S18.E13. You are Cordially Not Invited

[RealHousewife]

2 hours ago, bravofan27 said:

Something dark is going on in Tamra's life that is making her deeply unhappy and extraordinarily jealous of pretty much everyone. She doesn't talk about her life, she deflects on what is going on in other's lives. Contrary to Heather who ONLY talks about her life-- but how great it is. 

Alexis may be "so in love" but she seems miserable. When she is on camera, she looks like she has just been crying, if about to cry, or actually crying.

I wonder what's up, because Tamra's life look pretty nice on the outside. She has her health, a a great lifestyle, nice husband, has kids. The biggest thing seems to be that she has no relationship with one of her daughters. 

I've noticed that too. Alexis brags about how great John is, but if he is, why so unhappy?

I think if these women were both happy with their own lives, they would take it easy on Shannon. 

[pythonite]

I sure enjoyed furious Alexis kicking those two hapless interfering boobs out of her & John Janssen's rattlesnakes lair. Shannon's text was perfect.

[Sweet-tea]

15 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

Bingo! People always talk about Marilyn as if she is SO much bigger and curvier than modern actresses. Everyone who's seen her clothes has said most women couldn't fit into them. It's true she wasn't a stick, but to me she looked to be around 4-6, a little bigger when pregnant, and then maybe 0-2 time of her death. She didn't even have the huge bosom everyone talks about. 

Agree! It has bothered me a long time. I think some of it is due to vanity sizing, which has made the numbers lower and the measurements bigger over the past several decades. Marilyn's weight fluctuated, but she was naturally a slim woman. I remember reading a book about her autopsy, and IIRC it said she was 5'5" and about 117 lbs at her death. The dress she wore when she sang to JFK was super tiny. I remember Katie Couric remarking on it when they had the actual dress on a segment on the Today show. 

I empathize with Emily. I'm not overweight but I've struggled with body image issues my whole life. However, the first thing I thought when she talked about being criticized over Instagram is, "Stop posting pictures of yourself!" Doing so invites scrutiny and criticism from tons of nameless people who feel safe hiding behind their devices. Many will say mean things they never would say publicly. The Instagram culture is doing damage to the psyche of many people, especially women. 

[hottesthw]

1 hour ago, Sweet-tea said:

Stop posting pictures of yourself!" Doing so invites scrutiny and criticism from tons of nameless people who feel safe hiding behind their devices. Many will say mean things they never would say publicly. The Instagram culture is doing damage to the psyche of many people, especially women. 

This is so true. And what’s sick is that Emily will post and endure all the negativity that comes with it because she so desperately needs those 12 people that tell her she is beautiful to validate herself. Watching her over the years has exposed that she is very sad and pathetic. Giving up her “real” job to be a part of this mess, and then the physical vanity changes all while crying “poor me”. She’s as exhausting as Shannon is to watch. 

[goofygirl]

Personally, I'm GLAD Alexis isn't going to London.  Ugh.  Can't stand her and Johnny J...

He's sure making himself out to be a major asswipe, isn't he? What a stellar reputation to uphold.

[UsernameFatigue]

11 hours ago, pythonite said:

I sure enjoyed furious Alexis kicking those two hapless interfering boobs out of her & John Janssen's rattlesnakes lair. Shannon's text was perfect.

It is only Alexis's lair. Johnny J still has the same place he had when he was dating Shannon. Alexis has said (not only the show but somewhere else, because she can't stop talking) that they will not live together until her two youngest graduate from high school in two years. Which begs the question, why the big hurry to get engaged after 9 months together? 

I had also read that she was shopping for wedding venues. So is that for the summer of 2026 after her kids will have graduated? Or do they plan on marrying and living separately? Sounds like Johhny J had Alexis as snowed as he had Shannon. 

