EXCLUSIVE: OMG Fashun Episode 5, Winner’s Walk Interview With Chelsea Billingsley

Photo Credit: Quantrell Colbert/E! Entertainment

Another week has come and gone on E!’s OMG Fashun, marking two new Disruptors as “the moment.” Chelsea Billingsley took home the first win, after she appeared in Episode 105, called “Super Power Bitch.” Here, her designs impressed every judge on set. Julia Fox, Law Roach, and Wisdom Kaye are all legends, and now, so is Chelsea.

Chelsea’s website lists her as being “very much a vibe, not a trend.” She does this in such a unique way, expertly stitching together various fibers to create crocheted designs that are next level. Following her well-deserved win, Chelsea met up with Reality Tea’s writer Amy DeVore, where they further gabbed on all things OMG Fashun.  

Chelsea’s first impressions

Photo Credit: Quantrell Colbert/E! Entertainment

Amy DeVore: Julia is hysterical. Do you have a favorite Julia moment from filming?

Chelsea Billingsley: Everything she does is outrageous. I can’t stop watching her. One of my favorite moments with Julia was in a judging. Basically Katya, my fellow cast member, she asked if she could keep the little thing that Julia gave her. I think it was like some old trinkets or something in a bag. And she was like, Yeah, you can just have all of this.

Amy: Love it. You and Law had a connection due to your hometowns being the same. Did you two connect in any other way?

Chelsea: Besides Chicago, definitely fashion. He has been one of my biggest inspirations since I decided to step into the design world. I grew up watching Zendaya on Disney, so I’ve been following his journey as he’s grown with her. I just really wanted to ultimately make him proud.

Amy: And you did. Also, Wisdom made me laugh. Behind the scenes, what was he like?

Chelsea: It was just fun to be able to banter back and forth and to see his energy with the other judges because I don’t think that we’ve seen him on that level just yet. He told me that I ate and I was like, okay, cool, cool. Cool.

“Turning basic into batsh*t”

Photo Credit: Scout Productions/E! Entertainment

Amy: The style challenge at the jump asked you to “turn basic into batsh*t.” You were sent 10 scarves to upcycle, but on all of the designs, the judges were “displeased.” No one won, which is a first. What was going through your head here?

Chelsea: I was really in my head. I was second-guessing myself a lot when it came to styling because I really wanted to make sure that I show my style, but also impress the judges. So I was struggling, and I was like, Lord, I pray that I can turn this thing around.

The “Fox Box”

Photo Credit: Scout Productions/E! Entertainment

Amy: Moving into the design studio, you had to create a suit for Julia’s alter-ego, “Super Fox.” In your “Fox Box,” you had a stuffed animal, a drawing by Julia’s son Valentino, a baby blanket, a breast pump, and a onesie. This pack had me thrown, but what was your take?

Chelsea: My take was, I may be stuck right now, but if I take a moment to breathe, and really see what the most simple approach to these pieces is, then I can move forward.

Julia’s plot twist

Photo Credit: Scout Productions/E! Entertainment

Amy: Roughly halfway through, Julia came over the PA with a “plot twist.” In addition to finishing your design, you also had to create a superhero sidekick outfit for Julia’s son’s baby doll. How did you come up with your idea to solve this little plot twist?

Chelsea: I only wanted to focus on getting something on the model, and then I would worry about the baby doll later. I felt like once I got the look together, then it would help me to come up with the storyline for the doll. Mostly, I didn’t want my model going down there naked. So for the doll, it is what it is.

A short dress problem arises

Photo Credit: Scout Productions/E! Entertainment

Amy: Speaking of looking naked, your design was super short, and it stressed you out. Talk to me about this.

Chelsea: Initially, I thought I shot myself in the foot. If I had more time, I would have made it a little bit longer. But then again, I trusted my design.

Law’s squashed beef

Photo Credit: Scout Productions/E! Entertainment

Amy: When your Julia walked out, the actual Julia gasped. At this point, did you feel like you had the competition on lock, or no?

Chelsea: Actually, no, I thought my counterpart Katya was gonna win. Really, I didn’t know if I had it necessarily locked and loaded, but I knew that they were proud.

