S5.E17: Reunion, Part 1

[65mickey]

Bronwyn has told so many lies or changed and embellished her stories so much that I don't believe anything that she says. First she claimed to have bought all of the plane tickets for the trip that she hosted but Heather called her out on this.  Then here is the infidelity claim that she put out on Todd to try and get sympathy but  quickly changed it to he was having inappropriate phone conversations with another woman. She sat at the table and pretty much lied about owning the $4,000,000 necklace but when she realized that Lisa had the receipts to prove that she didn't own it she came up with a convoluted story to confuse and deflect.  But the confusion about Gwen's father and paternal grandparents and who said what to whom is mind boggling. I can't see Bronwyn's father making one  phone call to the other grandparents and leaving a message that they shared a grandchild. I feel sorry for Gwen. All of the adults in her life have let her down. 

[Ms.Lulu]

14 hours ago, dmeets said:

FFS Lisa, just admit that your loyalty is to the grandparents.

Also, Lisa should be thankful to Angie who, without the high body count hair drama, wouldn't have given Lisa the opportunity to plug Kerastase and score her an actual advertisement for them.

Because she had this beautiful hair in high school:

https://www.instagram.com/realyearbooksofbravo/p/CdwhhdPvCtE/?img_index=1

If you'd like to see more photos of the cast:

https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18187821763092338/

Edited Friday at 05:06 AM by Ms.Lulu

[princelina]

8 minutes ago, Ms.Lulu said:

Because she had this beautiful hair in high school:

https://www.instagram.com/realyearbooksofbravo/p/CdwhhdPvCtE/?img_index=1

 

Wow!  I'd have given my right arm to have had that hair in high school!  

(Actually I still would 😂)

[ZettaK]

22 hours ago, Rlb8031 said:

The key part of the story, which came out almost in passing, was that Gwen's dad was married at the time of his death. Since he died before Gwen was born, he was either married at the time or married soon after he and Bronwyn slept together.

The miscarriage story appears to be an effort by the dad's family to do damage control as to why they didn't try to meet Gwen for the past 18 years.

That's why Bronwyn's boyfriend couldn't be with her. As for the grandparents, it would be difficult to accept an out of wedlock child of a married son. Mormons are very conservative according to what the women say on the show. We don't even know if their son had children before he was killed in a car accident. If so, then perhaps the grandparents didn't want the wife and children to know about Gwen. 

Todd threatened John Barlow with a lawsuit if he continued claiming that Bronwyn lied about having a miscarriage, so I assume this could be a concocted story by the grandparents. But Bronwyn's stories changed several times already.

Edited Friday at 12:04 PM by ZettaK

[ZettaK]

9 hours ago, heatherchandler said:

What WAS that all about?  Does Jen have a video?

It was a video for TikTok.

[ZettaK]

20 hours ago, JenE4 said:

I thought the story, as shared during the season, was that they were 19-year-old college students, and when Bronwyn got pregnant it brought so much shame to this other family that they wanted nothing to do with her or the baby, and I presumed they basically made their son break up with her and deny the existence of this child lest it bring shame to them within the Mormon church. I’m not sure that the father was married and died before the baby was born—just somewhere over the last 18 years was married and passed away? But maybe I missed something there. I also never got the impression she never told the father or the grandparents about the existence of Gwen. It seems to me they all knew Bronwyn was pregnant—yadda, yadda Mormon church, easier to put their head in the sand and pretend this baby never existed, so the miscarriage seems like an excuse by the grandparents than some scheme by teenaged Bronwyn. But I had a hard time following all of the screaming, so maybe Lisa was saying what Bronwyn portrayed on TV was a lie…at least according to the grandparents?

Bronwyn's boyfriend died a couple of years after she was pregnant, and he was married by that time.

[ZettaK]

Whitney removed the jewelry photo after she was called out for it. It doesn't make a difference if it was the vendor's photo who also sells these products on Alibaba- it's only semantics. Her team could have taken cellphone photos for her website instead of posting stock photos, if she didn't want to have proper, professional photoshoots. The reality is that she bought very inexpensive jewelry, and she sold them for twenty times more (something that she was called out for, as well). She also shouldn't be using terms like "curated".

Edited Friday at 12:39 PM by ZettaK

[BloggerAloud]

I hate the agree with anything Tamra Judge says but, on her podcast, she likened Bronwyn to Brynn from the RHONY reboot and there are definite similarities when it comes to both of their estranged relationships with the truth.

[65mickey]

I hate to keep rehashing the Bronwyn pregnancy miscarriage not miscarriage but one question. Did Gwen's father know that he had a child with Bronwyn and he chose to ignore his own child or did she keep this information from him? So many different versions of this story have been told that who knows what is true. If Bronwyn was so protective of Gwen that she wanted to keep Gwen in the dark about the grandparents rejecting her why did she go on a reality show and engage in conversations with other housewives about this?

