The ladies are still in London celebrating Shannon‘s 60th birthday on this episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County, but things are not going as smoothly as Shannon had hoped. After being attacked by Tamra the night before, Shannon is done explaining herself and is ready to expose Tamra for who she really is. Jenn is stunned to see just how low Tamra is willing to go and a confrontation for the books ensues…
Over breakfast, Shannon and Emily are trying to figure out why Tamra would go after Shannon the night before. Shannon is tired of being called a liar, especially when she has the proof stating otherwise…
In the meantime, Tamra and Katie discuss last night, too. Katie wonders why Shannon just can’t sit and talk when things get dicey. Tamra wants Shannon to take accountability for her actions, like admit she asked John for a loan. Katie wonders why Shannon would get plastic surgery if she is struggling financially and Tamra claims that Shannon is always spending more than she has.
While sitting poolside, Gina fills Jenn in on the text thread Shannon showed her from 2018. In this text, Alexis admits that she was part of suing Shannon and Tamra. The real kicker is Tamra KNOWS about this text, yet continues to call Shannon the liar. Shannon is the one who is telling the truth, yet Tamra chooses to attack her for lying. Jenn thinks that Tamra kept this text message a secret because she is focused on making Shannon look bad. Take for instance when Tamra tells Katie that Shannon’s superpower is to make people feel bad for her.
When Heather comes up to talk to Shannon about what went down, Shannon is “blown away” since the conversation she had with Heather in Sonoma was to stay between them. Heather points out that Shannon shared all of it on the Jeff Lewis show. Shannon claims she has a right to defend herself and Heather questions why Shannon didn’t just pay John to make it go away. Shannon storms off and brings back tiny hand-written notes on everything she has ever spent with John, and Emily wonders if Shannon has ever heard of Excel.
Gina stews over Heather’s actions and wonders why Heather would feel used. Heather is already on Gina’s list and now she brings Jenn over to her side. According to Gina, Heather was questioning why Jenn would be wearing a $2,000 dress to Shannon’s tea party if she is having financial problems. Sound familiar? Heather even called Tamra to chat about the price. Jenn believes that Tamra does not have the capability to be friends with anyone. She even wonders why she keeps accepting Tamra’s apologies…
When Tamra brings this up to Katie, Katie explains that she thinks Ryan bought the dress for Jenn. Tamra points out that there is some stress in Jenn and Ryan’s household with the FBI. Why can’t Tamra just “let the mouse go?” According to Tamra, Ryan’s business partner is a bookie and the casinos send them on trips to gamble. Katie hopes that Jenn has a plan B and Tamra wonders where Jenn will go if things go south with Ryan.
The group hops onto a double-decker and the Duchess of Corona Del Mar dons her purple robe and crown, while the rest of them wear their tiny tiaras. Gina brings up the mammogram thing with Heather and states that she feels bad for hurting Heather’s feelings. However, Gina points out before they even got to the facility, Heather texted the group that she didn’t want to talk about anything. But according to Heather, that doesn’t change the fact that no one asked her results.
Gina wonders why this makes it seem like she is not a good enough friend to Heather and Heather brings up paparazzi gate. Gina then references the WWHL when Andy was shady about her home and Heather did not stick up for her. Heather lets Gina know that if she’s upset, she tells her, while Gina brings stuff up from months ago because she needs a “win.” Heather calls this whole situation bullsh*t, but Gina is confused why Heather, as her friend, is not riding hard for her.
Gina, Emily, Shannon, and Jenn parade around a market and take an old time photo. As they put on their costumes, they talk about how harsh Heather and Tamra are when they are together. Gina tried to communicate feelings, but she is realizing that Heather is “a control freak” who “holds onto her feelings until the end of the world.” Gina feels gaslit by Heather and her actions.
It seems like the group is very much split now, especially when Jenn tells Shannon and Emily that Heather was judging her for buying a $2,000 dress. Shannon’s sound advice is that Heather and Tamra just focus on their own lives…
Later, over dinner, they toast to Shannon. Jenn then outright asks Heather why she called Tamra to discuss the price of her dress for the tea party. Heather turns it, naturally, by making it seem like she was “worried about” Jenn, since she only gets $6,000 a month. What’s the big deal and who cares why she is wearing what? Emily worries that maybe Jenn is trying too hard to be someone she is not.
After Heather apologizes, Jenn is unsure where to go with Tamra. Jenn feels like Tamra wants the ladies to know Ryan is a piece of sh*t, and makes it clear that all the Ryan stuff hurts her, too. Tamra also apologizes to Jenn, for the 1,782 time.
Shannon tells Tamra that she talked to Gina about Alexis’s text from 2018 and wonders why Tamra didn’t tell anyone in the group about it. Emily points out that the same scrutiny Tamra and Heather apply on Shannon, should also be applied to Alexis. Shannon always seems held to the fire about everything, whereas Alexis always gets a free pass. Shannon and Tamra go at it and Tamra tells Shannon to shut up and suggests Shannon leave.
This new Shannon realizes that this is HER trip and now that she is setting boundaries, she sees that Tamra’s main goal is to hurt Shannon.
As Shannon heads off to bed in preparation for her daughters’ arrival, the rest of the group parties late-night. The next morning, Gina, Shannon, and Jenn talk about the “Tamra pattern.” They refer to her actions as cruel. In the meantime, Emily and Tamra head out for some juice. Tamra wonders why she always has to bow down to Shannon, but Emily doesn’t understand why Tamra has zero compassion when it comes to Shannon. There is no reason why Tamra should have to continue berate her.
Because Shannon has had enough of Tamra talking behind people’s backs, she brings out her secret weapon to drop another bombshell: old text messages. Shannon turns the table on Tamra and shows Jenn an exchange where Tamra states, “I’m asking my friend’s husband if he can do a background check” on Ryan. Tamra is stooping to a new level and according to Jenn, “Tamra has no soul” and is trash, since she is trying to ruin her family.
Jenn immediately confronts Tamra. Tamra swears to God and on her kids’ life that she did not do a background check on Ryan, but the receipts provided by Shannon prove otherwise. As Jenn finds her voice, Tamra smiles and claps, claiming she is so happy Jenn is finally speaking up for herself. It is ironic that queen “take accountability” is not taking accountability for HER actions, but it’s time Tamra own up to it all. Yet, Tamra refuses to admit she hired a private investigator to dig up dirt on Ryan and believes that Shannon is just trying to rile Tamra up. Jenn tells Tamra she needs to grow up, points out her kids are with her, and everyone is happy. Boom. After making her point clear that Tamra talks behind everyone’s back, a stunned Heather simply states, “that was a lot.” Maybe it’s time Heather rethink HER friendships. To be continued…
TELL US – THOUGHTS ON THIS EPISODE OF RHOC?
