S03.E08: The Ladies in The High Castle

[OnceSane]

Quote

The whiskey is flowing and the haggis is hot as Caroline Stanbury's castle getaway with the ladies in Scotland continues. After being confronted over her negativity, Juliet makes an effort to reign in her fiery temper when it becomes apparent Marissa is struggling with her health post-birth. In an attempt to have fun, Caroline Fleming organizes an innocent game with balloons that quickly becomes X-Rated. Sophie witnesses an end to the long standing feud between Julie and Caroline Stanbury, but may have triggered a new one herself.

[ScoobieDoobs]

I watched for less than a minute & that was all I could take.  Some real pretty interior shots.  But this show has turned into an unwatchable mess.  Too bad.

[DeeplyShallow]

So all of these events happened within 6 weeks? I though marissa was past the 6 week mark.

Also, I'm still pretty confused about why Marissa was ok leaving Sadie days after she was hospitalized to go party in the Hamptons but she's having a breakdown an hour away (by plane) in Scotland...because she's away from Sadie? I understand that Matt & one son were with her in NY, but I still don't understand.

That said, PPD is no joke, and it's clear that she is suffering (I still don't like Marissa though).

Julie is so annoying.

[biakbiak]

Didn't Marissa go to the Hamptons for a grandmother's birthday party? It's not like she went to Las Vegas on a crazy girl trip.

[DeeplyShallow]

14 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Didn't Marissa go to the Hamptons for a grandmother's birthday party? It's not like she went to Las Vegas on a crazy girl trip.

Yes, for her mother in law's bday party. It was a low key event but quite a distance away

[biakbiak]

We her children were in capable hands, also I havent rewatched the ep but I think Marissa said she was terrified that Sadie could have died but it turned out that she was fine andonly was at the doctors for a few hours. It seemed like many parents, particularly who had such an awful pregnancy and had to have a hysterectomy (which even on it's own can fuck with your hormones for months), I am assume her doctor, Sadie's doctor didn't have an issue with them leaving. Also, it wasn't just Marissa it was Matt who also left his daughter.

What the heldid Luke do all day in Edinburgh?  They show him on the car ride into the city and back but he wasn't with either group.

[DeeplyShallow]

7 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

We her children were in capable hands, also I havent rewatched the ep but I think Marissa said she was terrified that Sadie could have died but it turned out that she was fine andonly was at the doctors for a few hours. It seemed like many parents, particularly who had such an awful pregnancy and had to have a hysterectomy (which even on it's own can fuck with your hormones for months), I am assume her doctor, Sadie's doctor didn't have an issue with them leaving. Also, it wasn't just Marissa it was Matt who also left his daughter.

What the heldid Luke do all day in Edinburgh?  They show him on the car ride into the city and back but he wasn't with either group.

We may be missing each other here. I'm actually not passing judgment on her trip to NY, I'm questioning why it was seemingly more  difficult for her to be away in Scotland vs NY, that's all. 

[RealReality]

Biggest surprise this episode was that Juliet actually wore something decent to dinner.  I wonder if Caroline s. Loaned her something out of pity.

I was on the fence about Julie, but I think she may be everything Caroline s. Says she is.  Her need to tell Matt everything was just a sad and pathetic attempt to get him to hate Caroline s. And get more people on "team julie."  It was petty as hell.  If he needs to know, his own wife can tell him.

My hats off to Caroline f. For being filmed without makeup when they toured the town.  Most of these women have a full face on all the time.  Most notably she who travels with a makeup artist.

Now, a lot of you are married, so you can tell me different.  But I'm not so sure I would want any woman touching my man the way Adele was touching Cem.  I wonder if their marriage is...open a crack.

I don't really give Juliet a pass.  If you have a friend it shouldn't be too hard to suss out if they are having trouble...unless you're so self absorbed and busy bitching at her that you refuse to see.

Don't think I didn't notice that Juliet ONLY chose to be nice to Marisa after Caroline s. Apologized to her.

I guess I'm in the minority but I like Marissa.  

