Mention It All - Is Dubai Done? And Is There Trouble In Lexie’s Paradise?

Episode Date: September 20, 2024

Still reeling from the RHOSLC finale, Dylan finds the time to discuss some of the week’s other Bravo developments. First, it’s Phaedra’s DWTS debut, and her lofty goals in the ballroom. Also set to join a new show this fall is Monica Garcia… kind of. Dylan discusses her role in House of Villains, and what it might mean for her reality TV future. From there, he ties up a few loose ends from the RHODubai reunion, before digging into RHOC. While Shannon and Vicki are hanging out at the St. Louis mall where he grew up, Alexis and Emily are going through it back in OC, and half the cast is dealing with teenager troubles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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See Store Online for details. Betches Media presents. Ha ha, laugh, funny. Mention It All, a Bravo by Betches podcast. We don't say that, but now we said it. With me, Dylan Hafer. Who don't check me, though? Hey, everyone.

Welcome back to the Mention It All podcast. Oh, I am still recovering from that Salt Lake City premiere, but I hope you all enjoyed it. I hope you all enjoyed our episode last night. And, of course, my interview with Heather Gay earlier this week. But we are on to the next. We've got lots of stuff to talk about today. I'm going to get into the second part of the Dubai reunion, just a little bit, just a few kind of final thoughts to wrap up this season.

Because Salt Lake really took the main spot yesterday. So I wanted to just circle back on Dubai a little bit. Of course, we're going to talk about Real Housewives of Orange County because it's Thursday. We're here. This is the reason for the season. And we have a couple of news updates to get to. First, I just want to give a little bit of props to Fager Parks on her first week of. Dancing with the Stars.

I did watch her dance. It was not bad, you know, a little bit. The first week dances on Dancing with the Stars tend to be like just a little bit stiff, a little bit basic, you know, they're really focused on sort of, you know, getting that first one under their belt. For most of these contestants, they've never done anything like this before. And Fadra did a cha-cha to I'm every woman. She was looking great in her sequins and her fringe.

And, you know, they did a good job. Fadre and Val. And they got two sixes and a seven for their score. So a total of, what would that be a 19? I'm like trying to do math here. Yes, they got a 19, which places them solidly in the middle of the pack. The lowest score anyone got was 15. That's Eric Roberts.

I have a feeling he won't be on the show very long. And then the highest score of the, night we're a 23 and a 22. So Fadra's like, she's doing fine. She's doing okay. Next week is, it's Oscars night. So everybody's performing to a song from an Academy Award nominated film and they've already put out the list of dances. And Fadra will be doing a fox trot to, and I am telling you I'm not going from Dreamgirls. That is a plus music selections. She's really going for the bangers right off the bat. I don't actually watch dancing with the stars. It's one of those things where I feel like spending two hours a week with that property feels a little excessive.

Like, I don't actually need to be in the weeds seeing everything. But I'm excited to follow Fadra. She's been posting a lot of really great social media content, like TikToks and stuff with Val. She must have somebody helping her, but they're doing a good job. She's doing a lot of TikTok trends, a lot of sounds. She's having fun with it. And she also, she told People, like People magazine that she has not been taking any advice from housewives who have been on Dancing with the Stars in the past because she said, I need to win and they haven't won. And this is what I love about Fadra, because Dancing with the Stars is like on the face of it such a silly like low stakes thing to do. Like, okay, you're going to win a mirror ball trophy and then go back to your everyday life.

But I love that Fadra's like, I'm not asking, why would I ask? Why would I ask? losers like Lisa Rina and Lisa Vanderpump and Erica Jane, why would I ask losers like them for their advice when they haven't even won? I'm in it to win it, baby. And do I think Fadro will win this season of Dancing with the Stars? I don't. I don't. I think that she will, I think that she'll stay in for a few weeks. I think there's a lot of goodwill toward her. You know, there's Housewives fans, there's Traders fans, there's Married to Medicine fans, I'm sure our calling in the dozens. But I think that she will hopefully have enough time on the season to kind of like have a good run.

