Welcome back to the latest recap for The Real Housewives of Orange County. Last time, Heather hosted a Valentine’s Day celebration. Jennifer introduced her friend, Carmella, to the ladies. And Shannon enjoyed a trip to Puerto Vallarta to visit Vicki. Here’s what happened in RHOC Season 20 Episode 2: “Not On My Bingo Card.”
What happened in Real Housewives of Orange County Season 20 Episode 2?
Tamra confronted Heather about the state of their friendship. Plus, Carmella unpacked her complex romantic history. And the ladies celebrated Emily’s birthday, Golden Girls-style.
Jenn is in big trouble in The Real Housewives of Orange County
The Season 20 taglines were a mixed bag, but Tamra’s was the best. “I’m still the hottest housewife. And that’s my opinion.”
Shannon, Jennifer, and Gina met up to try a bungee workout. Afterwards, Gina revealed that she planned a party for Emily’s 50th birthday. Emily can look forward to a surprise Bingo Drag Brunch, and the group will dress as old ladies.
Naturally, Gina and Jenn brought up the fact that Shannon didn’t speak to Tamra during Heather’s event. “She basically told Tamra that we all talk sh*t about her when she’s not here,” Gina said, referring to Jenn. “My intention was not to cause problems for Heather and Tamra,” Jenn said in her talking head.
In a flashback to the previous week, Heather told Jenn, “I always feel in this group like everyone sort of buddies up, and I don’t feel like I have a buddy. You have to be my buddy now.” According to Jenn, she could “see this spiraling” with Heather, and she wanted “to fix it.”
Meanwhile, Emily and her hubby, Shane, were doing publicity photos for their new podcast, ‘Til Death Do Us Part. “We wouldn’t be doing more if it was ‘tanking,’” Emily told her husband, referencing Tamra’s remarks at the Season 19 reunion.
In addition, Tamra recently told Gina and Heather that Emily was “ungrateful” for not publicly thanking her or her podcast co-host, Teddi Mellencamp, for giving Emily’s podcast a launching pad.
“When you say something about my podcast that isn’t accurate, that really pisses me off,” Emily said in her confessional. “Why are you insulting something that makes you money?” So, Shane suggested sending a thank-you card.
All boxed up in The Real Housewives of Orange County
Heather joined Tamra for dinner. Of course, she didn’t like how her party ended. “I didn’t like you walking off. I didn’t like the conversation I had with Jenn afterwards,” Heather said.
However, Tamra explained that Jenn told her that Heather talked about her behind her back and claimed that Tamra was “in a box.” She added, “Basically, I’m not friends with you like I think I am.”
That fired up Heather. “That is infuriating!” she responded. Heather, in her talking head, insisted that Jenn grilled her about Tamra, and the footage backed her up.
Heather remarked that she “can have a problem” with Tamra’s actions, and still “reach out” to her. “You talk about me like I’m a serial killer,” Tamra replied. “I don’t feel like you like me.”
While Heather had Tamra’s back last season, she noted that Tamra “did have a lot of outbursts.” Finally, Heather admitted saying that she “puts people in boxes.” Fancy Pants added that “everyone is in their own box” because she has “different relationships with everyone.”
Yet, Heather gave a different opinion in her confessional. She admitted that previously, “There were probably many things I wouldn’t say directly to Tamra because she’s scary sometimes. But you have to compartmentalize certain parts of people so you can enjoy the other parts of them.” Finally, Tamra asked Heather not to speak to the rest of the RHOC cast about her, and Heather happily agreed.
Vicki dropped a bomb about her ex-husband in RHOC
Vicki went to see Tamra, and they dissected Heather’s party. After Vicki called it “weird,” Tamra shared her conversation with Jenn. “I think that Heather, she’s basically downplaying our friendship to them,” Tamra added.
“I think Heather is surface friends,” Vicki opined, while Tamra called her “a people pleaser.” Meanwhile, Vicki was frosty about a welcome-back text that Heather sent. “Heather, you’re not the leader of the pack. I am,” Vicki claimed in her talking head.
Next, Tamra discussed how Emily’s podcast was on the Two Ts in a Pod’s platform. “So, iHeart gave us our own network where we can hire, and we get a percentage of each podcast that we put in,” she explained. “We tested Emily out, and when the podcasts go out, they go out to all of our subscribers.” Tamra continued in her confessional, “If you look at the numbers, when she’s on our feed, there is a huge, huge difference. So, for me, it felt ungrateful.”
Meanwhile, Vicki revealed that she ran into her ex-husband, Donn Gunvalson, because he “lives in the desert.” In her talking head, Vicki remarked, “It was a nice encounter, so to speak, but it was hard for me because I flash back to all our life together.”
She told Tamra, “I just wanted to hug him and kiss him, and I was just like, ‘I’m so sorry I divorced you.’” Unfortunately for Vicki, her boyfriend, Michael Smith, was standing beside her. AWKWARD!
Carmella’s life is complicated in RHOC
Shannon met Carmella at a boutique and invited her to Emily’s birthday brunch. The duo hit it off at Heather’s party, and Carmella spends part of her time in the area where Shannon grew up.
Carmella married Jeff Garcia, an NFL quarterback, when she was 21 years old. They “never divorced.” When she met Jeff, she was the 2004 Playmate of the Year.
“The early 2000s, like everybody was at the Playboy mansion. George Clooney, Michael Bay, [and] David Schwimmer,” Carmella shared in her confessional. “I remember leaving a Halloween party one night with Leo DiCaprio. I did not sleep with him, though,” she added. “But I should have.” After that, she worked for the WWE on Monday Night Raw.
Carmella’s house in Rancho Santa Fe was gorgeous. She is the mom to two sons and two daughters. And they are all teenagers. Lordy!
Next, we met another part of Carmella’s world, her live-in boyfriend, Danny. “So, to meet somebody that was accepting of me and my children, and what was, like, the most important to me, meant something,” Carmella said in her talking head.
Are the ladies judging Carmella in The Real Housewives of Orange County?
The ladies arrived for the Drag Brunch, and I am living for a pantless Tamra sporting an adult diaper and leopard-print coat. As Vicki, complete with curlers and slippers, entered, the screen read, “The Olden Girls.” Amen, and pass the cheesecake!
When someone commented on Carmella’s ring, she remarked, “That was actually a gift when my husband cheated.” Carmella explained in her talking head that she learned of the infidelity because he left his iPad out. “And I was like, ‘Hell no, you mother*cker.’” The newbie stated that they were not legally divorced yet. She refused to give up any time with her children, so she stayed in the marriage.
Finally, Emily showed up and saw her friends. She commented that Vicki looked just like Thelma Harper from Mama’s Family. That was a spot-on comparison!
After some bingo, the next game was quizzing Carmella about her love life. She had been dating “somebody on and off for the last decade. So, we’re in a rebuild trust situation,” Carmella said. And that was because he cheated.
However, Vicki had no sympathy for Carmella. “So, I don’t know how her children are going to be affected by all this,” Vicki said in her confessional.
Meanwhile, in her confessional, Carmella confessed, “I love Danny. I do believe that he’s changing, but I struggle getting over what took place.”
Finally, Jenn interrupted the chatter to apologize to Heather. So, Heather responded by claiming that Jenn was the one who repeatedly mentioned Tamra. Then, Tamra and Emily moved on from the podcast drama, with both parties apologizing.
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs on Thursdays, 8/7c on Bravo. It streams on Peacock the next day.
TELL US: WHAT DID YOU THINK OF RHOC SEASON 20 EPISODE 2? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF CARMELLA SO FAR?
