S07:E21 The Assanti Brothers

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Quote

As Steven heals from his weight loss surgery, his brother Justin finally decides to come to Texas to get the same procedure, but his feelings towards his Steven immediately begin to sabotage his hopes of surgery. 

Justin leaves his bustling game store with its few games and folding tables to head to Houston for surgery.  Coming as no shock to anyone, Steven may derail Justin from his goal.  This is a new "Where Are They Now?" episode following everyone's favorite abusive, unclean and generally toxic opiate addict and his victim/brother. 

Check your DVRs.  Depending on your cable provider, this may not appear as a new episode.

This is the regular episode thread.  It will open after the US East Coast showing. 

Original air date 2019.05.22

[junemeatcleaver]

What a loathsome trio of people.  Why do we need so many episodes about them?

[Cherrio]

I quickly checked out the reddit posts and found this one.

They are talking about Steven's nose/nostrils  which I too find revolting and someone said......

"I could plug my phone charger into those nostrils."

[littlebennysmom]

That father of theirs that looks like Pantangeli from the Godfather needs to get the Rosato brothers treatment -- mort!!

Edited May 23, 2019 by littlebennysmom

[ProTourist]

I wasn't able to post my answer to this in the Live Chat discussion because it had just closed, so posting here instead:

Quote

IVYLADY said:

He's married? Who married him? Is she sane?

Yes, Steven got married last spring (May or June, I think) to a woman named Stephanie Sanger, a massage therapist and mother of one daughter who lives in Iowa -- which is where Steven himself has lived since then. If this episode is showing Steven as still living in Houston, then it must be old footage, from 2017 or early 2018. Here is an article about the two of them including a few photos. If you google their two names you'll find a lot more.

P.S. I cannot answer the sanity question, but I've read that she keeps rats as pets. Really.

[Guest]

What, exactly, was the point of this episode? All that happened was Justin got the sleeve procedure. Steven was whacked out of his mind on drugs (as usual), the father was a crazy asshole (as usual)...and NOTHING. All of this could have been covered in 30 minutes—WITH commercials. 

I know TLC is shitty at telling any sort of story, but this episode was beyond boring and terrible.

[nytonc]

I can’t believe they would waste an episode on these 2 and their enabler father. Steven is as disgusting as ever. Justin only wants to play with stuff in his business is booming hobby shop. I just can’t sit thru this. 

[Cherrio]

9 minutes ago, littlebennysmom said:

That father of theirs that looks like Pantangeli from the Godfather needs to get the Rosato brothers treatment -- mort!!

Ha ! I was thinking the same thing during the episode.

[Elizzikra]

Quote

P.S. I cannot answer the sanity question, but I've read that she keeps rats as pets. Really.

It's a thing actually. People say that rats are actually fairly smart and can be good pets. If you ever saw Hoarders and know Dr. Zasio, she adopted a pet rat after she cleaned out a house hoarded with them.

That said, I'm nearly phobic about them so I don't understand the inclination. And I can't stand any of the Assantis so I definitely don't understand the inclination to marry one. But the rat-as-pets thing isn't that unusual.

I also cannot understand why Papa Assanti is so determined that his sons get along. They can't stand each other and they are healthier apart. Leave it alone.

I also wanted to strangle the father for getting Justin a dog. That poor pup. And don't get me started on leaving the poop in the hotel parking lot. What a jackass.

[Cherrio]

11 minutes ago, ProTourist said:

Yes, Steven got married last spring (May or June, I think) to a woman named Stephanie Sanger

From the looks of her she is his new drug supplier.

[ams1001]

10 minutes ago, ProTourist said:

I wasn't able to post my answer to this in the Live Chat discussion because it had just closed, so posting here instead:

Yes, Steven got married last spring (May or June, I think) to a woman named Stephanie Sanger, a massage therapist and mother of one daughter who lives in Iowa -- which is where Steven himself has lived since then. If this episode is showing Steven as still living in Houston, then it must be old footage, from 2017 or early 2018. Here is an article about the two of them including a few photos. If you google their two names you'll find a lot more.

P.S. I cannot answer the sanity question, but I've read that she keeps rats as pets. Really.