Amy: Law noted that your design was short, but he also expressed how proud he was. Then, you thanked Jesus, and it made me choke up. Talk to me about this moment.

Chelsea: In that moment, this win wasn’t just for, for me. It was for my hometown, and all little girls, little black girls, that have a desire to do fiber arts. SO yeah, I thank God, because God was the reason why I feel like I’ve made it on this show. And He’s the reason why I made it through the competition.

Chelsea’s big win and future plans

Photo Credit: Scout Productions/E! Entertainment

Amy: Do you have any plans for your winning check?

Chelsea: Top of my mind, it’s just my brand. My brand is my baby, therefore that’s really what it will go towards.

Amy: Finally, before we wrap, do you have any parting words of inspiration for our readers?

Chelsea: Ultimately, it’s just give yourself grace and be true to yourself. One of the key things that I always ask myself is, is your Spirit speaking to this? Is this something that you truly believe in? Dreams aren’t easy, but the reward is worth it.

This interview was edited for conciseness and clarity.

Back-to-back episodes of OMG Fashun drop every Monday on E!, starting at 9:00 pm.

TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT CHELSEA’S DESIGNS?

The post EXCLUSIVE: OMG Fashun Episode 5, Winner’s Walk Interview With Chelsea Billingsley appeared first on Reality Tea.

from Reality Tea https://www.realitytea.com/2024/05/20/exclusive-omg-fashun-episode-5-winners-walk-interview-with-chelsea-billingsley/

Race to Survive: New Zealand Premiere, Episode 1 Recap: The Adventure Begins

Photo Credit: Brian Finestone/USA Network via Getty Images

Sometimes, you watch a reality competition show and think to yourself, “Oh, I could do that.” Race to Survive: New Zealand is not one of those shows. This is serious business, and Season 1’s race across Alaska proved that. The fact that the USA Network could find people willing to participate in Season 2 is slightly mind-boggling.

In Race to Survive: New Zealand Episode 1, “Water and Ice,” we’re introduced to nine, brand-new teams as they set out for a wild adventure, competing for a grand prize of $500,000. They say money will make you do crazy things, but these teams genuinely seem to enjoy putting themselves through this kind of misery. Let’s meet the teams and see how everyone fared in the first leg of this epic race.

Meet the Teams

There are nine sets of teams with some pretty unique backgrounds. Some people bring survival skills, others bring elite athleticism. There’s a divorced couple, a father/son-in-law duo, and two potty-mouthed Rhode Island “gym rats.” It’s a mixed bunch, but they all have the same goal in mind: dominating the 40-day, 150-mile race. Here are the teams up for the challenge:

• The River Guides, Oliver and Corry
• The Brooklyn Climbers, Mikhail and Steffen
• The Divorcees, Creighton Paulina Peña
• The Hunters, Bronsen and Ryan
• The Cool Moms, Rhandi and Ashley 
• The Ultramarathoners, Donald and Coree
• The Rhode Islanders, Emilio, and Heather
• The Smokejumpers, Ethan and Tyrie
• The Oil Riggers, Nik, and Kennedy

Race 1, Day 1

Photo Credit: Daniel Allen/USA Network

Their first race is called “Fire and Ice.” It’s a 40-mile course with five distinct zones. They have to canoe across a lake, hike uphill through a forest, climb across a cliff, traverse a chasm, and then canoe down white water rapids. At the finish line, they’ll find a chest with a medallion earning them entry to Survival Camp where they’ll await the next race. The fastest teams also get special rewards to help them make it through the downtime between races.

It’s exhausting even trying to think about all of that, and these people are supposed to do it in 20 hours or less. Another obstacle: the racers aren’t given any food at the beginning of the race. It’s a deviation from the first season, which rewarded teams with food rations at the start of each race. Instead, there are food caches scattered throughout the course. The racers have to determine whether they want to prioritize food or their pace toward the finish line. As if this show wasn’t brutal enough, they somehow found a way to make it worse.

