Mention It All - Tom Un-Sued Ariana… Does It Matter? Ft. Lea Palmieri

Episode Date: July 22, 2024

To kick off a fresh week, Dylan is joined by longtime friend and Bravo companion Lea Palmieri, who has lots of takes on Jersey, OC, and everything in between. They briefly discuss what’s to come for Southern Charm, before unpacking a major VPR update: Tom’s much-maligned lawsuit against Ariana was an oopsy-daisy! From there, they discuss the trajectory of RHONJ this season, and Teresa’s questionable choice to frame her whole season around teasing her Marge receipts. Lea also has a bold idea for how to retool the franchise, which echoes a past RHOC shakeup. Speaking of RHOC, Dylan and Lea also have lots to say about Tamra, Alexis, and new Housewife Katie, who is off to a strong start. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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See Home Depot.com slash price match 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. We're going to check me, both. Hey, everyone.

Welcome back to the Mention at All podcast. I am so glad to kick off this week with a longtime friend of mine, a fellow Bravo lover, a fellow Bravo talker. Leah Palmerie, welcome back to the show. You've been here before, but never in studio. Yes. So welcome, welcome. Hi, Dylan.

Thank you so much for having me. Thanks for me. here. It's we're, we're barreling through the summer. We're making it. We're doing it. We've got housewives to talk about. We're going to get into New Jersey a little bit, Orange County. I know you have a lot of thoughts on Orange County, so I'm excited to talk about that. We have a, an update that we'll discuss about Tom and Ariana's lawsuit or non-lawsuit situation. But first, I just want to, I want to catch up with you a little bit and see how you're feeling about Bravo stuff these days. What's exciting you? What are you, what are you loving? What are you not loving as much? What's what's the vibe? Oh, I love

being asked about the vibe. What a what an all-encompassing question. I know. Take whatever. Choose your own adventure. Yeah. Okay, great. So we're having a brat summer, of course. And so I think that applies to Bravo in all the ways. I'm very excited Orange County is back. Like I wasn't quite sure and now two episodes in, I'm positive. I'm glad that it's back. I do have a lot of thoughts. So it's great that we're here to discuss them today. And my thing about New Jersey is I hesitated because I just felt like so early in the season. Everything was, oh, well, we're not getting a reunion and blah, blah, blah. And I was like, oh, I don't know if it's worth it. I'm fully into the season. Yeah, I've talked to a couple people about how I think if they had waited to make the reunion announcement, which I guess

it got leaked or something. So maybe they didn't really have the choice. But like, if we didn't know that for the majority of this season, I think people would have watched it with a little bit less of a chip on their shoulder. Yeah. And like, because there was just like, the air got let out of the balloon a little bit when it was like, okay, so this is, this is the last season before some amount of shakeup is going to happen. So does it really matter. And I would argue, yeah, it does.

Big time. I mean, as much as any of this, like, matters. No, I think it super matters. And I actually think the knowing that there wasn't going to be a reunion managed my, expectations of the season too. So I went in being like, all right, well, let's see. And I'm like, this is exceeding what I thought it was going to be. So that's, that's an interesting point because I think it's so opposite to OC this season,

which probably has the highest expectations, certainly that OC has had in a while. But like of really any franchise, like, there's just so much on paper to look forward to. So then every week when you're watching, and granted, the first two episodes I think have been really great. But like every week you're like, they're going to have one filler episode and people are going to be like, Cancel it. It's over. I'm going to push back on that because I do think there is so much to come. And I also feel like everybody is bringing it in their own ways.

Yeah, they've got a cast full of hungry, hungry ladies. They do. They do. And I'm actually going to make a comparison between New Jersey and OC when you're ready for it. Okay. Put a pin in it. I'm going to put a pin in it. But when you're ready for it, there's some similarities.

One thing that I always think about with you is I feel like you are like the Southern charm. I am. expert officianto. What's your vibe? We don't have like a premiere date. We don't have a trailer, anything like that. But I think they're done filming for the upcoming season.

Where is your like barometer on Southern Charm these days? I'm, I always look forward to it. I kind of hold my breath a little bit because I'm like, oh no, what's going to happen? But I always look forward to it. The upcoming season, I mean, I would imagine we'll probably start to hear soon because I think it will probably be end of summer very. early fall.

But I hope so. Yeah. We need it. That was a show where I feel like a few years ago, I was really on the fence about kind of whether there was gas left in the tank. And then last season, man, I just was like so into it. You know, I, I'm, I'm, I don't want to say I'm nervous. I'm similar to you.

I don't want to say I'm nervous about this season because they always deliver. They always figure out a way to like bring something. Yeah. So even though I think it's going to be different. And I feel bad for Olivia not coming back because, you know, she was saying she would have liked to have a season where she could actually like maybe enjoy it a little bit. And I would have liked to see what that was going to be for her. But the rest of the group always is up to something. Yeah.