She gave it the good college try. And then, you know, she's coming back to married to medicine and Real Housewives of Atlanta. So at the end of the day, she has plenty more TV time left in her. But maybe we'll check in on Fadra week to week. The dances are like a minute and half long. So it's not exactly, you know, chewing into my TV time to watch that. But speaking of new shows coming back, House of Villains comes back pretty soon for a second season. And I got to be honest, I did not watch the first season. I really have a tough time with all of the like extraneous reality mashup shows. Some of them are good. Some of them are bad. Some of them are extremely blah. House of Villains, I heard kind of mixed things about. I know that people weren't happy that Tiffany Pollard went home so early on the first season. I think she's back for the second season. I don't know. Teresa's on this season. But the interesting announcement,

and the reason I'm talking about this right now is that it was announced yesterday that Monica Garcia, aka Reality Von T's herself, will be on the second season, not as a contestant, not as a host, but as a narrator.

She will not appear on the show, but her voice will, we will hear her on the show. But, okay, so this is one of those things where, because I didn't watch the first season, I read this and I was like, okay, this going to be like a Love Island, the circle kind of thing, where sometimes they have a

comedian. Like, we just had Ian Sterling from Love Island, UK, in the Betches office. And it was so funny because you hear his voice and you're like, oh, that's like, hot new bombshell enters the villa. But he's just like a guy. And, you know, because I'm not familiar with like, I don't know, Scottish standup comedians, he's not on my radar much, but I'm like, that's Love Island man. Or like, Michelle Buteau does the circle.

it's fun to have that kind of like comedy track but that's not really what Monica's doing because I got screeners for the first couple episodes and I'm won't spoil anything but I watched like half of maybe half of the episode that's probably generous um Monica is the voice of the house which is more of like a big brother kind of thing where it's like contestants head to the backyard and Monica like spices it up a little bit more than that, but it still is like, oh, she's reading off a script of like 12 prompts of like, you're going to want to head to the kitchen or like time to get up for a challenge. I'm making these up. I don't know what happens on the show. But I'm like, okay, this is a, this gig is maybe not as substantial as I thought it was for Monica. But it is just

interesting in the general sense that this is an e-show. So it's within. in the NBC universal stable of networks. And that, I think, is notable because after last season of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, obviously she did not stay on the show. It would have been, I think, untenable for her to remain a housewife, you know, argue with the wall if you think that Monica should have been brought back after that season premiere. I don't think they need her. And I think it would have been weird.

But I could have seen it going one of two ways with the network. and the parent company as a whole, I could see them saying, this woman kind of played in the face of everything that Housewives is about, and she kind of tarnished this, you know, whatever, you know, high-ho thing that you think about Housewives. And I could have seen them being like kind of, we don't want her in our midst anymore.

But instead, it seems like NBCU, at least in some way, is still into the idea of working with her, wants to kind of keep her in the mix. There were rumors that she was going to be on Traders this season that's coming up soon. And then she was, she was, she had announced her pregnancy and then she did lose the pregnancy. And so I don't think she's on, she's not on traders.

But it seems like she is still kind of in the wheelhouse of somebody that they would have on a show. And so that does make me think that like maybe next, season of Traders, or if there ever is another ultimate girls trip, that Monica, you know, her hat is still in the ring. And I think that's notable just because after this past season of Housewives, it did kind of seem like, okay, like, where is, where are we going from here? What's the upside here? Maybe we're never going to see this woman again. On House of Villains, you won't see her, but you will hear her. Just a little bit here and there. I guess we should