Why is John Barlow involved in this miscarriage mystery? In the worlds of Nene he should stay out of women business. I have zero respect for the Housewives husbands who want to get right in the middle of the arguments and start flinging mud. 

[SweetieDarling]

I went back to watch the discussion about Bronwyn and the jewelry because I swore I heard her tell Lisa she'd wear the necklace and hoops the next time she sees her as proof she has them, which she did, doubling down on her lie about having purchased any jewelry at all. I'm having trust issues with Bronwyn

I am laughing at myself because I initially misheard Lisa's accusation as "you didn't buy yet" instead of "you didn't buy it"

 

Edited Friday at 03:07 PM by SweetieDarling

[SweetieDarling]

Did Whitney and Bronwyn have a beef? I'm rewatching part of the reunion and Whitney is at the end of the couch sitting next to Bronwyn, but more or less has her back turned to her, leaning away from her; she almost has to look over her shoulder to look at her. Very awkward

[pasdetrois]

10 hours ago, Ms.Lulu said:

https://www.instagram.com/realyearbooksofbravo/p/CdwhhdPvCtE/?img_index=1

It's hilarious that these yearbooks verify each woman's true age

[RealHousewife]

4 hours ago, BloggerAloud said:

I hate the agree with anything Tamra Judge says but, on her podcast, she likened Bronwyn to Brynn from the RHONY reboot and there are definite similarities when it comes to both of their estranged relationships with the truth.

I was also reminded of Brynn when I watched Salt Lake. I don’t get why you’d lie about jewelry. Who cares if you bought it or not. I wouldn’t, but if I were a rich lady in SLC, I sure wouldn’t want to get my jewelry from a store that has such little respect from customers. 

Edited Friday at 05:10 PM by RealHousewife

[Natalie68]

12 hours ago, Ms.Lulu said:

Because she had this beautiful hair in high school:

https://www.instagram.com/realyearbooksofbravo/p/CdwhhdPvCtE/?img_index=1

If you'd like to see more photos of the cast:

https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18187821763092338/

WOAH!  Meredith had some sort of glow up.

[KristenR]

2 hours ago, SweetieDarling said:

Did Whitney and Bronwyn have a beef? I'm rewatching part of the reunion and Whitney is at the end of the couch sitting next to Bronwyn, but more or less has her back turned to her, leaning away from her; she almost has to look over her shoulder to look at her. Very awkward

It's possible but, when they first sat down, Whitney was complaining about being unable to see past Bronwyn's dress so it's likely that it's the dress causing her awkward body language.

[Book Junkie]

On 1/23/2025 at 10:12 AM, RealHousewife said:

I agree that it makes it tricky for the cast when you make something a storyline, but you expect your castmates to be very careful with what they say, whether that's what Bronwyn went through with this family or someone like Kyle making Morgan and her marital problems her storylines. 

I do see a lack of compassion for Bronwyn and Gwen from Lisa. She seems to really feel for the grandparents, but only the grandparents. 

Bingo. I also believe Lisa about the jewelry, but again, it felt very mean and unprofessional of that jeweler. Who would want to do business there?

That's hilarious! I admit I have no room to make fun though. I try to avoid parallel parking at all costs. 

That's what I kept thinking during that whole part. I know jewelers don't have confidentiality like a lawyer, but if you're that high end, I would think you would need to be discreet, at the very least, if you want to keep your high end clients. 

[Jel]

I call bs on the whole Bronwyn photo thing. She *never!* shows it to anyone, but she just happened to, for the very first time, y'all, to LIsa Barlow, with cameras rolling.

Mm hmm.

They are out to get Lisa. Brawny thinks that's her way to secure her spot -- go after show villain, Lisa Barlow. It reminds me of Kyle and doggie gate, and I am not enjoying it at all.

 

[princelina]

7 hours ago, 65mickey said:

Why is John Barlow involved in this miscarriage mystery? In the worlds of Nene he should stay out of women business. I have zero respect for the Housewives husbands who want to get right in the middle of the arguments and start flinging mud. 

Is he?  I thought he just chimed in to tell Todd to watch his tone with Lisa?

[65mickey]

10 hours ago, ZettaK said:

Todd threatened John Barlow with a lawsuit if he continued claiming that Bronwyn lied about having a miscarriage, so I assume this could be a concocted story by the grandparents. But Bronwyn's stories changed several times already.

Edited 9 hours ago by ZettaK

This is what I was referring to when I asked why John was involved in the miscarriage story. 

[Dr Mama]

19 hours ago, 65mickey said:

First she claimed to have bought all of the plane tickets for the trip that she hosted.

