S09.E06: Family Bonds

[Pop Tart]

Quote

The drama comes to a halt when a tragedy affects the Charmer's close circle and they rally to support Olivia.

Air date: 10.19.23

[bosawks]

Drama comes to a halt, when did it start?

I’ve been waiting all season and all I’ve seen is this Austen nonsense.

[goofygirl]

Thank you Jeebus.  A MICHAEL sighting!!  I'm sooo happy he's doing well!! That guy is the BEST!

 

OTOH, WHO is Conner?

Edited October 20, 2023 by goofygirl

[chick binewski]

Michael! 💙

[bosawks]

For fucks sake did Austen actually say the death of his sister and Olivia’s brother is now a “tragic bond”.

Dude, even you aren’t this obtuse.

I’m just going to chalk it up to him being irrevocably dumb.

[Lassus]

How old are these fuckers?  OMG A NUDE.  OMG THEY KISSED.  Maybe my years in the late 90s in San Francisco ruined me for shock, but even 2023 Charleston isn’t goddamned Jane Austen.  
 

BORING

****************************

“Buyer’s remorse”?

Die in a fire, ‘bro’.

Edited October 20, 2023 by Lassus

[Lassus]

……………….
The amount of time they are spending on this non-character death for reality entertainment value has turned super gross.

[Caseysgirl]

What happened to Olivia’s brother?  Did he have a terminal illness or was it an accident?  I certainly hope this is just a reenactment because it would be cruel & inappropriate for Bravo to interfere with this family’s grief for a GD reality show. Also, were all these people close friends of his because it seems like their reactions were a bit over the top. Of course I would feel bad that a friend had lost a brother but all of this weeping and gnashing of teeth seems excessive.

[heatherchandler]

1 hour ago, Caseysgirl said:

What happened to Olivia’s brother?  Did he have a terminal illness or was it an accident?  I certainly hope this is just a reenactment because it would be cruel & inappropriate for Bravo to interfere with this family’s grief for a GD reality show. Also, were all these people close friends of his because it seems like their reactions were a bit over the top. Of course I would feel bad that a friend had lost a brother but all of this weeping and gnashing of teeth seems excessive.

He was their coke dealer.

[Salacious Kitty]

A quick Google revealed an Instagram post from Olivia. Seems like Conner suffered from Lyme disease for something like 17 years. I didn't realize it was fatal. 

[aghst]

3 hours ago, Lassus said:

……………….
The amount of time they are spending on this non-character death for reality entertainment value has turned super gross.

 

2 hours ago, Caseysgirl said:

What happened to Olivia’s brother?  Did he have a terminal illness or was it an accident?  I certainly hope this is just a reenactment because it would be cruel & inappropriate for Bravo to interfere with this family’s grief for a GD reality show. Also, were all these people close friends of his because it seems like their reactions were a bit over the top. Of course I would feel bad that a friend had lost a brother but all of this weeping and gnashing of teeth seems excessive.

Olivia must have consented to them shooting scenes about it.

Probably after some period of mourning.  She didn’t seem that emotional when they got together at Venita’s house.

That can’t be a real therapist and Austen could it?  Would a therapist consent to a session with a client being filmed and put on TV?  Would even Austen agree to it?

But it doesn’t appear like those scenes revealed really personal info, just something about how he might not be ready to marry and have a family because he might fear losing a child like he lost his sister.  That seemed like a dime store psychological observation.

Some of the cast do things together in real life but my sense is that the entire cast are not that close.  But almost everyone weighed in on Olivia losing her brother, as if they knew him.  Venita’s reaction, opening her mouth wide, didn’t look real.

Oh JT is postponing his little launch event for his latest Airbnb because of Olivia.  What a loss, seriously, his mother mocked him on camera and he was hoping to get coverage on the show or something.  How big of him.

[Lassus]

5 hours ago, aghst said:

Olivia must have consented to them shooting scenes about it.

The more steps involved in getting it done, the more gross it seems.

I'm not saying it shouldn't have been done AT ALL, I'm just saying the number of scenes and number of characters who got to play grief theater was gross.