talk about Dubai. I feel like I sort of exercised a lot of my feelings about this season as a whole last week when I did more of a reunion recap from part one. And so I don't have like, I don't have a ton more to say about the reunion itself and sort of like the different, you know, topics and stuff. Part two, I thought was like watchable, not especially exciting. There was a lot of talk about Caroline and Sergio, which is like, sure, it's, it's relevant to the show. I don't think it's especially interesting. You know, Caroline Brooks was like falling asleep on the couch, which, you know, not very nice, but I don't necessarily disagree. We did get a lot more conversation about Lisa and Iyan's whole thing. And it was one of those things watching on the

reunion where I felt like it was really emotional for them and it was really intense for them. But I don't think that they or whoever, you know, I don't know, producers, editors, how they can kind of finesse these things. I don't think that the show did a great job of making it feel emotional for us or intense for us as viewers, as, you know, consumers of housewives. It kind of felt like It was at an arm's length and I'm like, damn, they seem really upset. Damn, it seems like they're, you know, something really crazy must have happened. But we never kind of got sucked into the drama in a way that I kind of wish we had. Because I think when you have a big feud, you want to feel really torn.

You want to feel like you're in the middle of it. You want to feel like, oh, damn, this is intense. And, you know, how is this ever going to get resolved? And it always just kind of felt like we never got to the crux of the matter. more than they had some disagreements. They kind of popped up out of nowhere seemingly. And then they've had all these, you know, this tension and this distance. And then at the end of the day, Andy's like, I guess we'll leave it there.

And Chanel's like, I don't want to leave it here. I want my friend back. I miss you. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then they agree that the door is open. And so, like, I'm glad for them as people that they're maybe potentially open to moving forward because it seems like they do have this basis. of a friendship that would be unfortunate to just throw away.

But then, like, on the TV viewer level, I'm like, okay, I feel like we kind of, it happened and we missed it. Because I think zooming out a little bit to the season as a whole, I feel like the Chanel and Lisa situation was one of the major selling points for the season. It seemed, it was a major shift from what we knew about them before. You know, they were this dynamic duo and they were going to have a falling out. and it was going to be crazy. And that was a big thing that they were sort of teasing going into the season.

And aside from those couple episodes in Bali and then the finale, I don't really feel like it ever paid off. I don't really feel like we ever, it didn't really feel like we got enough there. We spent so much of the season with Brooks and Tallinn, which at the end of the day is like, who cares? they're you know it just feels like it feels like this season kind of was like writing checks what is it it's it was its ass its face was writing checks that its ass couldn't cash I don't know I I think these women are you know they try they're doing a good job

I thought the other big miss for the reunion I think I talked about this last week I was really curious what the fuck happened between Sarah and Sabah the friend of this season who posted the fucking press release about how they were no longer friends. Saba, not only was she not at the reunion, I don't think her name was mentioned one time. That was something where I was like, maybe this is me being too in the weeds of the social media and of what's happening in real time that maybe the average viewer watching this reunion would have been confused if they even started to talk about that. But for me, I was like, that was one of my biggest outstanding questions. And I bet Andy doesn't even know that it happened. This feels like the kind of thing where they gave Andy his notes, his cards, he knew what was on the cards, he watched what was on the season.

He probably was like, oh yeah, I guess Saba seemed nice. No need to have her at the reunion. Whereas for me, I'm putting in the hours on social media, you know, much to my chagrin. I'm like, I want to know what happened here. Now, when I think about Real Housewives of Dubai as kind of like an overall property and whether or not they're going to get a third season, I think a big part of the question for me is, will they be able to turn this show around, and I mean, production-wise, like, will they be able to make another season and get it on the air before the end of 2025?

That at this point feels like it would be quick for them. Because we had that full two years between when season one premiered and when season 2 premiered. By the time by the time this season premiered, they had finished filming over a year prior. And I just think that that is kind of the biggest

thing moving forward. That's the biggest question I have about this franchise. Because I know the ratings aren't amazing. People, you know, it doesn't feel like essential viewing. I've gotten comments from a couple of you guys that it's like Dubai not hitting for me.

