S08.E14: The Benefits Of Friendship

[ScoobieDoobs]

OK, OK, Bethenny, you did give me one giggle this ep -- when she ordered her minions to go lock up her closets when Moaner was coming over (so Moaner couldn't steal her dresses).  But it was a only a giggle -- and just once in this ep.  

So one giggle & she wasn't Cujo the attack dawg.  Still kind of a boring ep.  I hate it when she's a monster -- and I'm sorta bored when she's not a monster, but merely self-obsessed & thoughtlessly revealing supposed friends' secrets.  Maybe I just don't like how this has become The Bethenny Show?  Hmmmm.

Interesting how I was mostly indifferent to both Sonja & Lu before.  Actually, there were many times I downright disliked both of 'em.  Now I adore & treasure every moment they are on cam.  Don't boot them off, Monster Bethenny & Satan Andy!

[Normades]

I like Lu and I'm sad that these witches can't let her enjoy her happiness. She seemed like she felt really lousy with that cold, but apparently if Beth has so much as a paper cut, no one else is allowed to be sick. She acted like illnesses are competition. I also see nothing pretentious about ordering in French while in a French restaurant. Had she spoken Spanish in a Spanish restaurant would there be such claims? Is it just speaking French that's pretentious or basically anything Lu does that is? She really can't win. I personally find it admirable that she speaks more than one language.

[film noire]

15 hours ago, Thumper said:

I'm still giving Dorinda the side-eye for telling Lu what Ramona was saying.  And Dorinda claims to be Ramona's friend???  i don't get it.

But wouldn't it be awesome if they had a show stopper of an argument, and Dorinda spent the whole time arguing with Ramona AS Ramona? 

[Atwood]

5 hours ago, Juliegirlj said:

I read something interesting about Bethenny's Skinnygirl Margarita: 

According to Bethenny's mother, Bernadette Burke, Bethenny's godmother used to visit them, and her drink of choice was a margarita, but she was overweight so Bernadette would make her a low calorie version, which she claims is the recipe Bethenny used! She also said she knew her narcissistic daughter would never give her any mention in regards to her idea/recipe. 

I'm pretty sure that Bethenny's mother claimed that she would make a "low fat" version of a regular margarita. Which I thought was hilarious, since I've never heard of ANY margarita with fat in it. 

[ScoobieDoobs]

God, I would so love to see the "wolf" who raised Bethenny, who supposedly is to blame for the monster we see every week (except maybe kinda/sorta this week).  Don't count on it.  Bernadette knows her all too well & surely knows she has everything to lose by coming on this thing.   Bethenny would absolutely roast & toast her a billion times worse than she did to the step-father.  Ah, Bethenny & her eternal grudges.

Glad to see Jules will be standing up to the monster that is Bethenny next week.  So she took off from her Cujo the attack dawg shtick this week.  Guess next week she'll be back to that usual routine to rip Jules to shreds.  OK then, at least she's predictable.  Maybe that makes the horror show Bethenny has turned this thing into more comforting?  Uh, not for me, not for me.

[SweetieDarling]

39 minutes ago, film noire said:

But wouldn't it be awesome if they had a show stopper of an argument, and Dorinda spent the whole time arguing with Ramona AS Ramona? 

Absolutely agree.  A scene with Ramona, more or less, arguing with herself, would probably be so ridiculous it would be hysterical.  I don't think Dorinda would be able to keep a straight face long enough.  I think she'd be laughing at Ramona being Ramona to her Ramona, not realizing she's being Ramona'd. 

eta:  Dorinda would be at a slight disadvantage, not being able to flip her hair.

Edited July 9, 2016 by AnitaKnight

[seasick]

16 hours ago, MaryTylerMoore said:

 

Also, in the loud conversation between Bethenny and Carol (that brought Ramona to the table) Bethenny said "I can't call Adam a baby, which he is and I can't talk about sex."  Hmm...

Glad you brought up that little dig.   I almost forgot about it.  Bethanny's like "what??  You think you're any different that I wouldn't throw you under a bus too?   Fool.  Fool for thinking you're too 'special' for me to turn on you.  Sorry honey, there are no exceptions.  Oh it's probably nothing you did.  It comes without provocation"

 

3 hours ago, ScoobieDoobs said:

Is Carole sorta embarassed by this relationship with Adam because he's so much younger?  Deep down, maybe that's possible.  But she was acting somewhat braggy to the world about this relationship, wasn't she?  I mean by riding on the handle bars of his bicyle like a silly teen girl.  Who knows what that was about?  Was she posing for the cams or just being silly in the moment?  Carole is so full of crap lately Idk what to believe about her.

I do believe her surprise & shock the relationship has lasted this long & is still going on.  She already has shown to the cams her annoyance & impatience with him when he dared to infringe on her supposed expertise as a writer (oh heaven forbid anyone do that to Writergirl) by making suggestions (which she clearly didn't care for) about their book that'll never happen.

So why are these 2 still together?  I suspect she woulda dumped him ages ago if he wasn't so young.  His being so much younger is a nice ego boost for her.  I've seen Carole in person recently.  She dresses nicely & she has a nice body, but she looks her age & is really only moderately attractive.  Gosh, there are tons of exquisitely pretty young women around here, who a tall attractive young guy like Adam could hook up with in a second.

My question is, what the heck is he still doing with her?  Is he extremely passive or lazy or throwing girls away or cheating on her or using Carole for her money or is he with her to be on TV?  Who knows, but her claims of surprise at the relationship lasting this long show her insecuity to me -- that he hasn't left her by now for a younger & better looking woman.  And maybe he won't.  Maybe he's just too passive or he's too much of an opportunist.  

I'm rememberng Carole's stankface reaction to Bethenny's throwing out how she & Adam are having tons of sex & I'm wondering the actual reason for Carole's stankface.  Was she merely reacting to Bethenny cruelly & thoughtlessly & oh-so-casually revealing a private confidence?  Or was it that Bethenny said out loud (and to the cams) the real reason she's still hangin' with Adam?  Hmmmm.

I'm thinking it may be just the opposite.  I'm sure the assumption is that she's having fab 'all night' no-viagra-young-buck sex   If it were me, I'd let that assumption take flight.  But! if he wasn't really doing me anymore--I'd be embarrassed and afraid that he would think *I* was actually putting that out there *And* telling tales out of school if someone made a point to blast it!   I don't know guys that well,  but is it possible he's a little embarrassed to have it blasted   that he's (supposedly) all sexed-up on  a 52 year old?  