Edited October 20, 2023 by Lassus

[TeeMo]

It felt like this episode had a lot of weird editing which I guess is understandable if they were working around a real life tragedy. 
 

Austen repeatedly saying he didn’t want to make everything about him and then just making everything about him was completely unsurprising and on brand. I thought Olivia was surprisingly googly eyed over the basket Austen dropped off and how he dropped it off and it was honestly the first time in 2 seasons I thought that maybe there had been some real feelings there. 
 

Venita was actually my MVP in this episode for having the sense to not invite Madison to the little gathering for Olivia (and for trying to not come out and say the reason is that Madison is kind of a nasty witch while sort of saying it anyway) and for trying to keep Taylor away as well in the interest of not upsetting Olivia. The gluten free chicken fingers were also a nice touch. 
 

JT and his mother appeared to be on a different show entirely though I did appreciate that even JT’s mother doesn’t seem to have much patience for JT’s bad reality show acting. 

[mandymax]

So much to unpack in this episode.

I held my breath and waited for JT's wine glass to explode as he poured boiling water in it, all the while wondering WHY he's even on the show.

It was so awesome to see Michael, and to see the obvious affection he, Patricia, and Whitney have for one another.  And it was touching that Patricia got teary-eyed after hanging up with him.

They did show Cameran's therapy session in the first couple seasons, so it wasn't entirely out of the norm for them to show Austen's.  He really has a LOT of growing up to do - it was painfully apparent in his dealing with the situation with Olivia's brother.  He's stuck at that developmental stage where you see everything in the world as it relates to YOU.  They say that emotional development stops in kids at the time they go through a trauma, and the accidental death of Austen's sister may well have caused him to emotionally remain at the age he was when she died.

I Googled Olivia's brother, of course, and saw that he'd passed away presumably from Lyme disease.  My childhood best friend contracted Lyme in the '80s, way before the world really knew what it was and what it could do, so it went undiagnosed and untreated for over a year.  I can attest to the physical havoc this disease wreaks, not to mention emotional.  35 years later, she's still confined to a wheelchair most days, has had multiple relapses over the years - it cost her her academic goals, her career goals, her artistic goals, and a number of personal relationships as the disease settled in her brain and sparked personality swings.  I feel for Olivia's brother, and her family, for having had to struggle with it for so long.

I believe the show handled it tastefully, and it was touching to see Shep offer his home to Olivia's family for the duration, and to see Craig cooking them food because "you forget to eat."  Even Leva came through.  And truly, I can't necessarily discount Austen's response - I'm sure it did bring back a lot of memories for him.

[Mahamid Frauded Me]

I have to say I was pretty touched by Shep's reaction to lil Craig being ill. It was also gracious of him to offer his house. Craig's cooking was pretty funny (can't open wine or a can of sauce). It was nice to see them band together for Olivia's tragedy. My heart hurt for her and her family.

[Ss55]

I did  a bit of googling on Olivia's brother and I will just say that I don't think Lyme disease was his cause of death.  In almost every photo of him, he seems to be drinking and partying.  Nothing wrong with that, but if his Lyme was so serious that it ended up being fatal, I just don't see how he could party so much.  Just my opinion of course.

 

[heatherchandler]

1 hour ago, Ss55 said:

I did  a bit of googling on Olivia's brother and I will just say that I don't think Lyme disease was his cause of death.  In almost every photo of him, he seems to be drinking and partying.  Nothing wrong with that, but if his Lyme was so serious that it ended up being fatal, I just don't see how he could party so much.  Just my opinion of course.

 

It wasn’t Lyme disease.  He was an addict.  And drug dealer to the cast basically.  I read a bunch of articles about him when it first happened.

[politichick]

5 hours ago, mandymax said:

So much to unpack in this episode.

I held my breath and waited for JT's wine glass to explode as he poured boiling water in it, all the while wondering WHY he's even on the show.

It was so awesome to see Michael, and to see the obvious affection he, Patricia, and Whitney have for one another.  And it was touching that Patricia got teary-eyed after hanging up with him.

