Last week, half the Real Housewives of Orange County ladies took a trip to La Quinta. But after roasting Gina over an open flame like a S’more, things took a turn for the worse. In this week’s episode entitled “The Gloves Are Off,” Shannon opens up about an impending lawsuit from John, which leaves her in tears. Gina and Emily are at one another’s throats after Heather hijacked the original conversation. But Tamra, Katie, and Jen all seemed to have an ice trip to Big Bear, that is, until Alexis gets a call that sends her spiraling. Here is your Real Housewives of Orange County Season 18, Episode 7 recap.
The prosecution rests?
Photo Credit: Bravo Media
You have to give it to the ladies as they know how to enjoy a night away from their families. Each household is waking up with a whopper of a hangover. Shannon is passionate about the stacks and stacks of receipts that she has saved, proving that she paid for John over the years. Shannon has always said that she paid for every single thing when it came to her relationship with John, but she tends to exaggerate. According to the mother of three, he never paid for a meal or plane ticket. That said, Shannon isn’t exactly known for her truth-telling skills, bless her. In her confessional, Heather notes that Shannon’s whole issue was whether he was ever committed to her if he couldn’t pick up a meal, like not even a Burger King.
I don’t know about you, but I love some Heather logic. The podcaster made a valid argument, as the ladies now question whether John’s $75,000 lawsuit is credible. Shannon claimed the money was an attempt to pay her back and was ALLEGEDLY a gift. Which, of course she does. Heather notes, “Here’s the problem. The whole reason why Shannon has been upset all these years has been that he really committed to her if he couldn’t even pick up a meal.” Heather adds, “This is why you always have to wait to hear the defense; the prosecution tells a very good story. Shannon is the prosecution.” If ever I were in trouble, I’d want Heather on my defense team; I’m just saying.
Big Bear breakdown on Real Housewives of Orange County
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As viewers met up with the Big Bear crew, we got to see a side of Jen that we hadn’t met yet. Alexis asked if her ex-husband, Will, had been able to pick the kids up on time. Jen revealed that she wished she, Will, and Laura (Will’s girlfriend and Jen’s former friend) could communicate better. Tamra then whips out her Instagram to show Jen a video of their family night, leading her to burst into tears. Jen is stressed as she shares, “In this video, Will is big and full of life. But that isn’t how he was with me. And that’s a hard pill to swallow.” It was also nice to see Katie, Alexis, and Tamra open up about their feelings regarding divorce. Dare I say it brought the mini-group closer.
La Quinta fallout
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Nobody wants to play pickleball when you are staying at a multi-million dollar mansion. But at least you don’t have to wait for the courts. And there are some cute outfits. After it was clear that neither Emily nor Gina had any athleticism, the women got down to business. I hate seeing two good friends fight. Emily came in hot, accusing Gina of letting Heather manipulate her in a fantastic Godfather montage. And I have to say, she ain’t wrong. Gina has fallen on the sword one too many times to stay in Heather’s good graces.
But Gina has her own worries and notes she doesn’t want to see Emily become “The Grand Bitch.” What kind of title is this? Should the Grand Dame, Karen Huger, be worried? But before we can even question the royal title, Gina has lost her sh*t. The Long Island native turned into a mini John McEnroe as she threw her rackets and balls and started cursing. Luckily, a locked door and sprinklers brought these two back together rather quickly.
The gloves are off on Real Housewives of Orange County
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As both trips wound down, Alexis received a phone call from Johnny J, and it was not good. Alexis took refuge in the guest bathroom with Katie by her side. Lex was in tears—literal tears over something Shannon allegedly had done to John. Even with productions’ urging, Alexis declared she wasn’t at liberty to discuss what pushed her John to the limit.
But it seems our newbie, Katie, got the hot goss. And it turns out John has Ring camera footage of Shannon allegedly almost running over his daughter. Jesus, take the wheel (away from Shannon, PLEASE)! Last week, viewers were privy to information after Alexis revealed having video footage that would ruin Shannon’s life. However, the episode ends with Shannon revealing during her sit down with Tamra that her lawyer made an offer that John could refuse.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ORANGE COUNTY SEASON 18, EPISODE 7? DO YOU THINK ALEXIS IS WRONG FOR WANTING TO RELEASE THE VIDEOS? WOULD YOU SUBSCRIBE TO JEN’S ONLY FANS?
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Kaylor Martin has decided that enough is enough. She admits that she may have “said more than what I needed to say” at the Love Island USA reunion but she’s through shedding tears for Aaron Evans.
The Love Island USA contestant was entangled in an emotional summer romance with Aaron which had its share of ups and downs. But she’s now in a better and stronger place and isn’t looking back.
No more tears for Kaylor Martin
It’s no secret that Kaylor shed a lot of tears over Aaron. So much so that the cast even commented on it while looking at clips of the two.