I would just say, I mean, I am a little sad that Olivia is not on the next season. I enjoyed her a lot. I think she had great potential. But staying on a show for longer doesn't always equal getting to enjoy it. I mean, Chenin Bador is like on season 11. of straight up drama. Yes. Has she ever enjoyed it?

Maybe in the beginning. I think she enjoys the whatever it affords her enough to keep coming, to keep taking the lashes. Yeah. And she does. She does it for us. Speaking of people who are just out here really making things hard on themselves, Tom Sandival, last week was, he was pretty much dragged universally for this lawsuit that

was filed against Ariana where, just as a recap, I talked about this. last week, but he had sued Ariana for invading his right to privacy by viewing and distributing videos of him and Rachel. This was, of course, following up on the lawsuit that Rachel filed against both of them in February of this year. So then

Tom had deactivated his Instagram account when the news of this lawsuit had broken. So everybody was kind of like, okay, like, where did he go? Did he really, did he know that this was going to be so bad that he had to leave the internet preemptively? But he returned to Instagram

on Thursday with a notes app screenshot statement, my favorite kind, and I'm just going to read it because it's a little bit of a mouthful, and I don't know if everybody had a chance to look at it, but it's late Tuesday afternoon, my attorney Matt Garagos, whose advice I trusted, called me about the cross-complaint in the lawsuit against myself and Ariana. He assured me that the action was customary and strictly preventative in these types of lawsuits and urged me to agree to it. The words, quote, new lawsuit or, quote, suing were not articulated to me. I should have done more of my due diligence on the matter. Upon realizing what this action actually means,

I have removed Mac Garagos from my legal team. I, in no way, am I suing Ariana. The action against Ariana brought on my behalf is being removed. I hold no ill will or vindictiveness toward Ariana. Now, by removing both the cross-complaint and the attorney who recommended it, I hope to get through this case quickly so that Ariana and I can both finally, all caps, move on with our lives. Before we move on, I have several questions for you based on this.

I will do my best. As I always state, I'm not a legal expert. You don't need to be. You don't need to be for the questions I'm going to ask you. Number one, this was the thing that made him leave the internet after the last year and a half. Like, this was what pushed you? So there's that. Number two, what due diligence was he ever going to do?

Well, you were going to read something? No. Like, you were just going to do what they told you, Teresa? Like, you were never going to do anything else? Send a screenshot of your lawyer's email to Tom Schwartz. And he's going to be like, yeah, man, sounds right. Yeah, like you weren't going to do anything else. Oh, come on.

Like, it is, yeah, it is funny for him to be, I mean, I think I believe this explanation. Yeah. Generally. Oh, yeah. Like, I believe that he was like, my lawyer said I should do something, so I said, sure. Yes. And I didn't know that it was going to be like me suing Ariana. And he knows, I mean, Tom, as many poor choices as he's made, he is, I think, aware of optics.

enough to know that him suing Ariana at this point is just not a good look. No. And, you know, as Gina said, that's like not somebody she wants to be friends with. What is he doing? But it's just like, why would you, I don't know. It's just so, even though I don't care that much about Tom Sandval at this point, it's just so frustrating because I'm like, man, get it together. Truly.

Like, you cannot afford another one of these messups. Like, you can't. And unfortunately for him. the story about him suing her is going to get way more attention than the follow-up story about him realizing it was an accident and withdrawing the lawsuit. So there are still probably like 60% of people out there who are like, oh, did you hear Tom sued Ariana? And then they're not going to stick around for the correction.

That's just like not, that's how people take things and they run with it. That's how you get like, you know, something that was on Des Moire being like treated as fact. That's how Kim Contral is on every episode of just like that. this season and then until she's like, no, I'm not. Yeah. My mom still thinks she's on the show. Oh, yeah. By the way, the same day that he put out that statement, I got an email from one of the

venues in New York, like, coming this fall, Tom Sandoval and the extras. And I was like, no, this is not the time to promote that. Like, but I guess he's touring. Back on the road. I guess. And I'm just like. It's interesting. If he's touring in the fall, that's kind of when I assumed Fanderpump Rules was going

to be. Oh, I don't think so. I think they're going to have a long time before that. I don't think. they'll go back up until the soonest, maybe next year. Wow. I don't think, yeah, I think they're going to give it some time. Interesting, because I was interpreting, so Ariana is coming back to Broadway in Chicago for

the month of August, and they're like, hard stop August 31st. Yeah. I'm like, okay, so then like, do you have to be back in L.A. for something in September, but. Best case, he doesn't need to be back in L.A. And cameras do go up. I mean, as far as I'm concerned, but like, I don't know. seem like this lawsuit, when I talked about it last week, it seemed like this could really be

an impediment to him staying on the show if he was in active legal proceedings against another cast member. I mean, I suppose we can pivot to New Jersey a little bit. Active legal proceedings with the involvement of a cast member maybe isn't something that Bravo is concerned about anymore. Because Teresa is very sure that once this legal proceeding, with Louis' ex is done that there'll be, she has some Trump card on Margaret that everybody in the world is going to see her for who she is. What is your read on this? Obviously, the situation with Louis and his ex is like a whole shit show can of worms that I don't think anybody is really prepared to like fully analyze. But like, do you believe that there is some secret about