I think he sticks around Carole because there is no future commitment. It's comfortable-- and she's writing his cookbook (groan) and he can come and go. He's out of town alot.  And--does he have his own place or does he couch surf. (think he doesn't have his own place)  Not like a real relationship would be.  And Gawd, she wasn't embarrassed to act like he was a piece of meat at Lu's and she was SOooo sexually turned on by him! Now she's all  'private and shy girl' ??  

I don't think she'll really 'dump' him.  Did you see her on that date Lu set her up with??  She's an awkward dolt!  She's fairly intelligent but crazy immature and truly awkward and uncomfortable in most social settings.  Journalism (newspaper people as my mother would call them) are strange birds.  In all fairness to her she is totally out of her element with this glam/ladies-who-lunch bunch.  They have Nothing in common. She should stick with crazy off-the -wall rumpled news-hounds.  And shoot herself before she writes (of all things) a vegetarian, boy meets girl (ugh) cookbook.  

[JakeyJokes]

Carole and Adam were shown in his apartment a few episodes ago.

[Mondrianyone]

57 minutes ago, AnitaKnight said:

Dorinda would be at a slight disadvantage, not being able to flip her hair.

She could easily get some to flip, same way Ramona got hers:  on sale at a store near you.

13 minutes ago, JakeyJokes said:

Carole and Adam were shown in his apartment a few episodes ago.

An apartment alleged to be his.  It could very well be, but Bravo has such a long history of plunking people into places they don't own and calling them "NeNe's house" that you never really know for sure.

[ScoobieDoobs]

I need to correct myself about Bethenny giving me one giggle this ep -- when she ordered her poor girl slaves to lock up her closet, when Moaner was a-comin'.  In her TH, when she said Lu was now (to her) "unlikeable", that gave me a slight giggle -- particularly coming from her.  But I guess she didn't mean to give a giggle there, did she?

52 minutes ago, JakeyJokes said:

Carole and Adam were shown in his apartment a few episodes ago.

Really?  Was it an actual apartment -- or a park bench?

59 minutes ago, seasick said:

I don't think she'll really 'dump' him.  

I do.  Adam ain't goin' nowhere -- he ain't gonna dump her.  When she finally wakes up that he's riding on whatever she's got goin' on & he's not especially interesting, she might dump him.  Or not.  Maybe she just likes standing next to another hipster wannabe like herself.  

Hey, anyone wanna tell Bethenny your secrets?  C'mon now, fun!  Even Moaner knows better than to do that.  Well, I suspect she ONLY tells her what she'd tell to the press.  Same thing.

Edited July 9, 2016 by ScoobieDoobs

[biakbiak]

9 minutes ago, ScoobieDoobs said:

Really?  Was it an actual apartment -- or a park bench?

 

A real decently sized Manhattan apartment which again made me wonder about his finances with his charitable farm and trips to Africa for a documentary, etc.

[seasick]

1 hour ago, JakeyJokes said:

Carole and Adam were shown in his apartment a few episodes ago.

yeah, I'm not convinced.  Likely a friend's place where he crashes.    I know he's trying different things--writing , photography, cooking etc.  but..he doesn't appear to have any real income either.  

ETA;  I don't think there will be a real dump from either.  It will probably just fizzle as he moves on with his young life. 

Edited July 9, 2016 by seasick

[anonymiss]

28 minutes ago, seasick said:

yeah, I'm not convinced.  Likely a friend's place where he crashes.    I know he's trying different things--writing , photography, cooking etc.  but..he doesn't appear to have any real income either.  

ETA;  I don't think there will be a real dump from either.  It will probably just fizzle as he moves on with his young life. 

Perhaps he lives off his parents like many who can afford to drift off and do multiple hobbies rather than getting a job.

[sasha206]

5 hours ago, ScoobieDoobs said:

OK, OK, Bethenny, you did give me one giggle this ep -- when she ordered her minions to go lock up her closets when Moaner was coming over (so Moaner couldn't steal her dressses).  But it was a only a giggle -- and just once in this ep.  

So one giggle & she wasn't Cujo the attack dawg.  Still kind of a boring ep.  I hate it when she's a monster -- and I'm sorta bored when she's not a monster, but merely self-obsessed & thoughtlessly revealing supposed friends' secrets.  Maybe I just don't like how this has become The Bethenny Show?  Hmmmm.

Interesting how I was mostly indifferent to both Sonja & Lu before.  Actually, there were many times I downright disliked both of 'em.  Now I adore & treasure every moment they are on cam.  Don't boot them off, Monster Bethenny & Satan Andy!

She does have her moments!

I really enjoyed when the "psychic" told her her dad she would get married again and she said "tell him to fuck off" or something like that.  I loved that she had no time for the pyschic's bullshit.

[AuntiePam]

16 hours ago, Long Spot said:

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess she was hopping out onto her fire escape for a ciggy.  

I'm so glad you said this.  I've been imagining all kinds of weird reasons for Jules' injury.  Your suggestion makes sense. 

Jules said in this episode, or maybe the last one, that she was fine with her body.  That seems to be true.  A lot of really thin women (of which I am one) will dress to hide the thinness, the scrawny arms, the lack of an ass, no boobs.  Jules dresses to emphasize those things.  Good for her. 

Lu can please stop with the crude comments and gestures about Tom's relationship with Sonja.  That crap belongs in a junior high locker room. 

[Feline Queen]

22 hours ago, MaryTylerMoore said:

Also, in the loud conversation between Bethenny and Carol (that brought Ramona to the table) Bethenny said "I can't call Adam a baby, which he is and I can't talk about sex."  Hmm...

I thought she called him a babe.  If she really thinks he is and isn't merely humoring Carole, then she needs to trade Cookie in for a seeing eye dog.

[JakeyJokes]

In proving that I spend way too much time on the Internet, Bethenny's make-up artist at the beginning (Kristopher Buckle) is also Mariah Carey's regular MUA. I find his own aesthetic to be fascinating -- that refusing to let yourself age thing that wealthier and older gay men do. But that's a different thread.

The diaphragm talk cracked me up. She's caustic, but I did giggle at Bethenny telling Ramona "you're from 1983".

I think Carole got so annoyed at Bethenny bringing up the sex with Adam because Carole and LuAnn were FINALLY getting along, to the point that Carole was almost relaxed, and then Bethenny has to go and bring up, boorishly, the catalyst of Carole and LuAnn's rift. Read the room, Frankel.

