Makeups and breakups and shakeups, oh my! Real Housewives of Atlanta’s sixth season Dec. 14 episode had plenty of team building and breaking. Besties turned sworn enemies Cynthia Bailey and NeNe Leakes reunite — while a longstanding beef between Kandi Burruss’ mother, Mama Joyce and Kandi’s mother-in-law, Miss Sharon, threatens to keep the two families apart. Can’t we all just get along?
1) Cynthia and NeNe reconcile!
Last week’s epic dinnertime confrontation continues as Cynthia and NeNe try to figure out their breaking point. NeNe maintains that she’s still “shocked and appalled” that Cynthia was willing to neglect their friendship “in front of a bunch of people that didn’t care” — namely, the other Housewives (who gracefully left the restaurant so that NeNe and Cytnhia could duke it out in private).
Cynthia thinks that the reason for their undoing stems from NeNe calling Cynthia’s husband Peter Thomas a bitch. NeNe, who shows a shocking display of emotion when she breaks down in tears, tells Cynthia that she “would’ve changed whatever [the problem] was in order to continue [their] friendship.”
Cynthia ponders if the two went too far — you know, if you consider tweeting, shady blog posts, and name-calling a stretch. She says that she wants the two to “continue to be friends and support each other” like they used to. NeNe says that she just wants them to move on. The two share a long, warm embrace — white flags raised. Well, almost. Though Cynthia says that she’s optimistic the two can get their friendship back on track, NeNe claims that she “never makes the same mistakes twice” in her confessional. So much for that major Kumbaya moment.
2) Return of the Househusband
Someone who isn’t thrilled about the biggest reconciliation of 2014: Peter Thomas, who’s always more than happy to comment on Housewife drama. The next day, a visibly happier Cynthia filled her husband in on her conversation with NeNe.
“I can’t lie — I would like for us to be cool again,” she admits to a skeptical Peter.
“[She] did a bunch of really foul things…you don’t want to hold her accountable to the b——t that she did,” Peter responds.
“I understand that y’all are friends and y’all care for each other, but I don’t want to go back to that…the last six months, I was extremely in paradise,” he continues. “What am I going back to? I don’t want to compete with that again.”
He warns Cynthia that NeNe really needs to “respect the friendship,” or he doesn’t want to “hear NeNe’s name up in [his] house.” Someone hand this guy a peach!
3) Georgia peaches take the Big Apple
Welcome to New York! Kandi Burruss visits husband Todd Tucker in Manhattan where he’s working on a production project. He takes her to his home borough, the Bronx, where she’s an honorary Around The Way Girl for the day — she rides the subway, eats a classic slice of pizza, and even trades her Giuseppe sneakers for Timberlands! “The things we do for love,” she sighs.
Cynthia, no stranger to the city, plans to walk in a runway show for her friend Kithe Brewster’s line during New York Fashion Week. Even though she just celebrated her huge Ebony Magazine Sexy at Any Age shoot, she’s still a little bit insecure about ripping the runway like she used to — and about the few pounds she’s picked up since her heyday.
Kithe applies a little pressure as Cynthia practices her strut in his showroom.
“I don’t want you to close the show and it looks like I had you close the show because you’re my best friend,” he chides. “I want you to look like I chose you to close the show because there was no other choice.”
“If I don’t rip this runway, the next runway that I’m going to see is going to be the one at LaGuardia airport taking me and my ass back to Atlanta,” she says before the show.
Despite her initial fears, Cynthia manages to face her fear and looks gorgeous while opening and closing the show.
“I am Cynthia Bailey,” she snaps. “Now what else is going on?”
4) Phaedra’s back in business
You can’t keep a good woman down! Though Apollo Nida is nowhere to be found, Phaedra Parks will “never let her jobs-s-s suffer over this Apollo mess.” Her first order of business — handling a case for close friend and fellow Bravolebrity, Derek J. The hairstylist seeks Phaedra’s counsel after a client who claims that he stole her weave sues him!
“You can not be the hair burglar of the South,” Phaedra tells Derek. It’s a silly case, but Phaedra’s confident that she can handle it — and win.
“I don’t lose nothing but weight,” she assures Derek.
5) Miss Sharon sounds off
Over a New York City dinner with Cynthia and Peter, Todd and Kandi have a huge argument about who else — Mama Joyce. Todd tells the table that his mother, Miss Sharon (who sadly passed away from a stroke Dec. 1.), is still upset about Mama Joyce’s claim that Miss Sharon was a prostitute.
“Her mother just makes everybody feel f—-d up,” Todd sighs.
Kandi, who’s always quick to defend the actions of her mean mama, wants to move on, but Todd says that Kandi has a tendency to sweep things under the rug.
“At her age, a lot of older people disrespect and say whatever the hell they want and they don’t give a damn,” Kandi says.
“That doesn’t make it okay, though,” Todd spits.
Later that week, Miss Sharon gives Kandi a piece of her mind as well. Todd asks Miss Sharon if she’s ready to move to Atlanta, and Ms. Sharon cites Kandi’s mom as a reason why she won’t be packing her bags anytime soon.
“Your mama threatened me,” Miss Sharon tells Kandi. She continues that she’s “never been a prostitute — check my résumé.”
Miss Sharon is upset that Kandi lied — last season, Todd initially asked Kandi if Mama Joyce had only said negative things about his father (and she did, of course — Mama Joyce called Todd’s father a pimp). Kandi didn’t tell him that Mama Joyce had spoken ill on Miss Sharon as well.
“Y’all two were about to get married…you start out lying?” Miss Sharon questions.
Kandi acknowledges that her mom says “stuff about everyone all the damn time,” but like her son, Miss Sharon says that it doesn’t make it right.
“If you expect this to be a family that’s going to work…your mama can’t run the family,” Todd tells Kandi. “When does this s–t stop?”
Miss Sharon, who wants an apology from Mama Joyce, assures Kandi that if anything goes down, she’ll be ready to rumble.
“Your mother might get punched in the mouth when I see her,” Miss Sharon tells Kandi. Miss Sharon says that she has backup of her own — cohorts to help her out just like Mama Joyce’s infamous Old Lady Gang. Granny get your gun!
