Family Matters, but friends… can be harsh — that’s the takeaway from episode 7 of The Real Housewives of New York City, which had Ramona Singer throwing herself a second birthday party, Bethenny Frankel confronting her stepfather after decades of being incommunicado, and Carole Radziwill and LuAnn de Lesseps sparring over Carole’s man-pet. Sorry, we mean boyfriend.
Ramona’s Birthday Celebration Continues
Apparently not sated from the trip to Atlantic City, Ramona hosted a ladies luncheon with her closest girlfriends (including her fellow Housewives) to celebrate her most recent trip ’round the sun. “It’s a lot of blondes, a lot of boobs, a lot of pulling and tucking,” Bethenny reflected on the scene. “Some women look so amazing you can’t believe their age and some women have gone so over the top that it looks like the Star Wars bar.”
Meanwhile, Sonja Morgan chatted with a Swami Priestess. We don’t know what that means either, but she seemed more than happy to help Sonja channel a magical vortex of energy. Somehow their discussion included an invite to the priestess’ beach house so that Sonja could refocus on her writing. (Sidenote: Sonja is also a writer.) Sonja reported her progress back to Bethenny, but the Skinnygirl mogul didn’t seem too impressed with her friend’s revelation.
“I don’t know if she saw two Hare Krishnas as she walked in the building and is now drinking Kool-Aid with Jim Jones,” Bethenny said to the camera. “I don’t know what she’s doing, but she’s not doing anything that we talked about.”
Not to be outdone by any of her friends or Swami priestesses, Ramona gave a toast — for herself. “What I really want to say is, in life, s–t happens,” she began, before adding that the way she has gotten through it is with her girlfriends. “I am the luckiest woman in the world, I really am,” she declared to cheers and applause.
Bethenny Suffers a Serious Blow
While Bethenny had lots of advice for Sonja, she’s still clearly still trying to get her own life together. Lamenting to her therapist about her “failed talk show” and “failed marriage,” she admitted, “I’m just in shock about the whole entire thing — the way it’s all gone down.” She then revealed that she’s begun speaking to John Parisella, her stepfather who raised her. “He was the only real father I’ve ever known,” she told the camera, explaining her decision to meet up with him when she’s in Miami.
For the most part, their reunion went well, except for one moment when John told her flat-out that her mother (whom she hasn’t spoken to in decades) didn’t want to be a mother at all. “You have to understand, she never wanted a child,” he said with the tone you might use when asking someone to pass the milk.
“She never wanted a child. Excellent. That was evident,” Bethenny quipped, though she was clearly stung. While this news didn’t seem particularly shocking to the mother of one, something about her face implied that hearing out loud was a bigger blow to her than she had expected (not that anyone could blame her).
“I’m sorry for what you experienced,” John offered when he realized that may not have been the best phrasing. “I’m sorry for so many things that happened.” Bethenny seemingly forgave him, despite just having finished reiterating the list of terrible things he’d done to both her and her mother.
“I appreciate you saying you’re sorry because you’ve never really said that before,” she offered. Ultimately, the pair made up enough to agree that they’d get together the next time Bethenny hit Miami with Bryn in tow. This episode was entitled “Family Matters,” and this very moment is probably why.
Ramona Takes a Swing at Dorinda’s Man
Back in the city, Ramona and Dorinda Medley met up under the guise of a workout, but neither of them broke a sweat. The outing seemed like a thinly veiled attempt on Ramona’s part to buddy up to Dorinda, whom she thought was going down the wrong path in love. That’s right: Ramona doesn’t like Dorinda’s boyfriend, John.
“I just don’t see her with him. I just find him very crass. Maybe it’s not even that. I don’t know if he genuinely cares for her the way she thinks he does,” Ramona explained to the camera later. “Dorinda has a nice apartment in New York. She has a beautiful home in the Berkshires. John doesn’t live in Manhattan. He lives a different lifestyle. I don’t believe that he’s there for genuine caring and love.” Calling John out for not living in New York City proper? Them is fightin’ words, Ramona!
Sonja-Young Is a Dirty Word
That was the least of the fighting, however. Ramona, LuAnn, Carole, and Kristen Taekman headed to a boxing match (which Kristen in particular seemed to enjoy) — and afterward, the real punches got thrown. Joined by Heather Thomson — who missed the fight to be with her kids, which annoyed Kristen for no apparent reason — the ladies asked LuAnn how she was feeling about the fact that Carole was still hot and heavy with her 28-year-old chef, who ICYMI also happens to be LuAnn’s niece’s ex-boyfriend.
“He’s a little young and he’s my niece’s ex-boyfriend, so what can I tell you? It’s a little weird,” LuAnn quipped in reply. Quickly taking sides, Ramona jumped in full force, arguing that she understood Lu’s feelings because, “Her niece is like her daughter.”
Carole didn’t seem the slightest bit bothered by anything they said, however. “Adam and I are still seeing each other, sort of much to my surprise,” she dished to the camera during her personal interview. “But he likes me, I like him. It’s not much more complicated than that. We’re having a good time.”
The conversation then turned to a sticking point: Just how long ago did LuAnn’s niece and Adam break up? According to Carole, it was “a long time ago.” According to LuAnn, it was “six months” ago. Radzi wasn’t buying it, though, and pushed LuAnn further to verify the date, which, it turns out caused the Countess to back down a bit. “Well, it feels like yesterday,” she said under her breath before going in for the kill. “He’s very young. It’s Sonja-young,” she snapped.
That finally seemed to get under Carole’s previously impenetrable skin. She didn’t say much at the time, but her anger was written all over face. “Lu lecturing me on dating younger men is like the Saudi government lecturing the world on feminism,” Radziwill later said in her video interview. “I love Lu, but sometimes, she can be a hypocrite of epic proportion.”
Naturally, LuAnn used her personal video to get in her two cents as well. “I knew there was chemistry when Carole met Adam at my house. It’s nice to have good-looking guys around, young ones, sure! But to date? Come on,” she said with a dismissive shrug. Oh, she also gave Carole a polite reminder. “[Adam] is in Nicaragua right now with my niece,” she said with clear delight. Carole said she knew they were still friends and it was all good, but we’re pretty sure she wanted to drop kick LuAnn to the curb. (Is dropkicking allowed in boxing?)
But Carole is Redeemed (Sort of)
Adam, still on vacation with his more age appropriate ex-girlfriend, called Carole from Nicaragua. He reported that Nicaragua was “great” and he was enjoying his time harvesting honey on “the farm” (whatever that is).
“He texts and he wants to FaceTime. He’s Instagramming little messages. It’s insane. You can’t even miss anyone anymore,” Carole reflected on the changing times. ” You only miss the physicality, the weight of a man on top of you. They can’t figure out an app for that, but once they do, I’ll be good.”
So we know where both Lu and Carole stand on this one, but we still don’t know Sonja’s feelings about LuAnn’s dig, which, now that we think about it, she may have taken as a compliment.
Tell Us: Did Bethenny’s conversation with her stepfather break your heart? Where do you stand on the Carole/Adam situation?
