Mention It All - Light At the End of the Rainbow Ft. Jordana Abraham (RHONJ)

Episode Date: May 3, 2023

The Jersey ladies are back from Ireland, and Dylan is back with Jordana to break it all down. They start with this season’s reunion looks, and a broader discussion about what makes a good look. Then, they discuss Danielle’s puzzling handling of the Melissa rumor, Bill’s frustrating behavior, and Frank’s unrealistic expectations of Dolores. Later, they chat through Louie’s hot mic moment, and where Melissa and Teresa can possibly go from here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Girl, winter is so last season. And now Springs got you looking at pictures of tank tops with hungry eyes. Your algorithm is feeding you cutoffs. You're thirsty for the sun on your shoulders. That perfect hang on the patio sundress. Those sandals you can wear all day and all night. And you've had enough of shopping from your couch. Done hoping it looks anything like the picture when you tear up on that envelope.

It's time for a little in-person spring treat. It's time for a trip to Ross. Work your magic. 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 Hey everyone Welcome back to the Mentioned At All podcast I'm Dylan Hafer And I am so excited to be back This Wednesday with Jordana Abraham, hey Jordana

How's it going? Hey Dylan So happy to be back Things are really heating up in Jersey So I'm excited to break it all down There's so much to unpack There is so much to unpack the wedding. The wedding is rapidly approaching. There are more and more wedding events being added to the calendar. Now we've got to worry about the Thursday dinner at Avra.

Oh my God. That was TV gold. I was almost so great that I wasn't sure if it was real. We will get there in a few short minutes. But before we get into the episode at hand, we got a look yesterday at the New Jersey reunion looks for this. season. Overall, not a bad batch of looks. The color scheme, though, it's very beauty and the beast. Well, yeah, I was going to say, what is the theme here, not just the color scheme even, just like the dramatic, the drama of the looks does feel like you said. That's great. I was thinking like some sort of medieval thing and Beauty and the Beast really nails it, especially with Rachel's outfit. Nothing, I guess nothing says Ireland like Danielle Cabral's

nude illusion, but the nude is kind of the wrong color, purple mesh train. I don't know. I mean, some of the reunions, they kind of, sometimes it seems like there's a theme. Sometimes it's just like a color scheme. This one, to me, it's just like gold, blue, and purple, which is a little bit, it's a little all over the map, but everybody looks good. I mean, Teresa looks like what you would buy if you were like, I'm going to be Bell for Halloween, but like make it a little more scandalous. Yeah, no, I think Teresa, but Teresa looks great. Like, she looks good. She looks great.

Yeah. I think Melissa looks good. Dolores and Margaret look great. Like, it's, Jersey is the kind of thing where I can appreciate the looks while they can also be very not my personal taste. And I think this is an example of that. For sure. I mean, yeah, I think Teresa, she does look great. I can't really deny that. I think what do you, like, I think if it's your first reunion, like looking at like Rachel and Danielle's looks, I feel like you can kind of over like, you know, kick the ball over the goal almost that it's like a little bit too much sauce. Like this doesn't have to be the most extravagant ball gown that's ever been worn.

Right. They came in a little too hot. If I were, if it were me, It was my first season. I would try to be a little bit like blend in with the crowd. I wouldn't really try to stand out that much. But maybe that's, maybe that's why I'm not on Housewives, I'm not, just not bold enough personality.

I would, I think it's like when you're seasons like Melissa or Teresa, then I feel like you can get away with a little more. I think if I had to do a Housewives reunion, I would harken back to like, I would do like a callback to an old era like Danielle Stuyall showing up in the white tank top and the sequin miniskirt, like, that would be iconic. I was literally thinking that.