And while Kaylor admits she does tend to cry quite a bit in general, she left her tears for Aaron at the villa. What’s more, she finally said her piece during the reunion after Aaron admitted that his hookup with Casa Amor’s Daniela Ortiz-Rivera went further than he’d previously shared.
“I think I said a bit more than what I needed to say at the reunion, Kaylor admitted to E! News. “I was coming from a place of anger, and I feel like it doesn’t really describe my character as well. But you know, the bear can be poked so many times before it explodes.”
She added, “So instead of crying, you saw the other side of Kaylor, which I think America didn’t really get to see this summer.”
She may have a few regrets about going off at the reunion, but overall Kaylor is glad she stood her ground.
“I’m really proud of myself for finally realizing my worth,” she added. “A lot of the time, I underestimate myself and I don’t acknowledge that. I really needed to be there for myself, and I think I was, maybe a little too much.”
During the reunion, Aaron shocked everyone by sharing insight into his time with Daniela. This set Kaylor off about him not being honest with her.
“I’m tired of the f–cking excuses,” she said. “Take accountability and be a f–cking man. I just saw you the last three f–cking days in New York and you haven’t said that to me once.”
She couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Why do you keep f–cking lying to me? I cannot believe I wasted my entire f–cking summer on you, Aaron,” she finished.
And it looks like Kaylor isn’t wasting any more time. She posted a video on social media that made it pretty clear that she’s single and ready to mingle.
“I love Aaron and I will love him for a while,” Kaylor shared. “I think it’s going to take a lot of time, but the way things went down this summer really broke me.”
TELL US – DO YOU THINK KAYLOR WENT TOO FAR DURING THE REUNION? OR WAS IT FINALLY TIME SHE LET HIM HAVE IT?
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Alexis Bellino has come in hot after her respite from the Real Housewives of Orange County. Alexis didn’t have a huge fan base back in the day and now viewers are wondering exactly what her intentions are in her highly-toted return.
Fans were split when Bravo announced Alexis would be back on RHOC. But the series needed a bit of a shake-up. However, I can’t help but feel this shake-up has come at the expense of Shannon Beador. The longtime cast member has had a rough couple of years. Between her divorce from David Beador, break up with John Janssen, and multiple lawsuits, Shannon can’t catch a break. She also didn’t do herself any favors by choosing to drive drunk. I was looking forward to Alexis and Shannon interacting, but where it stands now, I don’t like where the murky path is headed.
Alexis Bellino won’t be silenced
Photo Credit: Bravo
During the newest episode of the Real Housewives of Orange County, Alexis let all her cards show. I understand that Alexis wants to protect John Janssen, but is she taking it too far? During her Kumbayah moment with Tamra Judge, Katie Ginella, and Jen Pedranti, Lex really opened up.
Alexis explained that John is more than ready for war in the form of a video drop. According to “Happy Go-lucky Lexi,” her new beau has a handful of videos from the night Shannon got her DUI. As fans know, Shannon crashed her car into a home and tried to pretend she was walking her dog, Archie. The room immediately fell silent, and Jen became quite concerned. The squatter asked, “Has anyone thought what this would do to Shannon? To her family? In my opinion, it’s wrong.” The answer is no. That said, Shannon could always… not drive while she’s loaded.
Fans question Alexis Bellino’s moral high ground
Photo Credit: Bravo
Now, I am not saying what Shannon did was right. Not by a long shot. Alexis always states that she is a true Christian, but this move doesn’t seem very Christian at all. Alexis isn’t even the injured party here, but if her “other half” is attacked, she will go on the defense. The drama is really between John and Shannon.
Does Alexis Bellino want to fight with Shannon Beador?
The moment the season premiered, it felt as if Alexis wanted a major argument with Shannon. Let’s look at the facts. Alexis’ storyline is that she is dating John. But remember, she was already back on the show before she hooked up with him. The first sign of trouble came during Heather Dubrow’s party. Shannon and Alexis agreed to chat outside. Shannon tried to state her point, but Alexis just kept talking. The conversation escalated, with Alexis raising her voice and spouting, “There’s the door, Shannon Beador,” which felt very rehearsed.
Seeing John on FaceTime just solidified to me as a viewer that Alexis isn’t interested in befriending Shannon. I understand the premise of any Real Housewives show is to bring the drama, and drama is happening on RHOC.
I question Alexis’ motives, especially after she added, “It will ruin her life. The videos are definitely horrific. Once I saw them, I couldn’t go back to feeling the same about her.”