 

I was, like, okay, what kind of glasses does he have because I, too, expected the glass to shatter.

Michael was Patricia's most constant companion. It was lovely to see they remain close. I do miss seeing him regularly. He seemed pretty cheerful, which was good to see, as well.

[howiveaddict]

So  basically they were all mourning the loss of their drug dealer.  Hmm.   I noticed, on the show, no one mentioned the cause of death.  I doubt Lyme would kill someone that many years later.  Still, sad for Olivia.

The program description mentioned a death.  When they showed little Craig being sick, I got scared for a minute.  Especially with the preview showing Taylor so hysterical on the phone. Bravo got me again!

[1011101010001]

17 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

A quick Google revealed an Instagram post from Olivia. Seems like Conner suffered from Lyme disease for something like 17 years. I didn't realize it was fatal. 

She said it had been misdiagnosed for years causing all sorts of damage to his internal organs.

17 hours ago, aghst said:

That seemed like a dime store psychological observation.

Some guys just like to be fuckboys.  See Shep.

[StevieRocks]

Craig, when you try putting on shows and being disingenuous, the universe manages to show that you're a useless klutz who can't even open a bottle of wine or properly use a can opener. Good Lord.

In other news, with all the FFing, this show is now only about 8 minutes long. The only thing I care about here is that Little Craig is alright. Sorry not sorry.

[aghst]

1 minute ago, StevieRocks said:

Craig, when you try putting on shows and being disingenuous, the universe manages to show that you're a useless klutz who can't even open a bottle of wine or properly use a can opener. Good Lord.

When they did a commercial to promote the WWHL episode right after this episode, they showed Craig smiling broadly.

Kind o weird, this is suppose to be a sad episode, everyone showing grim faces but Craig is smiling and going to yuk it up with Andy, who also was smiling.

Maybe things weren't as mournful as they depicted in the episode.  Craig apparently doesn't seem sad any more, though the episode and the events depicted happened months ago.

 

 

[StevieRocks]

Watching Austen the imbecile act like he's deep is patently offensive. You're a desperate, boring lump trying desperately to remain relevant on a show that started STINKING when you got cast. GO AWAY. 

[1011101010001]

2 hours ago, aghst said:

When they did a commercial to promote the WWHL episode right after this episode, they showed Craig smiling broadly.

Kind o weird, this is suppose to be a sad episode, everyone showing grim faces but Craig is smiling and going to yuk it up with Andy, who also was smiling.

Maybe things weren't as mournful as they depicted in the episode.  Craig apparently doesn't seem sad any more, though the episode and the events depicted happened months ago.

 

 

He died in January.

[Mountainair]

The only soft spot I have for Austin is his sisters tragic death. I go to Chimney Rock once a year with my own kids and there is a fence around the area where I presume his sister fell. I live in the area and am very picky about where I take my kids hiking partly because of his story and witnessing a lot of unsafe situations on these mountains mostly due to little parent supervision. Just the other week a hiker fell to her death on the parkway. 
The last time I actually hiked Chimney Rock my kids were little. The elevator was down and we climbed the 499 steps to get to the top. My daughter was an infant so I had her strapped to me. After we were done we climbed down and I put her in her stroller and a rock slide occurred. I went to take the older ones to the bathroom while a family member stayed with her. Heard a terrible rumbling sound and ran out to see a boulder headed her way. My family member abandoned her dog and saved my kiddo. 
I love where I live but it’s not a place to be taken lightly either. 

[ZettaK]

JT's mother has his number.

Little Craig is adorable, and I'm glad he is ok.

Nice scene with Michael, Patricia, and Whitney.

I have no interest for Olivia, Shep, Taylor, and Austen's story line who try desperately to remain relevant on the show. 

 

Edited October 22, 2023 by ZettaK

[kristen111]

Havent watched as it got very boring.   So, her new husband (I don’t believe it) is out in California, so she goes around everyone’s house with a bottle of something and spreads the dirt.   What a yenta she is.  Is she the town crier now?  I mean Madison.  The whole show sucks without the regulars.  Too much Austin, Olivia, Shep, Taylor and the new guy.