Three teams emerge at the front

Photo Credit: Brian Finestone/USA Network

The race started like that scene in the Hunger Games when everyone sprints towards the cornucopia of supplies. Only in this game, there wasn’t a trove of supplies and weapons. Instead, they got maps for the five zones in the race and the upsetting information about any potential food being scattered across the 40-mile course.

Maps in hand, the teams took off running through what appeared to be an innocuous field. Immediately, they learned the hard way that everything isn’t as it seems in New Zealand. They started dropping into random holes in the ground because apparently, that’s a thing in New Zealand. They’re lucky nobody twisted an ankle.

After that first little obstacle, the teams got into canoes and took off in a race across the lake. Immediately, frontrunners started emerging. The Hunters, the Smokejumpers, and the River Guides were neck and neck as they paddled through the waters.

Once they made it past the first zone, those three teams continued to establish themselves as the head of the pack. In particular, The River Guides made easy work of trekking up the maze of trees and into the next section of the race. Clearly, they’re the ones to look out for.

The back of the pack

Photo Credit: Daniel Allen/USA Network

While three teams jetted to the front and completed multiple zones on Day 1, a few other teams struggled to gain momentum on the first day. The Divorcees, who found out they’d been cast on the show just four days after calling it quits, bickered their way through each zone. They weren’t dead last, but it’s clear their fractured relationship is going to be a big factor in how they perform this season. Let’s hope they stick around for as long as possible just for the juicy divorce drama.

Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Climbers found themselves at the back of the pack along with the Rhode Islanders. Throughout this entire episode, they were both fighting to stay out of last place. They wound up taking slightly different paths as the race got underway. The Brooklyintes pressed forward in the race while the Rhode Island “gym rats” decided to detour for a food cache.

Once the first day’s race clock ends, they have to set up camp within 50 yards of their current position. That can be a good or bad thing, depending on how well you navigated up until that point. At the end of the first day, seven of the nine teams managed to get their hands on food. 

Race 1, Day 2

Photo Credit: Daniel Allen/USA Network

The Brooklyn Climbers and the Oil Riggers opted to forgo food for the sake of keeping a steady pace. When Day 2 started, you could immediately see them regretting that decision. The Brooklynites were especially struggling. They woke up to frost on the ground and the daunting challenge of trying to climb across a mountain and go over a river. Doing that with zero calories is just the bitter icing on a rotten cake.

Miles and miles ahead of them, the River Guides, Smokejumpers, and Hunters moved into the final parts of the race. First, they had to traverse a narrow chasm. At one point, they had to squeeze through a gap that was only 11 inches wide. Most of us watching from home could never.

Then, the teams approached the final stretch of the race: an 11-mile paddle down rocky rapids. So far, the River Guides were in first place, which seemed fitting. However, with rocky rapids standing in their path and the other teams right on their tail, Race 1 could still go in anyone’s favor. Next week, we’ll see who makes it to the finish line and who comes up short.

Race to Survive: New Zealand airs on USA Network, Monday nights at 11/10c.

TELL US – WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ON RACE TO SURVIVE SEASON 2, EPISODE 1 WATER AND ICE? IS THERE A CERTAIN TEAM YOU’RE ROOTING FOR? WHO DO YOU THINK WILL BE THE FIRST TEAM ELIMINATED?

The post Race to Survive: New Zealand Premiere, Episode 1 Recap: The Adventure Begins appeared first on Reality Tea.

from Reality Tea https://www.realitytea.com/2024/05/20/race-to-survive-new-zealand-premiere-episode-1-recap-water-and-ice/

RHONJ’s Rachel Fuda Accuses Teresa Giudice of Attacking Her Husband for Relevancy

Photo Credit: Manny Carabel/Getty Images

Teresa Giudice should have expected Rachel Fuda to come to her husband’s defense after the mother-of-four called him the “biggest drug dealer in Bergen County.” Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 14 has just begun, and Teresa has a new target.

John Fuda fought hard against Teresa’s husband during the Season 13 reunion after Luis Ruelas claimed to have had the RHONJ cast investigated by a private eye. Perhaps that’s why Teresa came for him early on in the season.