There are multiple reasons why viewers of the Real Housewives of New York loved Ramona Singer. She was only ever her true self, with no acting involved. And while she wasn’t always the kindest or most thoughtful, she was always in her purest form. The mother of one is unapologetically who she is, and then she apologizes for hurting the others’ feelings in the most inauthentic way. But Ramona is also a monster. During her time on the Big Apple franchise, it felt like she was the definition of a narcissist and delusional. But oh boy, she was great TV!
Even though she has been off the Real Housewives of New York since its reboot, she still finds a way to stay relevant within the Bravoverse. Recently, she upset an entire state by bad-mouthing New Jersey. Now, I am conscious of the fact that Ramona isn’t one to be self-aware, but I feel like she should have known better than to belittle the state of New Jersey. Here’s why.
I am going to speak for the Garden State since I am a proud Jersey girl. Our state is home to some absolute national treasures. We got Bon Jovi, Bruce, and Whitney, just to name a few. New Jersey residents are proud people (I know I am one), so when you pick on our state, it feels like a personal attack. So when Ramona took to her Instagram to write, “Have you ever gone out of your element? Well, guess where I am now? Not Hamptons not Aspen not St Barts not NYC not Capri ….I am in NJ having the best time! It’s not the place but the people you are with.”
A Jersey native never forgets an insult. I mean, has she ever watched The Sopranos? Even Melissa Gorga was miffed at the Singer Stinger’s verbal faux pas. The Real Housewives of New Jersey star commented, “Ummm, I think NJ is fantastic.” The 67-year-old RHONY star then added insult to injury by taking to her Instagram Story saying, “No one could believe in a million years … it’s 11 o’clock on a Friday night and guess where I am. New Jersey! Who knew? Who knew?”
Ramona Singer looked pretentious
Now, before you comment that New Jersey is the “armpit of America,” I would have to argue that you think of your words very carefully. The state has wineries, beaches, farms, parks, and sports arenas. Not to mention, every single resident is loyal to their own zip code. I mean, what other state argues over where North and South Jersey begin, let alone totally writing off Central Jersey? I’d go to the grave arguing that it’s Taylor ham and not pork roll. And that we use sprinkles on our ice cream, not jimmies.
Ramona’s uneducated comments made her come across as looking like an assclown. Can I say that? Her ignorance also solidified when she was essentially canceled from Bravo to begin with. Unaware of her rudeness, as usual, her comments were a bit commercial since she is just a minute outside of Manhattan. It wasn’t like she was sent to be an outcast in Siberia.
Ramona grew up in Upstate New York, Rhinebeck, to be accurate, so it wasn’t like she had always hailed from the Big Apple. Her hometown has less than 10,000 people. Actually, Upstate New York is often made fun of since many cities, including Albany, look deserted and run down. So Ramona shouldn’t be throwing stones when she came from a glass house. RHONJ star Margaret Josephs quipped, “Did you get all your shots before entering?”
Ramona Singer wouldn’t last two seconds in the Garden State
I don’t think Ramona knew that New Jersey was ranked one of the best states to reside in. According to CNBC, the Garden State was rated number three among the best states to live and work in. Just an FYI, New York didn’t even make the top ten. New Jersey is full of diversity with a matching landscape. But I should have known Ramona wouldn’t appreciate my state when she once admitted that she never walked over the Brooklyn Bridge. Ramona made it known she would never go to Brooklyn or even eat in Brooklyn when Alex McCord invited the group to her home. And this is a borough in her literal state.
For years, Ramona has stuck her foot in it. But now I think it is time for her to do the Turtle Time walk of shame. It’s okay that you don’t like New Jersey, Ramona, because I am pretty sure most of us who live here aren’t fans of you, either.
TELL US — DO YOU THINK RAMONA FEELS BAD FOR HATING ON THE GARDEN STATE?
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Welcome back to our Real Housewives of Dubai Season 2, Episode 11 recap, where the women have just returned from their (mostly) healing trip to Bali. During this week’s episode, accurately titled “Hold Your Horses,” Brooks keeps the peaceful vibes alive by hosting a polo match. Not feeling peaceful anymore, however, is Sara, who almost had to live through a real-life version of the movie Taken. Meanwhile, Stanbury and Sergio remain at odds over their future, landing the Real Housewives of Dubai Season 2, Episode 11 in a rough spot.
Lesa, Stanbury, and Ayan want to keep moving forward, but underlying tensions are at play on Real Housewives of Dubai
Last week, everyone came together. As Ayan explains to her husband Chris, she and Lesa patched things up in Bali. Chris calls his wife a loyal friend.
Lesa and her man Rich have the same debrief, with Lesa noting that Bali “was a lot.” For her, the “worst part was obviously with Ayan.” Lesa then rehashes the voice note mess, and I never want to type anything else about this again.
“I guess she [Ayan] thought Stanbury was her friend. Now she knows she only has one friend, and that’s me,” Lesa recalls. Rich laughs, accurately noting that women are ridiculous.
