S03.E09: Desert Storm

[OnceSane]

Quote

After an impassioned dinner in the Dubai desert that frightens the camels, the wives recover over retail therapy in the souks before heading off to another explosive group dinner.

[GuyAwks]

I hate to say it but I think Chyka is being very precious about the "rumours" she's alleging Lydia spread. She can't have her cake and eat it too- either the rumours are a storyline or they're not. If she's going to call out Lydia on national TV for them then she should be open with us about what they are. It was frustrating as hell watching a confrontation about rumours that we have no idea about (I mean we all know they're about Bruce's sexuality but the fights are hollow without that info). Not to mention putting the onus on Lydia to defend herself without bringing up any details about what was said.

 

Every other housewife on the show has shared their dirty laundry and been willing to get their hands dirty for the sake of the show. I don't why Chyka sees herself and her brand as above this. It's her right but there's plenty of more interesting women in Australia who would be willing to give far more for the title of Real Housewife.

Edited April 17, 2016 by GuyAwks

[Flodence]

I'm getting sick of the fighting every episode. And apart from Chyka (and maybe Janet) all of these women need a new hairstyle.

[queenjen]

Yes. The rumors. Always frustrating when off camera stuff is referenced and riffed on and it happens a lot here. PPF'S epic finale meltdown (2 drinks! You are all liars! ) is the best case in point. However, Chyka's departure from neutrality and relentless positive spin is gratifying. Lidiot is extremely trying on the screen, it boils my brain when I try to comprehend her as an actual sentient human less than 24 hours from where I live. Watching PPF and Lidiot at the pool was hilarious. This is how an NPD support group would roll. Hi! You look fabulous! I had SUCH a bad time! So did I! Mine was worse! MINE was worse! All you care about is you! (X 2) Fck you! You too! You look fabulous! (X 2)

We just witnessed the maximum human interaction either of this pair is capable of. They are both reptiles. Lidiot is a racist reptile, is the only difference between them and for this she needs to be axed. It's not funny, it's embarrassing and it's not being addressed on the show. This wouldn't fly in the US franchises, I'm sure.

Why is Susie on the show? Anyone?

I do feel sorry for Gammy. She's the only 1 I really like. This surprises me, but she's revealed herself to be at least capable of self reflection and humor. LOVED her CWA Toorak song which Suzie sconebaker really didn't know how to take! Gammy knows how to have fun and she'll learn that yes, Georgina can also be a ruthless reptile. The friendship will have to go down the Kyle/LVP route if it's going to survive. Which is cold.

Dubai is a sad and sick place and Chyka making buckets of dough out of it isn't surprising. No ethical business would go near the place but this is Househos so no surprises there. When you land in Dubai, you cease to exist if you are a woman. I wouldn't be spending my hard earned there.

I'm gagging to see the slapstick that's coming as Lidiot gets underbussed and PPF is her only ally.

Classier women exist in Australia. These aren't representative except to our tv networks who are permanently encrisised in a poverty of imagination.

[biakbiak]

Dubai is a sad and sick place and Chyka making buckets of dough out of it isn't surprising. No ethical business would go near the place but this is Househos so no surprises.

One can debate the ethics of business but a shit ton of global businesses big and small do work in Dubai and the UAE.

Edited April 18, 2016 by biakbiak

[Diane Mars]

Regarding Dubaï, a friend of mine is living there since 12 years. She's married, 2 children, got a real estate company, and everything is OK for her :)

[Diane Mars]

OMG ! Pettifleur, to Lydiot : "Everyone's saying : "well, you talk about yourself !" Wow, Why the heck not, if you were me, you would be talking about yourself. What's wrong with that ?"

 

I CAN'T. I want to slap her.... It's visceral !

 

She's so.... despicable !

Edited April 19, 2016 by Diane Mars

[CrinkleCutCat]

Recap of the episode:

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/reality-tv/real-housewives-episode-9-recap-you-maliciously-ruin-families/news-story/ce262452f62b1328f80a73fc246ccb0c

I loved this ep!!! All the hysterics! Hilarious!

[RHJunkie]

Lydiot, Lydiot....how could you show us such "arrogancy" haha, how is it possible this woman is SO stupid?