Like, I would show up in just like a T-shirt and jeans. I feel like Denise Richards sort of tries to do that. She's like, look, I'm going to wear my low-rise flare jeans and some like some beat-up boots that I found in the back of my closet. And that is, that's the glam for today. That's all you're getting from me. Exactly. You can't be like trying too hard.

it comes off a little of Despy. I've got like soap opera lines to be memorizing for tomorrow. My edibles kicking in. There's only so much brain power devoted. I noticed also this week we got a premiere date for the Real Houseways of New York reboot that's premiering in July. And so we don't have a full trailer yet, but they did a little teaser with an apple. It's cute, whatever.

And then some of the women have started posting like a little bit more like confessional looks or, you. you know, just kind of teasing the season. And one of the women posted a confessional look. I think Aaron is her name. And it's like she's wearing like the white tank top with the Prada little like logo in the middle. People are like, she looks so basic. And it's like, I don't know.

Like what do you want? Like what is a confessional look really supposed to be? I don't know. I'm not, that's a good question because the confessional looks are sometimes weird. Maybe they want people to talk about it. Because any, you know what I mean? If they're talking about them, then their name is getting out there.

So maybe any discussion is good in their minds. I think that's possible. Yeah. I think also we build up kind of the idea of like being a housewife. And it's like there's no rulebook that says you have to be wearing like a ridiculous like costume look to be sitting in the interview chair for six hours. Like that's not everybody's style. Yeah. Reinvent the wheel.

I mean, summer house, the outfits are usually a little more casual. That's true. Like Heather Dubrow was always just going to show up in a cocktail dress. And that's like all you're going to get from her. Yes. I mean, there have been some crazy looks throughout this. It's also funny when the look is crazy and then you just see it throughout the season. I feel like to read has had some wild looks.

Right. There's like feathers sequins. Yeah. The huge hair. It's like, uh, okay. It's a little jarring week after week. I agree. Uh, okay.

Let's let's get into this week's episode of Jersey. We are back from Ireland. Uh, everybody had a good time except for Danielle Cabral. Um, I'm curious because you, we did not talk about last week's episode. Danielle's experience in Ireland, I thought, was a little interesting because, you know, going into it, she had this information that she had sort of pride out of Jennifer about Melissa and ex-best friend Laura and all of that. And then now Danielle is really, really laying it on thick that having this information is a burden. And she wishes that she was not involved in this whole thing.

Rachel's being mean to her, Margaret's being terrible. Do you feel like Danielle is kind of trying to have it both ways? Yeah, I feel like she's playing the victim a little too intensely. Like nothing is happening to her on this trip that is that bad. And I feel like she's making it out to be like she's being ripped apart. And really, this is sort of like standard par for the chorus for this group. I would say it's not that intense. And so I do feel like that she's milking that a little bit.

And then also, like you said, like she's, she's sitting on this info and she's also trying to play a victim herself. So it's a little, I don't know, I agree with you. Yeah. It's tough because it's like I want housewives to have like a full spectrum of emotions. Like it's more interesting to watch when they're kind of like, you know, going through it a little bit. but the way that she just is kind of absolving herself of all responsibility in any of these situations, it's like, Rachel's coming at me, Margaret's coming at me, now I have this huge burden of information, and then she, her mom is like, well, you know, you should probably say

something to Melissa. And she is trying to frame it as like, well, I know something really damaging about my my good friend Melissa. So now I feel like it's my duty to give her a heads up. And it's like, are Danielle and Melissa really friends? I mean, Melissa's like helped her out with her pop up store, I guess. But in the politics of the season, it's like, I would not say that Melissa and Danielle are like buddies. Yeah.

I would say she's using that to like dramatize the whole situation or make it seem like it's such a conflict for her when it's like, you know, she's sitting on that information, she's going to release it when she sees fit. Like, don't pretend it's such a moral quandary for you. Like, we all know what you're going to do. Yeah, it's a good, it is a good like foothold for her into kind of the central part of the group that, you know, there's this thing and Margaret's involved, because allegedly Margaret knew before she told Laura. And then Laura told Jennifer and Teresa and Jennifer told, like, it's, she's kind of like ingratiating herself into the fabric of the group with this rumor. which I respect as like a housewives gameplay type of thing.