Dad made a comment towards the end of the episode that Steven met someone in Des Moines and was thinking of moving there, so most of the footage apparently happened before he met her, I guess.

In response to this post by CheeseBurgh from the live chat:

Quote

Why did they change vehicles 3 times in this show?

Killed the suspension?

[ProTourist]

15 minutes ago, littlebennysmom said:

That father of theirs that looks like Pantangeli from the Godfather needs to get the Rosato brothers treatment -- mort!!

Yes! Frankie Five Angels!

[Cherrio]

2 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Quote

Why did they change vehicles 3 times in this show?

Killed the suspension?

I figured "accidents", but not the mechanical kind.

4 minutes ago, Elizzikra said:

I also cannot understand why Papa Assanti is so determined that his sons get along. They can't stand each other and they are healthier apart. Leave it alone.

The father is mentally ill, same as his sons.

[CrazyInAlabama]

In return for two hours of my life that I'll never get back I did learn a few things.    Steven did marry that woman, and leave Texas (that cheering you hear is everyone in Texas cheering), Justin did get surgery, and the father is a jerk.     Not giving Cupcake the correct food was abusive.    I wonder if Cupcake is OK?   

What kind of person steals Justin's painkillers to give to the druggie son?   Justin's father did this, a drug dealer is who does that.   That is way beyond enabling, and illegal as hell.      

The father is repulsive, pushing Steven on Justin, especially at the hospital, and trying to force Justin to associate with someone who admits he abused him.      I hope Justin loses the weight, moves away from the father, and gets his own life.   

Edited May 27, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[littlebennysmom]

I apologize if it's been mentioned before, but all I can think of when I see Justin and his hat is Homer Simpson's trip to The Vast Waistband.  He bought that same hat plus a muumuu during the episode where he gains weight so he can go on disability.  It's de rigueur fat guy fashion!

[ams1001]

23 minutes ago, Elizzikra said:

It's a thing actually. People say that rats are actually fairly smart and can be good pets. If you ever saw Hoarders and know Dr. Zasio, she adopted a pet rat after she cleaned out a house hoarded with them.

My sophomore-year RA in college was a psych major and adopted one of the lab rats when they were done with their experiment (running mazes and suchlike). She was a white rat named Rosie and was very sweet. RA lived in Greece, though, so she couldn't take her home and another friend took her at the end of the year. I also have some internet acquaintances who have pet rats.

Edited May 23, 2019 by ams1001

[Gbb]

10 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

What kind of person steals Justin's painkillers to give to the druggie son?   A drug dealer is who does that.   That is way beyond enabling, and illegal as hell.      

Maybe THAT’S where dad’s money came from. 

[Schnickelfritz]

Just watching the episode and am wondering if I am the only one that thought that that was NOT Cupcake? I thought Cupcake was a gray Tabby. Am I mis-remembering?

I admit that I try to pay the bare minimum of attention when watching either of the Assanti brothers.

Free the cat!!

[Julyolo]

I had an epiphany at the very end. The three different cars, the father paying for hotels, helping Justin with his store. More cash there then TLC is handing out. Cavalier handing to Steven of Justin's narcotics, and then castigating Justin for having the temerity to complain. Someone in the Live Chat said the dad looked like one of the gangsters from the Godfather. IMO he ACTS like one. He should have been arrested for the theft of those pills, and distributing them to Steven. I think Steven learned a lot of his criminal and sociopathic behavior from his dear old dad.

Edited May 23, 2019 by Julyolo

[CringeWatcher]

I may have misheard this, but toward the end, did Justin say he’s eating very little and drinking only liquids? 🤣

[rlc]

The smartest member of that family is the mother that left.

[QuinnInND]

5 minutes ago, CringeWatcher said:

I may have misheard this, but toward the end, did Justin say he’s eating very little and drinking only liquids? 🤣

He did! Some parents are adamant that kids love each other and get along. This ain't happening with these idiots, dad. Dad mentioned something to the effect that he won't be around forever, so that's why he wants the boys to be friends and close. The best thing that could happen is for you to croak, asshole. And take Steven with you. 

