A lot can change in just a few months. The last time we saw The Real Housewives of Potomac, Mia fled the reunion stage, Stacey got called out for hiring TJ to be her on-screen boyfriend, and Karen sat in rehab, awaiting sentencing in her DUI trial.
In The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 10, Episode 1, “Second Bloom,” we’re in a whole different world. Karen got sentenced, Mia is MIA, and Stacey circled back to her ex-husband. A lot can change in just a few months, and we’re firmly seated for another season with the Potomac ensemble.
What happened in The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 10 Episode 1?
During the Season 10 opener, the ladies tried to cope with Karen’s legal troubles and move past the Season 9 reunion bombshells. A few months later, Ashley hosted the group (and their new friends!) for her first and last Second Bloom Ball. It’s meant to help usher in her new era as a divorcee, but was this also a second bloom for RHOP? We certainly think so! Keep on reading for the full breakdown of the supersized season premiere.
Karen Huger goes from Grande Dame to jailbird
In a miraculous feat of editing magic, Bravo kicked off Season 10 with footage of Karen leaving the Montgomery County Detention Center last month, after serving six months of her one-year jail sentence.
We have a feeling that we might be revisiting this moment of freedom later on in Season 10, but first, we flash back six months to the moment Karen received her sentencing. The cameras pick up with Gizelle, who is processing the news just like the rest of us. She’s shocked that Karen is in jail, but at the same time, she doesn’t want to see her rack up a fifth DUI.
To cope with the news, Gizelle invited all of the returning Housewives from Season 9 to her house. Ashley was the first to arrive, and as the last Potomac OGs standing, she and Gizelle commiserated over Karen’s fate. Gizelle said she hoped Karen was in the “elderly” section of the jail.
“Yeah, the AARP of the jail,” Ashley replied, with a straight face.
The rest of the cast trickled in, reacting with serious empathy, but also still giggling over the insane body camera footage that went viral. The phrase “Thomas Jefferson’s concubine” will not be forgotten.
Hilariously, the mention of Thomas Jefferson got Ashley thinking about TJ. They quickly pivoted the conversation away from Karen, and they put Stacey in the hot seat for the first of many times this episode.
What’s the tea on TJ?
The ladies were not ready to let go of the RHOP reunion bombshell, where TJ told Happy Eddie that Stacey paid him to play her boyfriend on the show. After the season wrapped, TJ went on social media saying that he had “receipts” to prove it.
At Gizelle’s house, Stacey shared a much different story. She said she spoke to TJ, and he felt “remorseful” for what he said about her. Allegedly, he wanted the opportunity to clear it up on camera.
“He wanted to come on TV and say, ‘Oh my god, I lied.’ This is awful,” Stacey insisted.
“Something awful happened to me,” she continued, sparking confusion in the room. Everyone looked at her like, “What happened?”
Stacey replied, “With TJ saying I was paying him!”
The women weren’t buying it. Stacey said she felt “shocked” by their negativity and stormed out—just as Gizelle dropped her own tea.
According to Gizelle, she and Ashley ran into an actress at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards, who is friends with TJ. Allegedly, that actress showed them court docs showing that TJ is suing Stacey because he promised her to pay him half of her RHOP earnings in exchange for his appearance on the show.
That reveal was wild enough, but Stacey’s next scene to things to a whole new level.
Stacey and Thiemo have a “second bloom” of their own
After the debrief at Gizelle’s, we jump ahead two months. We see Stacey walking into a dinner, and she says she’s “meeting someone really special.” It turns out to be her ex-husband, Thiemo. Plot twist!
“As crazy as that sounds, I am back with my husband,” Stacey eagerly explained in a confessional. “Do you see this glow?”
She said their reconciliation started when they took a Christmas vacation with their daughter. Allegedly, they got the notification about their divorce finalization while they were on the trip, and that made them realize that maybe they should give it another try.
“We’re going with the flow right now, and the flow feels good,” she said.
If they’re happy, we’re happy. The same can’t be said about her RHOP castmates — especially Ashley. As she embraces her finalized divorce, she’s side-eying Stacey’s convoluted storyline.
Ashley’s got a bone to pick
Ashley is planning the Second Bloom Ball to celebrate the fact that she’s finally divorced from Michael. Ahead of the party, she invited Stacey for a little shopping date, but it quickly went downhill when Ashley confronted Stacey about the TJ lawsuit.
Stacey brushed it off, saying, “Do you want to know the truth, Ashley? I have forgiven TJ. He has gone on with his life, and I’m in a completely new space.”
The “new space,” of course, is back with Thiemo. Ashley had her suspicions about that, too, and pressed her further. Stacey assured Ashley that she was “absolutely” divorced. However, Ashley said she couldn’t find the confirmation in the court records. The mystery deepens.
Two new Housewives enter the chat
With Karen sidelined, Bravo introduced us to not one, but two new Housewives this week, and they both scored invitations to Ashley’s Second Bloom Ball. It’s exactly what the show needed.
First, Angel Massie, who is introduced to the group via Keiarna. The two have known each other since they were 18, and K said they used to “hustle” together in their early twenties. We’ve got our fingers crossed that this doesn’t turn into another Mia and Jacqueline situation.
Angel is a mom, an entrepreneur, and a journalist. She’s from Maryland, and she’s got a handsome NFL player husband. His career took them to Colorado, but now he’s retired, and they’re back in the DMV. It sounds like the perfect fit for this show, right?
Next up is Tia Glover. She’s introduced to the group through Gizelle. She’s from London, and she’s a high-end real estate agent. According to Tia, she’s “prim and proper” Nigerian royalty. We’ll see how long that facade lasts in this group.
Kierna is reaching for a storyline
Ahead of the Second Bloom Ball, Keiarna confides in Angel that she’s feeling frustrated with her friendship with Wendy. She said that Wendy had been showing “microaggressions” towards her. Later in the episode at the Second Bloom, K decides to confront her one-on-one.
“I felt extremely taken aback by you, and I feel like you have this thing that you do in our friendship that’s phony,” she told Wendy.
The examples? Well, let’s just say they weren’t earth-shattering. Wendy wasn’t buying it, and honestly, neither were we. If Keiarna wants to beef with Wendy for a Season 10 storyline, she’s going to need to bring stronger material.
Stacey and Ashley go head-to-head at the ball
At the Second Bloom Ball, everything for Ashley went according to plan. Then she got to descend a staircase in a ball gown like Cinderella, celebrate her divorce, and unload on Stacey over her questionable relationship with the truth. ‘Twas the perfect night for a messy queen.
“Something smells fishy with you, but still, I move past it” Ashley told Stacey, right after telling her that her breath stinks.
The conversation spiraled pretty much immediately. Ashley refuses to let go of the fact that Stacey won’t address the TJ situation. The mystery surrounding her divorce just adds more salt to the wound, but Stacey won’t budge. As the credits rolled on Episode 1, the two started screaming at each other in the middle of the ball.
“You are a full-grown woman who came into this group and misrepresented yourself,” Ashley said, fully pointing her finger at Stacey.
“You are the devil!” Stacey shot back.
The Real Housewives of Potomac airs on Bravo every Sunday at 8/7c. Stream it the next day on Peacock or Hayu in the UK and Ireland.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC SEASON 10 EPISODE 1? DID THE NEW HOUSEWIVES MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION? ARE THE LADIES BEING TOO HARD ON STACEY?