And I get it. Look, obviously I have a lot of mixed feelings about this show. But I think in the grand scheme of things, it wouldn't be crazy for them to bring it back for one more season. I mean, when you get down to the bare bones of it, they have a solid cast, they have drama, they have money, you know, there are things to like about this show. But I think if we're being realistic, if they can't get another season on the air within a year or 15 months, that's when you kind of need to be like, okay, maybe maybe this isn't going to work. Because I think at that point, I would probably rather see them pivot to another city somewhere in the U.S. Maybe like a little bit more of a, maybe a little bit of like a mid-sized market,

like not a huge city that we haven't had represented on on Housewives or on Bravo. I think there's a lot of potential. And I think right now it still feels like they're hesitant to kind of have more Housewives franchises. And so, you know, if Dubai needs to be on pause or permanent pause, I don't think that would be the worst thing in the world. I'm, I have no idea. I have no intel. I have no kind of inkling of what direction they're going to go with that. But that's just kind of my feeling right now, that it's like maybe, maybe if we can't get our ducks in a row quickly, then it's time to, time to take a breather. But you know who's not taking a breather? Real Housewives of Orange County. these women, they're back from Sonoma.

They're back in Orange County, except for Shannon, who is headed to St. Louis, Missouri with Vicky for her, I don't know what, the Shannon and Vicky show, it's not Trace Amigos anymore. Their show in St. Louis, if you're not aware, I'm a St. Louis native. And so the second they were like, we're going to St. Louis, I was like, where are these gals going? what will, you know, what will this day bring? And then to see them, and if you're listening and you know St. Louis, I just, I just know that this, like, was crazy. Seeing them get out of the car in the parking lot of the fucking St. Louis Galleria Mall absolutely sent me. Because this is the mall that I grew up going to.

And they've done some, like, renovations because one of, I think one of the, I think one of, the department stores at the mall closed. So then they kind of like did some like renovations to do something else with that space. And one of the things they put in is a comedy club. I have never been to this comedy club. So I, I can't speak to whether this is like a spot that people go to in St. Louis, whether this is like, you know, a thing or not a thing. But it is just funny to me that it's like the comedy club at the mall. Like that feels like how on the cutting edge. of comedy can you be if you're like next to a Dillard's right like there's only so much pushing the envelope and to be fair i don't think that shannon and vicky would be likely performing at a comedy

club that was really on the cutting edge of comedy like they're doing little bits and taking shots of tequila and maybe singing and dancing it's very unclear like i don't think that's what you're going to look for at like this cool hip like underground kind of comedy scene But, you know, it is just, it's funny to think of them being at the mall because this mall, I'll paint the picture a little bit. It's, um, it's like the closest in suburbs mall. So you're not like way out in the suburbs. You're like pretty close into the city. And so it's very centrally located. It's easy to get to. It's like wedged between two different interstates. So, you know, great, great transportation to the mall. But there's, let's see, there's a Macy's at this mall. There's a Dillard. And then I remember when I was maybe in middle school or high school, I don't remember when they added, they built an addition on the mall that was an Nordstrom. And so that was like, okay, so now this mall is getting fancy. They're like, they're upping the ante a little bit. But I got to tell you, malls in America are, it's a little scary times.

And I've been to this mall maybe in the last year and like, there's some empty stores. There's some, you know, they have a food court, but it's. It's kind of all like off-brand kind of things in the food court. And like, you know, going in Dillard's is, it's not going well in there. Let me tell you. But so seeing them at the mall really was an out-of-body experience. And next time I go there, maybe I'll ask around and be like, were any of you here for Shannon and Vicky live? How was that?

Shannon, Vicki being like, I want a shot of tequila and Shannon being like, I'll have a sip. I'm like, girl, she cannot go one episode without openly ordering a drink on camera. And then when Vicky is like, you know, well, Shannon's really taking her, she's in the confessional. She's like, Shannon's taking her, do I seriously? You know, she's making, she's making a lot of positive changes. She's not drinking. Oh, well, I can't say she's not drinking because she is. But, you know, she's drinking.