Edited October 5 by UsernameFatigue

[Sweet-tea]

On 10/3/2024 at 10:51 PM, politichick said:

But does Emily seriously think she's a fucking size 6? What is wrong with her? I could not believe my ears. I am not a size 6 and way smaller than Emily, the camera adds 10 pounds be damned. Get thee to a therapist, girl. And having said all of that, I do think she looks great, but she's got some very serious issues!!!

I couldn't believe it when she said she was a size 6. I thought maybe she was speaking about what she wanted to be, because it's obvious she's not a 6. 

I don't remember Emily seeming this insecure the first few seasons she was on the show. It's strange, but it almost seems like her weight loss has made her more, not less, insecure. Or perhaps it has just made her hyper-focused on her appearance? I suppose all of the women are to a degree, which is why we see so many of them have plastic surgery procedures, weight loss and other physical changes between seasons. 

On 10/4/2024 at 5:01 AM, Chatty Cake said:

John J must want Alexis to have a Bravo paycheck.  They are both gross and I doubt anyone enjoys them on the show. The only thing that would be a little funny is if they fired Tamra and offered her spot to Alexis.  I in no way want Alexis on the show but it would be briefly comical.

Heather said all the right things to Emily until she told her she’s curvy and voluptuous.  In Heathers world that means fat. I saw Emily’s face fall a little when Heather said that but at that point what else could she say?  

Yep "voluptuous" is sometimes code for overweight. But Heather said it about Alexis too, and Alexis is slim. 

Edited October 6 by Sweet-tea

[Sweet-tea]

18 hours ago, bravofan27 said:

Something dark is going on in Tamra's life that is making her deeply unhappy and extraordinarily jealous of pretty much everyone. She doesn't talk about her life, she deflects on what is going on in other's lives. Contrary to Heather who ONLY talks about her life-- but how great it is. 

Alexis may be "so in love" but she seems miserable. When she is on camera, she looks like she has just been crying, if about to cry, or actually crying.

I wonder if Tamra and Eddie are having problems. Watch his body language in the dinner party scene. He looked fed up with Tamra and didn't even follow her when she left. He also got friendlier to everyone when she was gone, and he seemed more relaxed without her. I wonder if he feels burdened being married to Tamra. 

Something is off with Alexis. As someone said upthread, she's twitchy. I don't remember her being hyper and erratic like this when she was on before. I wonder if she's on Adderall or a similar med. I've heard a lot of women use it off label to control their weight. 

Edited October 5 by Sweet-tea

[bravofan27]

On 10/3/2024 at 10:01 PM, politichick said:

Alexis is a fucking idiot. If Shannon did to her what she did to Shannon would she invite her on a trip? She should have kept her stupid fucking mouth shut instead of carrying Johnny J's water. I cannot stand her silly ass.

Alexis did successfully get Peggy to leave the show, basically immediately into the next season. She was out, never to be seen from again. Maybe she's still riding that high and thinks she can oust Shannon.

I have got the feeling that Emily feels more than a little threatened about Alexis maybe taking her spot on the show. She was extra extra mean to Alexis this season. 

Probably now she's not too worried about it. Also, the 7 minute start to next episode is on bravotv now.

Edited October 5 by bravofan27

[sugarbaker design]

Presently Alexis from OC and Whitney from SLC are in a tie for biggest asshole in the Bravo HW universe.

[ZettaK]

On 10/4/2024 at 11:12 AM, politichick said:

I thought she said they were good parents but she's sorry they didn't explore or encourage her to explore her Korean heritage. That said, she could have done a bit of exploring on her own once she was a teenager, or whatever, though the state/city she grew up in might have limited that.

She grew up in Georgia (I think Atlanta).

On 10/4/2024 at 12:14 PM, Palimelon said:

Didn't RHONY already do a London trip?

Dorinda, and Carol went to London, not all of them.

[ZettaK]

On 10/4/2024 at 6:29 PM, RealHousewife said:

True. OC is more real that way. Definitely makes for better TV. 

Yes, I'm glad Shannon finally got a break. It's about time. So far, it's like the show has wanted to torture Shannon. 

