S10.E15: Fire Signs

[RedHawk]

I'm a Virgo and I also pegged Shannon as one. But I can see "Fun Shannon" being an Aries, yes maybe with a lot of Virgo mixed in.

I got a kick out of how much fun the Househusbands had at the party, aside from Brooks of course. Even Jimmy had a good time when he wasn't having to back up Meghan. And Eddie got a decent meal for once.

Edited September 18, 2015 by RedHawk

[Former Nun]

Gunvalson also lost her mother while filming season 10, and her reaction was played for all of America to see. “Vicki has not decided yet if she wants to return to the show next season,” the insider tells RadarOnline. “You know, she does not need the money.”

Read more at: http://allthingsrh.com/vicki-gunvalson-quitting-rhoc/

 

 

That's a quote from the article mentioned above.  "You know, she does not need the money."   I don't know that.  I read that her insurance and investment businesses are so successful...but I don't trust Bravo, Vicki or her PR.

[JAYJAY1979]

Re: the St. Louis/Midwest Housewives possibility, I have always really wanted that to happen. I actually was hoping for a Chicago/Chicago burbs edition but anywhere in the Midwest would be great! I honestly wish there were a lot more cities represented on Housewives-Denver or Seattle would be cool too for something different. Or what about one set in a resort area like Aspen or Jackson Hole? Would love it!

I 200% believe that Meghan's doting on Jim's kids is mostly fake. She is too cold-hearted and borderline sociopathic to truly love his kids, I'm sorry, it's true. And from the looks of it ol' Jimmy boy is starting to realize the witch he married. I would love to have known Leann Edmond's true thoughts on Meghan. I'm sure they got along just fine but were they besties like Meghan wants us to believe? Highly doubtful. And I totally get why the second wife can't stand Meghan. And imagine having to turn your young kids over to her for weekends, etc... the thought is truly cringe-worthy.

Shannon looked so pretty make-up free when they were blowing out her hair for the Aries party. I like her a lot with softer eyes.. I agree that she seems more Virgo than Aries.

Actually in 2009/2010...they were casting for a real housewife of chicago...but couldn't find an interesting mix of women to feature so plans were nixed Edited September 18, 2015 by JAYJAY1979

[zoeysmom]

That's a quote from the article mentioned above.  "You know, she does not need the money."   I don't know that.  I read that her insurance and investment businesses are so successful...but I don't trust Bravo, Vicki or her PR.

I am guessing the reported $750,000.00 or so she gets paid comes in handy.  She spends half the year away from her business and I doubt she is really working while away.  Vicki's assets were revealed when she got divorced-I was underwhelmed.

[Sage47]

That is hard to believe! There are a ton of pro-sports wives in Chicago, not to mention many, many wealthy people all over the city and suburbs. The North Shore would be ripe with women to snark on.

 

That must be it-lots of Virgo planets in Shannon's "chart". :) She's mostly Virgo with Aries thrown in on vacation, ha ha.

 

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this before (sorry if so): WOW that Jimmy told Brooks that his marriage was only good for the first two months of the four! I 100 percent believe that he said that. Hell, anyone with eyes can see that Jimmy resents the hell out of Meghan. Not to mention that when Brooks denied that it was said, I was watching Jimmy and his body language immediately busted him. He quickly glanced at Meghan to see what she was thinking about him saying that their marriage was crap. There is also the fact that he is in St. Louis 50 percent of the time...hmm....I wouldn't be shocked if it turned out he has "another woman".... that is his second wife!

 

 

[JAYJAY1979]

That is hard to believe! There are a ton of pro-sports wives in Chicago, not to mention many, many wealthy people all over the city and suburbs. The North Shore would be ripe with women to snark on.

That must be it-lots of Virgo planets in Shannon's "chart". :) She's mostly Virgo with Aries thrown in on vacation, ha ha.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this before (sorry if so): WOW that Jimmy told Brooks that his marriage was only good for the first two months of the four! I 100 percent believe that he said that. Hell, anyone with eyes can see that Jimmy resents the hell out of Meghan. Not to mention that when Brooks denied that it was said, I was watching Jimmy and his body language immediately busted him. He quickly glanced at Meghan to see what she was thinking about him saying that their marriage was crap. There is also the fact that he is in St. Louis 50 percent of the time...hmm....I wouldn't be shocked if it turned out he has "another woman".... that is his second wife!

I agree! I think that they were looking just in the city...they should have looked in the burbs like the north Shore or even Naperville.