 

I just can't with her anymore.She is vile, stupid and beyond grating. Has she put on a ton of weight? She seems much bigger this season.

 

PF needs a bullet. She is despicable. Her son needs to call her out big time, though as a narc, she wont listen anyway. Narcs are never wrong. 

 

I actually was beyond annoyed watching this episode, i think i am maxed out with housewives bs and petty arguments. I mean, i know they really arent true friends, but why hang out with such bitches? Is it really worth the money? 

 

Nope. Nope. Nope. 

I took me a while to realize that Lydia is really this dense. I thought perhaps she was playing up for the camera. The woman needs to start reading and getting familiar with the English language. The amount of words she mispronounces and phrases she messes up is beyond ridiculous. It makes for good TV to laugh at her but at the same time, it's really sad because Lydia thinks she's really smart.

 

She and PF are two peas in a pod. They're both very self absorbed and when people don't fawn all over them, then like the self absorbed people that they are, they victimize themselves. They both deny the accusation when they're confronted with it but there's nothing about their words or actions that suggest that the other women have simply misunderstood them. Nope, they've actually hit the nail precisely on its head.

 

It may not be about the money, especially if we're considering that many of these women are either well off by their own right or by marriage. I think the show for a lot of them is about public exposure (ex. Gina trying to build a brand, Janet with her tea business, etc.) or to feed one's ego (PF, Lydia, etc.).

[Vicky8675309]

I can't stand Lydiot and PF but they are perfect for this show....it's so fun to laugh at them! Unfortunately I don't think the cast will film with PF & Lydiot anymore (maybe Gina would film with them but that isn't enough)

[OnceSane]

I'd bet Pettifleur gets axed before Lydia does. But I don't think either is going anywhere, I'm sure the producers are loving the drama and will tell the other ladies to "suck it up" when it comes to filming with them. Of course, if the ladies ice one or both of them out (refusing to speak to or of either and/or ignoring their presence), someone could be gone.

[Vicky8675309]

I think Lydiot will be gone since Chyka and Jackie HATE her. I think they all find PF annoying and draining but she doesn't spread malicious gossip about them. However, despite disliking Lydiot, I do find her much more entertaining than Jackie (I also dislike her) and Chyka (I like her but she isn't that entertaining)

[blahblah]

What puzzles me about Lydia is that the things coming out of her mouth are ON CAMERA. So for her to sit there denying things just makes her look a fool and pathetic. 

 

I am glad Chyka went there, she seemed angry as balls! And yes i do think its rumours about her husband so imo she is justified telling Lydia to fuck right off

[queenjen]

More off camera stuff re Bruce I think. Lydiot needs a muzzle. I doubt she'll be there next season. I actually find Chyka a snooze. I guess she anchors some of the drama but the whole HR101 worldview, which some of the cast has alluded to (fencesitter, Switzerland), triggers my FF finger. The Bruce rumors might enliven her storyline. I just lost a reply I typed so I won't double up. But Terminal Preppy, I love your work. (I'm an old DKs fan)

[tenativelyyours]

I find Chyka too self-aware.  I think a lot of her family scenes are just that.  Not that they are hiding any deep secrets but that it is an image she crafts because she knows it will serve as a certain kind of contrast.  Especially Jackie, the Lydiot and now Petty Flour. 

 

I also think she is just as liable to stir shit but does it in a removed kind of way.  She lets others pull out the pot but she then brings it up to "dispel" it or claims she is so sad and sorry as she is forced to mention it because she heard something and simply can't believe it, like last season's rumors about Gamble.  Or she sits and roars and licks her lips like a cat in cream as the others go after a third not present and claims how "awful" they are but never actually shuts it down.  But then later can pull out the fake pearls with her handprints on them and claim it wasn't her.  If she truly felt about some of the gossip concerning others in past seasons, she wouldn't wait until a talking head or the person herself confronts the issue.  I loathe the Lydiot.  I hate 'gay' as an accusation.  But gossip has been Chyka's sleight of hand to remain relevant and in the mix so she should realize she is getting her turn in many ways as despicable as it is.  Maybe if she wasn't so sly in trying to slip past the fact she si a Housewife with all the reality famewhoring desire simply being on the show brings, she would be able to more firmly shut the innuendo down. 