Edited January 18, 2017 by RealReality

[Linny]

This episode was nothing but filler. Everything's fun and games except for Marissa. If she's missing Sadie so much, why did she even come to Scotland? And all the stuff with Matt being irritated with Marissa's friends seemed completely manufactured. I really doubt he cares that much about these women who Marissa probably only hangs out with when they're filming.

Julie and Sophie's toasts were awkward. Did Sophie really need to draw attention to the fact that she's single? Caroline Fleming and Adela were there without husbands, it's not like Sophie was the only one. It was like she just had to remind us all of her storyline this season.

The balloon game was hilarious, and it was nice seeing them all genuinely having fun.

[TheFinalRose]

Still don't like Marissa. I think the reason this trip was hard is because she got hit with the real life stick hard, and being tired and having to take time out to pump is a personal sacrifice that she can't hire someone else to do for her. She might also be having PTSD instead of PPD .... too many scary episodes in the past year for her to process. 

OMG, Julie's speech at the dinner table. "That's enough about me. Now what what do you think of me?" And Sophie, please, neither Julie, Adele or Caroline Fleming had a hubby at the table either. Speaking of, I guess it's just expected that the Earl of Subway wouldn't show up at a house party the way the other husbands would? I mean, there was no excuse presented for his absence.

Hubby ranking is shifting a bit: Cem stays, as always, number one, but I think Gregor is up to number two and Matt has gone down in my mind the more I've seen him this season. 

I loved the clothes for the dinner party. Both Caroline's gowns were great, I even liked Julie's flouncy white top dress. These ladies (or their stylists I mean) could show drab Kate Middleton a thing or two about dressing!

[Writing Wrongs]

46 minutes ago, TheFinalRose said:

Earl of Subway

hee

[scenicbyway]

Clearly things have been shown out of order.  Perhaps Marissa was just back from New York?  If she hadn't yet hit the 6 week mark from birth but had in the two episodes prior going to Scotland it appears that with editing, what happened in Scotland didn't matter to the overall storyline so they could put it anywhere.

Nice for everyone to finally realize that Marissa is actually having post partum trouble.  She's had major highs and lows in front of them.  Caroline S dragging up her move again and the gossipy motives behind it was so ridiculous.  Thank goodness she realized something was wrong.

Juliet seems to have no storyline...it's great that she has a blog, but so does everyone else.  Who cares?  She's so "negative" I wonder how her seemingly nice husband lives with it.

I love that Caroline F just wanted to go shopping.

That Haggis blessing was down right scary.  Interesting that they didn't show what they actually ended up eating.

Was it odd to anyone else that the fancy "last" dinner took place in the conference/breakfast room with no decorations?  I thought it was funny to have the ladies walk in saying "oh, it looks beautiful" only to have a quick shot of their faces and table to see there was nothing to compliment!

[SweetieDarling]

I don't know if Marissa has PPD but I do think part of her issue is that she spent so long on sober bedrest and now that the baby is here and the danger is over she's antsy to get out and do things and be social and fun and feel alive again, except that she hasn't given herself enough time to heal and recover.  As if recovering from childbirth isn't enough with the hormone swings and sleepless nights,etc.,  she's been through hell, and add in the stresses from the businesses closing...  It's going to take some time to recover. 

[LilaFowler]

Gregor must be some kind of saint to be with Juliet, though he does travel quit a bit.  He seems like a kind, pleasant, intelligent man -- what does he see in her?!  She's awful.  She's known Marissa the longest and instead of being sensitive about her obviously going through some kind of mood disorder, she accuses her of fake crying as a defense mechanism and continues to badmouth her.  Just a horrid person.  Marissa sobbing and begging Juliet to be nice to her was sad. 

Filming a reality show like this was probably not the best idea after such a difficult pregnancy.  Moving to LA and being around her family and in the good weather will help, I think.  Does anyone else think that their move will become permanent?  It seems like Matt is totally over doing business in London.

WTF at Sophie's speech.  WTF at Julie's speech.  Odd.

[RealReality]

1 hour ago, LilaFowler said:

Gregor must be some kind of saint to be with Juliet, though he does travel quit a bit.  He seems like a kind, pleasant, intelligent man -- what does he see in her?!  She's awful.  She's known Marissa the longest and instead of being sensitive about her obviously going through some kind of mood disorder, she accuses her of fake crying as a defense mechanism and continues to badmouth her.  Just a horrid person.  Marissa sobbing and begging Juliet to be nice to her was sad. 

