#3014 RHOM S7E17 Part One: Slay-bells

0:02Ben Mandelker: Acast powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend.

0:10Ronnie Karam: You're listening to Momarchy.

0:11Ben Mandelker: I'm Sarah. And I'm Tanya. And this is a podcast where two millennial moms get real about raising kids and making sense of the world. We're calling out the BS, breaking down the headlines and laughing through the mess. Because honestly, what else can we do?

0:24Ronnie Karam: So whether you're here to learn, vent, or just feel a little less alone, we're so glad you're here. Hit subscribe and let's navigate the chaos together. We are about to take the drama out of politics and the shame out of motherhood because this is Maverkey.

0:56Watch what happens when there's so much that happens. Watch what happens when there's so much that happens.

1:13Ronnie Karam: Well, hello and welcome to Watch What Crapens, everybody. So good to see you. I'm Ronnie. That's Ben over there. Hi, Ben. Hi. how are you wonderful happy monday my little friend thank you i have to issue a formal apology

1:30Ben Mandelker: to the listeners it's one of those moments formal apology because it came to my attention from my wonderful co-host rondell ronnie carham that for who knows how long the audio from my computer like the any like alerts like oh you got a text message or i'm sending a text message out or whatever, all these little bits and bops and beeps has been getting channeled directly into the podcast audio of the recordings. And so I'm really sorry that you've been listening to this podcast and you're hearing whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop. Like, I'm so sorry. I had no idea.

2:12Ronnie Karam: At first I thought it was just a Shannon impersonation because it was like, no, no, no.

2:18Ben Mandelker: It's like this on the heels of my microphone acting, crazy last week. I just feel like I am failing at the audio game. And so I really, no, for real, I'm really sorry. That must have been very distracting for people. And I just didn't know. I had no idea. You know what?

2:33Ronnie Karam: Everyone checked their phones a few times during that last year.

2:35Ben Mandelker: I had no idea. Did I know? No. Did I know? No. So sorry, everyone.

2:39Ronnie Karam: Well, welcome to the show, everybody. It's the Real Housewives of Mijami finale, season finale, everybody. It's going to be a super fun one. Okay. Monday, we have Amazon live at 4 PM Pacific time. You can find details on our bio Lincoln bio over at Instagram. So head over there for that. Also we're on video as we are every day. You can watch videos fresh on our Patreon and that's also where you get our bonus episodes. We just did a great British bake off or baking show cast roast. That was super fun. And next week we're going to do something different and fun too. So you never know what you're going to get.

3:21Ronnie Karam: So join us over at Patreon. And thanks to everybody who joins us over there. We love doing our Patreon stuff. Okay. And now here we are with Real Housewives of Miami. What did you think, Ben?

3:34Ben Mandelker: Oh, well, you know, it's Miami. Always good. Always great. Always hilarious. Always good. I'm sad it's done. I'm sad it's done. I don't know. You know what? I thought the whole episode was wretched. Wretched. It was wretched.

3:54Ronnie Karam: So here we are, season 7, episode 17, Frosty Friendships. We open at Mary's also. I'm having a Christmas party. All right, but it's Miami, so it's hot. So we're going to have a pajama Christmas party. I'm going to have a claw machine, but in the claw machine, you can get jewelry. Dios mio, the best Christmas party anybody's ever been to.

4:19Ben Mandelker: I love parties. I love the holidays. I just want to bring a little bit of Christmas to Miami. It doesn't feel Christmassy because it's so fucking hot outside. Am I right? Oh, God, I'm wacky.

4:33Ronnie Karam: Look at my Santa, bro. It's like, oh, my God, it's Santa there. There's the Santa if I've ever seen one. Look at Santa. Look. Look at Santa. So Santa's waving at Alexia on the phone. She's talking on the phone to her. And Mary's still like, yeah, there's no big agenda behind this. It's just a fun Christmas party. I mean, maybe there's no agenda. Yeah. I love that she thinks people are like, she's having a Christmas party. What's the agenda?

5:02Ben Mandelker: And Alexia's like, well, I just want to be there and like have fun with you, you know, girl. But I can't, you know, because, you know, like, I'm having fun in front of Frankie. You know, I have to undo all the damage that Todd did in front of Frankie, you know. So Marisol explains, well, the one time that bro and I don't communicate, which is, you know, we usually talk daily and she has a Christmas event at her salon. I'm like, this was probably producers trying a last ditch effort to draw a wedge, like put a wedge in between you two. They're trying, I think all the time to get these two to turn on each other.