[NewDigs]

Unfortunately I think Bethy does read the room but she's only looking for takedowns. And she gets off on her own foul-mouthed riffs. She probably thinks she's some comedic genius when it's really just boorish behavior

Zero fucks! 

Wonder if she's always that foul-mouthed. I think it would be hard to turn that off.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 7/8/2016 at 5:21 AM, Suck It Trebek said:

I thought Bethenny looked beautiful for the deal at Dylan's. It was very striking with the red hair and the black and white outfit...then she slid out of her car, didn't take her driver's proffered hand, didn't thank him for the ride, nor  even acknowledge his presence. What an asshole.

I saw a thing on PBS once, probably in connection with their shows like Downton Abbey, where they were explaining relationships between people and their servants.  It seems a lot of us commoners think it's rude that they never say "thank you" to their servants, but it was explained that if they said "thank you" for everything the servant did it would get kind of ridiculous, so they just went with the never-say-thank-you scheme.

I don't think that means Bethenny isn't an asshole, though.

[motorcitymom65]

8 hours ago, JakeyJokes said:

 

I think Carole got so annoyed at Bethenny bringing up the sex with Adam because Carole and LuAnn were FINALLY getting along, to the point that Carole was almost relaxed, and then Bethenny has to go and bring up, boorishly, the catalyst of Carole and LuAnn's rift. Read the room, Frankel.

I agree, and this is what I thought when Beth brought it up. One thing Carole has never done is throw her happiness or fabulous sex life with Adam in Lu's face on the show. I am trying to imagine how much harder Lu would have gone after Carole on Twitter last season (if that is even possible) if we had seen Carole yammering on and on about how happy she was and how she had found her soul mate to the exclusion of any other conversation. I don't think she liked Beth trying to bring her relationship with Adam up so randomly. I liked that she wasn't afraid to tell Beth she didn't like it.  That's what real friends do. I don't think Carole is one bit afraid of Beth or that she sucks upto her. Certainly not like Dorinda, who lets her boyfriend be accused of doing blow on national TV and barely says a word in his defense. 

[archer1267]

I seem to remember LuAnn proactively approaching Bethenny when she heard of her engagement, and congratulating her. This was after Bethenny had said "I don't like you and I think you're a snake." The two weren't on speaking terms, but LuAnn came over to tell Bethenny that she was really happy for her.

Whether LuAnn was sincere or not, I can't tell. But does it really matter? It's too bad that B and the ladies can't fake some enthusiasm for Lu's happiness. If she wants to be with a guy who's made his way through the UES, then caveat emptor. It's her business. If they're irked that she's using it for a storyline...well, Ramonja did that in Season 5 with Harry Dubin and the fake engagement ring.

[Feline Queen]

1 hour ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I saw a thing on PBS once, probably in connection with their shows like Downton Abbey, where they were explaining relationships between people and their servants.  It seems a lot of us commoners think it's rude that they never say "thank you" to their servants, but it was explained that if they said "thank you" for everything the servant did it would get kind of ridiculous, so they just went with the never-say-thank-you scheme.

I don't think that means Bethenny isn't an asshole, though.

Yes that may have been how they acted back in the Victorian and Edwardian era, but Beth isn't 'to the manor born' and can't fall back on the excuse that looking down on the servants was just how she was raised. This is 2016 and being gracious and having manners towards everyone should be the rule not the exception. Besides, like I've said - she's the one who chastized the Countess for what she considered poor treatment of their driver when LuAnn wasn't even actually rude to him.

Now that she has money, Beth is giving the virtual finger to everyone - whether they deserve it or not. Her behavior towards those she deems beneath her forefeits her right to bitch about others who seem to do the same thing.

I remember Rosanne Barr's comments about being white trash with money. While Beth grew up privileged, she's now experiencing wealth at a much different level and has become a cliche in the process.  

[NewDigs]

How rich. The one episode where Bethy isn't doing her shrieking harpy act she decides instead to call everyone else self-absorbed and narcissistic. Is there a less self-aware person on the planet?

I swear she had her makeup person do a sallow skin and darkened eyes treatment for the shots of her on her bloody deathbed. Good thing she knows Jewish people from Boca so she knew to get a second opinion.

She needs a new stylist. Her 80s look jackets are awful. She looked like she was channelling Michael Jackson in that sparkly thing. And the Dylan's look was just desperate.

And congrats, Ramona! You managed to make yourself look older and the new boobs belong to a boarding school matron, add a ruler.

And please, do not try to dance. Please. I'm surprised they allowed her stilettos on the danceroom floor.

[zoeysmom]

1 hour ago, motorcitymom65 said:

I agree, and this is what I thought when Beth brought it up. One thing Carole has never done is throw her happiness or fabulous sex life with Adam in Lu's face on the show. I am trying to imagine how much harder Lu would have gone after Carole on Twitter last season (if that is even possible) if we had seen Carole yammering on and on about how happy she was and how she had found her soul mate to the exclusion of any other conversation. I don't think she liked Beth trying to bring her relationship with Adam up so randomly. I liked that she wasn't afraid to tell Beth she didn't like it.  That's what real friends do. I don't think Carole is one bit afraid of Beth or that she sucks upto her. Certainly not like Dorinda, who lets her boyfriend be accused of doing blow on national TV and barely says a word in his defense. 

I think there is a huge difference between Carole and Luann in that Luann stated early on she wanted to be married again.  Which to me, means that she was making a concerted effort to stop with the mass vetting and focus on someone she would want t spend time with and not just an escort to a benefit.  Carole has repeated stated she is quite happy being single. In fact she recently tweeted she is happier than any married person she knows as all all her single friends. Where I think Bethenny errs is she makes it sound as if Luann is less than for wanting to get married, because Bethenny had decided marriage wasn't right for her. Marriage may not be right for Bethenny but she has no business deciding whether or nor marriage is right for Luann or anyone else.  I don't care if she wrote a book on relationships or not.  Bethenny feels that Luann lords it over "them" that she has found her soulmate.  If you don't want to be married why should you care if someone else does?  No more than Bethenny lords over her business success. 

There is nothing remotely interesting about #sexysalad #eatclean, Adam.  He may be a delightful one on one with Carole but making a quinoa salad with seasonal vegetables is not terribly interesting.   I am sure the reason Bethenny likes Adam is because he will sit an listen to her morally and ethically compromised usury married boyfriend without judgment.  Sorry I just have zero respect for a man's who company loans $10,000.00 against a future legal settlement and collects $40,000.00. 