The cameras cut back to Ayan, who also brings up the voice note storyline (UGH), telling Chris that Lesa stopped trusting her. Making matters worse, Lesa said this in front of everyone, which hurt Ayan. Even though Stanbury brought this voice note narrative up, Ayan is angrier with Lesa than with Stanbury.
Lesa tells Rich that Ayan slammed a door in her face. Taking to her confessional, Lesa quips, “I won’t forget. But I am okay to forgive to move forward. But I already told you, Ayan, you will get burned by Stanbury. That girl is not your friend.”
Ayan is being careful. She is moving forward with Stanbury, but she will do so slowly.
Stanbury asks Lesa to lunch. Lesa hopes this lunch with “a snake” is not used to help justify “her [Stanbury] throwing Ayan under the bus,” as Lesa finds this point of view invalid.
Stanbury’s birthday and Brooks’ polo match lie ahead, and a kind gesture arrives for Ayan Beauty
Photo Credit: Yasmin Hussain/Bravo
Stanbury and Sergio are thankful for their new home. The building process was stressful, which many of us can understand. Also stressful is her struggling friendship with Ayan. To help, Stanbury wants to fix things between Ayan and Lesa.
Sergio notes that Stanbury’s birthday is approaching. Stanbury hates surprises and does not want anything large. Sergio accepts her plea.
Speaking of big, Brooks is organizing a polo match for the ladies. In her invite, she tells her friends to arrive “dressed to impress,” as she “will be judging” their ‘fits.
Ayan Beauty is growing, so she meets up with her good friend Huda Kattan, the founder of Huda Beauty. Huda loves the samples Ayan shows her, but she tells Ayan to launch and strengthen her business before bringing on investors. She then offers to connect Ayan to the retailer Sephora, which, duh, yes please, Ayan answers.
Three cheers for women who support other women.
Sara’s shocking revelation about her housekeeper on Real Housewives of Dubai
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Sara, Saba, and Nina Ali get together, but Sara’s announcement trumps Nina’s return. Her “maid for the past six months has been closing the cameras in the house, bringing multiple men” into her residence. These men have also asked her maid for photos of Sara and her son. Furthermore, they want intel on Sara’s schedule, which WTF?!
In my head, I can envision myself expertly dropkicking every single one of these sketchy souls. Sure, my visions would fail in real life, but unlike me (thankfully), Sara lives in reality. She jumped to a practical response instead and called the police.
Sara further triggers my laughable inner street-fighter with what she says next. This maid’s phone contains pictures of Sara’s son. This cleaning c*unt sent these images to these men, and these mother-f*ckers texted back, commenting on her young son’s appearance, asking who picks up her son and at what time, and how much money Sara has in the bank, which one more time, WHAT. THE. F*CK?!
Sara fired her maid, and her maid is now in jail. But when she entered her maid’s room as she packed, she realized her maid was stealing from her. Nina notes, “She was probably plotting to take him for ransom.” Sara tells her she is correct and that she and her son are terrified.
Sara then reveals that her man, Akin, asked her to cancel an upcoming podcast gig because a hot man was involved. To keep things fair, Sara asked Akin to cancel his shoot, but he refused, so she is now rightfully irked. Saba and Nina do not think Akin is the one.
A solid lunch, followed by Brooks’ polo game and a tough ask from Sergio
Photo Credit: Yasmin Hussain/Bravo
Stanbury and Lesa’s lunch arrives. Their Season 1 fight is recalled, aided by a flashback from production, showing Stanbury labeling Lesa as an escort. Lesa cries. She worries people might believe this mess and cross her off their socials.
Stanbury apologies. Things end on a high.
Brooks’ polo game arrives next. The women (and their men) arrive wearing their polo best, in a non-matching kind of way.
Stanbury and Ayan have a sit-down. Stanbury apologizes again, noting the irony in her confessional about how she’s always the bigger person in times of conflict. Even still, it works, and their friendship is good again, for now.
The game starts, and Brooks judges her friend’s outfits. Lesa gets first place. Taleen gets second. Everyone cheers and heads home happy.
Stanbury’s birthday surprise closes out this episode. Sergio blindfolds her and brings her onto a yacht. It’s just the two of them. He gives her a cake version of their new house. He wins.
But Sergio wants a real win in the form of a baby. Turning to Stanbury, he asks, “Are we actually having a baby, or not?” Stanbury answers, “Right now, not.” She then asks him if this is a deal breaker, and it is, as Sergio remains adamant in his request.
Stanbury now has to “rethink everything” as the credits roll on RHODubai Season 2, Episode 11.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT REAL HOUSEWIVES OF DUBAI SEASON 2, EPISODE 11? DOES SARA’S STORY ABOUT HER MAID ALSO MAKE YOU WANT TO HIT THINGS? WILL STANBURY AGREE TO A BABY? HOW LONG WILL THE PEACE REMAIN ON THIS CAST?