Filming a reality show like this was probably not the best idea after such a difficult pregnancy.  Moving to LA and being around her family and in the good weather will help, I think.  Does anyone else think that their move will become permanent?  It seems like Matt is totally over doing business in London.

WTF at Sophie's speech.  WTF at Julie's speech.  Odd.

I suspect thar at first juliet was a "breath of fresh air."  A frank american, keeping it real, telling everyone how it is.

Unfortunately i think that gets very old, very quick.  And there was probably a kid in the picture before he realized he made a mistake.

Im sure he relishes his travels, and it wouldnt surprise me if he had a piece on the side.

As for Marissa, it sounds like la is the right move.  I think she will love it when she gets out there.  I would bet money they end up in santa monica.  Someplace that is high end and easy to walk.

[OnceSane]

Cem was adorable with his toast!  Though Adela needs to keep her hands to herself--IDC how cool Caroline S. is with it, just inappropes, yo.

Julie needs to STFU.  God forbid Sophie makes peace with her soon-to-be ex-sister-in-law and not continue to make Julie feel important by giving her support and a storyline outside Mapperton and some sketchy balls.

Marissa may have PPD, she still bores me.  Her husband is the most interesting thing about her & we don't normally see as much of him as we did this episode.  I won't miss her if she doesn't return to the show.

WTF was on Julie's head in the previews?  Looked like an owl flew into her hair and she just hairsprayed it and left for the event.

[movingtargetgal]

Until last night I had not realized that Marissa was only six weeks past from her C-Section/ Hysterectomy.  Last year I had emergency major abdominal surgery and it took me several months to recover and I did not have a newborn and two other children to worry about or hormone imbalance to deal with.  I could not get it through my head that my body had been through a trauma and it needed time to heal.   Like Marissa, I just wanted to get on with my life and I did too much too soon.  I so wanted to get back to "normal life" and to put the emotional trauma of my almost dying behind me.  I was lucky to have a very supportive husband and wonderful friends that helped me heal both physically and emotionally.  If I had "friends" like Juliet and CarolineS I would have fallen apart too.  These two had to be told that Marissa was in a bad emotional place.  It did not dawn on them that Marissa may not be able to handle all of their petty bullshit? Neither of them possess an ounce of empathy. 

[princelina]

13 hours ago, biakbiak said:

What the heldid Luke do all day in Edinburgh?  They show him on the car ride into the city and back but he wasn't with either group.

I believe CS told him to visit some designer shop and find her more boots!

I actually enjoyed this episode because most of it was relaxed and fun - I liked the scenes of Edinburgh and the whiskey tasting and haggis address, the falconry and archery and just seeing them enjoy all the things that I would enjoy doing myself with a fun group of friends.  Of course leave it to old Eeyore to decide the afternoon's revelry has to be topped of with dragging out old boring stuff.  Just because he's her husband doesn't mean he "needs" (or wants) to hear all this blather.  Mr. P. would have said, "Bitches, man" and gone off to find a beer and a dude to talk to.  And CS and Sophie ARE family who have been BFFs for years - a reality show fight isn't going to break them up for good - sorry Eeyore.

[RealReality]

Julie's "toast" would have been so much more effective had she said something to the effect of:

"Caroline, life has thrown so many challenges at you this year, but you've handled it all with such grace and dignity.  I know that after all you've faced this year, the next chapter of your life in Dubai will be a joyful success, and that the strength I so admire will come in handy when dealing with all their rules.   And I hope if I ever have to deal with the trials and tribulations you've dealt with this year I can do so with the strength and confidence that you have shown."

[Pickles]

1 hour ago, RealReality said:

I suspect thar at first juliet was a "breath of fresh air."  A frank american, keeping it real, telling everyone how it is.

Unfortunately i think that gets very old, very quick.  And there was probably a kid in the picture before he realized he made a mistake.

Im sure he relishes his travels, and it wouldnt surprise me if he had a piece on the side.