[slowpoked]

So icky to end this episode on Austen's "therapy session," and for Bravo to sell him as this deeply misunderstood man who can't move on from his sister's death.

Yes, I'm sure his sister's death is traumatic, and grief manifests itself in different ways. And for some, there's really no moving on even with time. But c'mon:

1. Breaking up with his long-time girlfriend to be on a Bravo reality show so he can piggyback on Shep's dick to sleep with more women,

2. Attending bachelorette parties while already in a relationship with Chelsea and coming over afterwards at her place expecting to have sex like nothing happened,

3. Flirting with Chelsea and keeping the door "ajar" even after he has already moved on from her with Victoria.

4. Sleeping/hooking up/kissing his friend's exes - Peyton (Shep), Lindsey (Craig), Taylor (Shep), and

5. Most infamous of them all, yanking on his dick when caught in the act by Madison with two naked chicks in his apartment and their underwear all over his place (immortalized by a tape itself)

 

have nothing to do with his sister's traumatic death and him not being able to process it still. All the behavior above is just due to him being an asshole who can't keep his dick inside his pants when he's in a relationship - simple as that. There's no "layers" to Austen, and there's no need to pretend there is, producers. Even his parents can see through his schtick!

At least Shep is self-aware enough to acknowledge he is who he is (an asshole who likes to sleep around). It's too late to separate yourself, Austen, from the man you emulated from the very beginning.

Edited October 23, 2023 by slowpoked

[aghst]

Trying to remember Austen's timeline.

He was introduced as Shep's friend.  Had Chelsea been on previous seasons but they played up them developing a relationship?

Were they together one season or more than one season?

At some point, between seasons, the sex video came out.  Was it after his first season on the show or had he been on a couple of seasons?

Of course that video was like chum for the Bravo sharks and they made all or most of the following season about the video, with that season ending with Shep bringing the two women in the video to some gala event to troll Austen.

Then at some point, after however many seasons they were supposedly together, Madison cursed him out and made a big show of breaking up with him and demeaning him, emasculating him verbally.

Chelsea didn't badmouth him, though was she on the show after they supposedly had broken up or she just quit the show?

But Madison and now Olivia has badmouthed him.

 

 

[heatherchandler]

24 minutes ago, slowpoked said:

Lindsey (Craig)

Lindsey??

Edited October 23, 2023 by heatherchandler

[slowpoked]

44 minutes ago, heatherchandler said:

Lindsey??

Craig's girlfriend during the lockdown. Before Paige. Craig found out after they have broken up that Austen slept with her not too long after they separated.

 

48 minutes ago, aghst said:

He was introduced as Shep's friend.  Had Chelsea been on previous seasons but they played up them developing a relationship?

Chelsea was a "friend" of the main cast. Their storyline was that Shep first started to date her (or try to), then Austen swooped in, but tbf to Austen, Chelsea liked him more than Shep. They ended that season together as a couple. But the next season, they were broken up and Chelsea did tell Naomi's Austen's tendencies with other women.

 

50 minutes ago, aghst said:

At some point, between seasons, the sex video came out.  Was it after his first season on the show or had he been on a couple of seasons?

I would guess third or fourth season with Austen. First season - triangle with Chelsea and Shep. Second season - triangle Victoria and Chelsea. Third season - Madison??

[Vivigirl10]

Nice rundown, Slowpoked!!!

I wonder what Austen's seemingly nice parents think of their absolute loser of a son?  This is a total aside but wowza - looks like they did a major retirement upgrade there!!!  I think most people do the opposite?  Their old house was certainly pretty and nice and they have always appeared "comfortable" if you will, but these new digs tell an entirely different story.  Maybe Austen is closer to Shep territory than was previously thought.

