S01.E04: Desert Détente

[Thumper]

What was up with Caroline Stanbury tonight?  She totally contradicted herself and denied saying what we all saw and heard her say!  I felt bad for Sergio.  Yikes. 
 

[Straycat80]

Caroline S. is a snob. I’m glad they played back the clip of her saying what Lesa accused her of saying. She’s a vile and jealous person. She must be very insecure.  This marriage to her boy toy will not last.

I don’t like Ayan but I loved the love story about her and her husband. 

[Marley]

Sergio is a moron. He doesn’t seem to understand surrogacy. If he was so obsessed with someone carrying a baby maybe he shouldn’t have married someone who is close to 50. I still think there’s something off with their relationship tho.

This version kind of sucks so far.

[DrSparkles]

$30 million on a license plate? 
I’m interested in these relationships with younger men!

I’d also like to see them moving around Dubai, not in their little bubble, seeing the cultural interactions.

Lesa is giving me Kenya/ATL vibes & I think Stansbury thinks she’s the star of the show…

Edited June 23, 2022 by DrSparkles
More to say

[Hiyo]

Quote

seeing the cultural interactions

To be honest, not much to see there in terms of cultural attractions. Especially since locals only make up 15% of the population.

[mytmo]

I don't know what made me laugh harder; Caroline Stansbury and her carrying a baby close to 50 or those big clown shoes she wears.

[sugarbaker design]

9 hours ago, Thumper said:

What was up with Caroline Stanbury tonight?

She was hammered.

2 hours ago, DrSparkles said:

Lesa is giving me Kenya/ATL vibes

I don't know about that but Lesa does win the cutest kids award.

[izabella]

4 hours ago, DrSparkles said:

I’d also like to see them moving around Dubai, not in their little bubble, seeing the cultural interactions.

You're seeing it.  This is Dubai.  People live in their multi-high rise complexes and pretty much all their interactions are with other ex-pats inside those bubbles.  The locals never interact with the ex-pats, and neither of them interact with the foreign poor people who are the workers and laborers there.  There are no attractions, other than tall buildings recently built because this was a Bedouin society, with some fishing, before oil was discovered and the "locals" all became filthy rich and starting using foreign laborers they keep trapped in inhumane conditions to  build everything and to serve them in their homes and elsewhere.  Shopping malls are the main places people go because it's so freaking hot that everything is indoors, including skiing and aquariums, and  there isn't much else to do.   When it comes to Dubai, there's really no "there" there. 

Edited June 23, 2022 by izabella

[MaggieG]

Ayan during the walk with her husband was the first time I liked her. Probably because she was being normal and casual and not her whole "I look good, you are basic" schtick. The dress she was wearing was also very pretty.

[Straycat80]

2 hours ago, mytmo said:

I don't know what made me laugh harder; Caroline Stansbury and her carrying a baby close to 50 or those big clown shoes she wears.

She was on WWHL wearing giant red platforms, she looked ridiculous. 
She also said on WWHL that she’s got a fertilized baby boy embryo all set for her to carry. You can tell she doesn’t want to carry or raise another kid, she’s only doing it to hang onto her boy husband. 

[bichonblitz]

4 minutes ago, Straycat80 said:

She also said on WWHL that she’s got a fertilized baby boy embryo all set for her to carry. You can tell she doesn’t want to carry or raise another kid, she’s only doing it to hang onto her boy husband. 

There's no guarantee she will be able to carry the baby to full term. She should use a surrogate.  Her boy husband was in the audience. With bleach blond hair. He looks so young and appears to not be too smart. 

It's a great marriage when you admit if you don't give your boy husband a baby he will leave you. Do people not talk about anything before getting married anymore? 

[Straycat80]

23 minutes ago, bichonblitz said:

There's no guarantee she will be able to carry the baby to full term. She should use a surrogate.  Her boy husband was in the audience. With bleach blond hair. He looks so young and appears to not be too smart. 

It's a great marriage when you admit if you don't give your boy husband a baby he will leave you. Do people not talk about anything before getting married anymore? 