As for Marissa, it sounds like la is the right move.  I think she will love it when she gets out there.  I would bet money they end up in santa monica.  Someplace that is high end and easy to walk.

Marissa and her family have moved to Pacific Palisades. People has pictures of their new home. It looks pretty fabulous!

[Eater of Worlds]

Everyone keeps talking about the hysterectomy screwing with Marissa's hormones.  But she said that she won't have a period but will still get PMS.  That implies to me that they did just a hysterectomy, not an ovariohysterectomy.  Meaning, she still has her ovaries and the hormones are still going to be there until/if they fail (which can happen down the line but that's years, not weeks).

I don't like Caroline's longer haircut in the talking heads.  She looks like every overly tanned bleached blond that you see.  I think shorter hair was more flattering on her.

Edited January 18, 2017 by Eater of Worlds

[RedheadZombie]

14 hours ago, biakbiak said:

We her children were in capable hands, also I havent rewatched the ep but I think Marissa said she was terrified that Sadie could have died but it turned out that she was fine andonly was at the doctors for a few hours. It seemed like many parents, particularly who had such an awful pregnancy and had to have a hysterectomy (which even on it's own can fuck with your hormones for months), I am assume her doctor, Sadie's doctor didn't have an issue with them leaving. Also, it wasn't just Marissa it was Matt who also left his daughter.

It sure didn't sound like Sadie was fine.  Marissa said she was gray and lethargic, and "thank God for mother's intuition", implying she would have died if they hadn't immediately reacted.  And she was at the hospital, not at the doctor's.

And while I mostly like Marissa, I kind of snorted when Matt talked of how stressful it was for Marissa to be constantly on the breast pump.  She's on the breast pump because she's left her fragile newborn twice in her six weeks of life.  Plus she's had a couple of drinking parties in which she had to pump and dump.  She's being way too active for a six week post-partum woman who's had a hysterectomy, and some sort of bladder repair, all after long months of bedrest.  She's crashing, which any woman would do, regardless of PPD.  I'm sure she could have gotten out of filming with a doctor's note.  And I'm sure her family would have understood it was a horrible time to expect her to leave her newborn and fly to another country.  I'm not sure if she's a doormat or a martyr.  I haven't watched the show long enough.

[chewycandy]

This felt like a season ending episode, glad there's still more to come. Loved the fireworks, and the balloon game (Marissa was hot in that dress! haha), it was cute to see them all losing it with laughter. I really like the addition of Sophie and Adela, can't believe we ever had to suffer through Caprice and Noelle. I love the feel good scenes of them just enjoying each other's company while shopping, etc.

[biakbiak]

9 hours ago, RealReality said:

As for Marissa, it sounds like la is the right move.  I think she will love it when she gets out there.  I would bet money they end up in santa monica.  Someplace that is high end and easy to walk.

They live in the Pacific Palisades.

7 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

sure didn't sound like Sadie was fine.  Marissa said she was gray and lethargic, and "thank God for mother's intuition", implying she would have died if they hadn't immediately reacted.  And she was at the hospital, not at the doctor's.

And then Marissa said she was released in two hours and was fine on the phone to Julie when she was at the kitchen at Mapperton.

[MyAimIsTrue]

21 hours ago, TheFinalRose said:

OMG, Julie's speech at the dinner table. "That's enough about me. Now what what do you think of me?"

Great line from a great movie!  And yes, that's what Julie's speech felt like.

I seriously dislike Caroline S.  I don't find her pretty, I don't find her interesting or compelling, and I don't understand why the others (mostly Juliet) want to crawl all the way up her ass.  Cem seems like a decent guy so I have to wonder what he sees in her.

[tvfanatic13]

I didn't see Luke at the dinner. Was he there?

[UsernameFatigue]

Why did Caroline F feel the need to wear her sleeping mask to breakfast? Once looked stupid enough, two days in a row looked like she thought it was a fashion accessory. Or quirky and cute. No on both counts. 