[CringeWatcher]

Also, I don’t think Dr Now was promoting any kind of macho  paternalism there to pops, just pointing out the obvious: these grown men are acting like kids and dad enables their behavior. Maybe the best thing he could do for both of them would be stop supporting them financially. I’m sure Justin has good reason to hate Steven, but still, that was a total toddler move to throw a fit and not even go into the doctor’s office. So to calm him down, his dad gets him a PUPPY? How much more infantilized can dude get? Shut down the money trap hobby “store” and give Justin 90 days to find a grownup jobby job and get his own place. And FFS stop buying Steven pizzas and sandwiches and supplying him with narcotics.  I think that’s what Dr Now was getting at. 

Edited May 23, 2019 by CringeWatcher

[DropTheSoap]

I can’t even make myself hate-watch this episode. I so loathe them all. 

[OoogleEyes]

I'm wondering if the "Why don't you two get along?" thing may be partly manufactured. I mean, seriously, how could you be so angry about that issue for so long? These two have always hated each other

[ProTourist]

44 minutes ago, Julyolo said:

I had an epiphany at the very end. The three different cars, the father paying for hotels, helping Justin with his store. More cash there then TLC is handing out. Cavalier handing to Steven of Justin's narcotics, and then castigating Justin for having the temerity to complain. Someone in the Live Chat said the dad looked like one of the gangsters from the Godfather. IMO he ACTS like one. He should have been arrested for the theft of those pills, and distributing them to Steven. I think Steven learned a lot of his criminal and sociopathic behavior from his dear old dad.

I haven't seen this new Part 4 episode as yet, but in a previous installment Steven mentioned that his father had his own window-washing business.

Steven Senior sounds as though he's behaving very differently from the way he did in parts 1-3, or else I wouldn't have like him. This doesn't sound like him at all. Hmmm.

[ProTourist]

17 minutes ago, OoogleEyes said:

I'm wondering if the "Why don't you two get along?" thing may be partly manufactured. I mean, seriously, how could you be so angry about that issue for so long? These two have always hated each other

Yes, in the past episodes Steven Senior was never concerned about reconciling his two sons, and he admitted that Justin was doing better since Steven had moved out of their home. So, either Steven Sr. has changed his attitude quite a bit, or this behavior was manufactured for the show. Hrmph.

[kicotan]

1 hour ago, junemeatcleaver said:

What a loathsome trio of people.  Why do we need so many episodes about them?

Because this is a little sampling of something very real that  folks don’t like to look at.  Overindulgence.

From what I’ve witnessed, most, I’m gonna go at least 90% on this one, of the poundticipants have the storyline of abandonment, physical and or sexual abuse as their background.  The enablers, family or partners, circle around at the end when they are too enormous to even manage bathing. They are filling some hole in their psyche from the abandonment/abuse they’ve suffered.

This guy, though, Mr. Assanti, has coddled and spoiled and enabled his only children, BOTH of them into behaving as if they are toddlers their whole lives.  I don’t remember what happened to their mother but they never talk about it and I’m surprised Dr. Now doesn’t have Dad go to therapy to figure out why he’s such an enabler.

Both of them hit him during this episode.

He took Justin’s meds and gave them to his POS brother.

They never talk about their mom.

[Schnickelfritz]

What the heck is going on? When was this filmed? With a little digging, I discovered that Justin has had that Corgi since June of 2017.

[DC Gal in VA]

1 hour ago, Giant Misfit said:

What, exactly, was the point of this episode? All that happened was Justin got the sleeve procedure. Steven was whacked out of his mind on drugs (as usual), the father was a crazy asshole (as usual)...and NOTHING. All of this could have been covered in 30 minutes—WITH commercials. 

I know TLC is shitty at telling any sort of story, but this episode was beyond boring and terrible.

Dontcha love it how they set us up for the next ***yawn*** installment of this trio? At the end Justin just happens to say that he is done with Dr. Now (of course he's not) AND the cliffhanger of them not telling us about Steven's tox screen results.

Oh boy, the suspense is killing me...........

Edited May 23, 2019 by DC Gal in VA
Additional comments.

