments in a snarky way to bring them down a notch.  I like Bethenny and do not like Kelly but it made me realize Kelly's cook/chef comments made sense looking at the history of the show.