Terra Jole came back to reality on last night’s Little Women: LA, and that reality was filled with health problems and broken friendships. As Terra prepares for hernia surgery, Christy McGinity Gibel begins the slow process of recovering from neck surgery – including complications which resulted in a mini-stroke. Sadly, the group is so fractured at this point, they can barely support Terra or Christy in their time of need, focusing instead on their resentments and anger. Case in point: Briana Renee and Elena Gant.
Terra returns home after her press junket, which followed elimination from Dancing With the Stars. Tonya Banks has been Terra’s sole support system throughout her stint on the show, while Joe Gnoffo has basically been imprisoned with their two children (he can’t leave the house with them, given his own health challenges). After coming home, Joe admits he’s glad DWTS is over. Terra admits she placed a ton of pressure on him to single-parent their kids while she was gone, but now she has to face the music – motherhood and hernia surgery.
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Meanwhile, Christy is three days out from her disc replacement. As the first little person ever to undergo this surgery, she knew the risks, but still hadn’t planned on the surgeon nicking an artery. Given her complications, Christy won’t be on her feet for a while. But will Todd pick up the slack? she wonders. Um. No. Cue the marital discord!
At a sexy times lingerie/costume shop, Elena and Briana try on some risque outfits for their hubbies. Briana confesses that she wants another baby with Matt Ericson [Grundhoffer] (noooooo!!!), but since her last pregnancy was so rough, she elected to have her tubes tied. Now she regrets it.
The gals talk about Terra, who Elena refuses to reach out to. She’s still hoppin’ mad enough at her friend-turned-network-star that she’s drawing a line in the sand: She demands that Terra reach out to her. Fair enough, but kinda petty. Elena thinks Terra needs some tough love – after all, she dishes it out often enough. Briana offers that Terra might come down to earth once she gets back to regular life. Elena will believe it when she sees it.
Tonya and Terra go furniture shopping to outfit Terra and Joe’s new home, which they purchased just before DWTS began. Tonya fills Terra in on her Bell’s Palsy (still bothersome, but getting better), and Terra updates Tonya on her hernias: She’s got THREE now, and has ripped her entire stomach lining down the center. Aiiiieeeee! OMG. That sounds heinous. Terra will undergo a robotic surgery after her week of post-DWTS press, but Tonya delivers her own tough love now. She’s all, GET TO THE DOCTOR NOW! Terra is delusional if she thinks putting this off is worth a little extra media attention. Jeesh.
In her final weeks of pregnancy, Jasmine Sorge is more than ready to get this baby out of her. This pregnancy differs from her first in its difficulty – both emotionally and physically – and Jasmine just wants to move on to the next chapter. Her hormones have been raging, which is understandable, but she regrets taking her angst out on Chris so much. As she talks to her mom about the postpartum depression she experienced with baby number one, Jasmine’s mom assures her that things will be better this time. She has the love and support of family, always.
At a bungee dance class, or as Tonya calls it, “some wacky white people sh*t” Elena, Briana, and Tonya take turns face-planting in harnesses. This apparently passes for working out. Plus, Elena’s hoo-ha is on fire, so…maybe no more bungee dance classes in the future? Tonya fills the girls in on Terra’s health news. Elena gets even more enraged about her friend’s adamance about staying on DWTS. “She’s got two babies and three hernias!” bellows Elena, while Briana just snarks that she’s sooooo glad she never did DWTS, given Terra’s health fallout. Sure, Briana. Sure.
Tonya encourages the ladies to visit Terra after she has her surgery, but Elena refuses. She’s digging in her heels about Terra “forsaking” her, which is getting ridiculous at this point. Tonya seems to realize there’s no changing Elena’s mind though, so she drops it.
Back at Terra’s house, she and Joe discuss hernia surgery. After today’s procedure, Terra will have a 6-week recovery time, which places more strain on Joe around the house. He has no choice but to deal with it because he’s her husband, after all. And let’s keep it real: She is his meal ticket. “For better or for worse,” whines Joe, “So, when does the better start happening?”
At some sort of toy race car track, Jasmine and Chris are bonding in a made for TV moment. Here’s a recap of this riveting scene: It is boring. Oh – and Jasmine asks Chris if her mom can move in temporarily after the baby is born. By moving in, she means a 2-week stay. Chris says yes. (Can you handle the high drama, people?) Annnnnnd, scene.