But then it's like you can't also be crying about the burden of knowing the information. Right. And also don't pretend like the information just kind of like fell into your lap and like, oh my God, no, I know this thing. It's not like she's like Bethany with the Tom thing. Like she asked her what she like went digging for it and then she found out. So don't pretend you're like trying little innocent old you just happen to hear about. this rumor. It's like you asked her, like, privately. You sought her out, Jennifer, to ask her.

Yeah. It's, it'll be interesting for me to see, like, in these last couple episodes of the season and then going into the reunion kind of how Danielle carries herself, because I think coming back from the Ireland trip, it's a little bit like, are you, do you want this or not? Like, do you want this heat coming at you because if you're going to be like, you know, involved in the drama and starting shit and calling Rachel a rat and all of this stuff, it's like you have to be able to take it if you're going to dish it out. And it seems like she is like maybe struggling with that a little bit. And like if she comes into the reunion and is kind of owning her shit and being like, yeah, I did say this. Yeah, I did do that. Then I'll have a little bit more kind of respect for her

like style. I agree. I'm very interested to see how. she plays all this in the reunion. Make every get-together chill. This Memorial Day, get up to an extra $1,000 off select top brand appliances like LG. Plus, get free delivery at the Home Depot. Tackle pool towels and camp laundry with a large capacity washer. And host and style with the fridge serving craft ice, mini craft ice, cube dice, and crushed ice. Shop appliance savings now through June 3rd at the Home Depot.

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Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack. Meanwhile, Jen is still fixated on Margaret's meddling in her relationship from last year. She is directly blaming Margaret for Olivia being concerned about her relationship with Bill and wanting to be a love doctor or whatever. This Jennifer and Bill thing, it really just feels like they are not making any kind of progress. Yeah. I mean, it seems like Bill is kind of like, to me, it kind of seems like Bill is kind of like, we've been pushing this stuff under the rug for like all these years and it's kind of worked out.

Like, let's just like keep doing that. Like I don't really want to like deep dive into these issues. He seems very hesitant to like go there. And Jennifer's like, well, yeah, we, to me she's kind of like, well, yeah, this is what we used to do. But I want it to be different. And he just seems to be, in my opinion, kind of saying, like I would, I would, rather kind of keep the surface level than like truly dig deep here. Well, when she, her giving him the options and do you want to go back to the therapist, we went

once, maybe more, maybe more than once, once that we saw on camera. And he's like, no, I don't want to go back because you're the one who has all the complaints. So like basically like, I'm good. I don't need any more help. You just need to like figure out. your issues and that is to me such a wild way of looking at issues within a marriage that it's like no no no you're the only one with complaints so like why would I be going to couples therapy it's like well first of all

all of her complaints are about things that involve both of you right and second of all like you have issues too you just don't want to talk to a therapist about them exactly like to pretend that all the issues are like her issues and she should work them out on her own is kind of crazy when he's the one that cheated on her. Like she's he's kind of like go do whatever you need to do to work through this. But like, I'm working. He's like, I'm either performing a surgery or I'll be in the pool house. Let me know when you're done working with your shit.

Right. And we can continue on like as if he plays absolutely no role. And that's very frustrating. And I love what they show for their relationship because I do think. you know, TV often tries to depict people as like black and white. And I think Bill has like a lot of really positive qualities that you see on the show. He does seem like a good, nice guy overall. But like just because you're great in one area doesn't mean you don't have things that sort of hold you back from reaching your highest potential.