A mix of city and suburban housewives...natural conflict since the city looks down on anyone from the su urbs...and vice versa. Their sense of fashions, thought processes, etc are different.

[Bobcatkitten]

Wasn't it in the first episode where Tamra was on the phone with Vicki and Brooks' cancer came up and he did the "bullshit" cough. Obviously this was an issue way before the psychic.

[lasu]

Meghan's crazy ass called up Brooks's doctor and pretended to have cancer. OK. But we have established that there is nothing worse on the planet than pretending to have cancer. So...which cast member is the one who has admitted that she has pretended to have cancer?? Is it ok, provided it's on your quest for knowledge? Maybe Brooks is on a quest for knowledge of how much sympathy he can get.

Meghan sucks so much that I am now on the side of a complete grifter who I personally think actually IS faking cancer.

[WireWrap]

 

  The number of times Tamra has stabbed Vicki in the back makes this friendship seem unfathomable.  So if these two talk "everyday" it comes out as scripting the next big rub.  It seems it may be just in time for the Reunion.

This is 1 of the reasons I am having trouble finding any sympathy for Vicki/Brooks. I get it, they have no idea what actually happened during filming except when someone spills the beans but Tamra did tell Vicki that she was the 1 that asked the psychic about Brooks cancer and Vicki was not only NOT surprised, she wasn't even mildly upset, which is not a normal reaction from her. Now that Vicki/Brooks are able to see who said what when and how they said it, Vicki is still BFFs with Tamra and that goes against everything we know about Vicki.

[Lucelu]

What is seriously WTF about this is that Brooks is just about a perfect stranger to Meghan. They have only met a few times and never had a heart to heart or a moment of connection that people can have as they make friends. He is the significant other of a woman she has disdain for -- so where is this coming from a good place? No wonder he broke up with Vicks. If he filed an restraining order they would probably violate the Bravo contract.

[pamme64]

What is seriously WTF about this is that Brooks is just about a perfect stranger to Meghan. They have only met a few times and never had a heart to heart or a moment of connection that people can have as they make friends. He is the significant other of a woman she has disdain for -- so where is this coming from a good place? No wonder he broke up with Vicks. If he filed an restraining order they would probably violate the Bravo contract.

Good point, they have just met.  Now imagine that this disease is front and center in your life and then you meet someone who also has it but tells such a tale that you actually didn't understand what they were saying. Not because it's new to you, but because it just doesn't make sense. Okay, new person, new treatments, maybe he's on to something. As time goes by, you hear more and what you hear causes you to have questions.  Since you have people in your life with this disease, you ask the person about their treatments in the hopes of gathering new information, but instead you get roadblocked.  And now things are really not adding up.  Either you just let it go, mostly because you aren't on a reality tv show, or continue probing and looking because it gets people talking about you and you want to stay on the show for more then one season.

 

I don't see that phone call as something that was so terribly immoral. It was just a phone call. 

[zenme]

I just think that Meghan's actions are just reprehensible.  I have a loved one who recently passed away from cancer, and my close friend of almost 20 years is now in hospice.  I can't imagine what I would do if someone questioned their having cancer.  If I were Jim Edmond's wife no. 2 I would seriously be questioning whether I want a woman like Meghan having anything to do with my children. 

[zoeysmom]

Good point, they have just met.  Now imagine that this disease is front and center in your life and then you meet someone who also has it but tells such a tale that you actually didn't understand what they were saying. Not because it's new to you, but because it just doesn't make sense. Okay, new person, new treatments, maybe he's on to something. As time goes by, you hear more and what you hear causes you to have questions.  Since you have people in your life with this disease, you ask the person about their treatments in the hopes of gathering new information, but instead you get roadblocked.  And now things are really not adding up.  Either you just let it go, mostly because you aren't on a reality tv show, or continue probing and looking because it gets people talking about you and you want to stay on the show for more then one season.

 

I don't see that phone call as something that was so terribly immoral. It was just a phone call. 

  Things are not adding up for Meghan because she chooses for the not to add up. her husband said it best-just because people don't agree with you doesn't not make them wrong.  Take her BRCA test and wondering why everyone doesn't have the blood fest-first off according to Meghan her MLB insurance only covered $200.00 of $3,000.00.  Do insurance plans cover a prophylactic mastectomy?  Then without checking and just retweeting she endorsed another method of testing-an at home kit that runs $249.00.  They are taking very small pieces of a not too difficult puzzle and choosing to make it a mystery based on what a psychic said.  if Meghan wants to be a clearing house for cancer she needs to align herself with experts.  All I can say is I hope Meghan did not pester or raise the hopes of Leann or her daughters under the guise of trying to help.