Agree! The dumbass husband told her on the episode that he doesn’t want a surrogate to carry the baby, he wants her to. He’s selfish and she’s desperate to hold onto him. I’d feel sorry for her but I don’t, she’s old enough to know better. 

Edited June 23, 2022 by Straycat80

[SemiCharmedLife]

Stanbury was definitely  over served at the party.  She showed her true colors when Sergio was talking to Ayan and Lesa, even though he was trying to mend fences.  I couldn't believe her comment to Lesa- it demeans her husband and shows how low she can go.

[Baltimore Betty]

We are what three episodes in and I am still wondering what each episode was about, it is a bit boring, my take on every epi so far is some woman said this or that about or to some other woman, oh yeah they go to a spa or want to open one, ugly clothing and bragging about how fierce they are, they talk to each other about what the other one said about them in private and in reality I swear I have no idea of the subjects they talked about.  It has been a blur for me and I could watch it with the sound down while doing the dishes or reading and would get the same result.

[DrSparkles]

9 hours ago, Hiyo said:

To be honest, not much to see there in terms of cultural attractions. Especially since locals only make up 15% of the population.

Interactions not attractions ;)

@izabella  gave helpful info, TY!

[Hiyo]

Eh, it applies to both, given how much the expats outnumber the locals.

Edited June 23, 2022 by Hiyo

[FizzyPuff]

8 hours ago, Straycat80 said:

Agree! The dumbass husband told her on the episode that he doesn’t want a surrogate to carry the baby, he wants her to. He’s selfish and she’s desperate to hold onto him. I’d feel sorry for her but I don’t, she’s old enough to know better. 

First I thought Sergio (I don’t know how to spell it) was harmless like some lost puppy following Caroline S around, but when he insisted that she should carry the baby and not a surrogate and also that his parents wanted to be grandparents I thought F U asshole. For Caroline I’m guessing a pregnancy would be dangerous at her age plus she’s probably high risk for a miscarriage. I think her daughters right it would be best if he went of and had a child with another woman. She must be desperate, I'm not sure why she can’t be happy single or find an older man,I’m sure there’s plenty of rich older single men in Dubai and I doubt they’d give a damn if she’s got kids because they probably would have kids too. 

Edited June 24, 2022 by FizzyPuff

[princelina]

16 hours ago, DrSparkles said:

I think Stansbury thinks she’s the star of the show…

Oh she definitely does but IMO she's really fallen from her LoL days, when she had the house, the family, with the traveling husband and the gay makeup artist she traveled with and gossiped about her friends with.  She was as rude and self-centered as she is now, but that's how you be a HBIC.  Now she's just everywhere (other ladies came without their men, plus the hen party) with a guy who would have been better off playing the role of her daughter's boyfriend, with one or more little dog in tow - kind of pitiful.

[sugarbaker design]

10 hours ago, princelina said:

and the gay makeup artist she traveled with and gossiped about her friends with. 

She doesn't need Luke, she has Sergio now!  Luke was Dorinda's stylist and appeared on RHoNYC.

[izabella]

I was looking forward to this show, but all the petty fighting before we even know who they all are is too much.  I don't think the women are meshing well with each other. 

I was hoping for a more fun, warmer show, like Family Karma where they are actually from a community of people who know each other and generally get along.

[pasdetrois]

This show demonstrates what Bravo thinks of its viewers.

[JAYJAY1979]

Only time Ive liked Ayan was when she and her hubby were walking hand in hand remembering how they met..how her family didn't approve of him.  She was being human and not that exhausting parasite she's portraying elsewhere.

I'm going to be honest and say the reason she and Stansbury don't click is because both of them are too much alike to appreciate the positives in one another.  It's why Nina and Sara are friendly with both of them, because neither  of them want to be HBIC.

Lesa was upset when she thought her husband was talking down to her..but he was giving her sound business advice.  She tends to talk down to him.  Her sons are adorable though.

Caroline B is messy...but she does love her son and is ambitious about building a brand.

This show is so interesting with the different backgrounds of all the women along with their family lives, that the petty dramas aren't needed.

[TheCouchPotato]

Oh, Sergio wants another child. Doesn't he realize that Caroline already has 4 including him. Such an odd couple...