She's not drinking and driving. It's like the way that Vicky is like only on the show this season as like, shit. an extension of Shannon. And even she can't like, tow the party line of being like, Shannon's doing really well. She's not drinking. She's only drinking a tiny bit.

Only like two drinks. Vicki's like, well, yeah, she's drinking. It just is week after week. And I feel like if it had happened once or twice, it would be easier to ignore, easier to not read into. But I'm like, Shannon, Shannon, do you see yourself?

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We do start at Shannon's new house. Gina's there. The house is cute. It's like it's more down to earth than where we've seen Shannon in the past. But I feel like it's a good amount of house for her. And it feels like she has kind of like reclaimed her own, just like her own life in a way that I like, you know, maybe less drinking. would be good. But other than that, Gina's filling in Shannon on what happened after she had to leave Sonoma for her show, which is Katie throwing her under the bus with Heather, with the real estate connection situation. Gina says she wants to rebuild with Katie, but she feels like she needs to be a little bit more cautious. And again, this is kind of my thing with Katie that I feel like it's, it's strange to have somebody who's been on the show for such a short amount of time already being like,

oh, I'm gonna, I need a second chance with Heather and I need a second chance with Gina. And I probably need a second chance with Shannon because Gina probably told her some bad stuff about me. And I think I'm getting to know like Jen and Emily. I think they like me, but I probably need a set. It's like I feel like Katie has been here for what, 10 episodes and is already like on round two of trying to be friends and people that she's pissed off. And that doesn't seem like a recipe for success. But, you know, what do I know? Meanwhile, Emily, Katie, and Jen are going to brunch, which Jen offers to pay for

because she feels like the other women are always paying for her because she's broke. And meanwhile, I'm like, you're filming this breakfast. Daddy Andy should be paying. This is the kind of thing that production pays for. Am I wrong? I don't know. It is funny, though, to see Emily, like getting her wallet out at the counter. And, you know, she does the wallet grab.

And she's like, no, no, no, I got this one. It's like, do you? okay. They're stressed about their kids. You know, there's a lot of kid, um, kid situations happening on OC this season. You know, with later we see Katie and Tamara going to a candle making class with their teenage daughters. And like, it's really weird to me that Tamara's daughter, Sophia, has a solo confessional that is kind of just an opportunity to say bad things about her dad. I don't know. that's weird to me, but Jen is having sort of separate issues with her 17-year-old son Dawson, who has been sort of pushing up against rules and boundaries that they've been trying to set since

moving into Ryan's house, like curfews and curfews and curfews really seem to be the big issue here. Maybe also like homework in school. I don't know. But it's, I know that this is complicated when you have, you know, custody situation or, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, It's not even actually clear to me if they have a custody situation because it seems very much like Dawson can decide who he wants to live with and when. So I don't know what the arrangement is. But clearly, Jen moving into Ryan's house has created some issues. And it's not clear really how much time Dawson has even been spending at their house. Because Jen, she's explaining this to Emily and Katie.

And she's like, so I reached out to Dawson. And I said I want to have that conversation. I'm like, you reached out to him. This is your teenage son. Like, when I was 17, if my mom wanted to, like, reach out to have a conversation with me, she just, like, knocked on my bedroom door. Or maybe even didn't knock. Like, I don't know everything that's happening with this situation, but we do see them talking

later. And I kind of feel for Dawson because however you feel about Ryan and whether or not he's a good guy, or his relationship with Jen is totally positive. It's clear that Jen has kind of put all her eggs in this basket. She needs a place to live. She needs somebody with finances. She needs a place to throw a pool party for the Real House Loise of Orange County. Let's be real.

So like, mommy's going to live with Ryan. That's what's happening now. And if I were a 17-year-old kid and my mom had kind of been like going through it a little bit and was like, guys, we're rescued. We're going to live at my boyfriend's house. And you're going to have a new set of rules. And I'm going to be, you know, busy off doing this, that, and the other thing. I think I would also kind of be like, well, fuck this.