[OhIgetit]

Many insurance plans do cover prophylactic masectomies.

[talula]

Re Shannon-- maybe she has a lot of planets in Virgo.

 

You know, I used to be a certified oncology nurse (now I'm in cardiology) I worked for years on inpatient floors and in an outpatient clinic and cared for many with lymphomas and leukemias (we had a transplant floor). Even I would never ask such invasive questions to a person who was not my patient. Instead, as a person who cares about others who have health challenges, I would be asking other questions like-- How are you feeling? How is your energy? Are you able to keep an appetite and eat regularly? I would ask if they needed me to pick them anything up, give them a ride somewhere if they felt too tired to drive. 

Megan is not concerned and I highly doubt she gave a shit about Leanne other than whine about Hayley not being able to stay at her mothers. Meg is a bunny burner. 

 

Alex Forrest: [to Dan] Well, what am I supposed to do? You won't answer my calls, you change your number. I mean, I'm not gonna be ignored, Dan!

 

One of my wishes is that Jim's second wife is reading these boards and laughing her ass off and emailing excerpt to her ex saying "Jimmy! the entire country sees it and you don't-- you dumbass!-- keep that creepy stalker sociopath away from my kids."

Right on...the bunny boiler has to be kept away from his children! I wouldn't trust that psychopath around a pet let alone children she wishes came out of her!!!

[Beden]

 

Even if she didn't come out and ask about a specific patient's treatment or prognosis, she was out of line. She had no business to waste the doctor's office time with her BS. Lying and healthy or terminal and dying, Brooks' --or anyone's--medical condition doesn't concern her unless that person asks her to involve herself.

    

    Legal violation or not, Meghan is out of line in her quest for a story line and camera time-IMO.

 

I think you spliced two quotes together.  I wrote that first sentence, but I never commented on the legalilty or illegality of what Meghan did.  For the record, I do think it was morally and ethically reprehenisble.  But even though I don't think it illegal, I don't think I quoted you and I wasn't trying to call you out.

Less than no harm done and no apologies of any kind needed, nor did I think for  moment that you were trying to start any unpleasantness. I suspect that we're pretty much on the same page, both morally and literally as far as this goes.

 

It's all good...now, back to the snark.

Edited September 19, 2015 by Beden

[walnutqueen]

Good point, they have just met.  Now imagine that this disease is front and center in your life and then you meet someone who also has it but tells such a tale that you actually didn't understand what they were saying. Not because it's new to you, but because it just doesn't make sense. Okay, new person, new treatments, maybe he's on to something. As time goes by, you hear more and what you hear causes you to have questions.  Since you have people in your life with this disease, you ask the person about their treatments in the hopes of gathering new information, but instead you get roadblocked.  And now things are really not adding up.  Either you just let it go, mostly because you aren't on a reality tv show, or continue probing and looking because it gets people talking about you and you want to stay on the show for more then one season.

 

I don't see that phone call as something that was so terribly immoral. It was just a phone call. 

 

That is SO not what happened.

[Peachyqueen]

From Meghan's blog:

Ok, really? I'm not a huge follower of baseball, but I still hear about A-Rod, Derek Jeter, Prince Fielder....not Jim Edmonds. Ever.

Agree! But to be fair, I think I know what she was trying to say. I didn't exactly roll with rich kids in high school (our parties were in, like, woods, and 3 bedroom/2 bath houses lol... One time I did go to a high-profile lawyer's kid's house party where the cops got called and my friends and I found the wad of keg money, but I digress) so if I had a chance to go to a house party of an ex-MLB player that was being filmed for a TV show, my 17 year old self would be all over that! I think Meghan just lacks the word-play to be able to state her thoughts in a humble and eloquent way, so it just comes out all....wrong, and it puts people off.

[missy jo]

Wasn't it in the first episode where Tamra was on the phone with Vicki and Brooks' cancer came up and he did the "bullshit" cough. Obviously this was an issue way before the psychic.

 

 

Yeah, that was the first inkling viewers had that there was anything potentially questionable about it. As for the psychic, when he said he wasn't "seeing" the cancer, my first reaction would have been that Brooks was cured, not that he was lying. If Brooks is lying, then he deserves what he gets, but if he didn't, then I feel disgusting for even watching this.

[pamme64]

I just think that Meghan's actions are just reprehensible.  I have a loved one who recently passed away from cancer, and my close friend of almost 20 years is now in hospice.  I can't imagine what I would do if someone questioned their having cancer.  If I were Jim Edmond's wife no. 2 I would seriously be questioning whether I want a woman like Meghan having anything to do with my children. 