Absolutely. As Heather said, most women have body issues to varying degrees. (There is also more pressure to have curves now.) I get that vanity sizing can be a confidence booster, but it can also be annoying when you're too skinny to shop somewhere. I've experienced when 0s are too big on me. Like most of us, Emily probably has clothing of various sizes in her closet. 

Bingo! People always talk about Marilyn as if she is SO much bigger and curvier than modern actresses. Everyone who's seen her clothes has said most women couldn't fit into them. It's true she wasn't a stick, but to me she looked to be around 4-6, a little bigger when pregnant, and then maybe 0-2 time of her death. She didn't even have the huge bosom everyone talks about. 

"regular" Marilyn

pregnant Marilyn

super skinny Marilyn-every bit as small as modern actresses here

Marilyn Monroe was very small at the time of her death.

Edited October 6 by ZettaK

[ZettaK]

21 hours ago, UsernameFatigue said:

It is only Alexis's lair. Johnny J still has the same place he had when he was dating Shannon. Alexis has said (not only the show but somewhere else, because she can't stop talking) that they will not live together until her two youngest graduate from high school in two years. Which begs the question, why the big hurry to get engaged after 9 months together? 

I had also read that she was shopping for wedding venues. So is that for the summer of 2026 after her kids will have graduated? Or do they plan on marrying and living separately? Sounds like Johhny J had Alexis as snowed as he had Shannon. 

The wedding will supposedly take place next year. Maybe Alexis wants to be married in order to live with Johnny J since she is such a good Christian.

[Palimelon]

Quote

Dorinda, and Carol went to London, not all of them.

Actually, I was (kind of) right. They did a semi-group trip to London, in season 5, with Heather, Luann, Carole, and Sonja, but without Ramona and Aviva. That was the trip earlier in the season.

The Real Housewives of New York City Recap: London, Finally.

 

[ZettaK]

21 hours ago, Sweet-tea said:

I couldn't believe it when she said she was a six 6. I thought maybe she was speaking about what she wanted to be, because it's obvious she's not a 6. 

I don't remember Emily seeming this insecure the first few seasons she was on the show. It's strange, but it almost seems like her weight loss has made her more, not less, insecure. Or perhaps it has just made her hyper-focused on her appearance? I suppose all of the women are to a degree, which is why we see so many of them have plastic surgery procedures, weight loss and other physical changes between seasons. 

Yep "voluptuous" is sometimes code for overweight. But Heather said it about Alexis too, and Alexis is slim. 

I think Emily is more aware, and more insecure now.

[Wicked]

Heather hosted the London trip and famously didn't invite Ramona, I can't remember why Aviva didn't go

[amarante]

On 10/4/2024 at 5:34 AM, Tiggertoo said:

I wonder about Katie’s relationship with her adoptive parents.  I think she’s made a couple of references about their not so stellar parenting and not highlighting her Korean heritage.  And now she’s going to meet her birth mother.  Hopefully, this will give her the closure, or the missing piece, she talks about. 

They could have been the best parents in the world and not raised her without having her learn about her Korean heritage. 

She was adopted in the 1980’s and there was much less advice regarding raising children of different cultures as it was assumed that the best course of would be to assimilate. Many ethnic groups assimilated or tried to until fairly recently. 

Adoptions were still closed for the most part. 

Also Atlanta especially in this time period was not exactly a cosmopolitan area and I would imagine her parents were probably very insular.

Not defending her parents or how they raised her but just that it needs to be looked at with the perspective of time.  
 

[CasseroleQueen]

On 10/3/2024 at 10:30 PM, ZettaK said:

No. The money was spent, I assume on their lifestyle. But we will see, because they all have to be accountable for it (the stolen funds) in some way. The interpreter who actually stole it has a deal with the Feds, and will serve up to 33 years in prison. 

Ryan and his friend laundered it by gambling in Vegas (mainly). They kept the money if they won. 

Is there a court date scheduled?

[ZettaK]

18 minutes ago, CasseroleQueen said:

Is there a court date scheduled?