 

Petty Flour thinks her outrageous behavior makes her fascinating.  I find her and the mute button on my remote a perfect match.  Now if they would just make one that also applies one of those old blue hidden identity circles that would pop up over her mug and I'd be all set.  She and bad plastic surgery apparently are the only more perfect match than the one with my remote.

[Primetimer]

One is an unapologetic gossipmonger. One will start crying if you don't compliment her dress THIS SECOND. Who would you rather spend your vacation with?

View the full article

[HunterHunted]

Amazeballs!!!

I have watch it again to gather my thoughts. 

Arrogancy and Toorak isn't a country.  What a fucking idiot.

[pasdetrois]

My new slogan: "I'm a quiet achiever."

[Jack Terrier]

I floved Gina screaming at PF to get over her fucking bullshit. Could not get enough of it!

When Gina was screaming at Gamble it broke my heart.  I'm no big Gamble fan but I truly feel she is sensitive unlike PF who is a sociopath.

Gina wins me over with one snack down and hurts my heart with another.  

[pasdetrois]

When Gina yelled at Pettifleur, she did what many of us have wanted to do over the years to various obnoxious people. I don't like gangups, so I kind of felt a teeny bit sorry for PF when she had the little meltdown. (I think laying down was her attempt to stop the cameras from taping her.) But PF is so extremely narcissistic and stubborn that someone had to confront her in a very forceful way. All the social and etiquette rules tell you not to do it, but in my life I've found that extreme confrontations are the only thing that get through in these cases. (Or not. PF appears in her THs not to have learned a thing.)

Beneath her scatterbrained and soft-hearted exterior, Gamble is exceedingly crafty and possibly quite smart. I think the tears were acting for the camera and to keep her storyline going. Gina saw right through it and shut it down.

I adore Chyka's fashion, and her business success, but she probably has skeletons like everyone else, and she doesn't merit protection by production while everyone else is put through the wringer. I'm glad they all called out Lydia, whom I loathe for her racism, arrogance and willful stupidity, but I suspect Chyka might get a little bit of a messy edit in the future. She alluded to "family" gossip; maybe it's about her spoiled kids flunking out of school or something. Or maybe it is about Bruce. If he's on the down low then that could threaten their business, especially in the Middle East. Perhaps these "royal weddings" are the bulk of their income. She said she goes to Dubai 10 - 12 times a year.

Janet just bugs me. She has a way with words, but she comes across as stealthy.

When they kept showing Jackie at the cultural center, I wondered if she was having pregnancy nausea. She didn't look hungry, she looked nauseated.

I'd forgotten that PF was in a refugee camp. Those places can literally drive someone crazy. Most of the severely narcissistic people I've known have been abused. In some cases it's been overt spoiling by their parents.

Edited September 9, 2016 by pasdetrois

[sugarbaker design]

I thought spoiling caused spoiled brats!

I did love Gamble's "You think Jackie and Gina are scary, Chyka is scarier than both of them"!  Gamble's face while Chyka was going on was hysterical!

I've been waiting for someone to call Chyka "Cheeks" all season and it finally happened.  Thank you Abbey the florist!

[bichonblitz]

I'm not understanding the thrill and excitement of Dubai. Besides ostentatious hotels, (like Vegas), some tall buildings, a super duper shopping mall for the rich, and a desert where you can ride a camel if you like the filthy animals, what would make someone want to travel all the way over there? What am I missing? 

[sugarbaker design]

2 minutes ago, bichonblitz said:

What am I missing? 

A reality show production team who have a deal with Dubai.

[bichonblitz]

Just now, sugarbaker design said:

A reality show production team who have a deal with Dubai.

Oh, I agree. Melbourne wives are not the first to go there. NY and I believe Beverly Hills took trips there as well. And they filmed the same boring things. However, I have heard other people and celebrities talk about Dubai like it's paradise. 

[sugarbaker design]

I don't see the sense in taking a long flight to go to a mall either.  Malls, oppressive heat, oppressive culture, sand and camels do not a vacation make.

[pasdetrois]

Do luxury buyers get a better deal on their purchases in Dubai?

I'm with some of the other posters - now that I've read exposes about how some of the workers are treated in Dubai, you couldn't pay me to visit there.