[StitchPunk]

I wonder if his store makes money. If he had a friend look after it, it could be relatively successful. The figurines in the background probably sell pretty well. Some I recognized were from very popular anime and figurines are not cheap. They're collectibles. I doubt it makes a ton. It's a niche market. But it's a market that will spend a lot. It looked to have a lot of stock that probably sells.

[Hellohappylife]

Omg I just can’t with this family.

These 2 grown ass “men” continue to act like 9 year olds fighting for who can be daddy’s favorite.

Dad needs to get help for himself cause he’s Delusional if he thinks they will ever be a normal family. At this point he deserves all of the stress they bring, because he won’t walk the hell away. 

Steven & Justin hitting their father only proves how much they disrespect him. 

I swear this was mostly just 2 hours of Justin crying over and over again how much he hated Steven and can’t wait to be back home to his life and his career.  

I find it hard to believe that his store does so well. It probably barely makes even every month. 

[PradaKitty]

Um... YUCK!

That is all. 

[MrHufflepuff]

I don't think Dad actually wants the kids to get along.  Dad enjoys abusing Justin, and Steven is one of the tools for the abuse.  If Steven and Justin get along, then Dad loses one way to abuse Justin.  So, Dad intentionally creates resentment between them. Stealing Justin's medicine was a double-win for Dad.  He got to put Justin in physical pain while at the same time creating even more resentment from Justin to Steve.

That's also why Dad hasn't helped Justin gain any independent living skills.  If Justin learns how to live on his own, then he won't have to take Dad's abuse any more.

[Scratches19]

I only know of the Assanti saga from occasional snippets and comparisons to other horrible ones. Tonight is part 4.  Now I see. Holy sh&t. Holy sh!t. 

Observations made so far in order of the show:

Steven seemed high when Dad visited. I'm suspicious of him getting meds on the sly. So is Dr. Now. 

Justin's Dad drove 30 hours and 1800 miles to find out he gained 4 lbs. 

Steven is yet another guest at the "red brick exterior, white empty fireplace" apartments. They must have a corporate rate for M600LbL. 

Steven gives off a scary, unstable, vibe. 

Justin's hotel stay. He was there for a full month? That's not cheap. 

Steven's visit to Dr Paradise...

He keeps talking about pain and pain medication. Like he misses it. Like it's his precious. 

He denies the seriousness of his horrible treatment of his brother. In fact he seems to enjoy reliving how easy it was to make his brother miserable, and even blaming him a little.. "He's a delicate flower." 

Dr P points this out.  Steven really doesn't own it. He wants to make peace, but only if it means his brother takes the blame for being weak. 

Justin makes the weight for surgery approval. There's some strength and determination there. 

Justin locks himself in his room. When his friend Toni arrives, Dad tries to use her as a pawn to get into Justin's room, and realizes he's not going in with Toni, she casually says to Dad "He doesn't like you."  Great moment. 

Steven steels the pills. Wow. Yep. Or was it Dad. 

The sanest thing said, by Justin. "I don't talk to Junkies". That entire sequence where he's calling out Dad for enabling Junkie Jr. Steven is clear headed in knowing he needs to stay the eff away from toxic brother. Dad keeps trying to force them together. 

The other bully = maybe the original bully = is Steven Sr. Forced dual appointments? Yelling yelling yelling. Making fists? No wonder these kids are a mess.

Jesus the number of commercials. The next time I see a Nissan Kicks, I'm going have to resist the temptation to kick it, hard. 

Dr. Now telling Steven Sr. "No no no". 

I feel like Dad really orchestrated this train wreck. Oh the pathology. 

Steven gains 34 lbs. I'm thinking 25 of it was oxycodone. 

That poor dog. That poor dog. Another pawn for Dad to play. Except it's not chess. It's not even checkers. 

Oh and classic Dad briefly considers picking up poop, but then "no one saw it". Yeah. He's the tree of this family's dysfunctional life. Way to go pops. 

Final thought. Dad saying, emphatically, that he has NO IDEA what happened between his two sons. I got chills. That sounded like major denial. Maybe he knows a lot more. What did happen? Justin is the Rosetta stone here if he can ever get clear of this shit show. We might find out. 