I don't think one should have to be told that bringing up another's sex life is poor form.  If Carole or anyone else wants to talk about their sex life, they are more than capable of doing it.  Just because someone may talk about it off camera doesn't mean they want the conversation on camera.  I believe Dorinda made this point very clear when it comes to she and John. Ramona and Sonja were wrong for the "squirter" comment and Sonja had no business talking about her encounters with Tom.  A simple I have known him for 10 years would suffice.  Same with "rim jobs", tips, stick it in any hole (which made no sense in regards to Luann sticking it any hole) being a base, vulgar woman is not a quality to aspire to, labeling it as funny doesn't make it so.  Luann making her comments about in and out aren't any better and she should rise above not sink to the level of Ramona, Bethenny and Sonja.

[jaync]

Quote

Bethenny:  I've never had surgery.
Carol (looking shocked):  You haven't?!? ...uh.  me either.

Carole's reaction, while facing those bolt-ons and chainsawed jawline, was hilarious.

Quote

 I didn't laugh at the irony, I laughed at her calling Lu a "narcist". 

I laughed at both, and imagine Ms. Know-It-All is also one who's prone to writing "Your so stupid".

Quote

That Skinnygirl Candy is delicious because it has my heart, soul, blood sweat and tears in it.

[NewDigs]

Yeah, Bethy, you might not want to use "blood" in any description of anything ever again ever. Especially food. Even fake candy.

Grossed me out.

[Trooper York]

Wait a minute? When did we find out that Carole has a fabulous sex life with Vegetable Boy? He seems like he can barely tolerate her in all of their scenes together. When she skyped him while he was away he was much more anxious to get his sprout sandwich in his mouth. So unless you are talking about the stimulus the Princess gets from her crotch on the handlebars of the bike going over a bump is what you are talking about I just don't see it.

[motorcitymom65]

2 hours ago, zoeysmom said:

I think there is a huge difference between Carole and Luann in that Luann stated early on she wanted to be married again.  Which to me, means that she was making a concerted effort to stop with the mass vetting and focus on someone she would want t spend time with and not just an escort to a benefit.  Carole has repeated stated she is quite happy being single. In fact she recently tweeted she is happier than any married person she knows as all all her single friends. Where I think Bethenny errs is she makes it sound as if Luann is less than for wanting to get married, because Bethenny had decided marriage wasn't right for her. Marriage may not be right for Bethenny but she has no business deciding whether or nor marriage is right for Luann or anyone else.  I don't care if she wrote a book on relationships or not.  Bethenny feels that Luann lords it over "them" that she has found her soulmate.  If you don't want to be married why should you care if someone else does?  No more than Bethenny lords over her business success. 

 

Lu might have wanted to get married, but she has still said that this was unexpected. To Sonja she said "I never thought this would happen to me". She seems as surprised as anyone that she has had this good fortune. Much like Carole didn't expect the thing with Adam to happen to her. I'm happy for Lu. She has said she wants someone to share her life with. I hope this is the guy for her and that it all works out. I always want to see all of these ladies be happy. The thing is, Lu didn't want for Carole to be happy. Carole has said that she wants for Lu to be happy, and Lu seems to believe this is true. It seems like often times it is impossible to talk about the similarities in the two situations. To do so makes it harder to admit that Lu might have done something wrong. I have always liked Lu, yet it's not hard for me to admit that she was wrong last season in the way that she handled things. Carole is going about it much better, IMO. I would never have been able to sit beside Lu and offer her support, as she screamed about how she didn't care who Tom had been with before her. She came down hard on Carole last year for saying something similar. Even harder to sit and listen to Lu talk about how horrible it was for her friends to not be happy for her. Again, I'm sure that Carole would have liked for Lu to be happy for her, yet she could not be. I think that Lu totally gets all of this. I think she is truly sorry for how she behaved last year. I think she believes that she was wrong, and if she could do it differently, she would do so. The thing is, that doesn't just make it all go away. 

Edited July 10, 2016 by motorcitymom65

[anonymiss]

8 minutes ago, Trooper York said:

Wait a minute? When did we find out that Carole has a fabulous sex life with Vegetable Boy? He seems like he can barely tolerate her in all of their scenes together. When she skyped him while he was away he was much more anxious to get his sprout sandwich in his mouth. So unless you are talking about the stimulus the Princess gets from her crotch on the handlebars of the bike going over a bump is what you are talking about I just don't see it.

Shudder at the thought. Yes I really can't imagine that--even if I wanted to--because Adam so far barely has energy to move around, keep his head up, or talk. He speaks in this weak drawl the way people on Naked & Afraid sound after a day.

Edited July 10, 2016 by anonymiss

[Trooper York]

Look I get that the guy likes munching on celery sticks and that is what Carole looks like so maybe I am missing something. But I would have to say that Carole is the least sexually appealing woman on the Real Housewives of New York. In fact in all of the Housewives shows. If you ranked the Housewives in terms of sex appeal she would be dead last.

That's saying a lot when you think about Vicki Gunvaldson and that giraffe married to a baseball player on the OC. Yeesh.

[Granimal]

19 hours ago, Feline Goddess said:

Yes that may have been how they acted back in the Victorian and Edwardian era, but Beth isn't 'to the manor born' and can't fall back on the excuse that looking down on the servants was just how she was raised. This is 2016 and being gracious and having manners towards everyone should be the rule not the exception. Besides, like I've said - she's the one who chastised the Countess for what she considered poor treatment of their driver when LuAnn wasn't even actually rude to him.

Now that she has money, Beth is giving the virtual finger to everyone - whether they deserve it or not. Her behavior towards those she deems beneath her forefeits her right to bitch about others who seem to do the same thing.

I remember Rosanne Barr's comments about being white trash with money. While Beth grew up privileged, she's now experiencing wealth at a much different level and has become a cliche in the process.  

Working  with high profile clients, there does become a circle of thank-you's. However, a thank you always goes noticed. I always really appreciate the clients that take two seconds to say thank you. And I always say thank you in return. I also notice when clients don't say thank you. It doesn't bother me, or ruin my day or anything, but I do notice.

Ramona looks prettier with shorter hair, nothing to do with her age (to me).