Bravo delivered a hit back in 2021 when it premiered Family Karma. The series explored the lives of traditional Indian-American families who lived in Miami, FL. But what was different was that the network filmed not only the young adults making their way in the world but also their parents. The show gave a well-rounded view of how hard it could be to have one foot in the old world and one in the new world. The pressure and drama to live the best lives were real. The struggle was real between divorces, weddings, and finding the perfect jobs. So when Bravo decided to put the show on pause, fans were left scratching their head.
The storyline of Family Karma was genuine
I don’t know about you, but watching Amrit Kapai’s coming out story to his grandmother left me in tears. The professional lawyer had been dating his partner for years but his grandmother was always told he was just a roommate. However, during Season 2, Amrit bravely tells his grandmother the truth, and she shows nothing but love for her grandson. Amrit and Nicholas Kouchoukos filmed their big fat Indian wedding in hopes of encouraging other couples to live their authentic lives. To be honest there wasn’t a dry eye in the audience. Personally, I want more stories like this from Bravo and less fighting.
Vishal Parvani, who was the class clown of the group, opened up about his choice to become sober in Season 3. For the first two seasons, Vishal was the life of the party, and he often over-served himself. But in an emotional conversation with Amrit, he shared, “The issue is I’m lying about alcohol. No matter what the lie is, I shouldn’t be lying to her. Even here right now, I’m not comfortable being sober at a party. I use alcohol to overcompensate. I don’t think I’m interesting to people. I don’t think I’m fun when I’m not drinking. I just feel like I’m a f*ck up. I do think I have a f*cking drinking problem.” The problem was real for Amrit and viewers were invested in his recovery journey.
Family Karma won a GLADD Award
It didn’t come as a surprise to die-hard fans that Family Karma won a GLADD Award for Outstanding Reality Program. It truly is a shame that the series is no longer in production, and I would argue that Bravo sometimes doesn’t know how to read a room when it comes to its audience. Family Karma was never promoted properly and didn’t have a reunion. But the network is more than happy to have viewers sit through a toxic three-part Real Housewives reunion. Something is wrong here.
It is easy to understand why Family Karma won awards. The show was a breath of fresh air that highlighted genuine friendships. Upon accepting the award, fans could tell the win meant something to Amrit, who shared a story. The lawyer shared that he ran for Senior Class President while in high school, but he was “tall, lanky, kind of awkward, and very closeted.” Sadly, he didn’t get the votes and shared that he “wanted to disappear.” But Amrit perked up noting, “But right now, standing on this stage and winning this award in this moment, I feel like the Senior Class President.”
It isn’t a shock that the cast also wants to see Family Karma return. But you rarely get cast and viewers agreeing on the same agenda. The show was wholesome, so when Bravo announced its cancelation, nothing made sense. After the win, Monica Vaswani posted a cute TikTok in hopes of restarting the conversation. Fans agreed with the sentiment, and many took to the comment section. One follower wrote, “I don’t even know why you ended family karma. It was so good and DIFFERENT than all-white cast!!” Another fan added, “Bravo will put Michael Rapaport on our screens but not family karma?!”
With the constant fighting that the Real Housewives brings, it was nice to sit back and enjoy a show without motives. Hopefully, Bravo will hear our wishes and unpause Family Karma, but only time will tell.
TELL US — DO YOU MISS FAMILY KARMA? WOULD YOU WANT TO SEE IT BACK ON BRAVO?
Ariana Madix entered into her Andy Cohen era as host of the Love Island USA Season 6 reunion. The sit-down was highly anticipated after Season 6 became this summer’s must-watch TV. Fans had many questions for our Islanders as to how their relationship dynamics, both romantic and friendly, have been affected after leaving Fiji. Thankfully, Ariana was determined to get to the bottom of all of it.
Kendall and Nicole go head-to-head
Photo Credit: Jocelyn Prescod/Peacock
Kendall Washington and Nicole Jacky’s relationship has been up in the air since the Love Island USA finale. Sure, they may have exchanged “I love yous” before the show ended, but it wasn’t so easy after they stopped filming. Kendall also dealt with a very private NSFW video getting leaked online almost immediately after he left Fiji. Apparently, the horrible event led to some serious relationship problems between the finalists.
Essentially, Nicole was upset that Kendall initially lied about the origins of the video. He claimed it was sent to an ex-girlfriend from years ago, but Nicole discovered that Kendall had sent the video from his hotel room in Fiji prior to filming to a random person on a dating app. Kendall said that because of how overwhelming the situation was, he didn’t feel like he could be honest at the moment.