Two of the people involved made deals with the Feds- Ryan is one, and the other is Ohtani's  interpreter who was stealing from him. I have no idea what Ryan's "best friend" did.

Edited October 6 by ZettaK

[Stats Queen]

6 hours ago, ZettaK said:

She grew up in Georgia (I think Atlanta).

Dorinda, and Carol went to London, not all of them.

There was also a second trip to London that Heather Thomson hosted. Sonja, LuAnn and Carole went on the trip. If I recall correctly, Heather did not invite Ramona.

[bravofan27]

Katie grew up in Atlanta. Her ex-husband lives in a suburb near me, and his wife is traditional Korean and works in the area. IMO, and I could be wrong, they got married with her husband expecting someone traditional and she is Korean, but adopted, so it didn't work out culturally. He is very active on social media and he and his wife are very into their culture. It's possible that Katie is trying to prove something to her ex--- that she is Korean and does accept the culture, but it's too late now. They didn't work out and it seems that each found someone much better suited for them and their expectations for lifestyle and values. 

[JAYJAY1979]

Shannon's text to Alexis was direct and to the point.. but I can see why the other women were confused and clutching the pearls... since most of them are too vague and not as direct.

Alexis. you were on season 8 of the show when Wallet Whisper Lauri came on as a friend of after previously being a housewife.  She low key planted nuggets for Gretchen and Tamra, acted all nice to Vicki's face, got invited to a cast trip in Canada... and got Vicki to melt down in a memorable melt down.

I swear wallet whisperer Lauri needs to teach a class on how to land a wealthy man and how to be an effective friend of.

[Palimelon]

It can be a whole reality spin-off, where Lauri trains women in the art of gold-digging, with the woman earning the least each week getting cut from the show.

The effective "friend of" could be another series with the contestants being former HWs looking for a chance to get back on another HW show. Lauri's co-host could be Dwight from RHOA (yeah he is a male but he was the original "friend of" who just kept coming back).

[bravofan27]

On 10/4/2024 at 12:00 PM, dosodog said:

I wonder why production didn't want Alexis to go on "Shannon's" trip?

Maybe they thought they would get more drama with Shannon being the host and officially not inviting her, than they would if she did go. 

[65mickey]

Probably cost savings. Alexis is a friend of not a full fledged cast member. If Bravo is paying for plane tickets and rooms and meals it saves them a good deal of money not to invite Alexis. What I find hilarious is a cast member calling herself the host and acting like she is footing the bill for the trip and deciding who goes and who doesn't when we know this is not the case. 

[dosodog]

It's that "pesky" 4th wall. We, the viewers, are not supposed to know production pays for the trip, but we do. We know the housewife pretends to host, but Bravo pays for it.

I think Alexis thought she was a fulltime howife, but not going on the trip made her realize she's a friend of. Which is why she had a flailing tantrum and kicked Jen and Katie out of her house.

Alexis knows that Bravo and not the housewife are in charge of trips. There's a preview that IMO shows how pathetic Alexis is:

Spoiler

She gets all snotty and basically says if Shannon can afford a trip to London, she needs to pay Johnny J, $75,000, right now.

She KNOWS Shannon isn't paying for the trip, but she's going to stand up for her man and his lawsuit.

 

[Cosmocrush]

44 minutes ago, 65mickey said:

Probably cost savings. Alexis is a friend of not a full fledged cast member. If Bravo is paying for plane tickets and rooms and meals it saves them a good deal of money not to invite Alexis. What I find hilarious is a cast member calling herself the host and acting like she is footing the bill for the trip and deciding who goes and who doesn't when we know this is not the case. 

I doubt the savings is very much on one person to London.  They take an entire production crew.  Bravo has plenty of money.

Hasn't cast member hosting has been going on for at least a decade if not longer?  I think they think it makes it more genuine - especially if the "host" offers up her own place (for which is most likely paid a fee by Bravo).  We've seen Tamra "host" at Big Bear,  Heather at her pretend house in Mexico, Kyle at her real house in La Quinta etc.     The "host" gets to run the trip.  A perk of working on this shit show I guess. 