ETA: I don't think less of the non-thank you's, I just notice and remember the thankers- if that makes sense. I mean, weren't please and thank you one of the first things we learned as children? Good thing children can't pull the Victorian argument. Also FWIW, I don't think Kevin is a "servant" nor do I condemn B in this scene. For all we know, she could say thank you often.... like when he throws out her bloody pillows? I have no idea how often she thanks him or not, and I don't think constant thank you's are necessary, they're just nice to hear. Good news, is that I've been saying thank you much more often to Mr. Granimal after this thread!

Edited July 11, 2016 by Granimal

[Suck It Trebek]

4 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I saw a thing on PBS once, probably in connection with their shows like Downton Abbey, where they were explaining relationships between people and their servants.  It seems a lot of us commoners think it's rude that they never say "thank you" to their servants, but it was explained that if they said "thank you" for everything the servant did it would get kind of ridiculous, so they just went with the never-say-thank-you scheme.

I don't think that means Bethenny isn't an asshole, though.

To quote Coming to America, "This is America, Jack!" She is a commoner, after all, as she liked to point out in Season 1 (though not with that specific word) after she was chastised by the countess for introducing her via first name only. 

[SparkleznConfetti]

5 hours ago, archer1267 said:

I seem to remember LuAnn proactively approaching Bethenny when she heard of her engagement, and congratulating her. This was after Bethenny had said "I don't like you and I think you're a snake." The two weren't on speaking terms, but LuAnn came over to tell Bethenny that she was really happy for her.

Whether LuAnn was sincere or not, I can't tell. But does it really matter? It's too bad that B and the ladies can't fake some enthusiasm for Lu's happiness. If she wants to be with a guy who's made his way through the UES, then caveat emptor. It's her business. If they're irked that she's using it for a storyline...well, Ramonja did that in Season 5 with Harry Dubin and the fake engagement ring.

What I don't think most of these broads realize is that they inadvertently gave Lu a storyline both now and in the future when she originally didn't.

[StatisticalOutlier]

6 hours ago, Feline Goddess said:

Yes that may have been how they acted back in the Victorian and Edwardian era, but Beth isn't 'to the manor born' and can't fall back on the excuse that looking down on the servants was just how she was raised. This is 2016 and being gracious and having manners towards everyone should be the rule not the exception. Besides, like I've said - she's the one who chastized the Countess for what she considered poor treatment of their driver when LuAnn wasn't even actually rude to him.

Oh, I agree.  I just thought it was interesting that there was a practical reason for not thanking one's servants even though it always seemed kind of rude to me.  But I've never had someone who I pay to do things for me constantly. 

And in Bethenny's case, if I were Kevin I would prefer that she do a little more looking down on me and a lot less confiding in me.  That man is earning his salary.

[QuinnM]

Quote

And in Bethenny's case, if I were Kevin I would prefer that she do a little more looking down on me and a lot less confiding in me.  That man is earning his salary.

He's been perfectly happy for over two years.  I personally never remember anyone chatting up a driver to the red carpet. There is more chat with a taxi driver.   He can quit. Technically slavery us illegal. 

When you see him daily on snapchat he gets thank you and pleases. Obviously he's happy. 

Edited July 11, 2016 by QuinnM

[candle96]

On July 7, 2016 at 7:36 PM, raiderred1 said:

I'm in Texas, too, and even in small town Texas we have that crap.  I always see the popcorn. I highly doubt it even sells because folks out my way are reallllly cheap and won't pay extra for anything. Bwah!

Jules' plastic surgeon needs to step away from the plastic surgery for himself! YIKES! I think he plastic surgeoned(is that a word?) himself into a speech impediment. 

As others have said, Dorinda imitating Ro was pure gold.  I literally did laugh out loud and I have not been in the greatest of health for several months so it was nice to laugh like that. Thanks D!

I actually went to high school with Jules' doctor - he has always sort of talked that way. It's very amusing to see him on tv. He was typically pretty unassuming and shy; very nice guy. But besides some obvious botox and veneers, he actually looks pretty much like he did back when I knew him.

Edited July 11, 2016 by candle96

[Granimal]

11 hours ago, QuinnM said:

He's been perfectly happy for over two years.  I personally never remember anyone chatting up a driver to the red carpet. There is more chat with a taxi driver.   He can quit. Technically slavery us illegal. 

When you see him daily on snapchat he gets thank you and pleases. Obviously he's happy. 

That's awesome that he's happy with his job. How many of us can say that? Heh.  I have a feeling B pays pretty well. Seems like she paid her husband pretty well. I kid. I don't think she's an awful employer a la Miranda Priestley, but what the hell do I know?

[charmed1]

16 hours ago, Suck It Trebek said:

To quote Coming to America, "This is America, Jack!" She is a commoner, after all, as she liked to point out in Season 1 (though not with that specific word) after she was chastised by the countess for introducing her via first name only. 

No!! Do not quote Coming to America around me. You will never, ever get rid of me. I'm cackling at the thought of someone saying, "This is America, Jack!" in Bethenny's face, and her wispy little bob blowing back from the sound effect. "That'll be 8 dollars."

That restaurant scene reminded me why I couldn't watch the NY franchise in the beginning. Those yappy little dog voices, those accents, all screaming at once and talking over each other. My goodness. I remember one reunion where Andy finally screamed, "You guys, shut the fuck up!" My thoughts exactly.

[Yours Truly]

On 7/8/2016 at 6:25 PM, straightshooter said:

I agree with you that they're not jealous, I think they're irritated at the way she's announced it - as if she's claiming victory at having been the one to finally land him.  It has had a feeling of "suck it, bitches!" to me, and POOF!!  She immediately reverted from "VERY Briefly Humbled LuAnn" right back to "Raging Superiority Complex 'Countess' Luann".  

I almost liked her for a minute there, when she apparently felt unworthy due to her single lady status and desperately began apologizing and kissing ass.   I never felt like any of it was sincere, and neither did Carole.  However, I do think the whole thing should be dropped and LuAnn needs to just accept that they can "be friendly without being friends", as Carole said - and I think that LuAnn would have gladly accepted it if Carole wasn't Bethenny's slightly thinner siamese twin.   Carole has let it go - but that doesn't mean that she has to be her friend and people need to quit trying to force it.   Now, LuAnn is annoyed by it and wants it to be over with so that her screen time can be dedicated to talk of Tom, Tom and more Tom!