Margaret that we're going to hear and then never want to see her again? Well done. More to come. As Teresa loves to say on the show, because she can't actually speak about it. I, no. I think that there's, you know, not to use this term, but like a bit of a fake news situation happening where I think Teresa's just believing what she wants to believe. I find it very unsettling that all she's doing is wearing a different namaste bitches shirt every day of the week. And yet in every confessional all she's talking about is taking down Margaret. And I'm like, that's not namaste. Like that is the exact opposite.

Like she ended up taking down the podcast and relaunching with the new one. It's just so it's just like, oh, what? I, you know, I don't think she has something huge on Margaret. I think she'll be able to lash out and yell more and point to something. But I don't see her actually having like Margaret caused this lawsuit. Yeah, I think maybe part of the issue with Jersey at this point is that things. are so divided and so polarized that like I believe she will have some kind of receipt or you know thing to share that will make people who already hate Margaret yes say see that's why

I hate Margaret everybody else don't you see that Margaret's evil and horrible but then I also I I have very little faith that that thing will actually convince anyone yeah who likes Margaret that Margaret is in fact to blame. So it's, I think also for Teresa, I actually thought it was really interesting to hear Dolores and Jen Fessler talk this episode about how this legal situation with Louis has really been kind of like wrecking Teresa a little bit and kind of putting all of this stress on her and really kind of taking her joy in a way. But it's it's frustrating to see that Teresa has sort of made her whole.

season storyline teasing this thing that's going to come out about Margaret and how Margaret's evil and Margaret's the devil and all of this stuff. And like, I just think Housewives 101, it's not great practice to make your season storyline something that you can't technically talk about for most or all of the season. It's just not like, that's not compelling. No, because it's also like I felt like last season on Summerhouse, the whole thing was with West and Sierra, like just wait, just wait and see, just wait and see. And then it was like in the reunion we found out, like, oh yeah, they're not together. And it's like, yeah, we knew that. And so I feel like this lawsuit is taking the same sort of thing. It's like, well, wait and see, wait and see. And

it's like, well, you're not even having a reunion. So like, what is, what are we even going to get from this? Right. There's only like two more episodes of the season. There, it is definitely, I mean, it's obvious that this season didn't work out the way that anyone intended like production or anyone in the cast. I mean, Dolores is talking about taking this girls retreat weekend that I'm 95% sure it doesn't end up happening. So clearly there was- A typical girls weekend. Yeah. I know. I never made it out of the group chat. I think for different reasons than just somebody like not dragging their feet, booking the Airbnb. But it's, yeah, it's strange. It's pretty unusual to watch a season of Housewives where it feels like we're kind of in real time watching the wheels fall off

of the group a little bit. And it's, again, like what you were saying, it's not that it's been a terrible season with nothing going on and no interesting stuff to watch. It's just like it feels like as a group, they're kind of falling apart a little bit. And I think in the last two episodes, that's kind of become a little more apparent

that it's like, oh yeah, like we can't all just go away and have fun right now. Like we can have, you know, conversation about massaging the prostate at Rachel's fake sleepover and maybe that's fun for a minute, but like this group doesn't have that foundation. No, and you'll now moving forward never have all of them at one thing. For, you know, one person has to be not included for one reason or another.

And so it's like sometimes that's fine and even ideal. But yeah, this is such a disjointed group. And you can see it when they say, oh, I just want to get our group. And they have to like think about the word of like how they'd actually describe this circle of not friends, but frenemies or whatever. Like, you can tell there's just, you can talk about penises all day. And if that's the only cohesion you're going to have as a group, then it's like, well. Yeah, it's right.

Like they, I think for all of the fractured nature of the group this season, they've done an okay job of having group filmed events. Obviously, not everybody is at everything. But it's like, if we can get everybody but Teresa at Rachel's house, that's not. not that's not so bad. We'll work with it. Yeah. Like almost everybody came to the Tulum party.