I think I find this show unbearable because all they talk about is their wealth and status.  They're so one dimensional, which says a a lot when you talk about Bravo housewives. 

Edited June 28, 2022 by TheCouchPotato

[Hiyo]

Quote

I think I find this show unbearable because all they talk about is their wealth and status

Don't forget all their "Women in Dubai..."/"Life in Dubai..." THs.

[AryasMum]

On 6/23/2022 at 8:38 PM, FizzyPuff said:

First I thought Sergio (I don’t know how to spell it) was harmless like some lost puppy following Caroline S around, but when he insisted that she should carry the baby and not a surrogate and also that his parents wanted to be grandparents I thought F U asshole. For Caroline I’m guessing a pregnancy would be dangerous at her age plus she’s probably high risk for a miscarriage. I think her daughters right it would be best if he went of and had a child with another woman. She must be desperate, I'm not sure why she can’t be happy single or find an older man,I’m sure there’s plenty of rich older single men in Dubai and I doubt they’d give a damn if she’s got kids because they probably would have kids too. 

Unfortunately Caroline is probably a couple of decades too old for a rich, older man. I was frankly shocked that Yolanda was able to land one, but it didn’t take long until he moved on to someone twenty years younger. 

[Chatty Cake]

I keep hoping the franchise will pick up but it’s my least favorite of the housewives. Caroline is mean and seems unhappy. Her and Sergio do not look like a couple in love. She does not seem interested in having a child and if that was so important to him he should have chosen better.

The others aren’t as nasty as Caroline but they aren’t the most fun group to watch. 

[Vandy10]

Ok, I’m slowly catching up on this series. Still a few episodes behind. I mostly gave up on HWs shows after Teresa went to jail, so it’s been a while. I decided to watch this show because of the years I lived in Dubai. But anyway, you know how there’s always someone/many someones each series who have no where near the wealth they say they do (*cough, Teresa, cough*)? Well, I’m pretty sure that’s Caroline B on this HWs series. I first twigged to it in the first episode when she said she has 2 homes in Dubai. I suspect she actually has her real home/apt, which is quite modest, and then this other house used for filming. Probably paid for by production, like Kathryn on Southern Charm.

And then this episode she mentioned her son goes to a local public school. If you haven’t lived in Dubai, it’s hard to convey just how odd of a choice this is. No one sends their kids to public, government-run schools. Not even Emiratis. The UAE has THE MOST privatized education system in the world. Everyone (local and expat) sends their kids to private American/British/IB schools. And they all cost a pretty penny. But the public schools are bad, especially the boys’ sections, which have notoriously bad behavior. I’m guessing Caroline B’s son was experiencing a lot more bullying than he let on. Poor kid. No matter what Caroline B said, public schools in the UAE are NOT like American private schools.

Now, I don’t follow any of these people on social media, so I could be wrong. But again, it’s such an odd choice to send your kid to public school in Dubai that I can only assume it’s due to a lack of money.

[Hiyo]

Yeah, even expat middle class families in the GCC work and save and sometimes live below their means to make sure their kids go to a private school. If she is as rich as she claims to be, she should be able to afford sending her kid to GEMS or ASD.

[Vandy10]

34 minutes ago, Hiyo said:

Yeah, even expat middle class families in the GCC work and save and sometimes live below their means to make sure their kids go to a private school. If she is as rich as she claims to be, she should be able to afford sending her kid to GEMS or ASD.

Yep. But GEMS or ASD would cost as much for 1 year of elementary as one year of a public university in the States. 
 

I’m super curious what school each of the kids on the show goes to. I know Caroline’s kids go to one of the British schools, because Yasmine came home talking about how she had a revision class for IGCSE exams earlier in the season. To be clear, I don’t think any of these shows should actually focus on these kids and their schools, for their own emotional health and physical safety. But I am curious.

[Hiyo]

But surely someone who owns 2 homes in Dubai can afford to send their kids to either GEMS or ASD, no? ;)

British schools aren't cheap either in Dubai, so we do know Caroline and/or her ex-husband can afford to send their kids to one of them.