To be continued. 

Edited May 23, 2019 by Scratches19
Typos, clarity.

[Armchair Critic]

4 hours ago, littlebennysmom said:

That father of theirs that looks like Pantangeli from the Godfather needs to get the Rosato brothers treatment -- mort!!

😂😅 Still laughing at that, too funny! 

[Armchair Critic]

4 hours ago, littlebennysmom said:

all I can think of when I see Justin and his hat is Homer Simpson's trip to The Vast Waistband.  He bought that same hat plus a muumuu during the episode where he gains weight so he can go on disability.  It's de rigueur fat guy fashion!

You are on a roll tonight, LMAO! 🤣

[Guest]

4 hours ago, ProTourist said:

So, either Steven Sr. has changed his attitude quite a bit, or this behavior was manufactured for the show.

[Kenzie]

It seems like it shouldn't be that hard to find someone who could knit some gigantic socks for Steven, maybe with drawstring cuffs so others wouldn't have to look at those feet.

[ProTourist]

The episode finally came up on Amazon a few hours ago, and I've watched it. What a strange episode! It was more about the family relationships than about the diet and medical treatment -- even when they were in Dr. Now's office. Here are my take-aways from part 4.

• There wasn't much repetition from the previous episodes, thankfully -- I'd say about twelve or fifteen minutes total. But the 'new' material, meaning not previously broadcast, is older, from 2017 and very early 2018.
• I was shocked by the way Steven Senior was lashing out at Justin. With very little provocation he would fly off the handle and scream at him -- and always because Justin would say a little something to Steven Junior -- no big deal really -- that Senior said was hurting Junior's feelings. Since when Is Senior so concerned with Junior's feelings, and so little concerned with Justin's?
• It made no sense to me that Senior was so interested in reconciling his two sons; he was never interested in that before and used to understand why Justin wanted nothing to do with Junior. I think Senior was wrong to force the meetings between his two sons onto Justin, especially when Justin was in the hospital recovering from surgery. This shows even less respect for Justin.
• For the first time Steven Junior impressed me as evil, not as just a big, manipulative, grand-standing baby. Yes, I think he is worse that Angie J. To me, he never came across as evil like this in the previous episodes. I couldn't stand to look him full in the face.
• I don't understand what happened to Junior's hair, and don't believe it was due to some uneven buzz cut. But we know it was temporary because in the photos of Junior with his wife, later in 2018, he has a full head of hair again.
• I was surprised that Junior was back on the pain meds -- I suppose he found a way to get them without his own prescriptions -- and that he ended up gaining weight toward the end of the episode after he had done so well and was mostly on liquids.
• I was shocked that Senior took Justin's post-surgical pain meds and gave them to Junior. What is going on with this man, the way he turned against Justin, even to the point of making him suffer in pain after his surgery, to feed Junior's addiction?
• I was surprised that Justin would go back to Rhode Island without a post-surgical appointment with Dr. Now, although his father never should have brought Steven Junior along to the same appointment, which was ridiculous. I do hope he'll be all right.
• The way Senior and Junior moseyed out of Dr. Now's office at the end without the blood test Dr. Now had ordered to check for narcotics in Junior's blood -- I don't comprehend the complicity between those two, which was never there before. Senior's behavior toward each of his sons was so out-of-character, I can only conclude either that: 1) Senior is dying and just doesn't care any longer, or 2) Senior was paid very big bucks to stir up controversy for the show, which was mostly at Justin's expense. Either way, both brothers seem to have done with Dr. Now, and I've had it with all of them. I do wish them all well, and recovery to the extend possible. Sheesh.

[ProTourist]

6 hours ago, DC Gal in VA said:

Dontcha love it how they set us up for the next ***yawn*** installment of this trio? At the end Justin just happens to say that he is done with Dr. Now (of course he's not) AND the cliffhanger of them not telling us about Steven's tox screen results.

Oh boy, the suspense is killing me...........

No, I don't think there was any setup for a fifth episode. Both Steven Junior and Justin have left Houston far behind, and I doubt either of them will return. There was no cliffhanger, because Senior and Junior walked out of the office without Junior's blood draw. They just left.