Most people came to the podcast taping. Like it's not that we're not getting people in the room together. It's just that like once they're there, it's a little bit like, okay, so I guess Rachel and Jen Fessler can kind of squash their weird beef that's just based on kind of semantics. Yeah. John's name in her mouth a little bit too much. Yeah. But like other than that, it's kind of like, okay, we've established that. Danielle and Jennifer aren't going to like kiss and make up.

Yeah. But they also seem to be tired of fighting with each other. Yeah. Or production has told them that they need to be done fighting with each other. It doesn't feel like, I mean, Margaret and Melissa clearly are never going to make any headway with Teresa, nor do they want to. Like there are a lot. There are several different dynamics in the group that just kind of feel like they are over and like stagnant and aren't going to get revived. And so it's then then it's kind of like, okay, so we've got Rachel and Jen Fessler.

Yeah. And I think, you know, I think a lot of them also want, wish they could be the Dolores and wish they could be the Switzerland of things. Or like, you know, even Jackie's like, I'm going to be friends with whoever I want to be friends with. And like, it's like you are, but like you're still not, you're still on a side. Yes. Depending on who you're with and what event you're at and stuff.

And so it just feels, yeah, when you know that. there's just no connective tissue and there's no making it better. And the best case scenario is that you're going to hear people just have the same fights that we've already had them have. Then you're like, what are we doing? Right. It's like the two modes are either laugh about penises or rehash the same arguments. And it's like, I mean, I guess. I'll take penises.

I guess I'll take penises. But like that's fun for a 10 minute scene. Exactly. Not for a 10 episode season. Exactly. I think their season's going to end up being like 12 episodes. And how many of those had a fashion show in them? Too many.

At least two. Too many. The Bougy Kids fashion show feels like it was three years ago. Yeah. Yeah. And it's just, I'm just like, it was back to back. It was Buzy Kids and then it was envy. Like it was like, can we spread out the fashion shows or no?

Yeah. I don't, I mean, I think they just didn't film for that long, to be honest, which is, you know, I think with these filming timelines, it's like I get for production why they kind of want to like stack stuff in. But like even last week it was like Danielle had kids pop on the same day that she was going to the podcast show. And then I think when she and Rachel were hanging out this week, it was like the next day. And I'm like I feel like a little bit of breathing room might actually do this group good right now. But it's clear that they kind of just wanted to like get whatever they could and get out. Yeah, absolutely.

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It's time for a trip to Ross. Work your magic. One of the things that I've liked, and maybe that's the wrong word to use, is what we're watching with Margaret this season. And certainly, like, to me, it's more interesting to watch her, sort of grieve her ex and do that. And then also how it's clearly tying to Joe and, like, what's currently going on with him. That, to me, has been richer than yelling at each other and calling each other names and all of that.

And so I do think there's, they've found. a little bit of a balance of like, here's actually like a human story and not just here's two ladies mad at each other. And so I've found that balance, even when it's not happy, it still feels more interesting to see how she's handling those things. That's interesting. We don't have a lot of like real personal storylines happening on Jersey right now. It's like Dolores and Paul are like in this weird spot of him not being divorced and them starting a business together. But it's like that doesn't feel like it's really like,

it's like, yeah, I want Dolores to be happy, but like I don't really care that much about like, you know, her talking about business with Paul. Oh, no. It feels, we have the, you know, a pair of going off to college storylines at the beginning of the season. That was nice. Yeah.

But then it's like now anytime Teresa's at home, it feels like she's just like trying to talk shit about Margaret with Gia. Yes. It's a little bit like, okay. Yeah, okay. Cool. Yeah. Also, Dolores is so cool.

Why is she end up in this position all the time? Like, I don't get it. Like, there must be a Jersey man who wants to, like, lock that down immediately. These, like, scrubby guys who are kind of, like, love bomb her almost. Yeah. But then she just is, like, it's like it stops being fun after the first three months, but then she's just kind of, like, locked in a little bit. And it's like, is this really?

Like, I get that you want him to, like, get divorced and stop dragging his feet. But, like, do you really, like, you want to be married to him? also why is this divorce 10 years? Like, there's other stuff going on here. Like, what is actually happening here? Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I talked to her earlier this season, and I feel like she goes back and forth a little bit on whether, like, marriage is something that matters to her. Yeah.

Because she obviously is at a point in her life where she's not, like, you know, waiting for some guy to, like, sweep her off her feet. But at the same time, I think she still, like, kind of wants that. And she hasn't been, it's been a really long time since she was married. too. And so I feel like there is kind of that like push and pull of like I don't need to be like taken care of but also like would it be so bad? I don't think she's like I need to be married tomorrow. You know, like I don't think she's a Lindsay Hubbard in that way where she's like this is my goal and I need this immediately. But I do catching strings. Look, more power to Lindsay. She seems very happy. She's she knows what she wants and she is going after it

and I give her credit for that. But I think Dolores does want a nice, stable relationship at the very least. So I don't think it needs to have a ring attached to it, but I think it needs to be like, can you not be actually legally tied to somebody else? And I'm your focus. Yeah. I mean, it strains credulity after a while when it's like, oh, man, I just can't. Yeah.