[Neurochick]

On January 18, 2017 at 1:09 PM, LilaFowler said:

Gregor must be some kind of saint to be with Juliet, though he does travel quit a bit.  He seems like a kind, pleasant, intelligent man -- what does he see in her?!  She's awful.  She's known Marissa the longest and instead of being sensitive about her obviously going through some kind of mood disorder, she accuses her of fake crying as a defense mechanism and continues to badmouth her.  Just a horrid person.  Marissa sobbing and begging Juliet to be nice to her was sad. 

 

Maybe it's because she knows Marissa.  There's just something about her that I don't like, can't put my finger on it.  She reminds me of one of those women who, when shit gets too rough, starts crying so people will feel sorry for her and won't call her out on her shit.  Kind of like the saying "white women's tears."

Julie needs to get that Sophie and Caroline S. are family.  Their kids are cousins.  When it comes down to it, Sophie will choose Caroline over Ms. Mapperton every time.

Edited January 20, 2017 by Neurochick

[SweetieDarling]

I don't think Juliet enjoys living in England as much as Marissa.  I don't remember exactly, but I believe Marissa went to England, then met Matt and married him.  Juliet and Gregor moved to England for Gregor's job.  I think Marissa embraces all things British, including citizenship, whereas, Juliet would prefer to be her "American" self.  Maybe that's why she's so negative all the time...she's not happy living there? Just a thought.

[Miss Slay]

Julie has shown that she does want to come between Caroline and Sophie. I hope Sophie notices...

And I agree, Juliet is not happy in England. She likes living in America. Marissa married a british aristocrat and now gets to be friends with elites and royals. She's living her dream. I think Juliet would be perfectly fine living in the US and celebrating Thanksgiving.

[TheFinalRose]

In previous seasons Marissa bragged about how she made her way into London society, but to me, it seemed obvious that her entree was basically because she was attached to Matt, not that she came there on her own, busted into the social circles, had her pick of aristocrats and then picked Matt. Kind of like being born on third base. Juliet, via Gregor, is not getting the same kind of entree, is left alone most of the week, and seems to reside in a geographically less desirable spot in London (despite still living in a multi-million dollar home.)

Plus, Matt owned nightclubs, specifically Boujis, which was frequented by Royals and Celebrities. People are going to be nice to him and his wife (whoever she is).

I look at Juliet's Instagram and she always seems so happy to be back here in Chicago. I bet if she could have her way she'd love to have a mansion in Lake Forest (ritzy suburb here) and her own little group of mean girls to rule. Juliet does not seem as if she has a lot of support in her life and that is hard with little kids. 

[LilaFowler]

Matt Hermer is an aristocrat?

[RedheadZombie]

Did anyone watch WWHL?  I read that Sophie said she and Stanbury are still in a bad place. 

[SweetieDarling]

8 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

Did anyone watch WWHL?  I read that Sophie said she and Stanbury are still in a bad place. 

Yes, she said they're "giving each other space" right now.  She did say it was her (Sophie's) fault how it started, but it kind of snowballed from there. I think Julie her friendship with Julie played a large part in the beginning of the situation.  I hadn't put much credence into Julie intentionally trying to put a wedge between Sophie and Caroline until her reaction to Sophie refusing to talk about Caroline and when Sophie "defended" Caroline, Julie made a remark about her going "back to the dark side". 

[Neurochick]

12 hours ago, Miss Slay said:

And I agree, Juliet is not happy in England. She likes living in America. Marissa married a british aristocrat and now gets to be friends with elites and royals. She's living her dream. I think Juliet would be perfectly fine living in the US and celebrating Thanksgiving.

I agree and that's why I can't hate on Julie.  If I had to go to London for a husband's job; I would go but I'd miss NYC like crazy. 

[AliceGoodDay]

13 hours ago, Miss Slay said:

Julie has shown that she does want to come between Caroline and Sophie. I hope Sophie notices...

And I agree, Juliet is not happy in England. She likes living in America. Marissa married a british aristocrat and now gets to be friends with elites and royals. She's living her dream. I think Juliet would be perfectly fine living in the US and celebrating Thanksgiving.

Matt Hermer is not an aristocrat. The only LOL who married one is Julie.

[RedheadZombie]

The term aristocracy isn't always limited to nobility.  It's often used to describe the most elite upper class.  