[RalyWilmy]

19 hours ago, dosodog said:

It's that "pesky" 4th wall. We, the viewers, are not supposed to know production pays for the trip, but we do. We know the housewife pretends to host, but Bravo pays for it.

  Reveal spoiler

She gets all snotty and basically says if Shannon can afford a trip to London, she needs to pay Johnny J, $75,000, right now.

She KNOWS Shannon isn't paying for the trip, but she's going to stand up for her man and his lawsuit.

 

It's interesting that you bring this up.  I binged Season 17 at the same time as watching Season 18 and I am amazed at how often some of these gals break the 4th wall in both seasons. "You're on a reality show!" "You're a friend!" "Don't admonish me."  It's been a hot minute since I followed anything the RH franchise.  Do they all do this?

Also, PSA, I do not recommend binging RHOC.  The screaming and screeching while watching episodes back-to-back wreaked havoc on my eardrums.  And almost my marriage.  Mr. RalyWilmy threatened to leave if I didn't turn it down, lol.

[RoseAllDay]

Katie: “Eddie, Tamra’s ready to leave.”

Eddie: “SIGGGGH…” Thinking: “(fuck…).”

I think he was hoping that she had already left.

Heather is the queen of gaslighting. Turns everything away from her, and everyone has to pick a side…her side, of course. There was no way Emily was going to have a calm conversation with her that night, and she knows it.

Edited October 11 by RoseAllDay

[RoseAllDay]

Heather: “Can I talk to you?” (Subtext: You WILL talk to me. On my terms. I will win.)

Emily: “Ummmmmm…..no.”

Epic shutdown.

🤣🤣🤣🤣

I, too, mistook Jenn for Tamra early on. There is a resemblance.

[Tiggertoo]

On 10/6/2024 at 1:41 PM, amarante said:

They could have been the best parents in the world and not raised her without having her learn about her Korean heritage. 

She was adopted in the 1980’s and there was much less advice regarding raising children of different cultures as it was assumed that the best course of would be to assimilate. Many ethnic groups assimilated or tried to until fairly recently. 

Adoptions were still closed for the most part. 

Also Atlanta especially in this time period was not exactly a cosmopolitan area and I would imagine her parents were probably very insular.

Not defending her parents or how they raised her but just that it needs to be looked at with the perspective of time.  
 

Thank you.  That’s what I was thinking.  You expressed it very well. The approach to raising adopted children in the 80s was quite different. You didn’t talk about them being adopted, there wasn’t contact or knowledge about the birth parents.  You didn't emphasize their ethnic or other differences from their siblings. 

Katie has mentioned a couple of times how she was raised without knowing about her heritage.  She wasn’t mean in her comments, but I just hope her adoptive parents don’t feel bad. 

[amarante]

12 hours ago, RoseAllDay said:

Heather: “Can I talk to you?” (Subtext: You WILL talk to me. On my terms. I will win.)

Emily: “Ummmmmm…..no.”

Epic shutdown.

🤣🤣🤣🤣

I, too, mistook Jenn for Tamra early on. There is a resemblance.

It is the ridiculous blonde extensions. 

It is mutton dressed as lamb

Oddly I have the same issue with differentiating ubiquitous white middle aged middle class men in the British mystery shows that I watch regularly on Acorn and Britbox. Often it makes it difficult for me to understand a plot because the men look the same

[CharlizeCat]

What? You can't tell John Simm, Martin Freeman, David Morrisey, and Martin Clunes apart? 🤣😂

[ZettaK]

On 10/9/2024 at 6:15 PM, dosodog said:

It's that "pesky" 4th wall. We, the viewers, are not supposed to know production pays for the trip, but we do. We know the housewife pretends to host, but Bravo pays for it.

I think Alexis thought she was a fulltime howife, but not going on the trip made her realize she's a friend of. Which is why she had a flailing tantrum and kicked Jen and Katie out of her house.

