They say that if you play with fire, you're bound to get burned — but it seems like no one ever told Cynthia Bailey that. Despite many red flags, the aspiring lifestyle mogul was determined to force Kenya Moore and Kim Fields to collaborate on a commercial for her eyewear collection. But she was hardly the only cast member from The Real Housewives of Atlanta who seemed to be somewhat out of touch with reality on the Sunday, January 24, episode.
Kandi Helps Todd Prep for Baby, Even Though He Insists He Doesn’t Need Help
Realizing her due date was fast approaching, Kandi Burruss urged her husband, Todd Tucker, to talk about their plans for life after the arrival of their baby. "How much of the time do you think I should be home?" Todd asked when Kandi brought up the subject of sharing childcare responsibilities.
"Fifty percent," she replied without a pause. Todd's reaction was a pretty clear indication that he had a different percentage in mind. "I hope Todd understands that this baby is a joint venture," Kandi said to the camera.
"This is my first time having a baby from scratch," Todd admitted. Still, he insisted he already knew how to change a diaper and refused to let Kandi entertain the idea of hiring a male nanny. (A female nanny seemed to be OK.)
For her part, Kandi revealed that she did hope to breast-feed, but only for a very limited time. "I am not going to be having a kid walking up to me talking about, 'I'm ready to suck on that t–ty,'" she explained. Fair enough.
Phaedra Moves Forward With her Divorce
Deciding it was time to face her marital situation with Apollo Nida, Phaedra Parks opted to begin her divorce. "I've got to start thinking about my life since he was selfishly thinking about his," she reasoned before heading to her lawyer's office.
When asked how she felt about letting her two sons, Aidyn and Dylan, visit their father in prison, Phaedra paused. "Apollo and I have some different feelings on that," she began. "I want them to be old enough to not be emotionally traumatized. I'm not going to put them in a room where there are molesters and all kinds of crazy folk."
For now, Phaedra is keeping her boys away from all that. "We have consulted with counselors and psychiatrists, and when they think the children are mature enough to go to a facility to visit him, then that's when I will pack them up and take them there," she said.
Then she and several attorneys began discussing their hopes for her divorce settlement. Everyone agreed that Apollo wasn't "in a position to make lots of demands," but also agreed that there was no guarantee he wouldn't try. For the most part, Phaedra seemed optimistic.
Kim Hosts a Beatless Brunch
In an attempt to socialize with the ladies on her own terms, Kim decided to host a "beatless brunch." ICYMI, that meant everyone was supposed to show up makeup-free. It probably goes without saying that the women were not particularly jazzed about this theme.
Kandi, Cynthia and Sheree Whitfield pretty much followed the rules, and Phaedra sported light(er) makeup and false lashes. Porsha Williams came completely done up, wearing not one, but two sets of false lashes — but insisted it was only because she'd come straight from work. And Kenya arrived with her usual face on because, as she put it, "I'm a grown-ass woman."
Kenya also took Kim to task for urging them to all go makeup-free when Kim sported hairpieces on the regular. "The last time I saw her she had a wig on her head that looked like two poodles fighting," she said, laughing … and that was before she even stepped foot in Kim's house (dun, dun, dun!).
Brunch was going fine until Kenya told Kim that she didn't appreciate the way the invite was presented. "When I listened to [your invitation] and it said that we needed to be reminded that makeup is to enhance our beauty, I did feel that that was a jab or an insult," Kenya said. "I don't think that anyone should tell me how I should look. I guess that's what I didn't appreciate in the invitation." Instead of replying immediately, Kim swallowed the bite in her mouth first and Kenya snapped, "So are we doing that dismissive thing again?"
Eyewear Purveyor Cynthia Might Be Blind
It was unclear whether Cynthia didn't see the tension between Kenya and Kim or whether she chose to overlook it, but either way, the Bailey Agency founder moved forward with her plan to bring the two women together to collaborate on a commercial for her sunglasses.
"I think that we each come up with our own creative and then we can just pitch it to you," Kenya offered. "We can figure out what our roles will be then and maybe Kim can do the same." Kim nodded, but as she closed the door she mumbled, "When you direct 200 or 300 hours of television, then we can talk." Just to be clear, for Kim, those are harsh words.
When the big meeting finally came, however, the seemingly inevitable blowup between Kim and Kenya didn’t happen — because Kenya didn't show up. "I was a little disappointed that Kenya was not able to make the meeting," Cynthia said. "When I wanted to be a part of Life Twirls On I made sure I was at the casting and I was on time." With a sigh, she added, "I have no choice but to take Kim seriously," she added. Umm … yeah, considering she was the only one who bothered to come to the meeting.
Kim presented a solid concept for the commercial that Cynthia loved, yet for some inexplicable reason, Cynthia still wanted Kim to work with Kenya. "I don't codirect," Kim said flatly. Still, Kim agreed to try to work with Kenya, since that was Cynthia's hope.
Meanwhile, instead of attending the meeting, Kenya was at her construction site of a house with a guy named Matt who she had been dating for a month. "I think this is the future home of my family," she cooed at him. "Meaning, children and a husband." Oh, Kenya, being subtle as usual.
Tell Us: Do you think Kim and Kenya are going to be able to complete the commercial peacefully?
The Real Housewives of Atlanta airs on Bravo Sundays at 8 p.m. EST.