Something about Venita is so forced.  And I actually don't think she means to intentionally be that way. She just kind of bulldozes headfirst into everything.  And hey Leva, if you're so close to Olivia why don't you host the group over at your big ass house?  That was so weird.  Can we take a moment to fondly remember how Venita treated Olivia when she came on the scene and what she so kindly accused her of being?  When Olivia was walking up the steps to go see her non-friends, you could practically read the disclaimer:  "contractually obligated visit". 

This whole episode was gross.     

[1011101010001]

On 10/24/2023 at 12:34 PM, Vivigirl10 said:

Maybe Austen is closer to Shep territory than was previously thought.

I thought his dad was an FBI agent which I’m sure pays well but wouldn’t make you wealthy.  Maybe the childhood home is in a desirable part of Charlotte and has appreciated a lot and the new home is in a less expensive area.  I wonder if they sued re the daughter’s death and got a settlement or verdict too.

[heatherchandler]

1 hour ago, MrBuhBye said:

I thought his dad was an FBI agent which I’m sure pays well but wouldn’t make you wealthy.  Maybe the childhood home is in a desirable part of Charlotte and has appreciated a lot and the new home is in a less expensive area.  I wonder if they sued re the daughter’s death and got a settlement or verdict too.

The mom ran some company if I recall.. she was cfo or ceo.  
eta- ok never mind she’s a homemaker, she doesn’t work.

Edited October 26, 2023 by heatherchandler

[bioprof]

I might be remembering this wrong, but here goes:

The "retirement" home is on Seabrook Island. I thought his parents, in an earlier season, had a home on Kiawah Island. I know Someone did!

If so, they could have sold the Charlotte home and Kiawah home to easily afford something on Seabrook.  Seabrook is nice, but the real estate is considerably less expensive than Kiawah. Explains a lot if I'm remembering the earlier episode correctly.

[ZettaK]

On 10/25/2023 at 9:31 PM, heatherchandler said:

The mom ran some company if I recall.. she was cfo or ceo.  
eta- ok never mind she’s a homemaker, she doesn’t work.

She said that she retired recently, so she must have worked.

[AEJ79]

On 10/20/2023 at 10:39 AM, mandymax said:

 

I Googled Olivia's brother, of course, and saw that he'd passed away presumably from Lyme disease.  My childhood best friend contracted Lyme in the '80s, way before the world really knew what it was and what it could do, so it went undiagnosed and untreated for over a year.  I can attest to the physical havoc this disease wreaks, not to mention emotional.  35 years later, she's still confined to a wheelchair most days, has had multiple relapses over the years - it cost her her academic goals, her career goals, her artistic goals, and a number of personal relationships as the disease settled in her brain and sparked personality swings.  I feel for Olivia's brother, and her family, for having had to struggle with it for so long.

 

Olivia’s brother unfortunately died of a fentanyl overdose.

[heatherchandler]

On 10/20/2023 at 12:55 AM, Salacious Kitty said:

A quick Google revealed an Instagram post from Olivia. Seems like Conner suffered from Lyme disease for something like 17 years. I didn't realize it was fatal. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-12703019/Olivia-Flowers-reveals-brother-died-accidental-fentanyl-overdose.html
 

Lyme disease is not fatal.  He died of a drug overdose.

[Salacious Kitty]

5 hours ago, heatherchandler said:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-12703019/Olivia-Flowers-reveals-brother-died-accidental-fentanyl-overdose.html
 

Lyme disease is not fatal.  He died of a drug overdose.

The OD news is recent information. At the time, I googled and found Olivia's post about Lyme. I also noted that I didn't think it was fatal. 

[heatherchandler]

4 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

The OD news is recent information. At the time, I googled and found Olivia's post about Lyme. I also noted that I didn't think it was fatal. 

I’m sorry I didn’t mean to phrase it like that.  I wonder if she was posting about him having Lyme to throw people off about his real issues and didn’t figure the ME would make his cause of death public.  Yes the OD news is now official, and sad but I don’t think a surprise at all.. it was well known that he was a drug dealer to Thomas, and that he “dated” Kathryn.  
 

I truly feel for anyone with addiction issues.

[Salacious Kitty]

He dated Kathryn? What an incestuous world Charleston is. 

