Making herself comfortable in the den of shrews on this season’s Real Housewives of New York, Dorinda Medley weighs in on All Things Confrontation in her Bravo blog this week. Claiming to feel more part of the group lately, Dorinda cites the ladies’ Atlantic City trip as the catalyst for girl bonding. “I’m starting to feel ‘familiar’ around them, if that makes any sense,” says Dorinda. Yes. Familiarity usually ensues after seeing your castmate’s snatch on the dance floor, then taking care of her drunkety-drunken carcass afterward. She adds, “The sheen of being a ‘NY Housewife’ isn’t entirely there anymore, because I’m one of them, you know? During and after the Atlantic City trip, I started to feel more comfortable, more at ease, and more like ‘one of the girls.’ Considering how they carry on sometimes, I’m not quite sure if that is a positive or a negative just yet. Maybe a little of both?”
Moving on to Ramona Singer’s birthday bash, Dorinda points out that “Ramona is great about having the never-ending birthday that never ends (redundancy intended),” adding, “In reality, her birthday is November 18, but the celebrations start shortly after Halloween and continue throughout the month of November, Thanksgiving be damned. It’s like Ramona Heritage Month. Our next stop on the birthday train was at Fishtail with ALL of her friends. And I mean ALL of them.” As one of the Upper East Side elite, Dorinda gives us her take on Ramona’s 30 closest friends: “These girls run the Upper East Side with an iron fist. They basically buy out every season at Bergdorf’s before it makes it to the floor. They’re a fun crowd—colorful characters—and Bethenny was right: It’s like the Cantina’s greatest hits from Star Wars. Of course, they’re all jockeying to be Princess Leia, though c’mon, Ramona’s the birthday girl. We know she’s the princess in our midst. After all, it is November…”
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As for Carole Radziwill, Heather Thomson, and Bethenny Frankel – well, they might not belong in Ramona’s inner circle after all, according to Dorinda. She claims of the UES bunch, “I don’t typically run with these girls, but over the years of living in this ‘hood and being one of those ‘ladies who lunch,’ I guess I can comfortably say I’ve claimed my seat at the table, so to speak. Seeing Heather, Carole, and Bethenny there was like spotting animals that wandered into the wrong habitat.” Although Heather is more versatile and adaptable, says Dorinda, Carole needs to take several seats. In a dirty diner downtown. “Carole, babe, I know you’re coming back up ‘here,’ but I think that hat needs to stay downtown. ‘Hobo chic’ doesn’t really play well north of 57th Street,” says Dorinda. Although “Watching Bethenny was the most entertaining for me: She just wants nods and smiles and gets out as fast as possible. Kinda wish she would’ve taken me with her…there’s only so much chat about personal shoppers, the traffic on Fifth Ave., and what a disaster DiBlasio is that one can take before they start obsessing over fine lines and poodles.”
Moving on to the Carole/Luann de Lesseps/Adam situation, Dorinda says, “This one is a hard one, because I get the way Luann feels: She’s a mom, and it’s her niece at the center of this issue. At the same time, I also get Carole’s perspective. She’s never been a mom, of course, but she lives a very youthful life, downtown, surrounded with young people. I believe her and Adam really do have some sort of connection—no doubt about that. Is it love? I don’t know, but obviously it is something.” Not wanting to get involved in her friends’ private lives (really? what show do you think you’re on, D?), she adds, “As long as they’re happy and the person they’re with is happy and they’re not hurting anyone by being together, then I’m fine with it.”
“Speaking of private lives…I was so surprised to see how open Bethenny was about her past and her family,” continues Dorinda, “In may ways, she and I grew up around the same people. My grandfather loved race horses, being around the track and all those characters—some of which were colorful, to say the least. Evel Knievel was one of them, so that might give you a sense…” And although she admits she could relate to Bethenny’s story somewhat, “it was a tough scene to watch at the end of this episode. Listen, we’re all looking for love. Some of us are looking for a love we once knew, others for a love we see others enjoy, and some are just trying to find what love means to them. In the end, we all want to be needed, wanted, and desired. But there’s nothing that completes that quest quite like a mother’s love. One can “suck at relationships” till they’re blue in the face, but not finding love or a mate to love you or make you feel loved is, at its core, entirely conditional…A mother’s love, however, is unconditional. It’s a given. It’s something that gives those of us blessed to have it, an accelerator, a momentum in life. Knowing you have a “home” in someone’s heart because they are part of you and you are part of them is sometimes all you need to go take on the world. Without that mother’s love and affection, it’s got to be difficult to not feel lost.” Truth.
Dorinda believes that Bethenny’s success – as a mother and a mogul – is largely due to her struggles, adding, “This is why Bethenny is such an amazing mother. So devoted, so compassionate, so unconditionally in love with her daughter…it’s inspiring to see and moving to a fellow mom. As you’ve come to see, Bethenny’s a titan through and through.” More questions than answers arise when thinking about what makes Bethenny tick, though. Dorinda wonders, “Would she have had the same drive and determination had she not experienced that kind of pain? Is that where she gets that hardcore, no-nonsense attitude to petty crap? Is that why a clash with Bethenny is like clashing with no other titan?”
Ending her blog on a note of peace, love, and ladies-who-lunch harmony, Dorinda sums up: “It’s all fascinating to me. And now that I finally feel like ‘one of the girls,’ it’s some of the best popcorn drama I’ve ever seen. I almost can’t wait to watch what happens next. It’s all so…yummie.”
TELL US: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF DORINDA’S TAKE ON THE LADIES THIS WEEK? SHOULD SHE SPEAK UP MORE ON CAMERA?
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