I don't want to like go hang out at your boyfriend's house where I'm not going to have privacy and I'm going to have a bunch of rules. And you're going to be like texting and calling me all the time. The funny thing about the situation, though, is that apparently Jen's ex, when he's living in Orange County, which I still don't remember if that's full time, he lives in a one-bedroom apartment. So the fact that Dawson would rather go live with his dad at the one-bedroom apartment than live at Ryan's house where Jen is living, that he would, in theory, have more. space, whether or not he has like his own room, I don't know. But more space and just some rules. Like, that to me speaks volumes about what the vibe is actually like at Shea Ryan. Because that sounds on paper like it would be a much preferable situation, like a little bit of like a cushier setup than going to your dad's one bedroom apartment where you're what,

sleeping on a couch, sharing a bed. Is dad sleeping on the couch? I don't know. But yeah, like, tough stuff. But then also at this brunch, Jen is saying that she hasn't heard from Gina since this Sonoma trip. You know, after throwing her under the bus and saying that she was using Heather for her real estate connections. I can't imagine why Gina wouldn't be blowing up her phone. But she's having this pool party at Ryan's house. She wants to, like, establish that Ryan's house is her house. And I'm like, well, legally, financially, that's a fantasy. You know, I'm glad he's letting her have a party there. But she invited Alexis and Shannon to this party. This is becoming a thing this season that, you know, we have to clear the air that we're inviting both women to every event. But she hasn't gotten a response from Shannon.

And they're like, oh, it must be because she's busy with her tour. I would be surprised if we actually looked back at the calendar. If the St. Louis show and the pool party happened on the same day, I think that that is a little bit of TV editing. to make it look like they're happening at the same time. But, you know, who knows? But now we get an update sort of on John, John and Alexis's whole thing with Shannon over the 75,000, and this non-disparagement agreement that he won't sign. And apparently he's telling Shannon point-blank that they don't want the non-disparagement agreement because he wants to have the videos of her that can be used as blackmail. this is crazy. First of all, it's like, John Jansen, get a fucking life. Go, go leach off someone else.

Go, you know, sitting in the hot seat in the clubhouse on Watch What Happens Live. It's like, if, if this is so rough for you that you have to be on TV and you're a public figure and stuff, go away. Nobody's asking for you to be around all the time. I would like you to show your face on this show if we're going to have to talk about you anyway. But I'm not like, oh my God, John, I want him to be on camera every week. Emily brings up, this is like Emily putting her lawyer hat on. I love when she does this like a few times a season. She says that this sounds like extortion to her, which is illegal in the state of California. And I mean, yeah, like it's pretty wild to just tell someone to their face like, yeah, I'm not going to agree to not talk bad about you because I really would like to have the opportunity to blackmail you at some point in the few. future. That feels like, that feels like something that your lawyer's ears would perk up at.

And they're like, you'd like the opportunity to what now? Poor Shannon. I just like, where is this all going to end up? It's, it seems, it seems brutal. But Alexis is like hanging on by a thread too. Because later at this pool party, she's like, bring down. She's like, it's just so much. These people. These fucking people, man. Ready to soundtrack your summer? With Red Bull Summer All Day Play, you choose a playlist that fits your summer vibe the best. Are you a festival fanatic, a deep end DJ, a road dog, or a trail mixer? Just add a song to your chosen playlist and put your summer on track.

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Alexis is talking about how it's so great for her to be at the Glad Awards because each of her kids is finding their own way and, you know, seeing Heather do this important work makes her feel like she can do, you know, whatever she wants to do. And I'm like, this is the Alexis that I wanted to see back on Real Housewives of Orange County. This is the Alexis that feels like she has grown and broadened her horizons since she was first on this show and really become somebody who's more, you know, developed. and multi-dimensional than she was when she was just Jim Bolino's wife. But this feels like the first time this season that we have seen even a glimmer of this type of energy from Alexis. And it's just like, it makes me sad because it feels like a brief reminder of what we thought we were maybe going to get. And of course, we wanted the John Jansen. We wanted the drama.