I'm trying so hard to get divorced, but also don't fucking ask me about it. And it's like, well, if you're trying so hard, like we should be on the same page about this. Yeah. Yeah. I don't like when she gets upset because I'm like, I need Dolores to have everything she wants. I know. So somebody take care of that, please.

I know. I'm very curious. So we heard last week that they have filmed this finale watch party at Rail Steakhouse in two separate rooms with Dolores wafting between the two of them. Are you, like, excited to watch that? No. Because it's going to air. So the finale is like August 3rd or something. And then the following week is this like watch party special.

And I'm like, is that like an hour of TV? like Andy's not there apparently. Like it's not. I just don't kind of like what's the what's the like purpose of that? I think it's trying to address the viewers who are like, how are we not getting? Yeah. A reunion or some sort of closure because, you know, the last episodes are never really like, you still have questions or you still want to hear their thoughts on things.

I guess I would rather take this watch party over, you know, all seven of them doing an Instagram live individually in terms. trying to say what they want to say. But I, no. Like, I don't know what we're going to get from it other than each room just yelling and saying, see, I can't believe she said that and blah, blah, blah. So I don't, I don't know how successful. It's like, I don't, the idea of just watching 15 minutes of Teresa, like,

muttering expletives about Margaret under her breath is like not. No. She told you she was a bitch. Yeah. Yeah, you did. You told us. Yeah. It doesn't, it feels like there's not.

a very high ceiling there of like, what is this going to give us? That it's like, okay, there might be like, somebody might make a joke or like say something funny, but it's just, I'm like, I don't know, it doesn't feel like they're really, by not doing the reunion, it feels like they're just acknowledging that like we're not going to progress anywhere from where this season leaves off and they've decided that it's not worth it. I am, I mean, just truly so interested to see where they go with the casting and stuff. from here. I don't think it's going to be like a full New York style reboot, but I don't either,

but do you want my ready for me to take the pin out? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Pull it out. I think both Teresa and Melissa have to go. And I think they have to give them the Vicki Gumblson treatment and make them miss it a little bit and show them like, if you want to be part of the show, you got to figure something out. And I think that also gives a completely different dynamic without Teresa in the mix. And this is full credit to how important she is to the show in this franchise and all of that. But without her in the mix, then where does that leave everybody else? I'd be interested to see like how they all then get along or not and what they're going to talk about then without that distraction there. I know it's severe,

but I'd be interested. I think it is a really interesting proposal. Because I think most people feel like the way people have talked about it is like are they going to pick Melissa or are they going to pick Teresa? And it's almost like by picking neither of them is that kind of the most like promising way to actually move the ball forward. I mean. Because if you think about even this week's episode, Jen is like questioning her status as a Teresa soldier because she doesn't feel like Teresa rides for her the same way she does for, for Teresa and it's like all of a sudden it does kind of make you think like well if Teresa just wasn't there anymore then Jen would have this big like hole in her identity that she needs to fill with something and if she's already kind of considering that

maybe it would be really interesting to watch her kind of be forced to find something else whether she ends up being a soldier for somebody else whether she's a soldier for herself girl. I was going to say, you know she's going to try to recruit a soldier for her. She's going to want some, like, new girl to come in. Jackie, remember I finished your book? I need something. And Jackie will jump at that chance, to be clear.

It was so wild to me watching Jen tell her that she finished the book and then immediately in a confession, it would be like, not a bestseller. Well, you cannot be Teresa Judah. It's like you're, Jen can't even take the friendship with Jackie seriously for like one nice moment of congratulating her on the book. Yeah, no, no, not nuts, no. The only thing I will say about if Teresa and Melissa are both gone, they will then blame each other. And so I don't think they become close or civil in any way. I think they've been just mad at each other because it'll be like, well, you got me fired, whether that's the reality or not. But, but yeah, I would like to see what

the dynamic is between these women and maybe you throw one or two more in there and see see what happens. Yeah, I would be very interested to see it. Study and play. Come together on a Windows 11 PC. And for a limited time, college students get the best of both worlds. Get the Unreal College deal,

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what's your, like, Tamara take? Okay. Where do you land on Tamara, Judge? Because you mentioned Vicki, but Tamara in a similar way was benched. Yes. And then put on pause. Put on pause.