Because of one phone call you would try and do something to the children's relationship with their dad? To me, that's that one step too far, not a phone call that didn't harm anyone.

[The Mighty Peanut]

I don't believe Meghan has such an extensive cancer history because my mom had cancer and she didn't get the Angelina Jolie surgery and therefore people who don't get that cannot possibly have real cancer and obviously just want attention, which clearly means Meghan is making up a genetic predisposition. I will add to the other poster's efforts and facebook/twitter stalk her extended family and see if Mama King isn't hiding a boob under a special bra. I have a contact with the ex-secretary of a reconstructive breast surgeon. I also own several push-up bras.

Justice will be served.

Edited September 19, 2015 by The Mighty Peanut

[Rainny]

Because of one phone call you would try and do something to the children's relationship with their dad? To me, that's that one step too far, not a phone call that didn't harm anyone.

It's not one phone call, it's a series of things she's done after she's been asked politely and then not so politely to stop what she's doing and mind her own business. It's because she has relentlessly gone after a man who has done nothing to her, just because she was having a fight with his girlfriend. 

 

Even if she has someone close to her with cancer and all she wants to do is find out what his new treatments are, she had no right to text the ex-girlfriend, a woman she did not know, regarding his illness. Obviously he feels this information is none of her business, and he has every right to do so. The fact that she called one of his doctors pretending to have cancer tells me she's not doing this out of concern. If she was concerned, or wanted to help Leann with this information, she would have called and told the truth about who she was and why she was calling.

 

Actually, she would have given the doctors name to Leann or had Brooks call Leann to asked her if she wanted to follow up on this new treatment because Leann's course of treatment was none of her business either. 

 

ETA: I don't think anyone is suggesting doing something to Jim's relationship with his kids, only her relationship with his kids. 

Edited September 19, 2015 by Rainny

[zenme]

Because of one phone call you would try and do something to the children's relationship with their dad? To me, that's that one step too far, not a phone call that didn't harm anyone.

 

I think that Rainny sums up  it very perfectly.  I also think that this phone call, while it didn't necessarily hurt anyone, speaks to Meghan's poor character.  It is just ONE of the things that Meghan has done that reflects very negatively on her.  I do think it's for the best that Jim spends time with his children in Missouri with their father, and without Meghan.  If I were their mother, Meghan's behavior would be rather alarming.  I hope watching this season of RHOC will open up Jim's eyes to exactly the kind of creature he married. 

[maggiemae]

OMG - Meghan posted a photo of Hayley on her 18th birthday (and not a good one) and called her her baby. (on her twitter).

She is awful, imo. Let alone mean.

[Lucelu]

Evil step-monster.

 

[Former Nun]

Yeah, that was the first inkling viewers had that there was anything potentially questionable about it.

 

 

My opinion is that many viewers scoffed at "the cancer story" the instant we learned it was Brooks'.

[chenoa333]

Hey maggiemae: in response to a posters comment about thin lips...i never had big, luscious lips and the older i get, the thinner my lips become. I hate the way my lips are shrinking with age but it happens.

I'm sure tamra knows some doctor who can plump up her mommy's lips. Tamra should know by now that what her mother looks like now, is likely what tamra will look like (or worse) in 5-7 years.

I haven't seen the latest episode but I'm so looking forward to the scene with Eddie stuffing his cheeks!

[pamme64]

Evil step-monster.

 

 

 

 

Seriously? Evil step monster.....  Over 15 years a step mom and it still annoys me to see/hear that.  But, I guess all steps who love their monsters are evil too.

[Lucelu]

Seriously? Evil step monster.....  Over 15 years a step mom and it still annoys me to see/hear that.  But, I guess all steps who love their monsters are evil too.

Sheesh, It's. Not. About. You.  I was referring to the post about Meghan putting up an unattractive picture of Hayley on twitter and calling her "Baby" just a few months after her mother died. Grab a funny bone for that chip on your shoulder.

[SweetieDarling]

Seriously? Evil step monster.....  Over 15 years a step mom and it still annoys me to see/hear that.  But, I guess all steps who love their monsters are evil too.

not to speak for the original poster, but I think her comment was directed at Meghan specifically, and meant no offense to stepmothers in general or other than Meghan...at least that's the way I took it.