And you can sort of be the bad guy in your marriage and be the good guy on the show or just like with your friends or just in general conversations. So I think it's Bill is a very dynamic character and I'm interested in in more. Yeah. Speaking of maybe bad guy, good guy journeys on the show, I did really like seeing a little FaceTime appearance from Joe Judice this week. At the, at the final dress fitting for the daughters, he calls in and he and Teresa have a nice little moment over FaceTime. I feel like it is really nice to see how they have.

made it through this kind of extended period of, you know, tumult in their lives and are able to kind of have this, you know, supportive conversation with each other. Yeah, I think it's kind of amazing. And I wonder, I mean, her, Sherea's relationship towards Joe seems like the healthiest thing I've seen from her. Like, she's very much like, you're the father of my kids. I want you to be close to them. I want you to be like, like, I want you to be like, I want, The best for you, it just seems like so healthy and such a nice mindset that she has towards him and their relationship like as their family. And I wonder if she, and it's funny because she was like, I just wish you could come back

to the country or like I wish that for you eventually. But I also do think in the back of my head, like if Joe were here, like I think their relationship works so well because he's not there because there's so little probably on a day to day basis that they need to work out amongst themselves. I do wonder if he did live in New Jersey if they would have a lot more conflict and if she would be able to have this kind of like Zen feeling towards him. It almost feels like he got punished by like the American judicial system enough for her that she can like let go of any of her resentments and anger towards him because he's not,

he's punished. He can't like live in the same country as his children. Like it almost feels like she's said like, okay, that's enough. and now I can have my own full life here and she doesn't have to interact with him and I wonder, I just wonder if he lived here if they would have a lot more conflict. Totally. And also, because I mean, they still have

three kids, maybe two now. I think Gabrielle is probably 18 now, but they would still be co-parenting if he lived in New Jersey. Like, they would still be figuring out like who the custody agreement, who's taking Adriana to dance on this day, you know, who's coming to what events.

Like, they would have, they would still be actively figuring that situation out, whereas because unfortunately he's not allowed to be in the country, most of those day-to-day parenting decisions are pretty cut and dry. Teresa's the one, you know, taking care of shit, which, I mean, I think we probably don't think about enough that that is like a huge burden on her that obviously Louie is in her life now and they are, you know, raising those kids together. but, you know, she really has had to step up to the plate and get that shit done. But it's, yeah, I do think you're right that there's no, there's no pressure on her to kind of have a day-to-day rapport with him because, like, they're not facetiming each other.

At least not that we're aware of. Like, she's only talking to him in this scene because he facetimed Gia and they're all there. And it's nice that they can have a conversation. But like, I don't think that Teresa is probably seeking out like parenting, you know, input from Joe on a day-to-day basis. No, definitely not. And that's a great point. There she's very much like doing her own thing. And credit where credits do.

Like she seems to be doing a great job raising the kids on her own. I guess like you said, she has Louis now. But even before that. So it is impressive. But it's funny because like I do think maybe maybe if like Melissa were. And Joe were, like, living in the Bahamas. She might have this kind of relationship with them. But, like, Melissa is not only her sister-in-law.

She's also her co-worker. Right. So it's like there's a lot more to get into conflict about. There's a lot more touch points. There's a lot more competition in that way. So I do wonder if all of this just seems circumstantial. Because I saw the conversation with Joe and I was kind of like, wouldn't it be great if she could have that attitude towards Melissa and Joe?

And maybe if the circumstances were different, she could. Mm-hmm. Totally. And I think we see that starting to kind of take shape in Joe and Melissa's conversation in this episode, that after this Ireland trip, that cave painting activity thing where Teresa and Melissa had that one nice moment in isolation, that Melissa is really getting to the point where she's like, I don't want to be on the roller coaster with her anymore. I want after the wedding to really take a step back. and maybe there will be moments here and there where it makes sense for them to be together or to, you know, see each other or be at the same events or something like that, but that there's not going to be this kind of ongoing thread of their relationship. And, you know, it's tough to make that distinction.

Like you said, when they're co-workers on the same show, they're literally getting put in these situations for several months out of the year where you just can't avoid that. But also that there's just this idea that they should always be working on their relationship, trying to figure things out, trying to get to a better place. The family should be together. And like, I think, you know, it isn't going to happen as peacefully as Melissa says she would like it to. But after the wedding, like, I don't think they've had any kind of, you know, ongoing working on it since then.