Edited September 9, 2016 by pasdetrois

[itsadryheat]

On 4/18/2016 at 2:00 AM, queenjen said:

 Watching PPF and Lidiot at the pool was hilarious. This is how an NPD support group would roll.

I think this is one of the reasons I am drawn to these stupid shows.

Absolutely fascinating to watch those with high degree of NPD, in action, from the safety of my home.

I do not hang with ppl like this, and in fact run for the hills when I get a whiff.  Unless of course, it is a work situation, which is more of a draining chess game.

I do wonder how these type of ppl end up with any level of success; professional, relationships, financial.

But they do.

[Jack Terrier]

3 hours ago, pasdetrois said:

When Gina yelled at Pettifleur, she did what many of us have wanted to do over the years to various obnoxious people. I don't like gangups, so I kind of felt a teeny bit sorry for PF when she had the little meltdown. (I think laying down was her attempt to stop the cameras from taping her.) But PF is so extremely narcissistic and stubborn that someone had to confront her in a very forceful way. All the social and etiquette rules tell you not to do it, but in my life I've found that extreme confrontations are the only thing that get through in these cases. (Or not. PF appears in her THs not to have learned a thing.)

Beneath her scatterbrained and soft-hearted exterior, Gamble is exceedingly crafty and possibly quite smart. I think the tears were acting for the camera and to keep her storyline going. Gina saw right through it and shut it down.

I adore Chyka's fashion, and her business success, but she probably has skeletons like everyone else, and she doesn't merit protection by production while everyone else is put through the wringer. I'm glad they all called out Lydia, whom I loathe for her racism, arrogance and willful stupidity, but I suspect Chyka might get a little bit of a messy edit in the future. She alluded to "family" gossip; maybe it's about her spoiled kids flunking out of school or something. Or maybe it is about Bruce. If he's on the down low then that could threaten their business, especially in the Middle East. Perhaps these "royal weddings" are the bulk of their income. She said she goes to Dubai 10 - 12 times a year.

 

I'd forgotten that PF was in a refugee camp. Those places can literally drive someone crazy. Most of the severely narcissistic people I've known have been abused. In some cases it's been overt spoiling by their parents.

Edited for brevity.

How did I miss PF being in a refugee camp?!

[pasdetrois]

Alex refers to PF as a child refugee in this week's recap, and I think I recall PF alluding to it in her first season. Or maybe it's mentioned in her book.

[LIMOM]

41 minutes ago, pasdetrois said:

Alex refers to PF as a child refugee in this week's recap, and I think I recall PF alluding to it in her first season. Or maybe it's mentioned in her book.

I read on her website that she got a job as  a travel agent and then moved to Australia for economic opportunities.

[queenjen]

No no no no no. Petitfleur went to boarding school, either in Ceylon or Sri Lanka. I'd bet the farm she was never a refugee, even though we have many that have come to Australia from Sri Lanka that way. She's never mentioned it on the show. Really curious given her pathological need for attention, to know where that came from? Cos if someone is saying it, I bet it has come from her and I bet it is bull.

[sugarbaker design]

20 minutes ago, queenjen said:

either in Ceylon or Sri Lanka.

Aren't they the same place?

[queenjen]

Yes, they definitely are they same place. Petitfleur left when it was still called Ceylon. It became Sri Lanka sometime in the late 70s early 80s I believe. At least she gave the impression that her country was Ceylon when explaining her past at some stage. I believe she may have been to school there too, the one with the 'English Nuns', this was during the convo re her accent where Gina said 'well it obviously didst work!'. It's possible she spent some time in a facility if her family left as refugees and there are a couple of reasons why she may not have milked this story. ..yet. Firstly, Australia's current heinous attitude to and treatment of people seeking asylum, many of whom come from Sri Lanka. And secondly, she may not want to be questioned about her wealthy sounding childhood and current status also and be accused by anyone in the current zeitgeist of not being a 'real' refugee. I'm sure this would all be too beyond the pale for her these days. If that's the case, shame on Australia. And I say that with no respect for this woman from watching her on this show

[LIMOM]

From her website PETITFLEUR.COM

"If you’ve seen me on Real Housewives of Melbourne, then you know, above all, I have confidence in myself. I kick butt from the ground up.