5:31Ben Mandelker: Like what if they have dueling parties and now people have to make a choice? Then they'll get mad at each other.

5:36Ronnie Karam: It's just, I don't believe that they didn't know that each other was having a party. This is crazy. I think Mary, I think Alexia was like, no, I'm going to have my happy hour. So you know what? You do what you want. We'll see who shows up where. But we don't really get a fight out of it, which is kind of a fail. There were multiple things, actually, that were coming to a head that should have been a fight. And people are just getting too mature to fight about it. So they're like, let's not have a fight. And they're like, OK, look at us not fighting. Because things on Bravo have gotten to the point where you've got Real Housewives of New Jersey being so toxic and fighting so much.

6:10Ronnie Karam: much that they get put on pause and half fired, you know, for all we know. And, you know, Andy's doing this thing now at the end of reunions where he's like, are you going to make up? Like, so you forgive each other? Where do you see this relationship going? And if they don't see it going anywhere, they're fired. Pretty much is how we've seen it pan out for the past couple of years. And so now on this show, I think they're paranoid. So they're, they're just trying to make up, but you guys, you have to have the fights and then make up. You can't just make up before the fight.

6:40Ben Mandelker: right so alexia is like well you know i was thinking like i can have you by the way remember in a flashback i invited everyone over to my party no okay so like this was the only day i could do the happy hour so it's just like really bad luck because the other days i was um let's see wednesday was avoid marisol thursday was avoid marisol friday was avoid marisol so like really that's the only day i could do it but then she decided to do something my one day where i

7:02Ronnie Karam: wasn't avoiding her so that's too bad i love she's it's a business like the only day we could do it It was that one day. It's the only day for the salon. It's like the only day the salon's not booked at night. Like, okay. So she's like, well, some will come to mine. Some will go to hers. And it's what it is. She's still my rusty. I'll send you some goody bags, honey. She's like, okay, don't do it in front of Frankie, though. It could hurt him. So then we go to Alexi and Frankie's Beauty Bar. And they're cheersing. They're like sitting back in one of those like massage chair things, cheersing each other.

7:36Ronnie Karam: and it's like, cheers to us because you know where we're at right now? Alexi and Frankie's Beauty Bar. It's crazy. I can't believe we're here, Frankie.

7:44Ben Mandelker: You know, I'm not going to lie. I've abandoned Alexi and Frankie's Beauty Bar for the last year because of all, you know, kinds of problems I've had in my life, dude, you know. And so like now I'm like ready to take control again because you know, like my mental state is better. I'm like, wow, I'd love to hear that. I'd love to hear that like a guy can like play mind games with you and then like your entire company has to suffer because of it. Like get rid of Todd. Like this guy's bad for even for your business.

8:06Ronnie Karam: I'm not going to get rid of Todd. So give it up. Maybe you could support me a little bit. Okay. Like we're going to have some drinks and then we're going to do manicures and pedicures and have some bites. And you can only do it on one night a week. So truthfully, when Frankie and I, because like, you know, like, look, Frankie and I have a magnet to bring in people and bring in money. You know, like the days of Frankie and I are Alicia and Frankie's beauty bar. We have really good days. It's so good here. Some of these days are so, so, so good. Right, Frankie? And he's like, party, party, I like that.

8:38Ronnie Karam: And then we go over to Mary Saul's and she's wearing a green furry hat. And guess who was there? The woman who designed my fabulous new rug, Miss Jill Zarin herself. Can you believe I got a Jill Zarin rug? You got a Jill, your rug is a Jill Zarin rug? Yes, I got a new rug and it is a Jill Zarin rug that I got from, I think, Ruggable. And let me tell you, it's a nice rug. I have a Jill Zarin.

9:04Ben Mandelker: You know it was a Jill Zarin rug?

9:05Ronnie Karam: You got it? I did. I did. And I want to show, I want to tell people I'm only sharing that with you because that's personal growth for me to be able to buy a Jill Zarin rug. Supporting other women. Okay. Yeah. Look at you. That's right. Wow. Every day I walk into that room and I say, ah.

9:29Ben Mandelker: So Jill's like, oh, I love your hat. I love your hat. I have a question. When you walk on your Diet Coke, do you hear a voice in your house? I was going to say, when you walk on your rug, do you hear a voice that says, I can show you how to make a real Diet Coke. I can show you how to make a real Diet Coke. It would have been funnier if I hadn't just said the lunch line.