I think she would say she was fired. Or like offered a few episodes and turned it down. Do you feel like Tamara? as return has been kind of what the show needed. My question that I had for you coming into this was, where does Tamara fit this season? Because I'm a little unclear. We can't have her piling on Shannon because like Shannon's already like

kind of close to rock bottom. You know what I mean? Like we can't just have Tamara being mean to her because I just think Shannon does enough of that to herself. And so I'm not, I'm hopeful because I know the powers of Tamara. So I'm hopeful that there will be just something to her presence this season. I'm just not really sure what it is yet.

Yeah. I think for much of Tamara's time on Housewives, her greatest skill has been kind of having that sixth sense of what the show needs and kind of steering the ship in the right direction and having, you know, she's not, I wouldn't say that she's a delicate person on housewives, but having like just a light enough touch with the like sort of producer mode that it doesn't feel like it's too much or it doesn't feel like she's outside of the cast. And I think kind of the time that she did too much was then when she got put on boss. Yeah, exactly.

And so I do feel like this season, you're right, that it is a little bit like, okay, so last season, Jen was brought on through Tamara. They're not friends anymore. Shannon was like her, you know, she had this kind of makeup with Shannon last season. And then they were, you know, back as the Trace Amigas. And it was a whole business opportunity. That's no longer happening. And, you know, Vicky and Shannon are still doing it together. And Tamara has been, like, excised from that group.

And it is a little bit like, okay, so, like, other than us needing Tamara as, like, a housewife on the show. what is her actual, like, role in this group of friends that we love to watch and follow? And, like, it's only been two episodes this season. I'm definitely not ready to be, like, Tamara makes no sense in this cast. But it is something, it's, it's like an interesting sort of, like, thing to sort of chart throughout the season of, like, does she get closer to Gina? Is she, like, sidling up to Heather more than she did in the past? Like I think it'll be interesting to see kind of like where she lands toward the end of this season. I agree.

And like you just said too, she is very smart and she knows this world. And so, yeah, I'm not in any way ruling her out, but I'm just like, I don't know where you fit here yet. And again, the friendship dynamics will shift 100 times over the course of the season. Where she slots herself is what's going to be interesting to see. Yeah, I think that's something that in its best form, and I think it's kind of like back at its high level this season. It's like OC has always been a little bit of like a friendship soup where it's like everybody kind of is just like floating around. It's like when I think about the cast, like there obviously have been like iconic, you know, duos and trios famously on this show. But when I think about this cast this season, I'm kind of like, oh yeah, like I guess like.

Gina and Tamara are like fine and then like Emily kind of gets along with anyone for the most part, but then she had a thing with Shannon. And then like I think it works in its favor that it's not just like two teams. Yes. Oh, 100%. I like that it's the Emily and Gina friendship will always just have a place in my heart because I do appreciate them as a duo. I just need Heather Dubrow to throw parties. Like that like that's do what you're good at and I just need her to do that. And yeah, So it will be interesting to see how things fluctuate. I'm also very intrigued by Katie. Like, very intrigued.

I like Katie a lot for far. And when I say I like her a lot, I don't know enough about her to, like, know how I feel about how she handles conflict and things like that. But I find her to be a very intriguing presence. And I think that she seems different than most of the women on this cast. The way that she's starting to ask questions and getting her foot in the door a little bit, we know that she's going to have butting heads with Heather coming up this season, which is just like very bold. Very interesting.

Not what you would necessarily expect from a newbie on this show. I guess like Noella didn't. Well. Katie seems to me like somebody who, again, after only two episodes, like she seems like she could hang for a bit. I mean, Jen last season coming in, I think was a really fun discovery. And it seems like she's going to be kind of put through the gauntlet this season. And so it's fun to have a couple of newer women in the mix that I'm like, oh, like, this could be a little bit of a team moving forward. Yeah.

And where Tamara falls into this, too, is I think that Katie is saying a lot of things that the viewers are thinking. And I think she's asking those same questions. and I think she's sort of not backing down. And so that's why I'm like, well, if she fits that role, then how's Tamara, where's Tamara go with that? You know? Yeah. And there is something about, I mean, Tamara is literally like the archetype of like a dramatic housewife who does what she needs to do for the cameras, for the audience, for whatever. And like, as much as Tamara, I think has adapted her sort of game plan to shifts in the housewives kind of like,

universe. Like, she's, she's been here a long time. Yeah. Yeah. She's like, she's an old dog that's learned some new tricks. And like I don't, not old in like a, you know, she's like, I love my, I love women at the age. Yeah, yeah. But like, she's, nobody else from that era is still around. And there's probably a reason for that. Like, it's, it's hard to maintain. And that is really interesting to have somebody like Katie, who is clearly more of like a new school kind of housewife. And it's interesting, she's friends with Sutton. And I think we're seeing Sutton maybe this week on the show. That it's like, I think in a way Sutton has had that kind of energy on Beverly Hills.