I assumed that was part of the fiction that the HW actually plan these trips themselves and invite and pay for their friends to join them. As a new HW, I'm willing to give Bronwyn the benefit of the doubt that she trying to maintain this producer fiction, especially since the only reason there was any mention of it was because Lisa doesn't "fly or carry coach." And that also could have been producer-initiated drama.

 

 

 

[65mickey]

I don't know about that. She insisted that her GD credit paid for all of the tickets even Heather's. How would she be able to purchase plane tickets for all of the women and their spouses without knowing the names and birth dates on their ID's? When Heather pointed this out to her she got that pissed off look on her face and shut up. I am convinced that she lies more than she speaks the truth.

[Dr Mama]

22 hours ago, 65mickey said:

She sat at the table and pretty much lied about owning the $4,000,000 necklace but when she realized that Lisa had the receipts to prove that she didn't own it she came up with a convoluted story to confuse and deflect. 

Lisa CLAIMED she had texts from the jewelry store employee. I do believe she had texts on her phone that claimed to be from the jewelry store employee. I do not trust that these are actual texts from the actual person--I think it would be bad business for a sales person to obviously send dirt on high net worth (potential) customers to someone else--clearly knowing it would become public. I rarely agree with Mary, but here I'd agree that if I had enough money to drop even hundreds of thousands on some expensive jewelry, I would NOT go to a store where the salespeople initiate gossip about customers to others.

Todd clearly has money. I'm not sure it's $4M necklace money, but I'd be willing to bet it's way more than the Barlows have.

My read of Bronwyn's response was trying to stay calm about this accusation, because there was nothing to be gained with trying to argue with Lisa about it, and take it up with the store later.

Edited Saturday at 01:44 AM by Dr Mama

[65mickey]

She was trying to have the conversation shut down because she knew that she and Todd had been caught in a big fat lie. He did not buy the $4.000.000 necklace. She also said that she thought about wearing it for the reunion indicating that she still had it  further compounding the lie.  The sales associate may have been unprofessional and may have jeopardized her job but that in no way excuses Bronwyn and Todd lying about buying jewelry that they did not buy.  

[Dr Mama]

20 hours ago, 65mickey said:

But the confusion about Gwen's father and paternal grandparents and who said what to whom is mind boggling. I can't see Bronwyn's father making one  phone call to the other grandparents and leaving a message that they shared a grandchild. I feel sorry for Gwen. All of the adults in her life have let her down. 

But it seems to me that all of this confusion was created by Lisa who is friends with Gwen's grandparents.

I'd have to go back and watch several episodes, but what I remember Bronwyn saying from early in the season is that she and Gwen's father were 19 year old college students when she discovered she was pregnant.

Her family was deeply ashamed, and the boyfriend checked out. I thought she said she let him know she was going to have (or had) the baby, but he never got involved. I also thought she said something about his family not wanting to be involved.

And then when Gwen was still little (maybe 2-3 years old), the boyfriend/father passed away. It sounds like he was married when he died, but it wouldn't be unusual in a Mormon family to be married at 23-24.

Until Lisa started stirring up this issue, I don't think Bronwyn said anything about  her father calling the boyfriend's parents, but I don't find it super unusual that her dad may have placed one call to them to give them information and then washed his hands of them. Maybe he was mad they refused to get involved.

The whole thing about Bronwyn claiming to have had a miscarriage apparently ONLY came from the boyfriend's parents. Without hearing directly from them, I have no idea if that's the story they have decided to tell, that's what their son told them, or Bronwyn just said that to the boyfriend when she was 19 and unexpectedly pregnant--EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO. I think it was super sh--y of Lisa to try to use that to criticize Bronwyn, and I thought Bronwyn really tried to take the high road in that discussion--telling Lisa it was OK if she wanted to believe what her friends (the grandparents) said, but that was not what she ever told them.

I've never been a huge fan of any of the women on this show, but I've started to find Lisa really grating, and her inability to just back off from a battle when it doesn't really matter and it's clearly causing someone else pain was just horrible.

6 minutes ago, 65mickey said:

She was trying to have the conversation shut down because she knew that she and Todd had been caught in a big fat lie. He did not buy the $4.000.000 necklace. She also said that she thought about wearing it for the reunion indicating that she still had it  further compounding the lie.  The sales associate may have been unprofessional and may have jeopardized her job but that in no way excuses Bronwyn and Todd lying about buying jewelry that they did not buy.  

She could have borrowed it again and worn it again. I did not hear her say "we bought it" and then backtrack from that statement.

Look, I'm not a huge fan of any of these women, but, for me, Lisa has become incredibly annoying the last couple of seasons.

Edited Friday at 11:41 PM by Dr Mama

[b2H]

On 1/23/2025 at 11:12 AM, RealHousewife said:

I also believe Lisa about the jewelry, but again, it felt very mean and unprofessional of that jeweler. Who would want to do business there?