We wanted to kind of like unpack the fact that she was dating Shannon's ex. but it just felt like I was hoping that there would be sort of a balance between that and like her being, you know, mom of queer kids who is like doing a good job. And unfortunately, for everyone involved, it just that hasn't been what we've gotten from her. But at the pool party, Heather brings this up

and she says that it was nice to see her at the Glad Awards and she was really glad that she came to support. But she's like, what, I would have liked to see John there because, you know, he's so supportive to you. And all of a sudden, the energy in the room just turns on a dime because Alexis looks like she's about to start crying. And she's like, yeah. Yeah. And they're like, girl, what's up?

You okay? And she's like, John and I are great. You know, I can't lie to you, girls. And then she like doesn't say anything. And it's like, what is happening? You look like you're about to have a meltdown. but you're like, John and I are great. The question that brought this on was,

why wasn't Jonathan at the Glad Awards? This is, it's not a good sign that you can't answer a question like that without looking like you're on the verge of tears. And then she does break down. And she says that all of this legal stuff is really weighing on her. And, you know,

between, you know, John's ex and her ex and ending her engagement and her mom dying, that this has just been such a, crazy time, and she always tells Johnny, you know, Johnny, I should have met you six months later, because, you know, right now it's just too much. And okay, like, there are, like, multiple things I'm, like, bumping on here because it's like, first of all, all the legal stuff,

all of the legal stuff right now that I can tell is John's doing. The 75,000, if John is as liquid as we are led to believe, he could have just kept it pushing and like decided that that's like the cost of doing business and move on with your life. He's the one that was asking for the 75,000 back. And then in addition, he's the one that's been turning down Shannon's offers, saying he doesn't want the non-disparagement agreement, you know, implying or alleging that there's going to be these videos that can be used as blackmail. All of this stuff is coming from John. And I'm not saying that Shannon never did anything wrong. Of course, the whole DUI situation, some of the way that Shannon has handled stuff, she's talked bad about him on the show for sure in the past.

But the legal stuff that's happening right now is like, John is on the offensive there. And so the fact that that is this major strain in her relationship, it's like be mad at John. We're never seeing her be mad at John. And then she's also talking about, you know, the timing and six months and all of this. And it's like, she says that breaking up with John is not an option. And the thing that I kind of think about that is like, why not? You're a grown-ass woman who's doing big things in your life, theoretically. If it's such horrible timing for you to be in this relationship and it's stressing you out so much to have this stuff going on, like, make a choice to change something.

Or at the very least, like, if you feel so strongly about this relationship, If you think that this is your forever man, you're Johnny J. But right now, you have stuff that you need to figure out in your life or you can't handle the stress or whatever. Like, say, hey, I need six months to sort out my shit. Let's kind of pump the brakes a little bit. And then hopefully, I believe in my heart that in six months or something, we'll be able to kind of like press play again. again and hopefully from a better place. But instead, she's doing the opposite. I mean, as we sit here and talk, it's like six months since they film this, they're engaged. They're the love of each other's lives. They're, you know, doing this, that, and the other thing. Like, Alexis is, it seems kind of

incapable of hearing herself and listening to herself and taking a step back and being like, you know what, I need to make this choice for myself. She's just 150% in on this relationship that seems to be actually really stressing her out. And I don't know if this is something coming from John. I don't know if she feels like John is pressuring her to do stuff quickly. That seems kind of strange, considering he was with Shannon for so long and, like, seemingly never wanted to commit to anything, but I don't know. But whatever.

Alexis has this whole meltdown. She comes back. They're playing this giant truth or dare jenga. Alexis goes first. She, okay, this is crazy to me. You've played jenga before. I imagine. if you're listening to this and you're like a human on earth.