[Wanda]

It’s super early so maybe I’m not awake, but I had a different take on daddy dearest giving Justin’s pain pills to Steven. Perhaps he sees Jr as a lost cause and doesn’t want Justin to start getting into pills so that was his way of “saving” him. Stupid? Well, it is daddy assanti after all. He also had to have been buying Steven pizza again for him to have gained 34 lbs by that last shown DrNow visit. If Steven gets ALL the food and ALL the meds it will save Justin 🙄

[Seasick Cecil]

Junior should be in jail.

Justin should get a life. We all know that these meetings between the brothers were orchestrated by TLC. These people are fame whores with no shame.

Dr. Now should terminate this gruesome twosome from the practice. His professionalism should never take a back seat to "good tv."

Poor dog. Poor dog. Shame on these disgusting people for not picking up after it. That right there demonstrates how little responsibility they take for ANYTHING. 

Edited May 23, 2019 by Seasick Cecil
Corrected spelling

[ProTourist]

6 hours ago, StitchPunk said:

I wonder if his store makes money. If he had a friend look after it, it could be relatively successful. The figurines in the background probably sell pretty well. Some I recognized were from very popular anime and figurines are not cheap. They're collectibles. I doubt it makes a ton. It's a niche market. But it's a market that will spend a lot. It looked to have a lot of stock that probably sells.

Justin's friend Toni was supposed to be looking after the hobby shop while Justin was in Houston, but then she went down to Houston to be there for Justin's surgery, so who knows what happened to the shop at that point. Probably the shop at least closed for a while when Toni was away. But the shop is still open nowadays, although only four days a week according to the posted schedule.

[ProTourist]

3 hours ago, MrHufflepuff said:

I don't think Dad actually wants the kids to get along.  Dad enjoys abusing Justin, and Steven is one of the tools for the abuse.  If Steven and Justin get along, then Dad loses one way to abuse Justin.  So, Dad intentionally creates resentment between them. Stealing Justin's medicine was a double-win for Dad.  He got to put Justin in physical pain while at the same time creating even more resentment from Justin to Steve.

That's also why Dad hasn't helped Justin gain any independent living skills.  If Justin learns how to live on his own, then he won't have to take Dad's abuse any more.

I understand the point you are making, but why would Steven Senior do this? What would motivate him to be so rotten toward Justin? Steven Senior has never impressed me as a delusional, abusive, or deranged person before -- he used to seem like the 'normal' one of the three. Maybe it was just that the show paid him to dramatize and stir up controversy, mostly at Justin's expense. Poor Justin. I was glad when he punched his father in the arm when his father was screaming senselessly at him in the car.

[Meowwww]

So much disgust.  

Senior...the screaming. Giving Justin’s pills to sociopathic favorite son. Or was that a cover up...Senior found out Steven stole the pills and claimed he gave them to him.  To protect ol’ crazy face son.  Steven was truly terrifying....between the hair and the death eyes   

Hubs and I watched this last night.  We both think there’s way more to the abuse story than Steven beating Justin up daily.  Something dark. Sexual abuse?  Something awful that Justin’s not telling about. (This is all speculation). 

[Kid]

I only watched the first hour. Those people are too toxic and I couldn’t take anymore of it.

I left after it was obvious he wasn’t feeding Cupcake properly.  And from reading the live chip comments after I left, I see they brought a puppy in the mix.  Those three meetings do not need to inflict themselves on animals because the animals are trapped.  They don’t have the choice of getting out.

Very disturbing.

Edited May 23, 2019 by Kid

[Hannah94]

Steven is high as a kite....holy dog shit. Htf is he getting pills after Dr. Now put an alert on him? Wait, maybe he isn't getting prescriptions....maybe street drugs? Idk but damn it doesn't take a genius to realize this guy is soaring. 

[AnnaBaptist]

I stopped watching these people after the 2nd episode. They are the only ones I refuse to watch anymore. I know nothing positive is going to happen, and I don't find them interesting at all. I wish production would stop wasting time filming them. 

[toodles]

I can't stand the giant man babies and that includes their terrible dad.