Alexis knows that Bravo and not the housewife are in charge of trips. There's a preview that IMO shows how pathetic Alexis is:

  Hide contents

She gets all snotty and basically says if Shannon can afford a trip to London, she needs to pay Johnny J, $75,000, right now.

She KNOWS Shannon isn't paying for the trip, but she's going to stand up for her man and his lawsuit.

 

Alexis probably thought she would become a full time HW until the end (the London trip was filmed at the end of season), and she suddenly realized she wouldn't. Reports stated she would be a full time HW until relatively recently. 

Edited October 12 by ZettaK

[Palimelon]

She may have thought that when filming, but even in January the media was saying she was only coming back as a "friend of".

Alexis Bellino Returning to Real Housewives of Orange County Amid John Janssen Romance.

"The reality star is returning to The Real Housewives of Orange County as a friend for season 18, a production source confirms to E! News."

[Stats Queen]

4 hours ago, Palimelon said:

She may have thought that when filming, but even in January the media was saying she was only coming back as a "friend of".

Alexis Bellino Returning to Real Housewives of Orange County Amid John Janssen Romance.

"The reality star is returning to The Real Housewives of Orange County as a friend for season 18, a production source confirms to E! News."

She probably thought that she was so awesome and smart that they would choose to make her full time by the end of filming.

[amarante]

5 hours ago, Palimelon said:

She may have thought that when filming, but even in January the media was saying she was only coming back as a "friend of".

Alexis Bellino Returning to Real Housewives of Orange County Amid John Janssen Romance.

"The reality star is returning to The Real Housewives of Orange County as a friend for season 18, a production source confirms to E! News."

Friends can be upgraded to orange holders if they create a "splash"

Also friends are paid only for episodes they appear in so not appearing in the London episodes probably cost her a significant amount,

Going on a trip as a housewife is free and offers the closest thing to "celebrity" treatment that this women will experience. On the most basic level they are being comped the best rooms in a posh London hotel. 

And of course there was the reality that she wasn't being upgraded to an orange holder when she got the text because she knew production had the ability to have her on the London trip.

And it does surprise me that there are "fans" who actually think that the "hostess" pays for these trips. Are there people who are so naive as to think that someone would pay for overseas lavish trips for six women? Aside from the reality that most of them couldn't afford to do the idea that they would want to "treat" their co-workers is ludicrous.

Inviting them to their vacation home is about is credible - flying them first class to stay at the Penthouse suites in London - not so much. 

[Palimelon]

Quote

Friends can be upgraded to orange holders if they create a "splash"

True, but when was this season filmed, if they were already labeling her as a Friend of in January...

The usual formula from what I notice though seems to be someone coming on as a Friend, makes a splash, they gets upgraded the next season to full time HW. Though I am sure there have been exceptions.

[amarante]

3 minutes ago, Palimelon said:

True, but when was this season filmed, if they were already labeling her as a Friend of in January...

The usual formula from what I notice though seems to be someone coming on as a Friend, makes a splash, they gets upgraded the next season to full time HW. Though I am sure there have been exceptions.

I agree that the pattern is generally being made a friend of - I think most recently Angie The Greek on Salt Lake was elevated.

However Alexis could have been a virtual housewife since she had appeared in every episode until London and I think she was genuinely shocked that the producers had decided she didn't make the cut and wasn't going to London because that signified she was "out".

And she knew it was a production decision because they could have arranged the overseas trip to so that she went along.

And of course it was a financial hit since she lost all the money she would have been paid for the rest of the episodes. 

[Palimelon]

Ok, but again, when was this season filmed? As early as January it seems she was assigned "Friend of". Was it before, during, or after filming? When was the London part filmed?

[dosodog]

Shannon is an Aries, so the birthday trip would have been the last week of March/beginning weeks of April.

[Palimelon]

Sp production already clocked Alexis as a "Friend of" months before the London trip, it seems.