9:46Ronnie Karam: You got to have a glass and you got to have ice. That's how you do it.

9:50Ben Mandelker: That's how you do it. That's how you do it.

9:52Ronnie Karam: So, yeah, she's like, your hat looks like a Christmas tree. And then Stephanie comes and she's like, oh my God, if you weren't wearing the hat, how am I supposed to find you without the hat?

10:07Ben Mandelker: so then they're putting out PJs and Marisol's like, Oh my God, we got a smorgasbord, a cornucopia of goodies all over the property. Look at all this. And so Larsa comes in and she's like, hi, like, hi, like happy holidays. Like, like happy holidays and this and that next YZ like, and they're all like, uh, they're all these like tables that are set up and they can get free shit and try on jewelry and all that fun stuff.

10:35Ronnie Karam: Yeah, they've got the jewelry claw. Oh my God, you've got a machine that gives us diamonds. And Larsa's like, I always win. Look, you guys, like I always win. Like, I won, I won like diamond earrings. Like, all I do is win. Like, all I do is win.

10:50Ben Mandelker: Like, so she says, I don't know. I guess I'm just a, I'm like a good gold digger. Like, like, like. So then they're like opening up their, their, their stuff. And Marisol's like, oh my God, I lost my cock. Guess what? Cockies are back. You all thought I gave up cockies for the season. Bring it back for the finale. Oldie but goodie. Am I right? Where's Dick?

11:12Ronnie Karam: My friend was staying with me and Jessica when I was watching this. And she goes, what the fuck is a cocky? She's got this big booming deep voice. And she goes, did that lady just say she lost a cock? And I said, no. She said cocky like cocktails. She goes, that's fucking stupid. Yes. I love watching with someone else who has never watched it before.

11:36Ben Mandelker: She's like, what is wrong with their faces? Someone who hasn't been beaten down and had all this stuff normalized. So Gertie goes over to like one of these tables where a lady is like making little jewelry chains or whatever. And Gertie's like, okay, what do we have? Okay, ladies, talk to me. Talk to me. Okay. Okay, I don't want any charms. Okay, like get rid of the charms. This has to be smaller. Okay, take out the crown. Take out the crown. I don't want this either. Take these two off. Come on, there's a lot of free stuff and time is money. Time is money. Let's get this going. even large i was like gertie like that's not how you talk to people like gertie you can't do that gertie she's like listen there's a lot of chaos a lot of free things things need to go quickly i cannot be wasting time with extra crowns on my bracelet here hurry up hurry up i gotta get as

12:17Ronnie Karam: much as i can okay so we have things to do we have things to do nobody acts like that who behaves like that oh you know when you have free things and you're like oh my god i want to take as much as I can. That's what I'm doing. I'm doing it. She's like, well, just make sure you at least like whatever you're getting like. She goes, okay. You know what we're going to do? A countdown. Okay? And then we're going to run, and we're going to get you. It's like speed dating, but it's shopping.

12:46Ben Mandelker: Marisol, Marisol, like, I want to take a good photo with you. She's like, oh, yeah, pips. We're going to take a picture with Santa. Come on. They all take a picture. It's like funny and everything. And Marisol's like, wow, look i got some expensive friends here and she's wretched this one over here is wretched not ratchet

13:03Ronnie Karam: you know the word there's a difference in the words just making a really light joke about in a racial situation i'm gonna inflame in about 10 minutes what a christmas party i love it hey santa love your paul love your paul santa he's like please get off me please i don't get paid for

13:21Ben Mandelker: for this. Oh, look, everyone. That's Adriana. Okay. Hello. Okay. Pop star. Okay. Look, I'm obsessed with your top. I'm obsessed with it. And, and, uh, Adriana's like, well, yes, yes, I'm here. So they all walk over and they get, they're like getting, uh, Adriana and PJs because they're all putting on these PJs and there's all these like patterns and it's a lot of like clothing racks going on. It's actually a pretty good party. There's like a lot of free shit for a, for a Christmas party. I have to say.

13:48Ronnie Karam: Yeah. Marisol has done this before, right? where she has these parties where she just loads people up with shit. I mean, this is the way to go for sure. Marisol is actually very good at throwing events, and she usually gets the best brands to give her stuff so she can re-gift it to us. But it's okay. You know what? Buy me today. I'm here for it. I'll give you peace in exchange. That comes back to haunt her. Yeah, really. So Stephanie goes up to Santa, and she's like, Dear Santa, last year I asked for friends, and this year I got them. Oh, that's like so sad.