If the jeweler is smart, his/her rep that is making these statements had better be asking her some hard questions.  That kind of gossiping about customers is strictly forbidden, especially in a business that depends on its reputation.

Someone should be getting fired.  Hopefully, by now, since I watched the reunion ep,a few days after the broadcast.

[SemiCharmedLife]

On 1/23/2025 at 5:47 AM, SweetieDarling said:

Lisa's face and neck look rough. She (and Bronwyn for that matter) could use an appointment or 2 at Beauty Lab. I think her fast food diet may be catching up to her

EEEks!  NOT the Beauty Lab!  I wouldn't step one foot in that place.  I'm sorry, but Heather's own face is the worst advertisement for her business.

[ladle1]

23 hours ago, 65mickey said:

I can't see Bronwyn's father making one  phone call to the other grandparents and leaving a message that they shared a grandchild.

Right?? This is what I'm sayin'! I guess it could have happened that way, but it is such an odd, odd story. 

[Dr Mama]

11 minutes ago, ladle1 said:

Right?? This is what I'm sayin'! I guess it could have happened that way, but it is such an odd, odd story. 

Is it really that odd? I mean, if my 19 year old Mormon daughter was pregnant and planning to keep the child, and her 19 year old boyfriend had completely walked away from any responsibility, I could see myself wanting to let the boyfriend's parents know what was going on.

Or maybe he was hoping to get their assistance in getting Bronwyn to choose a different path, and then realized she was going to do what she wanted to do so their help was not needed.

Or maybe he called once in a moment of anger or frustration and then dropped any desire to hear from them.

Who knows. I just think it is quite plausible that he reached out ONCE and then decided not to reach out again.

And it's also possible that's not exactly what happened (her dad calling the boyfriend's parents once) but without hearing from either set of grandparents, I am not going to assume Lisa's version is accurate.

Edited Saturday at 02:54 AM by Dr Mama

[ladle1]

Oh, I could fully believe her dad called them, but at the reunion Bronwyn said that he left them a message. It just seems like such an odd thing to leave a message about! Would you not want to verify that they received the message? Why is she so confident that they did? 

[Ms.Lulu]

23 hours ago, princelina said:

 

Wow!  I'd have given my right arm to have had that hair in high school!  

(Actually I still would 😂)

That was my hair in 1988! I meant it when I said it was beautiful hair. 😆

[tvfanatic13]

5 hours ago, Dr Mama said:

Lisa CLAIMED she had texts from the jewelry store employee. I do believe she had texts on her phone that claimed to be from the jewelry store employee. I do not trust that these are actual texts from the actual person--I think it would be bad business for a sales person to obviously send dirt on high net worth (potential) customers to someone else--clearly knowing it would become public. I rarely agree with Mary, but here I'd agree that if I had enough money to drop even hundreds of thousands on some expensive jewelry, I would NOT go to a store where the salespeople initiate gossip about customers to others.

Todd clearly has money. I'm not sure it's $4M necklace money, but I'd be willing to bet it's way more than the Barlows have.

My read of Bronwyn's response was trying to stay calm about this accusation, because there was nothing to be gained with trying to argue with Lisa about it, and take it up with the store later.

Didn’t Andy actually read the texts? 

[RealHousewife]

Just now, tvfanatic13 said:

Didn’t Andy actually read the texts? 

He did. As unprofessional as it was, I believe the texts were real. 

[princelina]

28 minutes ago, RealHousewife said:

He did. As unprofessional as it was, I believe the texts were real. 

I do too.  And as reality tv has taught us - some people will do anything to be on tv!  Or be involved with people who are on tv!

6 hours ago, Dr Mama said:

I assumed that was part of the fiction that the HW actually plan these trips themselves and invite and pay for their friends to join them. As a new HW, I'm willing to give Bronwyn the benefit of the doubt that she trying to maintain this producer fiction, especially since the only reason there was any mention of it was because Lisa doesn't "fly or carry coach." And that also could have been producer-initiated drama.

I'm pretty sure it all began with Bronwyn telling them their seat assignments on camera.  After bragging about getting a private plane to bring them down.  

[Misslindsey]

2 hours ago, Dr Mama said:

Is it really that odd? I mean, if my 19 year old Mormon daughter was pregnant and planning to keep the child, and her 19 year old boyfriend had completely walked away from any responsibility, I could see myself wanting to let the boyfriend's parents know what was going on.

Or maybe he was hoping to get their assistance in getting Bronwyn to choose a different path, and then realized she was going to do what she wanted to do so their help was not needed.

Or maybe he called once in a moment of anger or frustration and then dropped any desire to hear from them.