Right. And maybe that's the best. Maybe that's like the best way to avoid this conflict. Because sometimes it's kind of like when you try to be close, then it becomes the roller coaster because then you're like every interaction is either good or bad or high or low. Or as if she's kind of like, all right, I'm accepting that we're like not close. I'll see you at work. And we can just have like a more consistent, stable relationship of.

an extreme boundary, which is kind of what she has with Joe, like, looks like. I am curious to see at the reunion kind of how things go, because Andy said on his radio show that they didn't spend a lot of time at the reunion talking about the family stuff, like the Teresa, Melissa, Joe of it all, which to me kind of makes sense because if they really are at a point where there's no, there's no intention to work through things, then yeah, there's kind of not that much to say. But it makes me wonder going forward on this show, is there a way that they could both stay and just kind of like not have their relationship be a plot point anymore?

And I don't know if that would even really be possible. If there's a group of seven or eight women and there are two of them, like there's always going to be that elephant in the room. Like if they're not talking, people are going to notice it. If they are talking, people are going to analyze it. If they're fighting, of course, that's going to be a whole thing. Like, I don't know if there's really a way to compartmentalize that. Yeah. I mean, I don't know if it would feel real.

Yeah. Because it would just be like, this just doesn't feel authentic that you'd have these two sisters-in-laws hanging out together all the time and kind of just like not interacting. Right. And when you think about, I mean, people complain all the time about how we've seen the same, the same thing for a decade between Melissa and Teresa, which I think. think, you know, there have been a lot of ups and downs and variations on a theme, I guess. But that has been kind of the through line of the show.

And if they were both still there to just, like, pretend that that wasn't still a dynamic would be a little bit, a little bit strange. Right. Yeah. I don't know. I guess we'll see how it plays out. I know. I'm glad to see the kids doing well, though. Like you said, Teresa's done a great job with the daughters.

Antonio is getting great grades. She's now driving a Porsche. Oh, my God. Good for her. The porch thing is like, I mean, good for her. I don't really feel like you should get your kid their first car to be a Porsche, even if you can't afford it personally. But good for Antonio.

She seems very into the car. It's nice for her. I like when Melissa's like, I had to drive a Toyota. And Donna's like, I was driving an old Chevy. And it's like those are normal cars. Yeah. It's like most kids don't get a car. immediately upon getting a license, let alone a Porsche, which is like, where can she go from here?

Your first car is a Porsche. I'm not the person to ask, to be honest, but, you know, I best of luck to Antonia, whipping around North Jersey in that car. I'm sure she's a good, responsible driver. I'm sure she is. Good for her. I'm jealous. Yeah, I mean, she and she and, and what's her name?

Gabriela have both been posting some of their like college acceptances and stuff. Or I guess their moms have been. And they're, I mean, they're getting into like good, real good schools. Who's getting into good schools? Both Gabriella and Antonio. I think Gabriella is going to University of Michigan. Oh, yeah. She had that big University of Michigan like cake or something.

Yeah. I mean, it's cool to see like those kids really. actually like doing well in a in a really obvious way because just like so much of their lives has been under this microscope and it's I don't know it's nice to know that they're not just like I don't know I don't I mean yeah no things could have gone very weirdly I mean you've seen that with some housewives kids where they kind of go a little off the rails and especially for them where they've been on this show for so long like it could probably have easily deeply affected them and they might be, and especially the, uh, the Judice girls, like, have gone through a lot

with like their both of their parents being in jail and, you know, they have this very close relationship with their grandparents and then they, you know, pass. It's, I think, uh, I think they, they have gone through a lot. So I'm happy that they seem to be thriving. Totally. One thing that I thought about when we were talking about, um, the situation with Teresa and Joe Judice is how that, If Joe was in New Jersey, that could manifest into a Dolores and Frank type of situation down the road. And we get another meeting of the minds between Dolores and Frank this episode. And I mean, look, Frank Katania is a guy who I have enjoyed watching on the show over the years. I think he is a great personality.