Definitely she's a little more of a quirkier presence. But like when all the stuff with Erica was happening, she was new and she was like, well, that doesn't add up to me. I'm going to ask the question. And I wonder if Katie is kind of a similar presence in this group where she's like, wait, wait, wait. So you're explaining this to me, but I don't understand it. give me more at the info. Yeah. And I like a newbie that's like listening and learning.

Yeah. And then it's going to make her decision. Absolutely. She also seems just like authentically funny and chill for as chill as a housewife can be. She's got an interesting family dynamic. You know, I was thinking about this. And again, to, you know, reference Summerhouse. I don't know if we've actually named this rule, but I do think we need a like the West

Wilson rule, which is like, let's not get too excited about somebody too quickly. Like, let's just let them be what they are and not like, be like, oh, they're amazing and then tear them down. But I do, but I'm, I am cautiously optimistic of Katie and where she's going to bring us. I think, I don't know if this is still thing. I think Brian Moylan and his recaps used to have like some. The Eileen. The Eileen rule.

Yes. It was like five episodes you had to wait before making a decision. No, then the Eileen one is. a different one. There was some, one, maybe it was like Cindy bar shop or somebody.

Somebody who like, I think seemed iconic and then flopped. Yeah. That it was like, give it five episodes, see where we are. And then you can be like, okay,

I like her. Yeah. And so maybe we're being a little quick with Katie, but I'm quick like with the asterisk where I'm like, I like it so far. Yeah. Same.

I feel the same. I'm, I look forward to seeing more. Yeah. So maybe another old dog who's learned some new tricks is Alexis. Alexis. And I'm really curious to know how you are feeling about Alexis's return in these first

couple of episodes and what she's bringing to the table. I think I feel cautiously pessimistic because... Is that a thing? Well, she made it a thing for me. I feel nervous because she started out strong. Yeah. But like I've seen Alexis before. And I don't remember being sad when she was leaving last time.

And so that's why I'm just sort of like, I also can't hear all of these details about Johnny, week in and week out. And so I just, yeah, I just, you know. Two times this morning already. Just I feel like every time she's on screen, she's going to drop in like how many times that day they've had sex. Oh, without a doubt. Without a doubt. She said once before lunch. Yeah.

And then we had an afternoon nap. But do you promised? So I just, you know, I liked her outfit. I liked the hot pink outfit that she had. I'm on board with that. Yeah. But like, I don't. I don't want her rubbing it in Shannon's face because I do actually feel like Shannon has sort of moved on or is trying to heal.

And so I don't need her taking steps back because of Alexis. And so again, Alexis has had a very strong start. And so I'm on board so far, but I also know where this could go. Yeah. I think for me, I like Alexis a lot and I liked her energy when she was on the show before with some exceptions. Yeah, yeah. But I'm like, I think using her. she might be like a less is more kind of presence this season.

Yes. And so I think having her, you know, maybe a couple scenes, every other episode kind of thing. But like I already really understand why she's not a full-time housewife this season. Oh, you had to. It would be irresponsible if you didn't bring her back at least a little bit because of everything going on. So I get why they did it. But like, yeah, I don't need full-time in my face. It kind of reminds me of a couple seasons of Beverly Hills when Brandy,

has been back in the mix a little bit. And like, Brandy obviously has her own, you know, flavor things going on. But then it's like, I feel like there were seasons where it was like, oh, it seems like Brandy is kind of back. Like, is she snatching that diamond? And it was like, the answer was always no. And I think it always ended up being the right choice for her not to snatch the diamond

back. And, you know, if Alexis really ends up having an outstanding season, maybe they'll bump her up next season. but like I think right now I'm like, yeah, a strong friend of is like sometimes better for somebody than being a housewife. Because it's like, I don't, we don't need to be like in the home so much. No. No, we do not. Yeah.

So I'm, and again, I think it will be interesting to see the dynamic between her and Heather and Tamara and like sort of some of those OGs a bit. But also with the newbies too of like, you know, is Alexis, does she have new tricks? Or is she going to sort of be like this is. what I did 10 years ago on this show and it worked then. So, you know, I'm cautiously pessimistic about her. You're not expecting her to be like your all-star of the season. No, I'm not. No, I'm not.

But I'm also, I'd also think she can shine. Like, there's a world where she's not the worst. Yeah. So. Quickly, I want to get your, just your, your take on Jen and Gina. Because this was something that I didn't see coming going into this season. maybe I was blind, but like, it's, it's, they're doing a lot. They are.

And so I'm glad to ask because I don't know if I can do the quickly part because I feel very conflicted about this. Gina's one of my favorites. And I feel like I really try to back her and support her. Um, I really like her. And I get what she's saying because I also would be annoyed if somebody was messing with my newish business. Like I get that.