Who knows. I just think it is quite plausible that he reached out ONCE and then decided not to reach out again.

And it's also possible that's not exactly what happened (her dad calling the boyfriend's parents once) but without hearing from either set of grandparents, I am not going to assume Lisa's version is accurate.

I agree with your post. I thought maybe Bronwyn told the boyfriend and he did not tell his parents, but told Bronwyn that he did. Another possibility, besides what you stated in your post is he told his parents that Bronwyn had a miscarriage when she obviously did not, but as a way to wipe his hands clean of the whole situation. Basically, I think that the boyfriend could have told some lies to his parents to remain in their favor or in favor of the church.

I cannot stand Lisa. She is so insufferable.

[ZettaK]

18 hours ago, SweetieDarling said:

Did Whitney and Bronwyn have a beef? I'm rewatching part of the reunion and Whitney is at the end of the couch sitting next to Bronwyn, but more or less has her back turned to her, leaning away from her; she almost has to look over her shoulder to look at her. Very awkward

Bronwyn started making fun of Whitney's speech patterns from the first or second episode. And she then repeated and exaggerated conversations to other HWs.

19 hours ago, 65mickey said:

I hate to keep rehashing the Bronwyn pregnancy miscarriage not miscarriage but one question. Did Gwen's father know that he had a child with Bronwyn and he chose to ignore his own child or did she keep this information from him? So many different versions of this story have been told that who knows what is true. If Bronwyn was so protective of Gwen that she wanted to keep Gwen in the dark about the grandparents rejecting her why did she go on a reality show and engage in conversations with other housewives about this?

Why is John Barlow involved in this miscarriage mystery? In the worlds of Nene he should stay out of women business. I have zero respect for the Housewives husbands who want to get right in the middle of the arguments and start flinging mud. 

I'm still confused about what really happened, and the timelines. I hope there is more information about this in the second part of the reunion. 

15 hours ago, Book Junkie said:

That's what I kept thinking during that whole part. I know jewelers don't have confidentiality like a lawyer, but if you're that high end, I would think you would need to be discreet, at the very least, if you want to keep your high end clients. 

Unless those were not buying customers.

Edited Saturday at 09:54 AM by ZettaK

[ZettaK]

On 1/24/2025 at 6:22 PM, Dr Mama said:

Lisa CLAIMED she had texts from the jewelry store employee. I do believe she had texts on her phone that claimed to be from the jewelry store employee. I do not trust that these are actual texts from the actual person--I think it would be bad business for a sales person to obviously send dirt on high net worth (potential) customers to someone else--clearly knowing it would become public. I rarely agree with Mary, but here I'd agree that if I had enough money to drop even hundreds of thousands on some expensive jewelry, I would NOT go to a store where the salespeople initiate gossip about customers to others.

Todd clearly has money. I'm not sure it's $4M necklace money, but I'd be willing to bet it's way more than the Barlows have.

My read of Bronwyn's response was trying to stay calm about this accusation, because there was nothing to be gained with trying to argue with Lisa about it, and take it up with the store later.

Bronwyn said at the reunion which filmed in December and on Watch What Happens Live on Wednesday (this is a combination of both claims) that she didn't buy the necklace because something that large would be unwearable. She ordered a smaller diamond necklace, and a pair of diamond hoop earrings. She didn't buy either because of what Lisa revealed at the reunion about the jewelry store employee- she was disclosing customer information to a third party. But the season was filmed from February to early May 2024, and she wore the necklace in the very beginning of filming in Palm Springs. The timeline doesn't fit her different narratives. She supposedly ordered the new necklace immediately after Palm Springs, but she canceled the order in December after the reunion? She said she didn't get the earrings either, and then she changed her story to that she did, but she returned them. These are several conflicting stories.

Andy Cohen read the messages from the jewelry store employee to Lisa at the reunion. 

Edited Yest. at 04:29 AM by ZettaK

[65mickey]

This is why to me Bronwyn has no creditability. She changes her story every time she gets caught in a lie or at the very least an exaggeration. She tries to cover her tracks but it just leads to more questions because none of it makes any sese. 

And she is not the only housewife to do this. Remember Vickie's fur coat  the one that Brooks "gifted" her? Yes it was hers until it had to be returned the next day. 

[BloggerAloud]

4 hours ago, ZettaK said:

Bronwyn said at the reunion which filmed in December and on Watch What Happens Live on Wednesday (this is a combination of both claims) that she didn't buy the necklace because something that large would be unwearable. She ordered a smaller necklace, and a pair of smaller earrings. She didn't buy either because of what Lisa revealed at the reunion about the jewelry store employee- she was disclosing customer information to a third party. But the season filmed from February to early May 2024, and she wore the necklace in the very beginning of filming in Palm Springs. The timeline doesn't fit her different narratives. She supposedly ordered the new necklace immediately after Palm Springs, but she canceled the order in December after the reunion? She said she didn't get the earrings either, and then she changed her story to that she did, but she returned them. These are several conflicting stories.