But I mean come on if you were around this crew wouldn't you let a little bit of Kathy Griffin slip into your delivery? I mean it's one thing if she's going around declaring this stuff in such a grandiose way to people she's close to but these bitches? These are the women who've been giving her serious grief over this that and the other and being really nasty to boot. Like whatever reasoning there is about why these women want to come after Lu doesn't change the fact that on a number of occasions they've taken it too far and to have gone too low over what? An air of arrogance on occasion? Please. To be so nitpicky about Lu's delivery when we know what kinda crowd this is just doesn't compute with me cause while her biggest offense at that table at that time was being extra excited about something worthy of excitement (why does she have to reign it in anyway?) the others in the same sitting were laying the groundwork for unnecessary cattiness as well. Beth shit stirring bringing up the connections Tom has had with the others, Sonja declaring he's her fuck buddy to Ramona's outburst of laughter and you mean to tell me that Lu's oh so wrong to be coming across so impressed with herself and her current situation? I think it's no mistake that she's got a little ummphhhh in her delivery and an extra twinkle in her eye when delivering this news to THAT particular bunch and considering what we know of their antics I can't honestly blame her. To be so offended with that detail while the others are so blatantly nasty always makes me scratch my head.

[Yours Truly]

On 7/8/2016 at 7:32 PM, anonymiss said:

You're right. I find that distinction and pointing out of it each time though to be pedantic and uninteresting.

Seriously.

[Yours Truly]

On 7/8/2016 at 7:35 PM, MaryTylerMoore said:

If I had to hang out with these bitches I'd get multiple t-shirts with this printed on it just to piss them off.

And to be honest I think we see it because, I mean come on, I do think it's sort of deliberate on Lu's part cause they are insufferable with their nastiness. I think she goes into something pretty mild but when she senses that they are gearing up for shit then I think that's when she starts lining her responses with a taste of the Countess.. ;-) Say what you want putting on airs on occasion is mostly annoying and eyeroll worthy but these bitches with the nasty insults and outrageous hurtful jabs, attacks and enraged antics are beyond the pale. I mean come on!

[ZaldamoWilder]

On 7/8/2016 at 5:05 PM, Feline Goddess said:

Remember when she made a big deal of LuAnn mentioning that she would've preferred to have been introduced to the driver as Mrs De Lesseps?  She didn't even insist on being addressed as Countess ... just Mrs and wasn't rude to the driver himself.  

Next time she's on WWHL maybe they should run the clip of that scene and her nasty TH comment about the snotty Countess and ask her what she has to say for herself now she's been shown being a bigger asshole. 

{raiseshandtimidly} I remember.   It wasn't just about a preference though, Luann was making sure Beth was clear about demarcation.  True, she didn't insist upon being addressed as Countess.  I think it was because she didn't have to, the implication of her words was unmistakable.   She said whenever you introduce me to somebody, you know, like a driver, it's Mrs. DeLesseps.   iow, don't put me on equal footing with the help, to the help.   I think that was the beginning of several things in their history that rubbed Beth the wrong way, since, as she hadn't made it big yet and as a caterer/chef/cook, she was familiar with having been "the help" and maybe as Luann was someone not to the manor born, it might've sounded like a bunch of made up new-money airs and bullshit.  I'm only guessing about that last part. 

Weirdly though there's other stuff she does that may read pretentiously that doesn't bother me.   Speaking French to the waiter at breakfast with Dorinda.  I never even registered whether the restaurant was French but, it sounded like the waiter had an accent.  Haitian or African-French but it wherever he was from, it sounded as though French was his native language.   She's whatever word is the opposite of xenophobic, that's the Luann I like. 

On 7/9/2016 at 9:43 AM, Juliegirlj said:

I read something interesting about Bethenny's Skinnygirl Margarita: 

According to Bethenny's mother, Bernadette Burke, Bethenny's godmother used to visit them, and her drink of choice was a margarita, but she was overweight so Bernadette would make her a low calorie version, which she claims is the recipe Bethenny used! She also said she knew her narcissistic daughter would never give her any mention in regards to her idea/recipe. 

Please tell me I'm not the only one who remembers from TWOP that, although Beth is HIGHLY prone to exaggeration and dramatic day long pity parties, it was uncovered that her mother was, as diplomatically as I'm able to state this, quite unreliable with facts.  Even if not, so, by her own admission, this woman doesn't remember entire patches of her only child's adolescence, but can recall with clarity the exact recipe she crafted and made for her best friend 35 years ago?  That Beth also recalls as a youngster, well enough to duplicate from her teen years.  Unh huh.   What prevented Bernadette from bringing this concoction to market herself, again?

[Yours Truly]

On 7/9/2016 at 0:18 PM, ScoobieDoobs said:

Is Carole sorta embarassed by this relationship with Adam because he's so much younger?  Deep down, maybe that's possible.  But she was acting somewhat braggy to the world about this relationship, wasn't she?  I mean by riding on the handle bars of his bicyle like a silly teen girl.  Who knows what that was about?  Was she posing for the cams or just being silly in the moment?  Carole is so full of crap lately Idk what to believe about her.

I do believe her surprise & shock the relationship has lasted this long & is still going on.  She already has shown to the cams her annoyance & impatience with him when he dared to infringe on her supposed expertise as a writer (oh heaven forbid anyone do that to Writergirl) by making suggestions (which she clearly didn't care for) about their book that'll never happen.

So why are these 2 still together?  I suspect she woulda dumped him ages ago if he wasn't so young.  His being so much younger is a nice ego boost for her.  I've seen Carole in person recently.  She dresses nicely & she has a nice body, but she looks her age & is really only moderately attractive.  Gosh, there are tons of exquisitely pretty young women around here, who a tall attractive young guy like Adam could hook up with in a second.

My question is, what the heck is he still doing with her?  Is he extremely passive or lazy or throwing girls away or cheating on her or using Carole for her money or is he with her to be on TV?  Who knows, but her claims of surprise at the relationship lasting this long show her insecuity to me -- that he hasn't left her by now for a younger & better looking woman.  And maybe he won't.  Maybe he's just too passive or he's too much of an opportunist.  

I'm rememberng Carole's stankface reaction to Bethenny's throwing out how she & Adam are having tons of sex & I'm wondering the actual reason for Carole's stankface.  Was she merely reacting to Bethenny cruelly & thoughtlessly & oh-so-casually revealing a private confidence?  Or was it that Bethenny said out loud (and to the cams) the real reason she's still hangin' with Adam?  Hmmmm.