I was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, but at 15 I knew I wanted something more and yearned for an opportunity to come to Australia. So what does a fearless woman do? I got myself a job as a travel agent, and worked my ass off until I could buy a one-way ticket to Melbourne. And I haven’t looked back since.

When I arrived in Melbourne, I ambitiously applied for a job as an accounts payable stock controller without any qualifications or experience. I went in thinking I would give it my best, but also told myself: “If I can get this job, I can do anything I want!”. And what do you think happened? I got the job.

Life has been a series of setting goals and achieving them ever since. I’m a successful property developer, a company director and a self-published author of Switch The Bitch. I’m also a mother to three beautiful sons, who are my pride and joy."

There is no mention of being a refugee.

[tenativelyyours]

On 9/9/2016 at 9:50 AM, pasdetrois said:

When Gina yelled at Pettifleur, she did what many of us have wanted to do over the years to various obnoxious people. I don't like gangups, so I kind of felt a teeny bit sorry for PF when she had the little meltdown. (I think laying down was her attempt to stop the cameras from taping her.) But PF is so extremely narcissistic and stubborn that someone had to confront her in a very forceful way. All the social and etiquette rules tell you not to do it, but in my life I've found that extreme confrontations are the only thing that get through in these cases. (Or not. PF appears in her THs not to have learned a thing.)

Beneath her scatterbrained and soft-hearted exterior, Gamble is exceedingly crafty and possibly quite smart. I think the tears were acting for the camera and to keep her storyline going. Gina saw right through it and shut it down.

I adore Chyka's fashion, and her business success, but she probably has skeletons like everyone else, and she doesn't merit protection by production while everyone else is put through the wringer. I'm glad they all called out Lydia, whom I loathe for her racism, arrogance and willful stupidity, but I suspect Chyka might get a little bit of a messy edit in the future. She alluded to "family" gossip; maybe it's about her spoiled kids flunking out of school or something(1). Or maybe it is about Bruce. If he's on the down low then that could threaten their business, especially in the Middle East.(2) Perhaps these "royal weddings" are the bulk of their income. She said she goes to Dubai 10 - 12 times a year.

Janet just bugs me. She has a way with words, but she comes across as stealthy.

When they kept showing Jackie at the cultural center, I wondered if she was having pregnancy nausea. She didn't look hungry, she looked nauseated.

I'd forgotten that PF was in a refugee camp. Those places can literally drive someone crazy. Most of the severely narcissistic people I've known have been abused. In some cases it's been overt spoiling by their parents.

(1)  From what I gather, social media had some interesting mentions that started before this season filmed and well into the show to almost what I think is this point.  Both kids apparently had the idea of being on tv go to their heads if the little blips I saw on the main little gossip/entertainment shows/news when I was over there last which would be the same time.  I tended to pay attention simply because it was one of the Aussie shows I was familiar with.  The car scene with the daughter trying to channel Adele including the sunglasses and draped coat over the shoulders before she got out the car.  There was kind of substantiated talk that the ding on Bruce's car came from drinking while driving and that odd contrived humbling was an attempt to create and control any narrative that might suggest it was anything but a single mistake.  Tears and contrition and life lesson learned.  When it might have been she just hadn't been caught by authorities and still had a reputation for being careless just out the gate with her brand new license.

Also a bit more far fetched was that the camp the son did his gap year stint on is known for being a place where the rich privileged counselors are just as troubled in some way as the outreach kids they are there to 'reach'.  I know of two camps like that in Texas because my rather wild cousin was sent to the one (the other was deemed a bit too religious by my aunt and uncle).  And it was meant to impose a strict atmosphere even though my cousin was there to give "volunteer" help.  But I also know both of those places do plenty of actual charity.  I think it is just seen as a place that puts kids like my cousin in a place where good hard productive labor in a somewhat fun atmosphere can serve as a form of discipline.  It also lets kids of privilege get a taste of the less privileged in terms of eye opening and it definitely is a nice productive wakeup call to young men who might be a bit unfocused and a bit self-indulgent when university is something the family expects in the near future.