14:22Ben Mandelker: It's so sad. Especially that all these people can't stand her clearly. Yeah. Then we go over to Alexia and Frankie's booty bar. And so Julia shows up there and she's like, I admire Alexia for continuing our business. We as women need to always rely on ourselves because only we can pour water on other people's heads. No one can do it for us.

14:45Ronnie Karam: Which is why I only marry hundreds of millionaires. 100 millionaires yeah exactly so Kiki shows up and she's got her daughter Summer with her and she's like I mean who knows what's going to happen with Todd it's important for her to have plan B and that's for every woman you can't throw all your eggs in one basket because these men are going to turn on you you know who doesn't turn on you vibrators

15:14Ben Mandelker: so Julia is telling Alexia it's a beautiful event And Alexia is saying how she's like, I'm really happy. I'm really happy. You know, this is what a star looks like when she's happy. It's my face.

15:23Ronnie Karam: Look, star. Yeah. You know why? Because I love to connect with my customers. I love it. I love talking to people. Watch this. Hi. Look at it. I'm like a natural. I'm like a star. Welcome. Amazing. Amazing.

15:37Ben Mandelker: I love to connect with my customers, which is why I ignored this place for a year.

15:43Ronnie Karam: um so um they're making small talk and stuff uh summer it's getting your nails done and julie is like oh this reminds me in a few days martina and i are making an event with florida grand opera and the agency that we adopted our boys from foster we are all going to unite opera and foster children finally the two things that people want to do on any given night spend

16:10Ben Mandelker: and spend time learning about foster children

16:13Ronnie Karam: and opera at the same time. I would love to unite causes because classical music, its prison, has such healing powers and I'm seeing how helpful it was to my little boys who have been through so much trauma and what an impact Beethoven has made on their behavior. I'm like, what are you, what are you talking about?

16:34Ben Mandelker: Maybe you should play some Beethoven for your daughters.

16:37Ronnie Karam: Opera has totally changed their their kids maybe they hate you

16:48Ben Mandelker: people are upset at me people are upset at me about my i don't really well i mean i don't really don't honestly i really don't give a shit about the daughters and and their relationship because i like i don't know like last week well because last week i was like you know those kids they should just like i don't know i think my mindset's kind of like oh get over it kids already but people but are like, you don't understand what's like to have toxic parents. This is for privilege. I'm like, that's probably fair. That's probably fair. And I accept that. I also don't think it's that deep. It's just like, it's just like Julia's kids.

17:18Ben Mandelker: Like who really gives a fuck? They're just gonna be spoiled brats in Europe. Okay, everyone, whether, whether, whether they should, whether they should erase Julia

17:27Ronnie Karam: or not, whether like, honestly, you know. No, I mean, that whole Julia's kids thing. I mean, I don't know. I don't know what I've said. I've probably changed my mind a million times, but I don't know. None of us really know what's going on, right? So it's kind of easy to just make jokes. Like, we have no idea what's going on. Here's what we do know. Julia didn't even know where her kid went to school. Julia is a fake manipulative person. She's a bad friend, and she's kind of a self-involved dick. So, I mean, this whole time I've been, like, team kids, you know? Like, I'm on their side, but it doesn't really bother me when you're talking.

18:06Ronnie Karam: Yeah. I like, fuck those kids either. Cause part of me is like, I mean, you're so rich.

18:10Ben Mandelker: You're just, the other thing is that they're spoiled brats too. You have to admit like, they can all be terrible people. I mean, this is like watching, it's like succession, you know, it's like, you don't, you're really, you're not really rooting for anyone. Are you? But I mean, I can't imagine happening, but I wouldn't be,

18:22Ronnie Karam: I can't imagine if my parents just adopted kids and didn't tell me. Yeah. I don't know. I don't know.

18:29Ben Mandelker: I don't know if I, I mean, you would, you would, if your mom was like, Because I feel like it would be my responsibility now.

18:35Ronnie Karam: We've named him Ben. We've actually named him Ben. We've got a second chance at Ben, you know?

18:40Ben Mandelker: I dare you, mother. I think I would just be mad because I know the responsibility would fall on me and that'd be so annoying. Yeah, me too. I can't imagine living with Martina as easy. Yeah.