Alexis goes first and she pulls the first block from the top of the jenga pile. First of all, that's not how you play jenga. You're taking the block on top? That's like the one block you're not supposed to take. She reads the thing. It's like some dumb truth or dare. Oh, like what's the devil? I don't know.

And then she throws this jenga block of wood into the fireplace. What are you doing? We did not talk enough about Alexis throwing the Jenga block into the fire. Like, do you not know how Jenga works or are you so frazzled from your stressful but also so perfect relationship? What's going on? Like, are we okay? And I think the answer is no. But it also feels like we're sort of not allowed to unpack that in any major way.

So that's frustrating. Emily also, I love that Emily is just like done with Alexis. She's like, she's like a, she's like loony. I'm like, yeah, call it like you see it. This whole Jenga game is a little cursed. Tamara makes Katie show her her butt hole. I'm just like, can we not? Like, oh, I just, I don't know.

The Jenga games, I'm kind of like, I don't need to see this. The antics are a little much. But then Emily, we get kind of down to brass tacks. And Emily asks Heather about what has been bothering her, which is why she was asked to bring jeans, to bring her own pair of jeans for this fashion show in Sonoma. Because it made her feel like the big girl. And I understand it's, it's tough because I understand where Emily's coming from. She objectively was treated differently at the show because nobody else was asked to bring their own pair of jeans. And I get with why that would make you feel a certain way.

I also get when she and Alexis were wearing the same dress. and that can make you self-conscious if you feel like the other person is wearing a smaller size and has a rock and body and looks different than you in the dress, all of that is understandable. I think that Emily doesn't do the most amazing job of framing the issues as something that was difficult for her but wasn't the fault of anyone else necessarily.

Because I think that's the tricky thing about this is that if this is stemming from your own internalized body dysmorphia or body image issues or just sort of feelings about your body and triggers and stuff like that, that is so understandable and so real. And I think most of the women in this group could maybe relate to that in one way or another. But I think that the delivery and the way it sort of comes across is that Emily feels like it's Heather's fault. And Alexis certainly hears that she thinks it's Alexis's fault that she was like skinnier in the dress, which is like a whole separate thing. But suddenly it kind of gives Heather the opportunity to be defensive and be like, I had nothing to do with that. I gave the measurements to

the designer and you know I would never and the size, I didn't even know the size. Why would I have any feelings about that? And then like later when they're inside and Heather's like, She's in the bathroom crying because I made her bring jeans. And she's like so indignant about it, which I, it's a little much. But also I'm like, I kind of get it because I feel like this whole thing just kind of spiraled out of control. And I felt, I felt kind of bad for Emily because I thought that this was sort of something that she was feeling that was really real and relatable. And I think most of us probably have felt like that at some point. But whether it was her intention.

wasn't exactly in the right place or whether it was just the delivery kind of didn't land the way she thought it would. It just became such a, such an unfortunate moment and it made her look, I don't know, it didn't make her look great. And I, I just think that I, I like when things like body image issues and, and sort of self-esteem and stuff like that, I think it's interesting when we can have these discussions in a group of women who are on TV. Like, they have a unique perspective on that. And I felt like for a variety of reasons, this time the conversation kind of went sideways. You know, Tamara's defending Heather. She's like, it's not okay to turn this environment.

You know, it's just not okay. And I don't think that was, I just wish this would have gone in a little more productive direction. But unfortunately, that's not always how it works. But I guess fortunately, that gives us something to talk about week after week after week. And I can't wait to be back next week. With more OC and more of everything else in between, thank you so much for listening.

Don't forget to rate, review, and follow the show wherever you listen. You can follow us on Instagram at Bravo by Betches. And until next time, hey, be cool. Don't be all like uncool. Mention It All podcast is produced by Dylan Hafer and Bell Roman. Editing by Bell Roman, social media by Dylan Hafer and Candace Maniga, guest booking by Ali Friedlander. VP of Podcast is Chris Allen.

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