[politichick]

4 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

The term aristocracy isn't always limited to nobility.  It's often used to describe the most elite upper class.  

It is not at all limited to nobility and is most often used to describe the most elite upper class. Didn't Caroline S say she and Matt have known each other for eons as in while teens and/or young adults? And Caroline definitely comes from an aristocratic background.

Agree with comments about Juliet. She seems to have not really made a group of good friends in London and should be nicer to Sophie without trying to interfere with Sophie's relationship with Caroline. She must also really hate Marissa now that she's bi-continental!

Did Fleming come to the breakfast table with a mask? I missed that!

Julie needs to adjust her attitude a bit. That rented castle thing really annoyed me. If she were to get divorced she'd just be that crazy bitch with the bad dye job riding around town on a bicycle and trying to sell odd balls.

[RealReality]

1 hour ago, politichick said:

It is not at all limited to nobility and is most often used to describe the most elite upper class. Didn't Caroline S say she and Matt have known each other for eons as in while teens and/or young adults? And Caroline definitely comes from an aristocratic background.

Agree with comments about Juliet. She seems to have not really made a group of good friends in London and should be nicer to Sophie without trying to interfere with Sophie's relationship with Caroline. She must also really hate Marissa now that she's bi-continental!

Did Fleming come to the breakfast table with a mask? I missed that!

Julie needs to adjust her attitude a bit. That rented castle thing really annoyed me. If she were to get divorced she'd just be that crazy bitch with the bad dye job riding around town on a bicycle and trying to sell odd balls.

I can't figure out if Julie is trying to grow a backbone or become more reality TV friendly.

I don't know how Juliet could ever make a good group of friends anywhere.  Her idea of friendship seems to be to be second in command to the queen bee, which isn't a real friendship since its just based on her sucking up.  Any shot she might have at a real friendship gets messed up because she is willing to throw any "friend" under the bus to secure her place as runner up queen bee.

She seems like the worst, and I don't blame Marissa one bit for separating herself from Juliet.

Bad news for Juliet -- when Caroline S leaves she probably won't have any friends or get invited anywhere.  

Good news for Juliet -- in the unlikely event this show gets a 4th season, Juliet will likely be cast as queen bee over a bunch of Bravo rented friends and will go up against Julie or Caroline F.

[dhilde85]

Methinks Lady Subway (sorry, had to steal) is getting a little too big for her britches. I nearly snorted when she made some remark about Juliet being a silly American or something. Um, hello? You’re not British! No matter how hard you try to act and sound like one.

[princelina]

20 hours ago, Sonoma said:

Not sure about aristocrat, but definitely grew up privileged and went on to become a smart businessman and successful restauranteur. Boujis and Bumpkin are just the better known of his businesses.

Actually I don't think the Hermer's net worth is too far behind Stanbury and husband, around 20-30 million. She just likes to put on snobbier airs. Fleming is the one with the real money on the show. She's definitely triple digits millions. I believe Juliet and Gregor are the "poorest" at a single digit million.

Fleming has money?  I thought she was a "working mom" who "has to work"!  Hahahahahaha!  Big old faker :)

11 hours ago, SweetieDarling said:

Yes, she said they're "giving each other space" right now.  She did say it was her (Sophie's) fault how it started, but it kind of snowballed from there. I think Julie her friendship with Julie played a large part in the beginning of the situation.  I hadn't put much credence into Julie intentionally trying to put a wedge between Sophie and Caroline until her reaction to Sophie refusing to talk about Caroline and when Sophie "defended" Caroline, Julie made a remark about her going "back to the dark side". 

To be fair, from what WE saw it was totally Sophie's fault!  She started it with remarks to Julie about CS, for which I was totally on CS's side about the whole loyalty/betrayal thing.  Unfortunately CS carried it on to such a ridiculous degree that it was hard to maintain sympathy for her.  Yet Julie should realize that in the Real World they are related, so are their kids, etc. etc. and what everyone else has said, so it's not going to last . . .

[TheFinalRose]

Quote

I can't figure out if Julie is trying to grow a backbone or become more reality TV friendly.