18:50Ronnie Karam: Like when you're older, like you're adopting a kid with Martina and then who's going to end up taking care of this child? Me. That's what I would feel. That was my initial thought too. It's like, you're going to leave all this shit to me and I'm not adopting these kids, but you're kind of making it my responsibility in a way.

19:05Ben Mandelker: And now I have to love these kids like my brothers. And I'm like, I don't even know who these kids are. And like, you never, it's kind of like when you go over and someone makes you hold the baby, I'm like, why do I have to hold the baby? Like, I don't, why, why? And it's kind of like, that's, so I totally get that from the daughters, but I also feel like the daughters have just like, just like live some, they're just like traipsing around Europe at all times. So I'm always like, okay. they live this really wonderful life and then they're going to be like we're mad I'm like I don't really want to hear from you either you're like oh complain to a croissant I know I know oh you know what I'm so sorry that you hit your mom maybe what you should do is go hang out with your like rich Elton John adjacent like godparents down in the south of Spain instead you know I'm like I don't know I think they're all living a very charmed life right now and they probably all piss each other off.

20:02Ben Mandelker: So I guess I don't really have a very strong stance on either of them. I understand why I pissed off people because people have very fraught relationships with their parents and they know it's just like, it's, it's very, um, like it's just not as simple as being like, Oh, get over yourself. Kids. The parents trying to do things for you. I understand that. But I also think like, it's not worth getting so upset about. Well, we're also different in that way.

20:22Ronnie Karam: I mean, we were, we were raised in very different environments. Like I was raised in a more yelly, toxic, I don't want to like diss my, but I'm in a very good place with my family, but we had some rough times for sure. And so I tend to take the side of the kids more where I think you take the sides of the parents more because you were raised with such close parent. Like, I don't know to me, your life seems like so little Jewish boy, you know, like it seems like so perfect the way you talk about it. I don't mean it in a mean way. It's a good thing, you know, but like, I think maybe once you haven't gone through that stuff, you can't imagine that it could be like that between parents and kids.

21:03Ronnie Karam: A hundred percent.

21:03Ben Mandelker: I come from privilege in that sense. I'm also like a good little Jewish boy where it's like, who would ever do that to their mother?

21:10Ronnie Karam: Oh, and I'm terrible. Like I was a terrible kid. I was like, I'm going to fuck with my mom as much as fuck. Like I was a hellion. And I think my mom was the same way with me. You know, we just battled like forever. and until really I was 40. When I was 40, I was like, okay, I'm 40. I cannot go home and fight with my mom. I can't do this anymore. This is crazy. And I think we both made a truce and we were like, you know what? We're never going to agree. So let's just still love each other and just disagree silently and passive aggressively. And that's how we do it now. We just give each other withering looks and then sigh.

21:49Ronnie Karam: And everybody knows what we mean. and we move on, you know?

21:52Ben Mandelker: You graduated into being a wasp. Congratulations. You did it. The American dream has come true inside of you. The idea is to work hard and get to the tier where you treat life like a wasp and you just don't talk about things and just say things fast and fast. It's just so much easier.

22:11Ronnie Karam: It really is. It's time for a commercial. It's time for a Crappens commercial. With so many options for weight loss treatment plans, it can be hard to know what's the best choice, who to trust, what to know about side effects, and if something's even going to work. And that's why HERS offers access to doctor-developed treatment plans that are personalized to you.

22:34Ben Mandelker: HERS goes beyond medication by offering access to ongoing care, dosage and medication adjustments, lifestyle and nutrition tips, and 24-7 support with no hidden costs or membership fees. And with options starting at just$69 per month with a 10-month plan when paid up front in full, HERS provides access to options that fit your goals and your budget.

22:55Ronnie Karam: Feel like your best self again? Visit 4hers.com slash crappens to get a personalized affordable plan that gets you. That's F-O-R-H-E-R-S dot com slash crappens. 4hers.com slash crappens.

23:10Ben Mandelker: Weight loss by HERS is not available everywhere. Compounded drug products are not approved or evaluated for safety effectiveness or quality by the FDA. Prescription required. See website for full details, important safety information and restrictions. Actual price depends on product and plan purchased.

23:24Ronnie Karam: So, okay. So anyway, Julia is going to have this opera thing and she's saying, you know, classical music has such healing powers. Julia, classical music doesn't have healing powers strong enough to fix my ears after listening to you sing. And that's just the end. It needs to be stronger. Okay.