In last week’s episode, Teresa repeated gossip about John’s alleged sexual preferences. She also weaponized the RHONJ newbie’s prior arrest from decades ago. Rachel responded to her co-star in a recent interview and didn’t hold back.

Rachel thinks she was Teresa’s “last resort”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RACHEL ? (@rachelfuda)

Rachel told Us Weekly that she thinks Teresa’s combativeness is to “solidify her relevancy and paycheck.”

“Who else does she have? Melissa’s off. Margaret’s off. She’s not going to fight with Dolores. Jen’s so far up her butt, she can’t even see her eyeballs. And then, who else do we have?” she stated.

“I was the last resort,” Rachel concluded.

As for the “drug dealer” comments, the mother-of-three called it “such a joke.”

“We’ve all made mistakes as kids,” Rachel stated. “We’ve all done things that someone would say is ‘bad’ or try to weaponize.”

Ultimately, that story was for John to share and present how he saw fit. But Teresa hijacked the information and used it to her advantage.

Rachel added, “John is not ashamed of anything that he has done or has been through. It’s just unfortunate that that opportunity for him to tell and share his own story was completely taken from him and manipulated into something that it’s not and weaponized against him.”

Dynamics have indeed shifted within the group. Melissa Gorga is not filming with Teresa, but Jennifer Fessler has shifted alliances to befriend the Turning The Tables author.

Catch The Real Housewives of New Jersey Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo.

TELL US – WHY DO YOU THINK TERESA IS GOING AFTER RACHEL AND JOHN? WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO RACHEL’S COMMENTS?

The post RHONJ’s Rachel Fuda Accuses Teresa Giudice of Attacking Her Husband for Relevancy appeared first on Reality Tea.

from Reality Tea https://www.realitytea.com/2024/05/20/rachel-fuda-accuses-teresa-giudice-attacking-husband-rhonj/

Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard Season 2 Finale, Episode 9 Recap: See You Next Year, Martha

Photo Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Images

As much as it pains me to say, welcome back to the finale recap of Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard Season 2. This week is the last installment, and if you were concerned they wouldn’t bring the heat, you thought wrong. The group still has to address the elephant in the room regarding Nick and the girls from the last episode. And once the dust settled, Amir had a few things to get off of his chest, too. We also lost one cast member two days early, halfway through last night’s episode, but according to them, it was all for their good. Despite this being the last regular season episode, we know there’s a heated reunion to look forward to. So, let’s get into it! Here’s everything that went down on the season finale of Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard Season 2, Episode 9: The Fall of Summer. 

Nick moves on with the rest of the house 

Photo Credit: Scott Eisen/Bravo

The last episode ended with Nick going off on Bria, Shanice, Noelle, and (kind of) Natalie Cortes about repeating damaging rumors about him. In case you didn’t catch it, the girls said Nick can be too handsy when he’s drunk. Nick has a right to be annoyed by this conversation because he thought this situation was over. However, Natalie, Amir’s girlfriend, was trying to secure her spot for the next season. In doing so, she did entirely too much trying to bring Nick down. 

Eventually, the house moved on, and Nick apologized to the women for raising his voice. Noelle also showed a lot of grace and said sorry to Nick for how Natalie relayed her words to his girlfriend. Also, Shanice and Noelle clarified their comments, adding it was Natalie’s idea to bring it out on camera. Bria was somewhere else in the house, though, standing firm by what she said. 

The next day, the remaining partners, Natalie and Simon Marco, departed the house, giving the original cast of 10 some much-needed downtime before their vacation wrapped up. 

Later in the episode, Nick and Amir go golfing, and Nick told Amir that Bria, Shanice, and Noelle said Natalie started the drama the night before on her own. Amir admitted he was frustrated by the girls looping Natalie into it and said she wasn’t at fault. He said that since Natalie lives by the “girl-code,” she wanted to give Nick’s girlfriend a heads-up. Then he decided he needed to talk to Bria and the others to get to the bottom of what happened. 