(2) Even before the first season aired, there was local gossip about their marriage being one of convenience.  The Lydiot oddly escaped unscathed when she mentioned on some red carpet while promoting the first season a joke some comic made in a nightclub about how he was so proud that the Australian HW show was the first to have a lesbian couple on it as leads -- meaning Jackie and Ben.   The joke was kind of odd from what I gather but I think it actually had to do with the comedian thinking Ben was trying so hard the first season to be a full Housewife".  The Lydiot appearing with Jackie and Ben at some televised event In Sydney was asked about it and she said something like "oh rumors about Bruce being a homosexual have been around for years".  And oddly this never came up on the show.  Until now it seems.  But I think Chyka refers to the Lydiot speaking out on things she knows nothing about and Chyka putting it down to eager but non-malicious activity and so not taking offense.  Until now.  So I tend to think if Chyka really is forgoing another season it might be her kids.  That daughter seems really thirty in her few scenes this season and maybe the business is doing well enough that the show puts the image of a healthy family no matter what at risk.  The show might pay well, but a behind the scenes making happen high end event service probably pays a heck of a lot more.  And having your dirty laundry or even just the not quite fresh laundry exposed for the sake of being on tv might put that at risk and Chyka and Bruce figured in the long term the show was not that firm of a future let along that viable of a financial one.

The problem with Petty Flour is that I have a hard time believing anything she says.  Her entry into the show, to me, had her trying to lay on like she was deigning to bestow her presence on Melbourne.  That she was some kind of international woman of privilege and had only the most elite background imaginable.  Its funny because her comment about the nuns had me thinking she was trying to sell it as some private secluded school for only the best of Sri Lanka's daughters.  And so I immediately thought, probably the local one room school was part of a Catholic mission and had a nun or two teaching.  And there would be nothing wrong with that except that it did not play into Petty Flour's vision of fabulous grandiose ego.  The woman I saw her first season instead was caught up in some fake vision that was from a Jackie Collins novel or the television show Dynasty.  And maybe it ws just me, but she hinted and alluded in a way that never actually seemed to deliver really firm facts.

Now there is mention of her as a refugee?   I can see her doing that since she is always a victim.  Or maybe she was and is trying to stay ahead of her own history since she now realizes it can be brought out and up on the show or in the media.  Her meeting with her sister seemed to point to some serious dismissal on her sister's side.  I wouldn't be surprised if some of that anger stems from the fact that the sister is embarrassed by the lofty and grandiose image of how perfect and envy-inducing Petty Flour is and that there are people in her life, personally and professionally that know the real past of both of them and wonder or even comment about the disparities. 

[FlyingEgret]

On 9/9/2016 at 10:13 AM, sugarbaker design said:

I thought spoiling caused spoiled brats!

I did love Gamble's "You think Jackie and Gina are scary, Chyka is scarier than both of them"!  Gamble's face while Chyka was going on was hysterical!

I've been waiting for someone to call Chyka "Cheeks" all season and it finally happened.  Thank you Abbey the florist!

I just loved the florist!  Of course the tables have to be custom made!  And of course we need a forest in the middle of a desert...  Haha

[ava111]

OMG that was amazing episode. I'm gonna keep in on my Tivo forever. Everything was so over the top and fabulous, from the fights, confrontations and everyone's reactions to the planning of the royal wedding. Loved the cultural center visit and the sheik and all the interesting info about the stuff we usually don't hear about when they are visiting foreign country on housewives shows. All that awesome looking food and over the top jewelry.  Definitely the best international trip of all HW shows I have seen (and I watched everything except Atlanta). Loved Janet's dress with the applique flowers and the sexy look that Chyka was wearing while dining at the restaurant - the moment after Janet says to PF to f off she was lucky there was a glass in front of her right boob or they would have to use some blurring. Really need to watch that again very soon even though I kept rewinding and watching some parts several times tonight that it feels like I watched it at least 3 times already just now LOL... Now I need to go and read all the comments posted already. Being on vacation prevented me from watching earlier but at least there is more comments to entertain me now. And it seems next week (actually tonight) there is more to come from this awesome trip. Can't wait!

[NYCFree]

Gina's rant was a thing of beauty.  She was not only pissed off, she was articulately and insightfully pissed off.  It is extremely rare, in not in not only the Real Housewives world, but also real life, to have all these factors going at one time.  Most people lose their clarity of thought at such times.

[QuinnM]

Quote

Gina's rant was a thing of beauty.

And I so enjoyed Chyka's awe of the moment.  'And that is why Gina's a barrister.'