 

Her story on the jewelry doesn't make sense at all because she was fully still fronting about owning it at the beginning of reunion when Andy asked and she said she thought about wearing it, which implies that she owns it. Once Lisa was like, "I know the jeweler and you didn't buy it" Bronwyn had to pivot fast. I like Bronwyn and her sort of "scrappy social climbing Edith Wharton character" she brings to this franchise but her strained relationship with the truth is wild since her brand is supposed to be brutally honest, shoot from the hip

[Dr Mama]

12 hours ago, tvfanatic13 said:

Didn’t Andy actually read the texts? 

He read what was on Lisa's phone. I don't think there was any way for him to verify that these were from the actual jewelry store employee at that moment, but based on what Bronwyn said on WWHL, she did follow up with the store, and the employee did send them.

[BloggerAloud]

The thing with Lisa that will fuck her up in the long run is that her need to be right outweighs her self-preservation. She keeps doubling down on the show and social media, when a simple "I'm sorry if I caused any pain" would've done enough, even if she didn't believe it.

[Dr Mama]

13 minutes ago, BloggerAloud said:

The thing with Lisa that will fuck her up in the long run is that her need to be right outweighs her self-preservation. She keeps doubling down on the show and social media, when a simple "I'm sorry if I caused any pain" would've done enough, even if she didn't believe it.

ABSOLUTELY!!!

I went back to watch the whole exchange about Gwen's grandparents (the one at the reunion), and it was just mind-boggling how Lisa started crying about how SHE was in a "lose-lose-lose" situation for an issue where she deliberately inserted herself but has no real bearing on her real life.

And when Bronwyn asked if she could just say she was sorry for causing pain to GWEN--no one else--she fought back saying something like "no one can tell me what to say." It was UGLY.

And it reminded me SO MUCH of a toxic narcissist I've had the displeasure of dealing with who also has to be right about everything and tries to destroy anyone who challenges her.

 

[IntrovertRed]

I don't completely understand the disagreement between Bronwyn and Lisa. Bronwyn and Todd are mad at Lisa for saying on the aftershow that Lisa said that Gwen's grandparents were told Bronwyn had a miscarriage?  Because the way Bronwyn was telling it, she was mad that Lisa said that Bronwyn had a miscarriage. It was all very hard to follow. And I don't always watch the aftershow, so she's also bringing more attention to it for those like me who don't always watch it.  The whole argument just seemed very dumb to me.

I'm not a Lisa fan, but at the same time, Bronwyn seemed to be pissed that Gwen's father came up at all. When it's well known that the housewives are told before they come on the show that secrets have a way of coming to light on the show. So for her to expect it to not come out it pretty naive. I'm sure Gwen wouldn't be so hurt if her mother hadn't gone on housewives at all for this to even be a topic. 

The way that Bronwyn also talked about not buying the necklace/earrings on WWHL because of 'optics' didn't seem believable. Personally, it feels that people are backing Bronwyn because of their dislike for Lisa. I happen to think they're both assholes.

Edited Saturday at 11:18 PM by IntrovertRed

[Dr Mama]

On 1/25/2025 at 1:51 AM, ZettaK said:

She supposedly ordered the new necklace immediately after Palm Springs, but she canceled the order in December after the reunion? She said she didn't get the earrings either, and then she changed her story to that she did, but she returned them. These are several conflicting stories.

I rewatched the reunion and the WWHL.

I never heard them say that she "immediately" ordered a different necklace after the Palm Springs trip.

What I remember them saying in that episode is that they thanked the jewelry store employee for bringing those samples and that they would think about what they wanted to purchase.

At some point later, it sounds like they made a decision on what they wanted, and the order was progressing well until Lisa revealed those texts at the reunion. On WWHL, Bronwyn said she checked with the jewelry store to see what was going on, and that's when she learned the texts were legitimate, so she cancelled the order. I would have done the same.

Look, Bronwyn and Todd have WAY more money that the Barlows, and if they changed their mind about buying some jewelry from a specific store, that's hardly a crime (meaning, if they'd cancelled the order even before the texting issue.)

Maybe that store thought they were going to be named in the episode, and when they weren't, the employee decided to text Lisa. Or maybe Lisa (or one of her people) initiated the conversation with the store to try to get dirt on Bronwyn. Who knows.

I do know that Christian Siriano has said that of ALL the RHs, he only dresses Bronwyn because she pays. He said the other ones don't pay. 

This season, I've gone from generally neutral about Lisa to finding her pretty awful, but I appreciate that others see her very differently. That's probably why I still watch the show, and why I especially appreciate this forum!!