 

Being a parent is hard enough, being a step-parent brings in a whole different group of issues and challenges. Meghan, imo, is making a mockery of it.  If she were truly taking her role as step (stay at home) parent seriously, she would have done more to make sure Hayley made it to school, even if she had to ((gasp)) drive her there herself.  Isn't that kind of why they're living (renting a home) in OC? To help see after Hayley while her mother was ailing?  She claims to be so tight with her, so it shouldn't seem out of line for her to offer her a ride to school.  She's a walking contradiction.

 

imo, she should to get her own house in order before she goes probing into other people's business.

Edited September 19, 2015 by AnitaKnight

[SweetieDarling]

It is what she did with the information.  She surmised based on the fact the doctor's office represented they did not treat over the phone requests for cancer treatments.  Her recital of the information would lead one to believe that Brooks was lying about being a patient or receiving any treatment.  The office could very well treat patients who have cancer.  If this is the office that doles out reservatrol.   So if you start following up on doctors Brooks named  repeating what you learned in response to  a faux health concern you are digging and digging with a big shovel. 

Plus, it seems that Meghan is not aware that cancer comes in different forms.  Lung cancer is not treated the same as ovarian cancer and neither are treated the same way as leukemia, not to mention that not all cases are "textbook examples".  If I worked at a doctor's office and someone called and said "I have cancer.  Does the doctor treat cancer?" I'd think they were some nutbag that self diagnosed from the internet. Of course, they should be referred to an oncologist.  A true cancer patient would have identified the type of cancer and/or the type of treatment they were looking for, not ask "Does the doctor treat cancer?"  She thinks she's so clever, but she's not.  Just because she sold medical equipment or software or whatever, does not make her knowledgeable about the practice of medicine.

[eurekagirl mOo]

So here;s my question...WHY is Brooks a grifter? Has he ever been arrested for a con? Does he have a long line of wealthy (and dead) exs that he got money from? And who is Eddie to be throwing stones? Seems to me Eddie married Tamra for her Bravo money, a place on a tv show, and a business she owns that he works at. And wasn't there something about Eddie being "adopted" by a much older man when Eddie himself was a grown man?? So who's the grifter?

 

Brianna can shut it with "Stage 3 cancer patients curl up and die" NICE. Somebody should pull her license just for being a bitch. 

[Lucelu]

I took care of a patient who was diagnosed when her son was 4 years old with Stage 3 breast cancer and then they found a mets to her brain and told her to pack it up-- get her affairs in order. She changed doctors, underwent gamma knife for her brain tumor and underwent chemotherapy for management of a chronic disease. She came weekly to the infusion center for Herceptin treatments and lived another 14 years. She watched her son graduate high school and died a few days later with hospice. While it is a sad story, it is also a triumphant story because she was able to raise her child-- she was given more time. Meghan is not a nurse, she is not a doctor, she is a salesperson, reality tv personality and wife to a retired professional ballplayer who is now a business person. She is basically Kim Zolciak Bierman with a college education. Except Kim has more kindness than Meghan (although Kim is probably more avaricious but is honest about it).

[Rainny]

I took care of a patient who was diagnosed when her son was 4 years old with Stage 3 breast cancer and then they found a mets to her brain and told her to pack it up-- get her affairs in order. She changed doctors, underwent gamma knife for her brain tumor and underwent chemotherapy for management of a chronic disease. She came weekly to the infusion center for Herceptin treatments and lived another 14 years. She watched her son graduate high school and died a few days later with hospice. While it is a sad story, it is also a triumphant story because she was able to raise her child-- she was given more time. Meghan is not a nurse, she is not a doctor, she is a salesperson, reality tv personality and wife to a retired professional ballplayer who is now a business person. She is basically Kim Zolciak Bierman with a college education. Except Kim has more kindness than Meghan (although Kim is probably more avaricious but is honest about it).

 

But Kim Zolicak Bierman was an LPN wasn't she?

[pamme64]

Sheesh, It's. Not. About. You.  I was referring to the post about Meghan putting up an unattractive picture of Hayley on twitter and calling her "Baby" just a few months after her mother died. Grab a funny bone for that chip on your shoulder.

Whoa, I never said it was! And this just happens to be a case of sarcasm gone awry. What I wrote was seriously tongue in cheek. Obviously, it didn't translate to you as such. No big.  

[Lucelu]

But Kim Zolicak Bierman was an LPN wasn't she?