“I couldn’t even talk to my family about it I didn’t know what to tell you,” Kendall said. “I’ve literally never been in that position in my life.” Kendall did take accountability, apologized and essentially begged to fix things with Nicole. Even his fellow Islanders defended Kendall for trying to make things work with Nicole.
However, Nicole took the defensive route and it’s unclear if their relationship can survive. Ultimately, the Love Island USA Season 6 cast and Ariana reassured both parties that they are there to support whatever decision they make in their relationship. Based on the looks of it, reconciliation seems like a long road away.
Aaron seals his fate with Kaylor
Photo Credit: Jocelyn Prescod/Peacock
Alongside Kendall and Nicole, Aaron Evans and Kaylor Martin’s relationship status after leaving Fiji was one of the biggest mysteries. It was shocking that they even ended up leaving the villa together after all of the drama they went through this summer. “I’m not going to shed a f*cking tear because I did that enough this summer,” Kaylor said before the start of the reunion. As any fan might bet, that wasn’t really the case.
Kaylor spent her time after filming watching the show to see everything Aaron did behind her back. Additionally, she was around her strong support system of friends who reminded her not to take nonsense from a man. Aaron decided his best course of action was to reveal to Kaylor on stage a major lie he told during filming. He basically blurted out that he and Daniela Ortiz-Rivera had “lots of romantic connections” during Casa Amor and that he put his hands down Daniela’s pants at the time.
“I can’t believe I wasted my entire f*cking summer on you, Aaron,” Kaylor said. “I never want to speak to you again. You’re disgusting.” Everyone, including the audience, had to applaud Kaylor for finally standing up for herself. Aaron tried to talk himself out of it, but Kaylor wasn’t listening. Finally, Kaylor did what everyone wanted her to do for weeks in the villa – tell Aaron off once and for all.
The Andrea of it all
Photo Credit: Jocelyn Prescod/Peacock
After plenty of back and forth on TikTok and beyond, Andrea Carmona and Rob Rausch finally came face to face for the first time since the villa. Rob made it clear that Andrea’s over-active behavior on social media after getting voted off was his final ick, and he had no interest in pursuing things further. “It was shocking to me because the Andrea I knew wasn’t really like that. She was really calm and really put together,” Rob explained.
Andrea talked in circles trying to defend her actions. Thankfully, Leah Kateb and JaNa Craig, who was armed with a packet of receipts, weren’t letting her get away with it. They brought up all of the mean things that Andrea said about leaving upon leaving the show. Andrea tried to apologize, but Leah didn’t look like she thought it was that genuine.
As always, JaNa was the voice of reason. “Just keep Leah’s name out your mouth. Boom. Done. That’s it. Ari, next question,” JaNa said. Icon behavior.
The infamous unseen footage shown during the Love Island USA Season 6 reunion
Photo Credit: Jocelyn Prescod/Peacock
Of course, the conversation about Andrea led to the group talking about that infamous fire pit scene when the girls sent her home. Both Leah and Liv Walker made as many jokes about the word “backseat” as they could before Ariana rolled unseen footage of the girls deliberating before the decision.
Ultimately, the footage proved that it was a group decision. The girls didn’t even consider JaNa an option for going home because as spokesperson Liv said, “She’s our mother.” Leah definitely wasn’t pushing for Andrea to go home, but she did reveal an interesting truth to the group about why she was leaning toward keeping Nicole. “Certain things that Andrea has said to the girls have made her feel like she may or may not be here for the right reasons, as in the Love Island money,” Leah whispered in the group. Now that’s some tea.
After the entire lengthy clip, the group of Islanders agreed that the massive feud regarding Andrea’s banishment was nothing but a misunderstanding. The majority of the crew was able to kiss and make up, but that’s clearly not the case for everyone. Now, it’s officially the end of an era with the wrap of Love Island USA Season 6. We already can’t wait for next summer.
Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network via Getty Images
Buckle up y’all, because USA Network just dropped our newest obsession, The Anonymous. Each week, we’ll be covering all of the deceitful drama, because trust, there’s plenty of it. What better way to start than with a bumper, three-part Anonymous premiere?
Produced by the brilliant minds who brought us The Circle and The Traitors, this new competitive reality show is like a mashup of all of our favorite social strategy games.
Part of the game is played in the real world, while the other half is played in “Anonymous Mode.” With the help of DANI (Digital Anonymous Networking Interface), the sassy AI host, they compete in challenges to increase the cash pot each week. The goal is to be the most anonymous player in the game because that person gets to delete someone from the competition. Got it?
Clearly, NBCUniversal is expecting this to be a hit — they simulcasted the three-episode premiere across USA Network, Bravo, and even the SyFy network. Thank goodness they did, because we need as many eyes on this as possible. It’s chaotic, it’s catfishy, and we got some real gamers in the mix ready to stake their claim on the $100,000 prize. Here’s what went down during the three-part premiere of The Anonymous.