Summer packed her bags to head home early

Photo Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo

Over the last few weeks, Summer has talked about her healing journey in certain areas of her life. Consequently, she told Preston and Jordan privately that she felt it was best for her not to stay in the house. In her confessional, she told producers that pretending to be okay hasn’t been beneficial for her.

“I’m realizing that I can’t just pretend to be happy. I’m eager to heal the situations in my life that need to be addressed,” she said. “I want to be at home with my … family and my friends and just reset.” 

Jordan reassured her, saying that acknowledging her hurt would ultimately be good for her. “I would’ve liked her to stay to get to a better place with everybody,” she said in her confessional. “But if you gotta go, you gotta go.” 

The next day, she told the rest of her roommates about her plans. She started with Jasmine and Alex and went to find the rest of the women out by the pool. Before that, she tried to find Noelle, but she was lying in her bed away from the mess. From the edit, Jasmine texted Noelle to let her know that Summer would be leaving. “Are you gonna say goodbye?” the text read. “No,” Noelle replied. 

Summer then told Bria and Shanice that she was headed out, and Bria sent her with well wishes and ordered her to take a spiritual bath to cleanse the negative energy. In her final confessional, Summer said the chaos has allowed “expansion and growth.” 

“So, I don’t regret anything.” 

Another Bria explosion

Photo Credit: Ralph Bavaro/BRAVO

When it was time for dinner, Amir asked Bria, Shanice, and Noelle about the conversation with Nick. Before it got too far into the conversation, Shanice said it didn’t really matter because the issue was dead. “It’s not dead, though,” Amir said.

Shortly after, things began escalating. Bria wasn’t raising her voice necessarily; she was just talking with a little extra emphasis. But it didn’t matter because Amir felt he was being yelled at. “Every time you chime in, you’re yelling,” he told her. “Leave me out of your girlfriend’s mess,” she replied. “How about that?” 

At this point, Nick jumped into the middle of things and said Bria needed to take responsibility and do some “self-reflection.” Jasmine encouraged Bria to count to 10, and as she was doing this, Nick said, “How old are we?” See. Nick, you could’ve sat there and been quiet. Now, Bria is about to unleash on you, and you’ll have nobody to blame but yourself.

Anyway, Bria answered his question, saying she was “10.” Actually, “10 and a half.” She continued, “How old are you? Nick Arrington, everyone,” she said while clapping mockingly like Nick is some big-time executive at Bravo. “Whatever, Urkel,” she said, referencing the ’90s show Family Matters. 

She circled back to Nick’s point about reflecting and said it wasn’t her talking about Nick’s relationship. “It was brought up from his broad,” Bria added, pointing to Amir. “Like, get the f*ck out of here. What do you think this is? Hold responsibility for your girl, bro,” she said. Amir popped back, and it’s that shocking moment from the trailer we’ve been waiting for. “STOP RAISING YOUR VOICE AT ME,” he screamed. “I don’t want to have this conversation anymore,” he said. “Because the only thing that I wanted was to know what was happening —” he said before Bria cut him off, saying, “And we told you.” Amir stormed out of the front door, slamming it behind him before yelling, “GOD DAMN.” 

Bye, bye, bye to the Vineyard

Photo Credit: Scott Gries/Bravo

After the blowup on Day 13, the cast put things behind them for Days 14 and 15. Ultimately, the episode ended on a high note, with the crew having a fancy dinner on the beach, drinking expensive alcohol, and playing a fun game of impersonations. 

The group gathered in the truth booth one last time, and it was the kiki we know and love. 

“Martha, girl, we were lit this summer,” Jasmine said. “We came, we saw, we conquered, and we are still figuring this sh*t out.” 

Bye, Martha (for now). We’re manifesting a third season is already in the works. 

The Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard Season 2 reunion airs Sunday, May 26 on Bravo.

TELL US — WHAT DID YOU THINK OF SUMMER HOUSE: MARTHA’S VINEYARD SEASON 2?

The post Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard Season 2 Finale, Episode 9 Recap: See You Next Year, Martha appeared first on Reality Tea.

from Reality Tea https://www.realitytea.com/2024/05/20/summer-house-marthas-vineyard-season-2-finale-episode-9-recap/