On this episode of The Real Housewives of Potomac, Mia opens up to Robyn about her marriage, and Gizelle and Ashley give us a glimpse into their new athleisure wear line. Karen plays favorites when she invites only *some* of the ladies to Surry County, but then realizes, almost too late, that the invite should be extended to all. When Nneka actually shows up despite being Karen’s second string, Wendy is less than thrilled to have to spend the day with her…
Gizelle and Ashley have decided to come up with an athleisure line full of rhinestones, lace, and mesh… Translation: “Very cute.” It seemed like a no-brainer for Ashley to go into this biz with Gizelle since Gizelle also likes to feel chic during workouts. A main driving force for Ashley to create GnA (the brand’s name) was to make money on her own accord since she can no longer really rely on her soon-to-be-ex Michael, the breadwinner. Ashley needs to learn how to make some money, not spend it.
Karen has her aunt Val and cousin David over to discuss the land and assets in Surry County. Karen talks about renovations and the structure of her grandmother’s place. She half-jokes about creating a weed farm on the land and chats about having *some* of the group there for the house blessing.
Mia and Robyn meet up at a Salt Sanctuary, and Mia explains that she is trying any type of holistic wellness after these last few hard months. Mia talks about Candiace‘s Mother’s Day event, and she discusses Karen’s house in Surry County, even though she may not be one of Karen’s chosen ones to attend. This makes Robyn chuckle, and then Robyn shares a funny story with Mia. Robyn says that when she first met Karen, she saw that Karen had a picture of her family saved to her camera roll! Super weird…
Mia then opens up and shares how she had retained a divorce lawyer about a year ago. Robyn wonders if Mia, the stripper, thought she would sit back and lead a life of luxury, but now that that’s not the case, she is trying to bow out. Robyn is no stranger to relationship woes and shares that she is not in therapy with Juan, despite everything that has happened. According to Robyn, their issues are not with each other, but more about enjoying life (…with each other????).
Wendy and her hubby head out for dinner. Wendy talks about how stressful the talk show has been since having to switch producers right from the jump. She is overwhelmed and just wants her microphone already. Eddie has gone into the weed industry, aka “the devil’s lettuce,” and he has named the company Happy Eddie, as an ode to last season’s name-calling. Because the couple is working so hard, they worry about their sex life, but they promise that no amount of business will keep them from doing their business.
Ray has decided to take Karen on a date day, and after 27 years of marriage, this is apparently what life becomes. Karen discusses her health journey and her recent health scare, but she changes the subject to something that causes joy in her life: the house in Surry County. Karen spills that although she is saying she is putting all of the names in a fishbowl to find out who can attend (due to insurance issues), she is simply putting the names of those she wants to attend in said fishbowl, leaving a select few purposely out.
It has been decided that Ashley, Gizelle, Wendy, and Candiace would be first string to help Karen celebrate the monumental time in her life. However, Gizelle declines right away…
Gizelle, and her mini dress, comes over to Nneka’s house. Despite what all the other women may be saying about Nneka, Gizelle is willing to give her a chance… plus they can chat about various subjects like babies, potential IUIs, and Karen Huger.
Nneka lets Gizelle know that Karen “tried” Nneka and claimed that Nneka moved to North Potomac. As a reminder, Karen is a renter, not a homeowner, AND she is throwing some shade! As Gizelle and Nneka sit down outside, the doorbell rings, and it is Charisse, who we learn is Nneka’s neighbor. They chat about Karen’s snarkiness, and Gizelle talks about the group Karen first invited to Surry County.
Gizelle shares who made the cut — Ashley, Candiace, Wendy, and Gizelle — and why she so swiftly shut down the invite. Gizelle is especially aggravated because she specifically told Karen that she would not want to be around the type of people who would outwardly cause harm to her life.
As they sit there chatting about this, Karen sends another text to the group, stating that (interestingly enough) Karen was able to evidently increase her liability insurance, and now all of the women are invited. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to be the second choice… and apparently neither do Mia and Robyn, who both say no. Nneka is left wondering what she should do now that the invite has been extended.
Ashley, Candiace, and Wendy roll up, and despite not being on the original invite list, Nneka decides to take Karen up on the trip. Karen makes it clear that everyone was invited, although her intention was to a selected few initially. It appears as though Gizelle declining the original invite made Karen realize she should open the floodgates for all of the ladies, but Karen will never confirm nor deny this.
Wendy talks about the Happy Eddie event, and when asked by production if Eddie will be inviting Nneka and her hubby, Iyke, Wendy’s silence is golden. While on the topic of events, Nneka wants the group over for an “unpacking party,” which sounds like an excuse to get everyone else to do her dirty work. Obviously, it will be a pajama lingerie party, and Wendy is invited… but the question is, will Wendy actually attend despite all of the issues she has been through with Nneka?
Ashley explains that she is going through a lot, especially now that she is making an athleisure line with Gizelle. The women cackle upon hearing this news, causing Ashley to only believe that they are jealous of her future business venture.
Because the ride to Surry County is taking forever, they stop off at a rest stop, and Wendy grabs herself a gas station margarita. After traffic added to the world’s longest ride, they finally arrive at Karen’s grandmother’s house. They tour the 104-year-old structure and greet Karen’s family, who are waiting in the home for the blessing. Karen is mind-blown that she now owns a part of the plantation that her ancestors slaved on — it truly is a crazy experience for her.
After the reverend blesses the house, the ladies switch into their overalls and start to get their hands dirty. They feign raking, get frightened by a fake snake scare, and call it a morning. They head to Karen’s aunt’s house for lunch, and they discuss how Karen had a first string and second string of invites.
They all seem happy Nneka decided to join them even though she wasn’t on the initial guest list. The only one not pleased by Nneka’s presence is Wendy, although Ashley thinks that Wendy and Nneka still might have the potential to make their relationship better.
Wendy stays silent, but she reminds Karen that she is there for her… because at the end of the day, this is a sisterhood. Wendy reminds Nneka that she called her a b*tch, called her mom a witch, attacked her husband, and talked about her sister. Nneka tries to state she didn’t attack anyone, and Wendy calmly says that Nneka’s existence is inconsequential to her happiness. She calls out Nneka for a lack of accountability because Nneka invited her to her event without trying to make things better between them first. Wendy repeats that “steps have been skipped,” and the point is most certainly taken.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE RHOP EPISODE?