Meet the cast of The Anonymous
Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network
For the debut season of The Anonymous, the casting team managed to get some major personalities. We have Survivor alum Nina Twine, who just happens to be the daughter of the legendary Sandra Diaz-Twine. There’s also Big Brother winner Xavier Prather, who comes into the house ready to secure another reality show win.
At first glance, you might think that the gamers would have an advantage over the rest of the normies in the cast. However, in Episode 1, we quickly learned that each of these players brought their own unique skills to the game, and they all have secrets. Plus, they’re instructed to pick anonymous avatars so they can wreak chaos in Anonymous Mode. Here’s a quick rundown of the players and the avatars they chose in the first episode.
Marcel Cunningham / Dollar Sign: A professional video game streamer looking to bring his gaming skills to reality TV.
Sydney Dorsey / Wizard: A former pageant girl whose boyfriend gave her permission to flirt her way through the competition.
Dillian Frelow / Alien: A real-life influencer competing to be the Phaedra Parks of the show.
Lilly Jenkins / Pizza: A girl who says a total of five words in the entire three-episode premiere.
Andy King / Butterfly: A Fyre Fest organizer who became a meme thanks to a Netflix documentary.
Robbi Jade Lew / Dice: A professional poker player who tries to keep her cards close to her chest.
Kacie Mize / Shark: A self-proclaimed “wild child” with a sweet, Southern accent.
Xavier Prather / Fish: The first Black winner of a regular Big Brother season who wastes no time telling everyone that he won Big Brother.
Christopher Shulstad / Donut: A charming outdoorsman who claims to want to play an honest game.
Tyrenna Tolbert / Truck: An innocent-looking lady who is actually a senior enlisted advisor in the United States Army.
Nina Twine / Popcorn: The daughter of a Survivor legend trying to fly under the radar.
Jack Usher / Football: A professional board game player, because apparently, that’s a thing.
Welcome to the Anonymous
Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network
There’s a lot to take in with The Anonymous. The house looks like it’s straight out of a sci-fi movie. They have underground hideouts, and DANI is watching their every move. It looks like the had a major production budget, and on top of all of that, the gameplay moves quickly. Right off the bat, DANI warned the players that someone would go home every day, and she wasn’t bluffing.
In the first episode, the competitors were challenged to a memory game to help add money to the prize pot and earn safety from elimination. The tricky part: each player had to choose their level of difficulty for the game, meaning some people would get off easy while others had to memorize super long sequences.
Andy opted for the easiest difficulty, which immediately put a target on his back. On the other hand, Robbi had all eyes on her because of how well she crushed the challenge. Although she didn’t want to tell anyone about her poker career, her performance in the challenge revealed to everyone that she’s got a photographic memory. She could be a threat.
Entering Anonymous Mode
Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network
After their first challenge, the players entered their hideout and went into Anonymous Mode, to chat about the game as their secret avatars. These scenes look and feel like they were plucked right out of The Circle. Similarly to that show, it took approximately three seconds before the group chat started getting messy.
Immediately, everyone started calling out Lilly for being too quiet throughout the first day of gameplay. Andy and Sydney got dragged because they weren’t good at the challenge.
After hashing things out, DANI had each contestant nominate someone for elimination. Most people voted for Sydney, because of how she performed in a challenge. Nina said she just simply didn’t like her vibe. Either way, Sydney felt completely blindsided that the majority of her competitors voted for her to leave first.
Fortunately for Sydney, she wasn’t the only person who got votes. Lilly scored a couple of votes for being too mousey. Dillian got a vote from Marcel, seemingly for being too loud. Then, Jack nominated his buddy Andy to confuse everyone about his secret identity.
The Anonymous premiere claims its first victim
Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network
The final phase of Anonymous Mode is the test, where DANI challenges each player to try to match an avatar to a player, Whoever gets the least amount of correct votes becomes the Anonymous, which is basically like getting Head of Household on Big Brother.
In Episode 2, we learned that Jack became the first Anonymous and got the power to vote out one of the at-risk players. During the dramatic elimination ceremony, DANI revealed that Sydney AKA Wizard, had been kicked out of the competition.
After all of those nominations, that probably wasn’t too surprising. Either way, it’s a bummer for Sydney, because she hardly had a chance to even play the game. However, she can always say she was the first person ever eliminated from The Anonymous. Wear that badge with honor, Sydney.
“I don’t say mean things, but to the Anonymous, you can kiss my ass,” Sydney said upon being eliminated.
“I came into this game, and I told you guys that I was single, but I have a lovely boyfriend waiting back at home for me,” Sydney then revealed, to zero reaction from her competitors.