Actually she  probably still holds her LPN license.  But unless she worked directly with oncology patients, I don't think she would have anymore idea about cancer treatment/protocols than Megs. She said she worked in NICU (which I question unless she was just doing patient care because only RNs are hired for those units) and I think in medical surgical. LPNs cannot administer chemotherapy or access central lines in CT or NY (I think they allow it in Texas). The protocols are very cancer cell/disease specific as well as the newer immunologic drugs. Colon cancer is a different protocol than NHL and different from breast cancer in treatment. The main similarities are the behavior of the cancer cells (rapidly dividing cells) and side effects of the treatment.

[Lucelu]

Whoa, I never said it was! And this just happens to be a case of sarcasm gone awry. What I wrote was seriously tongue in cheek. Obviously, it didn't translate to you as such. No big.  

I took it as that you were taking my comment personally and as it applies to your role in your stepchildren's lives and that it was a dig to you --like I was piling on to some commentary as to stepmothers in general.  I don't know you and would never assume that you have any kind of disdain, malevolence or jealousy/competition towards your stepchildren. From what I have seen of Megan King Edmonds-- I absolutely feel she falls in that category. I apologize for my harsh--, your sarcasm totally flew past my spidey sarcasm detector and rang the butthurt sensor instead.

[Rainny]

Actually she  probably still holds her LPN license.  But unless she worked directly with oncology patients, I don't think she would have anymore idea about cancer treatment/protocols than Megs. She said she worked in NICU (which I question unless she was just doing patient care because only RNs are hired for those units) and I think in medical surgical. LPNs cannot administer chemotherapy or access central lines in CT or NY (I think they allow it in Texas). The protocols are very cancer cell/disease specific as well as the newer immunologic drugs. Colon cancer is a different protocol than NHL and different from breast cancer in treatment. The main similarities are the behavior of the cancer cells (rapidly dividing cells) and side effects of the treatment.

 

I'm sorry, I didn't mean she would know anything about cancer treatments. You said Meghan is Kim with a college education, because she's married to a retired ballplayer. I just meant and should have put that Kim is also educated. 

 

Sorry about that!

[zoeysmom]

So here;s my question...WHY is Brooks a grifter? Has he ever been arrested for a con? Does he have a long line of wealthy (and dead) exs that he got money from? And who is Eddie to be throwing stones? Seems to me Eddie married Tamra for her Bravo money, a place on a tv show, and a business she owns that he works at. And wasn't there something about Eddie being "adopted" by a much older man when Eddie himself was a grown man?? So who's the grifter?

 

Brianna can shut it with "Stage 3 cancer patients curl up and die" NICE. Somebody should pull her license just for being a bitch. 

First there was Slade using his loves and not supporting a very ill child, then there was Eddie, who was a little slier and wooed Tamra away from a bad marriage and gradually became dependent on her financially and learned to use the show to further his lifelong dream of hanging out in Spandex and riding a bike all day-Eddie waited until after Brooks made his splash to give up his job. 

 

Brooks and Vicki got caught hooking up while Vicki was legally married and Brooks' ex decided to let the world know Vicki had been "supportive" of Brooks after his incarceration for failing to pay child support.   Brooks also was very willing to talk about the show and this is just me, Brooks in the picture, less of Briana.  Donn and Michael did not seem like they cared all that much about the show and I think it is because Vicki wants to portray an image that is different than what they live.  Somehow, Tamra decided it was her place to take up with her BFF's daughter against Brooks and that hasn't changed.  Briana wants to be a RH and just doesn't get the producers and audience do not want an overweight unhappy, perpetually tired, unsociable woman with two kids, working part time as a nurse and married to a staff sergeant. No offense to nurses or military folk but the show is just not geared for their present income level and I don't think Briana has the personality or looks to make it as a fulltime RH. Briana and Tamra feel like Books and Vicki have used the show to promote their own agenda and they are not happy about it.

 

So  everything Brooks does, be it offer a mink coat as a gift, accept television teeth from Vicki or stand up to Tamra or Vicki's kids he is accused of being a con.  Briana would get zero camera time if it were not for her insistence that her mother not see Brooks-all conversations revolve around Brooks.  So now that Brooks' cancer is out remission and Vicki was told she must include Brooks or risk her position, there just has to be something about Brooks cancer because Tamra and Briana don't want him on.  Tamra only wants Brooks on for someone to fight with as she had to make a comeback as getting along with everyone this season.

 

Vicki cannot figure out a way to make her RH exposure pay bank like a Bethenny, Lisa Vanderpump or Kyle Richards.  Maybe it is bad advice from Brooks or Vicki is just able to translate her exposure into profits.