But the way he is handling his relationship with Dolores this season is just, it's too much. I don't understand. His mindset is just so self-centered to me and so, like, delusional. Like the idea that that he's going to have this perfect intact family unit where he's going to be coming first for his ex-wife that he left and was cheating on throughout their whole relationship. And he's expecting her to, like, defer to him over someone that she's about to marry. It seems like, I mean, like not officially, but like seems like it's moving in that direction.

and he wants to be prioritized is just crazy to me. Like you gave that up a long time ago. Like you think you can just do whatever you want and have everyone defer to you is kind of enraging to me. And it seems like Dolores is getting over it as well. Yeah. I think as Dolores gets more serious with Paul and as she sees that future as like her likely path over the next, you know, years,

she probably has less and less, you know, mental capacity to deal with Frank's, frankly, bullshit that he has kind of always been able to keep in the picture. And I think the relationship with David and Dolores was probably always enough of an arm's length thing where Frank didn't feel like his position was really being encroached upon. And if anything, he and David were almost closer than Dolores was with David. but this situation with, so Frankie Jr. has gotten this dream job and they're going to do like a celebratory dinner. And the sticking point in this argument is that Dolores is like, yeah, so obviously Paul is going to come to that because like we're celebrating and that's like the person in my life. And Frank is like, no, no, no, no, no, that should just be the four of us. Like it's, it's, you know, are two kids, you and me. And so also he's like not included. his girlfriend and that, Brittany, who has apparently been in the picture for a while. And it just

is as a child of divorce, it is crazy to me that you would like, that one parent would just think in perpetuity like, no, no, no, it's only the four of us. Like, I would rather my parents bring the person in their life and not have this like awkward family dynamic that isn't actually real anymore. Like, it's bizarre to me. And here's the thing, I totally agree. As a child of divorce, agree with everything you said as well, myself. Um, is that I doesn't even seem, he's like almost making it out to be like we're this family unit. Like the kids don't really seem to be that into this weird family unit from what I've seen. Like, we saw this, I think last season or the season before where they had that group dinner and like he was kind of being like weirdly inappropriate

about like having sex with women and talking to the daughter about like, it's, just seem like the kids are not like, oh, we want mom and dad to like be together. This is all, like, Frank is almost, I find it to be like manipulative that he's like, we're this family unit and we have this thing going on. It's like, no, this is all for you. No one else is like still clinging to this past idea of like you being this family. When everyone knows that like, you kind of gave up this four person family unit 20 years ago. Right. It is, I think the most important thing to remember in this situation is that these kids are both in their 20s and have essentially never seen their parents together in any way that was like a, you know, happy marriage at least,

but basically not at all over the last several years. And so it's like, yeah, that that means nothing to Frankie who, you know, they got, they split up when he was a baby, maybe even before. Like it's, The timeline is such that it's like, why would these kids think that there's like a happy nuclear family unit? And so it really just exists in Frank's head. And I am happy to see Dolores kind of putting her foot down and saying, you know, like, that's not how things are going to be. If I'm in a serious relationship where I'm thinking this is going to be the person in my life, we're going to be living together, maybe getting married, like, you're not the number one man in my life. And it's weird that you would think that. Right.

Take a page, Frank. You're not the number one guy in this group. We, this episode, we finish at Teresa's surprise bridal shower. She's conveniently in a beautiful white dress. It was so funny. It was like, oh, yeah, we told her we're just going to lunch. It's like you're all wearing pretty formal gowns. Right.

Like, imagining, like, Adriana is. is what, like 13 years old and she's like a cocktail dress to go to lunch with her mom? Doesn't make any sense. Oh, she's also, she's 12 because when she's asking when she's like, Adriana's not bringing a date and it was the funniest thing when she goes, mom, I'm 12. Right. Like deciding who gets a plus one to this family dinner is it's actually not really tickled me because it's like, yeah, like Melania's like, can I can I bring a date? She's like, no.