But I felt like she's making something about her in a way where I'm, I'm like, read the room. Like, this lady's evicted. And so, like, she's going through it a little bit harder than you are right now. Yeah. And she's really coming for her. And so I feel conflicted in that I don't think she's wrong, but maybe her approach is not right. I've seen a lot of similar sentiment where it's like I get why Gina's mad at her, but also, like, she's clearly going through something right now.

Yeah. Yeah. And I think it kind of, it makes me think a little bit of Tamara. and Shannon where it's like, I understand maybe there were things that happened to make Tamara sour on Shannon. But like right now, this woman who was your friend for a long time is really going through it. And what she maybe doesn't need is you like yelling at her about being a bitch in the hallway. And so with Jen and Gina, it's like I think that their issues are very interesting. And I also, I do, I got to say, I love a housewife who's in dire financial strengths.

Like, it can't be the whole cast, but if somebody's struggling, like, I, I want to see them win. I want to see them come back strong. And I don't know if that'll happen for Jen, because the FBI maybe has an eye on what finances they do have. Yeah. But, like, I agree that I think Gina only has so many chances to be, like, this, like, heightened, like, where are the kids? Fucker yoga class. Like, before people are going to kind of be like, okay, we get it. Like, it's, it's a bit much.

And so I hope that Gina can kind of, like, toe that line so she doesn't just end up seeming like a, you know, cartoon villain who's, like, screaming a Jen every week. Yelling about doing outdoor yoga classes. I was like, whoa. Are those bringing in all the money? I don't know about that. Jen told us in the premiere that she only makes 50 bucks a class. Yeah. So, like, that's great.

Yeah. Is that getting you unevicted? No. Probably not. That's not even covering your glam. $24,000 in back rent. You got to do a full week of outdoor yoga in order to even cover your makeup. Why are you getting your threads done?

Right. Like I look, could you do your own makeup for like a casual coffee where Gina's going to be wearing like a beret anyway? Like probably. Yeah. You can choose. Choose your spots. Yeah. But we have learned that we don't refer to people as ding-dongs enough because that is really a great way to describe somebody.

It is. It's just like something about. And also like just like Gina's, Gina's voice. Jen is a ding-knob. Yeah. She is. Really, wow. O-C.

I feel like Emily is thriving a bit, though, and I'm here for that. I think Emily's been thriving a bit. Yeah. Like, I think Emily is one of those housewives where, like, she's a little bit like a, like, sleeper hit. Yeah. She and Gina have been on the show now for like five, six years. And they're kind of just like, they're like dependable, like, stock players. Like, if you have like a theater company, they're like, like, a theater company.

They're like in the like, Yeah. Repertory. Like, you know, they've been there in the main stage every season. Yes. Yeah. And they bring it. Yeah.

Like, it's not, they're not the biggest star that you bring in to, to sell the tickets, but like you need them in the in the company. Yeah, for sure. And I just, I love OC. It's also perfect for the summer. Like, there are certain shows that like, depending on the time of year, that's when I need them. Like, I do need summer house in the winter because I'm like, oh, yeah, remember, it's warm sometimes.

Right. And I need OC in the summer. summer because it just gives summer vibes. It is funny to watch them because they're filming in January. Yeah. And like not that the OC is like so cold in January, but they'll be like filming a scene outside and they're like, can you move the heater really, really close to us? And I'm like, God, imagine being cold.

Well, even when at the party, she's like, this is for a great 2024. And I'm like, girl, we are halfway through and you don't even know. Like, what's that your intention? They're in like the like twister. The twister box with the questions inside. Oh, gosh. Yeah. Gotta love it.

You do. You do. Yeah. This has been so fun. Thank you for coming. Dylan, thank you so much for having me. Of course,

tell everyone where they can follow you and find you. Oh, great. I'm on Instagram at Little Leap. That's me. I love that. Little Leap. I'm there. It's such a,

like, cute little handle. It fits. I feel like it fits. Leah's, Leah's, not super tall if you, if you haven't met her in person.

I'm 5-2. I'm not afraid to say it, so. 5-2 is a perfectly fine height. Except at a concert. It's a little. That's tough. A little low.

Yeah. So if you go to see Tom Sanneval on the most extra. Well, You gotta be in the very front. Yeah, I'll really have to work on that. You'll get there five minutes early and just parrance right to the American. Oh, well, thank you so much. 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. Mention It All is produced by Dylan Hafer, Sean Kilby, Jorge Morales Pico, and Rebecca Sous McCat. Editing by Jorge Morales Pico. Social media by Dylan Hafer, guest booking by Dylan Hafer, and Ali Friedland. Be sure to follow at Bravo by Betches on Instagram and Twitter.

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