Edited 19 hours ago by Dr Mama

[65mickey]

I agree that Lisa is pretty awful. However Lisa being awful does not give Bronwyn a pass.  Bronwyn and Todd had the jewelry store associate  on camera and took the jewelry on approval. They most likely had no intention of purchasing a $4,000,000 necklace and earrings that cost over $1,000,000. Who in their right mind would? But that didn't stop Bronwyn from wearing  the jewelry and letting everyone at the party believe that this was an anniversary present from Todd. Bronwyn said that she was thinking about wearing the necklace to the reunion knowing full well that Todd did not purchase it. She changed her story when she found out that Lisa had spoken with the jewelry store employee.  How anyone can trust anything coming out of her mouth is beyond me. Bronwyn is just as dishonest and awful as any of the housewives who have tried to present themselves as more than they are. 

[SweetieDarling]

1 hour ago, Dr Mama said:

At some point later, it sounds like they made a decision on what they wanted, and the order was progressing well until Lisa revealed those texts at the reunion. On WWHL, Bronwyn said she checked with the jewelry store to see what was going on, and that's when she learned the texts were legitimate, so she cancelled the order. I would have done the same.

Look, Bronwyn and Todd have WAY more money that the Barlows, and if they changed their mind about buying some jewelry from a specific store, that's hardly a crime (meaning, if they'd cancelled the or der even before the texting issue.)

The (my?) problem with Bronwyn's timeline of events is that she told Andy that she thought about wearing the allegedly purchased jewelry to the reunion. How could she cancel an order, based on texts seen at the reunion, on jewelry she had the option to wear to the reunion? You can't wear stuff that doesn't yet exist or is still in the process of being produced.

[Marley]

Yes & she said on the reunion she bought a smaller necklace & hoop earrings instead of the 4 million necklace. She's a huge liar.

I still don't even get the annoying fight with her & Lisa about Gwen & I don't care it's boring.

[ZettaK]

5 hours ago, BloggerAloud said:

The thing with Lisa that will fuck her up in the long run is that her need to be right outweighs her self-preservation. She keeps doubling down on the show and social media, when a simple "I'm sorry if I caused any pain" would've done enough, even if she didn't believe it.

Lisa should say she was sorry like all HWs do without really meaning it in most instances, and let Andy Cohen ask the questions about the miscarriage, the biological father, etc.

5 hours ago, Dr Mama said:

I rewatched the reunion and the WWHL.

I never heard them say that she "immediately" ordered a different necklace after the Palm Springs trip.

What I remember them saying in that episode is that they thanked the jewelry store employee for bringing those samples and that they would think about what they wanted to purchase.

At some point later, it sounds like they made a decision on what they wanted, and the order was progressing well until Lisa revealed those texts at the reunion. On WWHL, Bronwyn said she checked with the jewelry store to see what was going on, and that's when she learned the texts were legitimate, so she cancelled the order. I would have done the same.

Look, Bronwyn and Todd have WAY more money that the Barlows, and if they changed their mind about buying some jewelry from a specific store, that's hardly a crime (meaning, if they'd cancelled the order even before the texting issue.)

Maybe that store thought they were going to be named in the episode, and when they weren't, the employee decided to text Lisa. Or maybe Lisa (or one of her people) initiated the conversation with the store to try to get dirt on Bronwyn. Who knows.

I do know that Christian Siriano has said that of ALL the RHs, he only dresses Bronwyn because she pays. He the other ones don't pay. 

This season, I've gone from generally neutral about Lisa to finding her pretty awful, but I appreciate that others see her very differently. That's probably why I still watch the show, and why I especially appreciate this forum!!

I read the interview with Christian Siriano saying that Bronwyn is the only HW that pays for his designs. Heather Dubrow of the OC could be another one. She was wearing one of his cocktail dresses at a reunion, and she is one who could afford them, and pay for them. 

[ZettaK]

4 hours ago, SweetieDarling said:

The (my?) problem with Bronwyn's timeline of events is that she told Andy that she thought about wearing the allegedly purchased jewelry to the reunion. How could she cancel an order, based on texts seen at the reunion, on jewelry she had the option to wear to the reunion? You can't wear stuff that doesn't yet exist or is still in the process of being produced.

That's what I was trying to explain about the timeline.

[Dr Mama]

17 hours ago, ZettaK said:

I read the interview with Christian Siriano saying that Bronwyn is the only HW that pays for his designs. Heather Dubrow of the OC could be another one. She was wearing one of his cocktail dresses at a reunion, and she is one who could afford them, and pay for them. 

Yeah--I think there are a few other HWs who COULD pay for his clothes, including Heather D., Kyle, Sutton, Jenna. I'd forgotten about Heather's dress. Did she maybe just borrow it or did Christian forget she had also paid?
 