 

[pamme64]

I took it as that you were taking my comment personally and as it applies to your role in your stepchildren's lives and that it was a dig to you --like I was piling on to some commentary as to stepmothers in general.  I don't know you and would never assume that you have any kind of disdain, malevolence or jealousy/competition towards your stepchildren. From what I have seen of Megan King Edmonds-- I absolutely feel she falls in that category. I apologize for my harsh--, your sarcasm totally flew past my spidey sarcasm detector and rang the butthurt sensor instead.

No harm, no foul. :)

[Former Nun]

So here;s my question...WHY is Brooks a grifter? Has he ever been arrested for a con? Does he have a long line of wealthy (and dead) exs that he got money from?

 

 

I'd bet that most grifters are too smart to get arrested.  The men who prey on women (and vice versa) with money generally aren't doing anything illegal--just despicable.  They can spot the fragile and gullible and ply their trade accordingly. This type of woman generally loves providing men like Brooks with their every wish.  Apparently Brooks does have a line (perhaps not long) of women he has taken financial advantage of and children he doesn't support so he can pursue his dream of showbiz and riches.  Perhaps he's just not good enough to hook the really wealthy and not talented enough to carry off murrrrrrr-derrrrrs.

 

In the case of Vicki and Brooks, I think he just might have earned ever perk and gift he ever received from her (including the teeth).

[zoeysmom]

I'd bet that most grifters are too smart to get arrested.  The men who prey on women (and vice versa) with money generally aren't doing anything illegal--just despicable.  They can spot the fragile and gullible and ply their trade accordingly. This type of woman generally loves providing men like Brooks with their every wish.  Apparently Brooks does have a line (perhaps not long) of women he has taken financial advantage of and children he doesn't support so he can pursue his dream of showbiz and riches.  Perhaps he's just not good enough to hook the really wealthy and not talented enough to carry off murrrrrrr-derrrrrs.

 

In the case of Vicki and Brooks, I think he just might have earned ever perk and gift he ever received from her (including the teeth).

I think Brooks was the provider not the receiver until Vicki came along.  I don't think he fleeced his ex or baby mama out of any money-he was just unfaithful.  According to Vicki and Brooks he has been current on support payments for years. 

 

It may be just me but I think in the world of insurance Brooks and Vicki were a partnership made in heaven.  Originally Vicki was signing up all these agents to work under her.  Each week she would brag of having 600 or 900 agents and these wonderful seminars she worked.  I think Vicki has asked Brooks to give up huge chunks of his life to accompany her on her reality show.  I look at it this way-Vicki has to make her house payment whether anyone lives with her or not-so charging Brooks rent is their decision.   The fact he may have to vacate from time to accommodate Briana is another decision the two of them reached.

 

The fact she had to mention his teeth is just further proof, it is all about Vicki all the time.  I am just relieved she didn't pay for a penis extension and knowing Vicki she would want to show it off.

[AuntieDiane6]

 

No offense to nurses or military folk but the show is just not geared for their present income level and I don't think Briana has the personality or looks to make it as a fulltime RH. Briana and Tamra feel like Books and Vicki have used the show to promote their own agenda and they are not happy about it.

 

What are you talking about?  She and Ryan earned a lot more than, say, Lynn Curtin, Lauri, Gretchen, Peggy Tanous, Sheree, Nene, Kim when THEY were first on the show. Besides, I like the idea that she is Ethel to Vicki's Lucy and I would rather have her as a young'un on the show over Kara Keough, Josh, the other Ryan …  What she's going through is very real and NOT AT ALL what she planned for ...

[missy jo]

In the case of Vicki and Brooks, I think he just might have earned ever perk and gift he ever received from her (including the teeth).

 

 

I agree. Similar to how the saying goes, "If you marry for money, you earn every penny of it." Despite all the trash talk and possible past misdeeds, few of these reality TV folk have unblemished pasts and his doesn't particularly stand out to me.

[zoeysmom]

What are you talking about?  She and Ryan earned a lot more than, say, Lynn Curtin, Lauri, Gretchen, Peggy Tanous, Sheree, Nene, Kim when THEY were first on the show. Besides, I like the idea that she is Ethel to Vicki's Lucy and I would rather have her as a young'un on the show over Kara Keough, Josh, the other Ryan …  What she's going through is very real and NOT AT ALL what she planned for ...

I disagree each person you mentioned had lived the good life as an adult with their own earnings or their husband.  She is a bloated hypocrite who can't stand that she is not the center of her mother's universe with a room temperature IQ husband.  They admit they have no friends.  Take a Kara Keough and she is popular and engaging-the other two Ryan Veith and Josh need to join Briana in the sad children of the RHOC.