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blast with berry flavors and cold foam who knew ice cold drinks could be so fire try them all now at mcdonalds refreshers contain caffeine copyright 2026 the coca cola company spryd is a registered trademark of the coca cola company this car ride though is more interesting because of the phone call that happens with Louis. So basically, this is the week before the wedding. Louis is planning this dinner at Avra in the city for the Thursday before the wedding. And so this is an event where obviously the kids are going to be there without plus ones. But then apparently it's like a full cast event too, or sort of, because Louis is rattling off like who he's going to invite to this dinner. And it's like, yeah, like Jackie plus one.

Jennifer plus one. Dolores plus one. And I'm not inviting Melissa and Joe. Right. And it almost seems like they had agreed to, like I'm almost like it almost seemed like he was confirming that. Like, and we're not inviting Melissa and Joe. Like I'm almost like reconfirming everyone I'm inviting.

So it didn't seem like it was the first time they talked about this, right? I agree, which is why partially it's so strange that then Teresa has this reaction where she's like, you know, we're filming, right? I'm on camera. And Louis says, oh, shit, okay. And then Teresa does this thing where she's like, yeah, like, you have to invite everyone. You can't, you can't pick and choose who gets invited. And like you were saying, it seemed when he was rattling off the names, like this was confirming something they had already talked about. So my big question mark here is like if he hadn't said this on camera, it seemed like Teresa only said the thing about inviting everyone to kind of cover up the tracks of like, no, no, no, we're inviting everyone.

Right. Don't make this a thing. But like if that hadn't happened on camera and Melissa and Joe just weren't invited, wouldn't we have found out that week anyway? Like they wouldn't have been at the dinner. Right. There's something kind of like off about this whole thing. seems like it was being planned behind the scenes and then came out not how she wanted it to.

And then she seems like she's acting when she's like, no, no, we need to invite everyone. As you know, Louis. That felt very performative to me. Yeah. And even the kids in the car were kind of like, okay, like we need to turn on our like, we don't know what's happening hat. But Melania seems to be like, why are we inviting them? Like almost like again, like the family had discussed not inviting them. and then now she's trying to say that they are inviting them.

It was just, I wonder what the actual discussion was behind the scenes. Right, because then Melania's like, why are we inviting them? They're like horrible to us. And Teresa has to be like, well, you know, sweetie, sometimes you got to make a compromise. Like, it kind of, it like made Louis look bad. But then Teresa was like spinning it in a way that was like, no, no, no, we're the ones who are making sure to be inclusive. And if they don't want to come, then that's their thing. Like, it just is, it's a little strange and not even from a perspective of like, Teresa's the devil and she should, you know, she's the one causing the problems.

It's just like, I really do want to know like the actual logistics of who said what at what time and like were they going to be invited otherwise. To me, it kind of makes it seem like maybe Louis is also maybe pulling some strings more than than is obvious. because he kind of, I feel like him on camera, when he knows he's on camera, seems like he's trying to be inclusive and make peace and like smooth everything over. You know, he goes out to the car and he's wearing no one of his pajamas and all the, like the things that he's, the niceties he's trying to do. But then you kind of see this moment where he doesn't know that he's on camera, supposedly. And he seems to kind of like have a plan.

And it made to me, it made me things. that he might be a little bit more manipulative behind the scenes and be and maybe a little more negative energy than he's trying to portray. Right. And like he sometimes we get negative energy from him on the show when he knows he's filming. But then it kind of, he like toes the line a little bit. Like he'll at home with Teresa and some of the girls, he'll say that what Joe and Melissa are doing is disgusting. But then when he sees Melissa and Joe, like he still is kind of putting out the olive branch, acting like he's the peacemaker. And it, it, it kind of feels like a little bit of like a calculated balance of like,

I'm going to be, you know, I'm going to say this thing, but then I'm still going to be like, you know, I'm not going to be like unfriendly to your face. Like, we're still the ones that are engaging in diplomacy. But then this is a little bit like, okay, what's, what's the real story here? And it looks like in next week's episode, we're going to get a little more. Oh, yeah. Agro Louis. For sure.