23:41Ben Mandelker: Yeah. Like Beverly Sills may have healing powers. Julia destroying powers. Like that is, that's not healing. Okay. Good opera. You're Beverly. Beverly shrills. Renee phlegm in my ears. And like, no,

24:05Ben Mandelker: shut up. Barati. Shut up. Jesse Abnorman.

24:15Ronnie Karam: We're done. We're done. So we cut to Marisol's party and Gertie is talking to Adriana about Julia. And she's like, oh, and what about you and Julia? Because you know what? I have to commend you. I have to commend you. You have been stellar. A stellar friend to that woman. You have been a perfect friend. Four out of four stars. You girdified that friendship. You girdified it. And the gallery thing that you just had for Art Basel, and you told her, my best friend, like, what are you doing? Like, why are you after Kiki? And she said nothing. She was just like that. Just like that. I, what the, why is she so numb around you?

24:53Ronnie Karam: But then she's got so much energy for everybody else.

24:57Ben Mandelker: And I'm not saying that you should fight her on my behalf, because I'm still really upset about that whole Captain Sandy thing. but if you would like to yell at her, I'm not going to stop you. So there, I have now gotten you ready for the finale. You're already being so transparent, setting up a proxy battle. I know.

25:12Ronnie Karam: I like it when she does it though, somehow. I like it. She's just so obvious about it and she doesn't even care. She's like, I'm doing the scene in less than five minutes because there's a lot of jewelry to get in this bag. Okay, fight with Julia. You got it? Okay, I'm out of here.

25:28Ben Mandelker: Yeah, it's weird. The whole Adriana Julia thing is kind of an interesting one because I think we've all seen Julia being a total dick this season and kind of like abandoning Adriana and like fully just like becoming friends with Alexia, like the cool girls. Like we've seen it. It's been a total fall from grace from like someone that like was one of the best, like one of the ones like I love the most. At the same time, when Julia later says like, you don't understand how terrible Adriana has been and I put up with it. I don't I don't disbelieve it I believe that's I believe that Adriana because we've also seen Adriana bite the hand that feeds her a million times so there is part of me that says like yeah she really did drop Adriana like a bad habit but like I don't know if it's a black and white situation and I sort of I don't know I'm slightly empathetic to Julia

26:25Ronnie Karam: yeah well you definitely see where she's coming from that's for sure you know um even though she is being the asshole and if all that stuff was happening then she should have brought that up instead of just blowing her off you know but then i think that the past couple of episodes it's really hard to stand up for adriana too so it's like we've come to this it's just the end of miami they're both wrong they're both wrong and i think that julia really choose a side on this i choose side neither at this point.

26:51Ben Mandelker: I think Julia was looking for a way to break with Adriana. I think she's like a little scared to do it. I think she's a little weak and I think she wanted to make new friends. So that way she would have reasonable excuses not to hang out with Adriana, but also maybe to have some people in her corner when the inevitable confrontation happens.

27:06Ronnie Karam: Well, I think the thing that is the most offensive thing is she's not only befriending. I agree. Yeah. She's not only she's not only befriending the other girls and ignoring adriana you know she's befriending adriana's greatest enemies who still hate adriana's guts and it's like and then acting like adriana's

27:26Ben Mandelker: crazy about like like what are you talking about yeah it's the same and that's where i think it

27:30Ronnie Karam: goes wrong because she's she it's like those are her mortal enemies and you know that they've done nothing but talk shit about adriana to julia and julia just sits there and listens to it because those girls are not going to stop themselves from talking about adriana they're just not so So that's what makes it worse. You know, it's not like if Adriana is abusive and this and that, I can see that. I can see how that could be true. And I wouldn't blame you for getting out of that relationship. But getting out of that and then going to her worst enemies is just low.

27:57Ben Mandelker: Well, I think that I think it's actually a really fascinating and complex situation because I think this happens in friend groups a lot. And I would not be surprised if Julia is like unhappy with Adriana because Adriana is crazy. we saw what she did to Leah Black where Leah like did all these things for her and then immediately Adriana turned on Leah and I think that Julia like already was unhappy and she's in a new group and she sort of feels like she wants to kind of like throw herself into this group and please by the way don't please don't like confuse this with me being like team Julia I still think Julia was an asshole for all the reasons you exactly just said but I think that what happens is that like she sort of falls for one of the big con jobs that people do, which is like, oh, we really like you.