This is my take about their relationship. Whenever he gets the inkling to dabble around other vagina's he does just that. I have no trouble believing that Carole is being extra extra extra non intrusive with Adam. I'm pretty sure in order to not drive him away she's flowing with the relationship with none of the expectations in place with regards with fidelity. I doubt they've made declarations that they are monogamous but have resorted to the "implied" method of this agreement. This means that any behavior that falls in the category of possessive, jealous or suspicious is avoided like the plague ESPECIALLY by Carole. I'm pretty sure she doesn't grill him about where he's been, who he's with or what he's doing when he's not in her company and I pretty sure with that pressure off Adam is easily going about his business with no real intention per se but on a situation by situation basis. As in, if he's feeling some chick in the moment and he really wants to hit it then he will or not. I don't he's going through any moral dilemmas whenever he's faced with the choice. I don't really think they've ever made that sort of elaborate commitment to each other. They are obviously seeing each other and are in a relationship but I think the reason it was gone on for this long is because Carole doesn't really hold him to any really strong parameters he has to stay within other than not being blatantly obvious about hooking up with someone else.

Not saying he's out there banging this one or that one I'm just saying that they've presented themselves as a unit and he seems to enjoy having Carole in that role publicly but at the same time I don't necessarily believe that behind closed doors it's that solidified. I don't think he feels truly obligated to cut off others during however long this lasts. I think he hooks up. I don't think he's necessarily whoring but I don't think it's some truly guilt ridden act of betrayal in their case. I think Carole subconsciously understands this to be the case as well. That's the only explanation I have for this relationship to be going on this long. It's not exclusive but in the public eye Adam cares enough about Carole not to be so obvious about that detail.

Purely speculation obviously.

[Yours Truly]

On 7/9/2016 at 4:04 PM, seasick said:

Glad you brought up that little dig.   I almost forgot about it.  Bethanny's like "what??  You think you're any different that I wouldn't throw you under a bus too?   Fool.  Fool for thinking you're too 'special' for me to turn on you.  Sorry honey, there are no exceptions.  Oh it's probably nothing you did.  It comes without provocation"

 

I'm thinking it may be just the opposite.  I'm sure the assumption is that she's having fab 'all night' no-viagra-young-buck sex   If it were me, I'd let that assumption take flight.  But! if he wasn't really doing me anymore--I'd be embarrassed and afraid that he would think *I* was actually putting that out there *And* telling tales out of school if someone made a point to blast it!   I don't know guys that well,  but is it possible he's a little embarrassed to have it blasted   that he's (supposedly) all sexed-up on  a 52 year old?  

I think he sticks around Carole because there is no future commitment. It's comfortable-- and she's writing his cookbook (groan) and he can come and go. He's out of town alot.  And--does he have his own place or does he couch surf. (think he doesn't have his own place)  Not like a real relationship would be.  And Gawd, she wasn't embarrassed to act like he was a piece of meat at Lu's and she was SOooo sexually turned on by him! Now she's all  'private and shy girl' ??  

I don't think she'll really 'dump' him.  Did you see her on that date Lu set her up with??  She's an awkward dolt!  She's fairly intelligent but crazy immature and truly awkward and uncomfortable in most social settings.  Journalism (newspaper people as my mother would call them) are strange birds.  In all fairness to her she is totally out of her element with this glam/ladies-who-lunch bunch.  They have Nothing in common. She should stick with crazy off-the -wall rumpled news-hounds.  And shoot herself before she writes (of all things) a vegetarian, boy meets girl (ugh) cookbook.  

Not trying to say they aren't "invovled" but I truly think the reason he has stuck around is because the basic expectations of a real relationship just isn't present with him and Carole and Carole doesn't plan on imposing any because well... she herself understands what the deal is. So all this attention on their relationship probably isn't going to be beneficial to the "relationship". They've been able to last this long because they hooked up middle to end of filming last season and it was a fun rebellious endeavor but now that things have settled in the realness of it all it's pretty stale. Add that this new season of their "relationship" is on display and I imagine the thread the relationship is hanging by will fray away shortly. I don't know. It just comes across as so benign this season. There doesn't seem to be any real meat to it. Just like her "relationship" with her rocker buddy.

Edited July 11, 2016 by Yours Truly

[ElDosEquis]

19 hours ago, Trooper York said:

Wait a minute? When did we find out that Carole has a fabulous sex life with Vegetable Boy? He seems like he can barely tolerate her in all of their scenes together. When she skyped him while he was away he was much more anxious to get his sprout sandwich in his mouth. So unless you are talking about the stimulus the Princess gets from her crotch on the handlebars of the bike going over a bump is what you are talking about I just don't see it.

Adam probably thinks the best sex with Scare-ole is turning the lights out during the act?

[motorcitymom65]

5 minutes ago, Yours Truly said:

Not trying to say they aren't "invovled" but I truly think the reason he has stuck around is because the basic expectations of a real relationship just isn't present with him and Carole and Carole doesn't plan on imposing any because well... she herself understands what the deal is. So all this attention on their relationship probably isn't going to be beneficial to the "relationship". They've been able to last this long because they hooked up middle to end of filming last season and it was a fun rebellious endeavor but now that things have settled in the realness of it all it's pretty stale. Add that this new season of their "relationship" is on display and I imagine the thread the relationship is hanging by with fray away shortly. I don't know. It just comes across as so benign this season. There doesn't seem to be any real meat to it. Just like her "relationship" with her rocker buddy.

They hooked up at the beginning of the last season.  Episode 3 out of 20, if memory serves. He looks like a guy who isn't particularly interested in being fodder on a Realty TV show. He no doubt isn't above using it to get what he wants - which is probably some publicity for whatever gig he wants to get off the ground. We don't see him involving himself in the drama, or looking for attention from the press. Carole seems to want to protect that. How refreshing. Sounds almost like an actual relationship. 

[Yours Truly]

20 hours ago, motorcitymom65 said:

Lu might have wanted to get married, but she has still said that this was unexpected. To Sonja she said "I never thought this would happen to me". She seems as surprised as anyone that she has had this good fortune. Much like Carole didn't expect the thing with Adam to happen to her. I'm happy for Lu. She has said she wants someone to share her life with. I hope this is the guy for her and that it all works out. I always want to see all of these ladies be happy. The thing is, Lu didn't want for Carole to be happy. Carole has said that she wants for Lu to be happy, and Lu seems to believe this is true. It seems like often times it is impossible to talk about the similarities in the two situations. To do so makes it harder to admit that Lu might have done something wrong. I have always liked Lu, yet it's not hard for me to admit that she was wrong last season in the way that she handled things. Carole is going about it much better, IMO. I would never have been able to sit beside Lu and offer her support, as she screamed about how she didn't care who Tom had been with before her. She came down hard on Carole last year for saying something similar. Even harder to sit and listen to Lu talk about how horrible it was for her friends to not be happy for her. Again, I'm sure that Carole would have liked for Lu to be happy for her, yet she could not be. I think that Lu totally gets all of this. I think she is truly sorry for how she behaved last year. I think she believes that she was wrong, and if she could do it differently, she would do so. The thing is, that doesn't just make it all go away. 