Yes! I think she sat down and did the math ... hustling hard to sell JUBS for maybe a $1  profit per unit selling maybe 500 a year = $500 vs.  starting a bunch of arguments for Bravo for an annual salary increase of maybe 10 grand a year, and hopefully more over the next few years. So bye bye JUBS storyline, hello starting a new cat fight per episode. (All figures above are totally pulled out of thin air.)

[RealReality]

6 minutes ago, TheFinalRose said:

Yes! I think she sat down and did the math ... hustling hard to sell JUBS for maybe a $1  profit per unit selling maybe 500 a year = $500 vs.  starting a bunch of arguments for Bravo for an annual salary increase of maybe 10 grand a year, and hopefully more over the next few years. So bye bye JUBS storyline, hello starting a new cat fight per episode. (All figures above are totally pulled out of thin air.)

yeah, the profit margin for jub balls seems sky high :P

[HunterHunted]

On 1/20/2017 at 0:02 AM, Sonoma said:

Not sure about aristocrat, but definitely grew up privileged and went on to become a smart businessman and successful restauranteur. Boujis and Bumpkin are just the better known of his businesses.

Actually I don't think the Hermer's net worth is too far behind Stanbury and husband, around 20-30 million. She just likes to put on snobbier airs. Fleming is the one with the real money on the show. She's definitely triple digits millions. I believe Juliet and Gregor are the "poorest" at a single digit million.

4 hours ago, princelina said:

Fleming has money?  I thought she was a "working mom" who "has to work"!  Hahahahahaha!  Big old faker :)

 

CarFlem's ex-husband is worth billions. His family is one of the richest in Britain. They have all of that James Bond money. He paid for all of the renovations on her family's castle. It was reported that CarFlem got £400 million in the divorce. She says she has to work so I wonder if the bulk of the settlement is a trust for the kids.

[NutMeg]

15 hours ago, politichick said:

It is not at all limited to nobility and is most often used to describe the most elite upper class. Didn't Caroline S say she and Matt have known each other for eons as in while teens and/or young adults? And Caroline definitely comes from an aristocratic background.

Not sure where Matt belongs on this, but there are circles which include nobility and some other high class people in most European country who organize parties, balls, and other events for the gentrified youth to meet and get to know each other. These start at high school age. There's a book of who's who of families, and if say your grandmother was the daughter of an earl, your name will be there. I suppose some moneyed people, chosen on a very strict basis, might be included, though as far as I know most of those included have at least a titled ancestor. This can explain why someone like Matt, even though not titled, might have been included and known Caroline from a young age.  Or how Annabelle in one of the previous season said she had known ... (Julie's husband) since they were kids.

The idea of these balls and such, which have gone on for several generations, is still to encourage youngsters to marry and mate with socially acceptable partners. Weirdly enough, based on their purpose, once you're past high school these parties have been known to be some of the wildest, and I'm not sure they really give a good image of people who would in theory be marriage material.  

[dhilde85]

It seems like Matt is new money though- his father is a lawyer and then became mayor of Cardiff; his mom owned a jewelry shop. There might be someone in their history that has some title, but every article about Matt implies that he is a 'self-made millionaire'. Matt owned a lot of clubs and pubs, so that might be how he met Caroline.  

[AliceGoodDay]

On 1/21/2017 at 10:25 PM, dhilde85 said:

It seems like Matt is new money though- his father is a lawyer and then became mayor of Cardiff; his mom owned a jewelry shop. There might be someone in their history that has some title, but every article about Matt implies that he is a 'self-made millionaire'. Matt owned a lot of clubs and pubs, so that might be how he met Caroline.  

Matt is new money. He's known Caroline S and Sophie for years because of the club circles they frequented. He's also a well-liked, affable guy with impressive connections from the heyday of Boujis. But Matt is not an aristocrat himself. You don't have to have a title to be an aristocrat, but generally you'll come from from a "landed" or "old" family that may be distantly related to nobility. Being part of an elite group doesn't qualify you. Marrying an aristocrat doesn't make you one. (For example, Kate Middleton and Julie are not aristocrats.) It will get you accepted, at least superficially, into aristocratic circles.

Edited January 23, 2017 by AliceGoodDay