 

[Dr Mama]

On 1/25/2025 at 4:41 PM, SweetieDarling said:

The (my?) problem with Bronwyn's timeline of events is that she told Andy that she thought about wearing the allegedly purchased jewelry to the reunion. How could she cancel an order, based on texts seen at the reunion, on jewelry she had the option to wear to the reunion? You can't wear stuff that doesn't yet exist or is still in the process of being produced.

So, I am NOT AT ALL trying to excuse any behavior by Bronwyn. But whatever Lisa and/or the jewelry store employee are trying to accuse her of--and I guess that would be pretending to buy a $4M necklace and earrings she had no intention of buying, and I guess not being able to afford such a purchase?--is just ridiculous.

I mean, really. Lisa's whole big accusation seems to be there was a scene where Bronwyn and Todd looked at some VERY pricey jewelry as a possible anniversary gift, and the jewelry store told Lisa that the Newports never bought anything. WHO CARES!!! NOT A BFD!!

And I feel a little like I did when Pavit was accused of shady crap because he claimed he was flying to Vietnam for a day for airline miles. People not familiar with the mileage run/airline status game thought that was a shady excuse. I've made similar crazy trips for that exact same reason, and there is a whole community of people out there who do the same.

So, connecting that same thinking to the story of Bronwyn and the necklace.

I don't know what Bronwyn and Todd's net worth is. I've seen estimates of $24M. Based on his career, it could be higher, but that number sounds reasonable. I still don't think that's $4M necklace territory, but I don't make their spending decisions.

It is clear that she spends A LOT of money on couture clothing. You don't get to sit front row at the Valentino runway show without spending serious money. And Christian Siriano (not the same level as Valentino, certainly) said the same thing about her in terms of his work. She's been buying it--and a lot of it--FOR YEARS. And that's just ONE designer. And this is just clothing. They are also art collectors.

So, maybe they were in the market for some jewelry as a gift. Maybe they had worked with the jewelry store before. Maybe production knew this jewelry store and made the connection. Maybe they and/or production thought it would be great to have a scene where she and Todd contemplate buying some over-the-top jewelry--it's a common enough HW show scene. Maybe they had an intention to buy something. Maybe the jewelry store was happy to participate because they thought they'd get a credit on the show, which might be good for their business. High end jewelers in LA (and elsewhere) often lend jewelry to people who have no intention of buying it--maybe some do it for advertising, maybe some do it to cement relationships with stylists who have other clients who WILL pay, maybe some do it to cultivate a relationship with the person who is wearing it in the hope of future business. Could be a host of different reasons. But, even in Palm Springs, it was clear that the jewelry was ON LOAN from the store at that time.

I'm guessing the jewelry store participated in this scene because they thought it would be good business for them--either because the Newports might become customers or Bravo might work with them again (or both.) Or viewers of the show would come to the store.

I seems very plausible that sometime after the scene in Palm Springs Bronwyn and Todd decided to buy something else from this jeweler--something that would need to be made. They definitely have custom high end jewelry money.

At the reunion, it was Andy who asked her about the $4M necklace as he was welcoming her to the set. To me, that did not seem like the moment for a long, drawn-out explanation of the story. It seems possible to me that she considered asking to borrow that same necklace again for the reunion, which would be even more understandable if they were currently waiting on a different piece of jewelry to be completed. And so, I think it is plausible that's what she meant when she said considered WEARING it again. Some might assume that statement meant she was implying she OWNED it, but she wore it before on the show when she did not own it.

But when this topic became a whole issue at the reunion, she at first seemed a little shocked that the jewelry store employee criticized her to someone while she thought (or claimed) they were working together to complete the Newport's order. She then detailed exactly what she and Todd ordered from that store (or claimed to.)

I really don't know why she would lie about this, which is why I have trouble believing Lisa's attack. The Newports absolutely have enough money to purchase high-end custom jewelry. If they had decided not to purchase anything from that store at that time, it would have been super easy just to say that. They don't have any need to keep up a fiction that they are very wealthy. They are. And I don't think TODD would want her to LIE about what they may or may not have ordered. Like him or hate him, he seems pretty blunt about what he believes.

The Barlows, on the other hand, are not nearly as wealthy. As in, a fraction of the Newports net worth. And Lisa makes so much of an effort to try and claim to be so rich that makes me think even the estimate of $5M net worth for the Barlows is too high.

So, I think Lisa was super annoyed that the Newports had a scene where they even pretended to contemplate purchasing a $4M necklace--that's a whole different league than her $60,000 ring--so she wanted to take them down and attack them for not actually purchasing it.

And if I'm wrong, that's fine too.
 

Edited 7 hours ago by Dr Mama