28:39Ben Mandelker: But it's just that, you know, when you're around Adriana, you're just, it's just, she's so terrible. We don't get to know you, whatever. And so now you're in a situation where you're with someone you don't really want to be with anymore. And now people are saying that they want to be your friend, but you feel like you can't because you have some weird loyalty to this person who's awful to you. And then you say to yourself, why am I being loyal to this person? They're awful to me. And these people are actually trying to be nice to me and trying to be friends with me, to become friends with them.

29:00Ben Mandelker: But you actually don't realize in the process of doing that, you're actually being an extremely shitty friend to the person that you're claiming that you're friends with and really what you should have done in the first place is confront her and said, I don't like the way you're treating me as a friend. And if you keep treating me like a friend, then our friendship is going to go nowhere and I'm going to explore other friendships in this group. These are said that done, of course.

29:16Ronnie Karam: And it's interesting that you bring up Leah Black because it's like karma, right? Because Leah Black brought Adriana onto the show. We all know that. She got Adriana onto the show, was trying to make her a little extra money because she was a single mom, this, this, and that. so she gets her on the show then adriana dumps her to be with more popular people she wants to be with the cool girls so she dumps leah to go to those girls um marisol and alexia and she dumped it's like the same thing playing out all over again and now they don't like adriana anymore and so julia who's the one that was brought onto the show by adriana is now dumping her to fall for this trick again and go for these popular girls again and it's going to end the same exact way for Julia as it ended for Adriana.

30:03Ronnie Karam: And it's just, it's interesting seeing the karma come back so blatantly, you know, it's like the exact same situation.

30:09Ben Mandelker: I think if Julia had not had that issue with Gertie at the beginning of the season, if Julia had not started a feud over a Zoom call, or if Julia had like this whole backstory, and especially if Julia had not poured the water on Gertie, I actually think that we as an audience may be more empathetic to julia's path with the other girls this season but instead what we see is someone who is like revealed kind of an inner cruelty and uh like an inner self like uh selfishness and so like it's hard to yeah it's it's hard to it's hard to have real full empathy for her situation because we also saw another side of her that makes us question like how much of this is driven by, by some sort of like aspirational status driven motivation versus, um, someone just trying to create friendships outside of their awful friend.

31:10Ben Mandelker: I mean,

31:11Ronnie Karam: it looks, I think there's so much evidence pointing to the, the former because, you know, the Gertie thing, like coming for Gertie, like that Gertie's like, this was so long ago and she did not say anything until now, until the cameras are here. and it coincided with Alexia being like, oh, you know what, Gertie? You're just so loud. Like, you're just too much. You're just like too loud and you're too much. And Marisol being like, oh, we can't take it. You're just so much. It felt like it was like an initiation. It was like an initiation that she had to go through to prove her loyalty. Yeah, and you don't like her now too, so we're going to get her right at the start of the season.

31:46Ronnie Karam: I mean, that throwing water at her came out of nowhere. It was ridiculous. And it's just like her trying to prove herself to those girls. So yeah, you know, she sucks. It's like Marisol and Alexia also suck and they've always sucked, but they're so obvious about, I don't know, maybe I'm used to it. Like they're entertaining in a different way that I almost don't hold it against them. I mean, I do like I call them out on it, obviously, but it bothers me more with Julia because she's just being a follower. It's like, if you're going to be a villain, be originally a villain like these two. Don't be a follower villain.

32:19Ronnie Karam: Nobody wants like a follower villain.

32:23Ben Mandelker: I think what we would respect more would be a natural gravitation to some people that have... She sees that there could be a potential friendship. She naturally gravitates towards them. Adriana can't deal with it. We would empathize with Julia, but instead what we see is someone actually falling over themselves to try to endear themselves to other people at the expense of someone else. And that's just kind of... That's just shitty. Yeah, it's gross.

32:48Ronnie Karam: So Adriana is like, oh my God, Julia is so into herself and what's good for her. And she's just discarded me. The way I felt, she's like a covert enemy. And it's slender.

33:01Ben Mandelker: Slender. Lisa walks in with Logan and Ellie to the Alexia's party. And she's like, oh, God, Logan, let me see your hands. Oh, God, you need a manicure. He's like, no, I don't. He's like, yeah, you do. It's called a manicure. Because, you know, manicure. Because you're a man. Manny, Manny, your mother. I always told you I don't like your wood play. Please just give me a toy gun.