See this whole Lu didn't want Carole to be happy comparison is so disjointed. Lu wasn't admonishing Carole wanting to be happy. It was under the circumstances that Carole found her happiness and then continued to be deliberately obtuse about the sensitive nature surrounding the players involved. Debate to the  moon and back about how "relevant" those details were or weren't fine however Lu's happiness really isn't coming at the expense of any of them whereas it was brought to Caroles attention that there was in fact a bit of raw emotion attached to their pairing. Again whether anyone deems the details surrounding the sensitive emotions were significant they were in fact SINCERELY brought up and expressed. That's where the fallout really resides. The other women chastising and trying their best to compare their connections with Tom to Lu's protective reaction to her niece last season is an obvious ploy to exaggerate the circumstances in order to, no surprise, stick it to Lu.  Lame.

To the bolded,

So for how long before it goes away? And why is it for the other women to punish her? Oh, and why is it ok that they are so terrible in general? Because Lu did something not cool while everyone else were perfect little saints? I just don't get it.

Edited July 11, 2016 by Yours Truly

[Yours Truly]

1 hour ago, ZaldamoWilder said:

{raiseshandtimidly} I remember.   It wasn't just about a preference though, Luann was making sure Beth was clear about demarcation.  True, she didn't insist upon being addressed as Countess.  I think it was because she didn't have to, the implication of her words was unmistakable.   She said whenever you introduce me to somebody, you know, like a driver, it's Mrs. DeLesseps.   iow, don't put me on equal footing with the help, to the help.   I think that was the beginning of several things in their history that rubbed Beth the wrong way, since, as she hadn't made it big yet and as a caterer/chef/cook, she was familiar with having been "the help" and maybe as Luann was someone not to the manor born, it might've sounded like a bunch of made up new-money airs and bullshit.  I'm only guessing about that last part. 

Weirdly though there's other stuff she does that may read pretentiously that doesn't bother me.   Speaking French to the waiter at breakfast with Dorinda.  I never even registered whether the restaurant was French but, it sounded like the waiter had an accent.  Haitian or African-French but it wherever he was from, it sounded as though French was his native language.   She's whatever word is the opposite of xenophobic, that's the Luann I like. 

Please tell me I'm not the only one who remembers from TWOP that, although Beth is HIGHLY prone to exaggeration and dramatic day long pity parties, it was uncovered that her mother was, as diplomatically as I'm able to state this, quite unreliable with facts.  Even if not, so, by her own admission, this woman doesn't remember entire patches of her only child's adolescence, but can recall with clarity the exact recipe she crafted and made for her best friend 35 years ago?  That Beth also recalls as a youngster, well enough to duplicate from her teen years.  Unh huh.   What prevented Bernadette from bringing this concoction to market herself, again?

I honestly think that was more about putting Beth in her place more than wanting to be introduced to "the help" properly. I think Lu felt Beth was using that as an opportunity to "take Lu down a peg" by deciding that Lu doesn't deserve the consideration of being addressed formally by anyone. Even those, where a big part of their job is to address most people in a formal manner.  I think it was more about Beth wanting to make it a point that she herself doesn't consider Lu with any sort of respect and therefore she refuses to introduce her in any kind of respectful manner. I think Lu was bristling at the fact that Beth took it upon HERSELF to introduce Lu as SHE saw fit instead of even the most basic of respectful options such as Mrs. or Mr. Did Lu chose the wrong battle? Yup but I think her sentiment was more about checking Beth and her need to impose her own thinking on everyone.

Edited July 11, 2016 by Yours Truly

[Yours Truly]

40 minutes ago, motorcitymom65 said:

They hooked up at the beginning of the last season.  Episode 3 out of 20, if memory serves. He looks like a guy who isn't particularly interested in being fodder on a Realty TV show. He no doubt isn't above using it to get what he wants - which is probably some publicity for whatever gig he wants to get off the ground. We don't see him involving himself in the drama, or looking for attention from the press. Carole seems to want to protect that. How refreshing. Sounds almost like an actual relationship. 

Yeah, not to me.

[motorcitymom65]

13 minutes ago, Yours Truly said:

See this whole Lu didn't want Carole to be happy comparison is so disjointed. Lu wasn't admonishing Carole wanting to be happy. It was under the circumstances that Carole found her happiness and then continued to be deliberately obtuse about the sensitive nature surrounding the players involved. Debate to the  moon and back about how "relevant" those details were or weren't fine however Lu's happiness really isn't coming at the expense of any of them whereas it was brought to Caroles attention that there was in fact a bit of raw emotion attached to their pairing. Again whether anyone deems the details surrounding the sensitive emotions were significant they were in fact SINCERELY brought up and expressed. That's where the fallout really resides. The other women chastising and trying their best to compare their connections with Tom to Lu's protective reaction to her niece last season is an obvious ploy to exaggerate the circumstances in order to, no surprise, stick it to Lu.  Lame.

To the bolded,

So for how long before it goes away? And why is it for the other women to punish her? Oh, and why is it ok that they are so terrible in general? Because Lu did something not cool while everyone else were perfect little saints? I just don't get it.

Lu had no problem with any of it until the season ended.  When they talked about it initially, she told Carole it would all be fine. She continued to vacation with her, host her at her Hampton's home while not filming, and just generally continue the friendship. Had she shown that she was actually upset, things might have been different. She waited until the season was over to throw a big fat fit about it all. And she didn't want Carole - the Pedophile - to be happy, even though by the time she went bat shit crazy they had been dating for a year. What a loon. 

i just don't understand how the story isn't that ironically, Carole is in the camp that is being supportive of Lu right now. The one that Lu treated the most horrendously is the person who was the most kind to her. Don't take my word for it - Lu said it herself. Lu hasn't ever done anything to Sonja. Except for that shady wine deal all those years ago, she has never done much to Ramona either. They are the ones knocking her relationship, yet even when Carole has moved on, the story is still more about Carole and finding reasons why her relationship is wonky.