[zenme]

Off he had access to drugs, I’m sure Kathryn would find that attractive.

[Chalby]

On 10/19/2023 at 10:55 PM, Salacious Kitty said:

A quick Google revealed an Instagram post from Olivia. Seems like Conner suffered from Lyme disease for something like 17 years. I didn't realize it was fatal. 

That's what I heard as well. Poor guy. I only wonder if it was really a shock or if they edited to imply that? It's hard to lose an adult sibling, but Austen childhood bond with his sister is not even comparable. Sad, but a different type of grief given the ages.

12 hours ago, heatherchandler said:

Yes the OD news is now official, and sad but I don’t think a surprise at all.. it was well known that he was a drug dealer to Thomas, and that he “dated” Kathryn.  

Perhaps having Lyme disease promoted his drug use? Sheesh, it seems the opioid/meth crisis is hitting all cities. Everyone I know seems to "know of" someone struggling with addiction.

Edited November 3, 2023 by Chalby

[Chalby]

On 10/23/2023 at 4:31 PM, aghst said:

Chelsea didn't badmouth him, though was she on the show after they supposedly had broken up or she just quit the show?

Remember that episode when Chelsea actually ran away from him when he tried to set her up for a marriage proposal? She was so appalled and embarrassed, but he's a desperate, thirsty boy. I always liked Chelsea.

[Chalby]

On 10/20/2023 at 3:14 AM, Lassus said:

I'm not saying it shouldn't have been done AT ALL, I'm just saying the number of scenes and number of characters who got to play grief theater was gross.

I'm curious when he died. An OD would be shocking info, even if eventually anticipated. I thought Leva's response during the restaurant phonecall seem legit. The cameras were halted right afterwards. If this was "reenacted", that's beyond gross.

[Salacious Kitty]

40 minutes ago, Chalby said:

I'm curious when he died. An OD would be shocking info, even if eventually anticipated. I thought Leva's response during the restaurant phonecall seem legit. The cameras were halted right afterwards. If this was "reenacted", that's beyond gross.

He died in late January. Leva probably knew him from Republic. 

[slowpoked]

4 hours ago, Chalby said:

Perhaps having Lyme disease promoted his drug use? Sheesh, it seems the opioid/meth crisis is hitting all cities. Everyone I know seems to "know of" someone struggling with addiction.

Yes, this is what Olivia said in the article. Due to several misdiagnosis of his Lyme disease, her brother eventually got addicted to painkillers, whatever would make the pain go away. Because the family didn't know what he was dealing with. When he was eventually diagnosed with Lyme disease, he's into deep with his addiction. It was too late.

[aghst]

4 hours ago, slowpoked said:

Yes, this is what Olivia said in the article. Due to several misdiagnosis of his Lyme disease, her brother eventually got addicted to painkillers, whatever would make the pain go away. Because the family didn't know what he was dealing with. When he was eventually diagnosed with Lyme disease, he's into deep with his addiction. It was too late.

But he also sold drugs?

Can't blame that on Lyme disease.

[Lassus]

On 11/3/2023 at 8:50 PM, aghst said:

But he also sold drugs?

Can't blame that on Lyme disease.

Sure, but when his drug dealer news comes from the indisputable Twitter and the objectively true internet, I think everyone's knowledge of the matter is suspect.

[RedHawk]

1 hour ago, Lassus said:

Sure, but when his drug dealer news comes from the indisputable Twitter and the objectively true internet, I think everyone's knowledge of the matter is suspect.

Exactly. Maybe we can let the rumors go. It's easy to believe that the rumors are true, especially among this crowd. Selling drugs is horrible because it harms others so I'm not just shrugging it off.

The young man is dead now, and his family and friends grieve their loss. Maybe it's completely true that he suffered from Lyme disease starting when he was young and turned to drugs to handle his stress and pain. That's a tragedy. Addiction is a nightmare for the person and all those who love them, however it begins, and too often it ends in early death.

Edited November 8, 2023 by RedHawk
Additional thoughts