Definitely not, you're less Zen peacemaking Louis you get in the preview than right now. But yeah, he seemed to me, I don't know, to me

made me feel like he was a little sneaky and I didn't like it. Yeah. I'm curious to see how that develops next week because we did not actually get to the Avra invitations this week. So we don't know who's going to go,

who's going to show up. We do know that this bridal shower, it looks lovely, actually. I thought it looked, nice. There was a lot of people there, a lot of real-life friends. Ashley Darby was there randomly. I'm like, okay. Yeah, it was, it was nice. Everybody showed up. Melissa was there. Maybe not with bells on, but, you know, she was, she was participating. She was like in the back watching, you know. I do feel like, regardless of like who you agree with more, Melissa saying basically just that it sucks that she

feels like she has to be walking on eggshells at an event like this. That's, that's a lot of. That's, unfortunate. It's it's tough from both sides that the situation is where it is. It's just, yeah, it's tense. It's like, it's just weird to be like, I think, I can imagine it just feels weird to have like this kind of tense like energy at all these events at both. It's kind of funny because it's like both like your family events and your work events. This is kind of both for her. And she probably just feels anxiety going into all of them because Is it just like a tense vibe? Like they're not, they don't like each other.

Mm-hmm. There was, there was a nice moment between Melissa and Louis's sister who's officiating the wedding. I thought that was a nice interaction. There's a little bit of a weird. So Teresa makes the speech. She doesn't mention Melissa. No big surprise.

And then like one of her friends, like her yoga instructor or something, like Moses, Moses, up to Melissa and is like, I think that was weird. You know, you don't not mention the sister-in-law, right? I just said my style. It's like, who is this woman? Right. She just like popped in to like give the ammo. Producer production was like, great.

This is this problem solved itself. Production found her like chain smoking in the parking lot and was like, hey, could you go, you look fun. Could you go in there? And ask Melissa if she thought it was weird that she wasn't mentioned. Like there, there is so much, you know, collateral damage from this relationship over the last 10 years. Like at this point, we really don't need like random. women we've never been introduced to before going in there and like stoking the fire.

Right. Totally agree. But of course, Danielle is there and she, you know, it's the first time she's seeing the women since Ireland. And she's struggling with that. And she still is, you know, has this burden with Melissa. She's like, you know, I know she's stressed about Teresa so that I don't want to make her more stressed. And it's like, girl, you got to. You got to reel it in a little bit. Yeah.

Sorry. Agree with that. I don't know. The bridal shower, all of these bridal events, it's like I'm, I really am genuinely happy for Teresa having her great moment. It just is, it sucks that there has to be this undercurrent of like everything has to be a question mark about the relationships, about the dynamics. Like it, it's too bad. that we can't just kind of like separate it out. Yeah.

I guess that's sort of like her only drama though. If you look at it like if not if if it shouldn't have that, then her storyline is just like this fairy tale wedding. So I guess she kind of needs some tension with the family. Like if you also have to think like if Teresa and Joe didn't have this underlying issue, what would they be talking about? Yeah. It's interesting.

I see Melissa get a lot of. criticism online about kind of like her only storyline is Teresa. And like I don't disagree, but then it's like, it's kind of a two-way street. Like I, it's not that Teresa is like, has nothing without Melissa being on the show. But it's weird to argue with the idea that they've both gotten a lot of material out of each other. Yeah. They're like the will, like instead of like a romance, this is like the will they won't they of the whole series, like that, that, that, um, this major storyline that pans through the whole series.

is like this is the central conflict, I think. And, you know, we know they're not going to get together at the end, so we might have to kill off a character. Who knows? Who knows? I mean, Romeo and Juliet at them. Oh, yikes. I feel like that's a good place to leave up for this week.

Of course, we will see where the next week takes us. But Jordana, it's always a pleasure to talk to New Jersey with you. Of course. Thanks for having me. I'll see you next week. See you next week. And thank you everyone 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, be cool. Don't be all like uncool.

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