 

I don;t know what Briana is going through.  She could not wait to get away from Orange County and all the phony people and it seems in Oklahoma with that warm personality of hers and her braindead husband their peers want nothing to do with them. Why?  Because they are dullards.

 

There was no Lucy and Ethel the way Briana went after her mother at the Reunion.  Their special brand of dysfunction needs to go far, far away along with Tamra and her son.  Not entertaining, wealthy or attractive.  Time to say bye. 

Edited September 21, 2015 by zoeysmom

[OhGromit]

So here;s my question...WHY is Brooks a grifter? Has he ever been arrested for a con? 

 

There are a few things-- for starters, he was arrested for failing to pay child support (link to an article with the mug shot, and Vicki's pathetic attempt to appeal to the judge for leniency, is below):

http://starcasm.net/archives/106953

 

Then, Radar Online got hold of a video in which Brooks appears to be in a hotel room, talking to what I can only assume is a loan shark, apparently trying to explain his lack of payment.  He talks about owing child support, owing the IRS, how he has a "baby momma" in Minneapolis, how his parents paid his tax arrearages for him... 

 

http://www.mstarz.com/articles/36976/20140915/rhoc-vicki-gunvalsons-boyfriend-brooks-ayers-admits-domestic-violence-cheating.htm

[Muffyn]

I am guessing the reported $750,000.00 or so she gets paid comes in handy.  She spends half the year away from her business and I doubt she is really working while away.  Vicki's assets were revealed when she got divorced-I was underwhelmed.

Hey now, Vicki works.  She works!  SHE WOOOOOOOOOORKS!  Or so she has screeched at us many a time. 

[FozzyBear]

... and less clear why the hell he married her in the first place.

I'm actually really curious about that. He acts like he can't stand her so why did he marry her all of 4 months ago? It wasn't a shotgun marriage. I've floated the idea he thought it was easier/cheaper to marry her than hire a nanny. But I'm not sure. She's only helping with Haylee, who will be in college in a year. And I'm not sure how much help she actually provides. Dating Meghan I can kind of get if you're an insecure, aging former athlete who's feeling his youth and celebrity slip away. She at least checks the boxes of trophy girlfriend in a generic way and I could see Jim thinking she's proof that he's still got it. But why marry her? Horrible personalities of both of them aside, I don't even get this marriage on a practical level. Perhaps Maghan took some sort of master class at The Laurie Warring School of Golddigging, because I honestly have no idea how she pulled this off.

[bravofan27]

Hummmm. I think Meghan and Jimmy are a perfect match. First, she is beautiful, though she appears to have a raging eating disorder that her husband ignores. I remember a few times she has been out for dinner and all she orders is a side salad or vegetables. One she was eating her side salad and Jimmy was chowing down on his hamburger. I thought, doesn't he understand that his wife has a major problem? She is rail thin and not eating and you don't notice? My husband would NEVER let me get that thin, first, and 2nd, he would be furious if we went out for dinner and I just ordered a side salad. Then again, I have food issues, so he always is making sure that I am eating enough and not losing weight. However, that Jimmy doesn't seem to notice his wife weighs 90 pounds is freaky to me.That said, they both have cantankerous grumpy personalities, neither of them seem happy ever, and their very limited time together is mostly Jim checked out while Meghan rattles on about something. He married her because he likes to be married and she has low expectations. I would not be able to stand 1 day of being treated the way Jimmy treats her. She's a groupie and she will do anything to stay married to her idol. As a couple, they are incredibly boring. Jimmy also seems super punch drunk, like he has three neurons in his entire brain and they struggle to connect or fire. I think when Vicki asked Jimmy if he thought what Meghan does was weird, he had already forgot what she did and what they were talking about. 

 

More like Jimmy married Meghan to have a nurse for his aging self (not a nanny). 

[happykitteh]

 

She is a bloated hypocrite who can't stand that she is not the center of her mother's universe with a room temperature IQ husband.  They admit they have no friends.  Take a Kara Keough and she is popular and engaging-the other two Ryan Veith and Josh need to join Briana in the sad children of the RHOC.

 

I don't think Breanna is upset because she's no longer the center of her mother's universe. If that were the case she would have stayed in the OC and let Ryan do his service stint alone. I think she knows her mother is a fool for falling for Brook's "sweet talk" and allowing him to bleed her dry financially. If I saw MY mother with a slime ball like Brooks I'd be doing my best to get her away from him too. And Kara Keough? A spoiled horrid girl, IMO!