As Elena and Preston walk their totally adorable babies in strollers around the park, Elena talks about Terra’s hernias – and her ongoing issues with Terra. The last time Elena saw Terra at the DWTS studio, Terra asked her to leave (after Elena barked at her for being a “bad mom” – which she notably leaves out of this convo with Preston). Now all she can think is “I told you so” when it comes to Terra’s problems, and she doesn’t want to support her. In fact, she doesn’t know whether their friendship will ever get back on track.
Yo, Elena – CHILL! Terra got eliminated only a week ago, and she’s prepping for surgery. Girlfriend ripped her damn stomach open! Through tears, Elena admits she does feel like a crappy friend, but she just can’t past their bad blood.
Post-hernia surgery, Terra, Joe, Penny, and whatever that sweet baby boy’s name ended up being (seriously, have they officially named that kid D’Artagnan yet?!) hang around in bed. Terra is in major pain – like C-section pain – and doesn’t know how she’ll be able to go back to normal. This recovery can’t be rushed. Joe tries to make some jokes to lift Terra’s spirits, but his special brand of snark isn’t appreciated at the moment. She feels guilty for saddling him with 3 kids now, but there’s nothing to fix this situation but time.
As Briana and Matt shop for baby things, Briana confesses how she’s been feeling down and overwhelmed lately. Does she have PPD? She’s not sure, but whatever is going on, it’s not pleasant. (I’d offer that she has a nasty case of the Matts, but my guess is she already knows this.) Through tears, she tells Matt that she might want another baby – that tube tying may have been a mistake.
Matt doesn’t agree. Briana nearly died with the last pregnancy, and he’s not ready to go through another experience like that. But he doesn’t have much compassion for Briana’s feelings, which he makes all about himself in his trademark way. Lashing out that she’s making it all his fault and he’ll leave her in the store to cry by herself if that’s how she’s going to be, we get a brief glimpse of the Matt Daddy we’ve grown to know and loathe. Briana, girl you need to whack him in the knee with one of those wooden rattles. Bullies only respond to force!
Matt finally calms down enough to sort of hear Briana’s feelings. She’s got heightened tears and sadness that don’t make sense to her, which does sound a lot like PPD. She doesn’t resent her baby, and doesn’t feel depressed about being a mom. But her emotions are volatile, so it may be time to get checked out by a doctor. Matt just wants her to feel better so she can keep earning those checks for his unemployed carcass.
At least Briana, along with Tonya, does make an effort to visit Terra to check in on her hernia surgery recovery. After being treated to a glimpse of her stomach wounds, the ladies discuss Elena’s beef. “She’s just not on your team,” says Tonya, who also spills that Elena is having second thoughts about naming Terra and Joe as godparents to her twins. Terra can’t believe this sh*t got so deep with Elena. Yes, DWTS took her away from her life for a beat, but it was the chance of a lifetime. And all of these ladies KNOW it, whether they’ll admit it or not. Briana certainly would have given her left t*t to compete. But now everyone just wants to guilt trip Terra, which is futile and stupid. Yes, Terra is a piece of work. But competing on DWTS does not make her Satan; it makes her more popular and successful than the rest of them (at least to larger media outlets). Which certain cast mates simply cannot stand.
Over at Christy’s house, she’s recovering in a recliner while her daughter Autumn helps out around the house. Christy, who has basically been shunned by the entire cast, now has only family to rely upon. And given his extreme weight gain, Todd is not much help. Christy, who can barely talk, needs help showering, eating – doing everything. But Todd is busy playing video games and eating “snacks,” according to Autumn, who (along with Christy’s mom) has become the main caretaker. Christy gave Todd an ultimatum that he needs to lose weight in six months, or else. But Autumn doesn’t believe anything will change, and Todd only has three months left. Frankly, it doesn’t seem like Christy does either.
“What’s the point of having a husband if he doesn’t act like her loves you?” asks Autumn. Christy doesn’t have an answer.
TELL US: IS ELENA TAKING HER BEEF WITH TERRA TOO FAR? DOES BRIANA HAVE PPD? ARE CHRISTY AND TODD HEADED FOR DIVORCE?
Photo Credit: Lifetime