Is Jack gaming a little too hard?
Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network
As cliché as it sounds, things got very real for the players after Sydney got the boot. Anyone could go home for any reason without any in-game repercussions for the Anonymous.
With that power, Jack took it upon himself to kick his game into overdrive. He’s talking strategy a mile a minute like Dan Gheesling on Season 2 of The Traitors. It’s a lot, and he might end up talking himself into a corner, just like Dan.
For now, Jack’s strategy in Episode 2 was all about shifting the focus away from him and onto somebody else. Unfortunately, that person was Marcel. Somehow, everyone started looking at him with suspicious eyes even though he really hadn’t done anything noteworthy.
Meanwhile, Jack continued to solidify a friendship with Fyre Fest Andy. Poor guy had no idea that Jack was the main one working against him! The knife is firmly planted in Andy’s back and he has no idea.
It’s also worth noting that Jack was the only person who noticed that Nina resembled Sandra from Survivor. He’s onto her secret, and everybody needs to be watching their backs with this guy.
Balls to the wall
Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network
For the second challenge, the players had to throw a bunch of colorful balls into a giant goal. Whoever sunk the most balls would win immunity, but there was a catch. DANI explained that some of the goals had players’ names written on them. Sinking a ball into those holes meant that player would be blocked from having immunity. Messy.
Once the results were revealed, it turned out people were getting blocked left and right. Some of the players didn’t want to admit to blocking their competitors, but the cameras caught it all! Ultimately, Xavier won the immunity.
Later that night in Anonymous mode, the players nominated Lilly, Andy, Kacie, and Marcel for elimination. Jack’s plan to throw Marcel under the bus worked, and he wound up with the most votes. Meanwhile, Marcel cast the sole for Kacie, which seemed completely out of left field. What did she do to deserve that?
Jack’s wrath continues, and an alliance forms
Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network
In Episode 3, it’s revealed to us that Jack won the Anonymous for the second week in a row. He chose to eliminate Kacie, which was surprising to everyone. She only had one nomination, so how did she end up getting kicked out? Blame it on Jack and his expertly duplicitous strategy.
“In the real world, y’all know me as Kacie, but in Anonymous Mode, I was Shark,” Kacie dramatically revealed before leaving the competition.
The rest of the cast looked flabbergasted, and Xavier decided to shift into strategy mode. The other players already respect him because he’s an experienced gamer, so he became the ringleader of the show’s first alliance. He recruited Robbi, Nina, Chris, and Jack, and devised a plan to vote together to force people out of the house. For some reason, they decided that Tyrenna would be their first target.
Meanwhile, you couldn’t help but feel bad for her because she looks so sweet. The camera cuts to her just eating pizza and minding her own business while all of these gamers conspire against her. Tyrenna, you in danger, girl. Or is she?
Although everyone at home knows Robbi is the Dice, for some reason, everyone in the game becomes convinced that it Tyrenna was actually hiding behind that avatar. So, when they got into Anonymous Mode the following day, the chat lit up with accusations connecting Dice to Tyrenna.
Tyrenna chose to lean into it. If everyone matches her with the wrong avatar, then the alliance might mess around and vote Tyrenna in as the Anonymous.
Tyrenna comes face-to-face with elimination
Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network
In Episode 3’s Anonymous Mode, the players once again chose to nominate Andy and Lilly for elimination, along with first-time nominee Chris. Marcel wound up on the chopping block thanks to votes from Andy and Dillian, and then of course, Tyrenna got nominated by the alliance.
With literally half the remaining cast up for elimination, the stakes were already high, but then DANI challenged them to a face-to-face competition where their bluffing skills would come into play. They talk a big game in Anonymous Mode, but what about when they’re forced to make eye contact?
In the game, each of the at-risk players had to grab a box. One box had a ticket to immunity, whereas the rest of the boxes left the players at risk. The players could steal each other’s boxes, so the goal of the game was to lie to each other about the contents of their box. It’s like a horrible game of Secret Santa.
After a few minutes of back-and-forth and bad advice from the players on the sidelines, we learned that Marcel had the box with immunity, so he’s going to live to see another day.
That was great news for Marcel, but bad news for Tyreena. Now, her only hope for survival is to win The Anonymous. It’s very possible. All she has to do is continue to convince everyone that she’s the Dice. If she wins the power to eliminate, then Xavier’s alliance might be in trouble.
The Anonymous continues with new episodes, Mondays on USA Network at 11/10c. It’s also streaming on Peacock starting August 26.
TELL US – WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE SERIES PREMIERE OF THE ANONYMOUS? WHO DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO BE THE THIRD CONTESTANT ELIMINATED? DO YOU THINK XAVIER’S ALLIANCE IS GOING TO WORK OUT?
The Bravo Mom