33:29Ronnie Karam: So Peter and Johnny are talking and Peter's just like, I'm good. You know, Peter's so out of it. Like, I don't even know. Peter is just like a walking coma, this guy. He's just like a doy. I don't even know what to say about that guy. He is the personification of doy. Like that is Peter. And Johnny's like, yeah, cause last time I saw your mom, she was sure going through those emotions. Cut to, oh my God, protect me from the normal post. Kill all the nurses, everyone should die.

34:06Ben Mandelker: Kill all the nurses, they should die. Fuck him, fuck him, fuck him.

34:12Ronnie Karam: So Peter's like, I feel like she's better. I mean, I don't know stuff. Like I feel like she doesn't want to tell me stuff, but like I find out the day before it comes out on like page six It's like oh by the way, it's the day before something's gonna happen But then it happens

34:32Ben Mandelker: Alexia is like, oh, you know, sorry. I wanted to protect you I was trying to I was trying for it to go away because I wanted to protect you. He's like I could care less why are you? He's he's 32 or 35 or whatever. I don't know what age he is He doesn't need to be protected anymore, Alexia like this guy he's not protecting he's not protecting you from all his bullshit so you don't let him go out in the world and deal with headlines that honestly i think that actually peter is i don't think that peter cares at all about alexia and todd he's like i really i don't care mom oh i guess he does on some level if he's well yeah he doesn't want her to be with todd

35:06Ronnie Karam: because he hates todd you know but that's why she's not telling him too because it'll give him ammo against someone he's been rooting for her to break up with right so she's like oh my god but it's been a roller coaster, but I should still tell you about it. You know, like who goes on a roller coaster? Like if I was on a roller coaster, but there was no one there to hear me, would I be on a roller coaster? If a tree falls on a roller coaster

35:27Ben Mandelker: and there's no roller coaster going at the time, did a tree ever fall on the roller coaster? I don't think so. If a star goes on a roller coaster and no one's there to take pictures of the star, is the roller coaster still the best roller coaster because it has a star on it? Yes, I think so.

35:40Ronnie Karam: The last two months when things have been good, you know like we're learning to communicate better you know and like we love each other better but i'm not gonna lie like i have ptsd you know like being left like that it's like i have post-traumatic star disorder you know and like being like that like i will he do this to me again and peter's like that's everyone's worry because if you go back to todd it's not fair for frankie because i don't want i don't want frankie living with someone who would move a couch in front of him She's like, oh my God, I know. And I respect it. I respect it because he moved the couch in front of Frankie.

36:14Ronnie Karam: Like, I can't forget that. I can't forget it.

36:17Ben Mandelker: The producer asked like, hey, has Todd apologized to you for the way that he left? I'm sorry. Todd apologized to you, but has Todd apologized to the boys? No. No. No. I'm surprised Todd did not.

36:32Ronnie Karam: She does that little tiny head shake where it's just like barely imperceptibly moving, but really fast. She's like, no.

36:39Ben Mandelker: I'm surprised Todd did not like show up on camera today to say to whom it may concern. No one loves those boys the way I love those boys. They are like sons to me. Sons that I hate, but in a way that I love. They are people that I care for. And even though I have not apologized to them, I plan to do it here for two as soon as possible. the only reason why I didn't is because Peter is too stoned and Frankie he's still upset that I moved the couch in front of him but I plan to send them Godiva chocolates and then we will all be solved I love those boys and I hate anyone who would say anything else even though they drive me nuts I still love him I love him and I'll punch him in the face if I have to you know what I feel

37:26Ronnie Karam: like it hurt us a lot you know like it's a family but like you know what has to happen like we need to have a conversation and we need to have a conversation about you guys having a conversation because like only through conversation can you learn to have a conversation about having a conversation you know what i mean he's like uh it's like some drools drools just coming down his face so we go back to marisol's and uh people are getting facials and drinking and uh they're all complimenting marisol and thanking her for a great party you know gertie's got like a suitcase full of stuff she's like oh my god you have outdone yourself do you have somebody to help me carry this to my car can i take the car can i take the car is this house mine now are you giving away the

38:04Ben Mandelker: house so adriana puts her arm around marisol it's like oh this is like the old times remember remember like the old times like thank you and like remember when i had my art gallery that was nice you know i like you know the problem is kiki she's been like saying those things about my age And it was hurtful for her to make a joke out of my age in such a mean and spirited way. I'm like, okay, let's do drawing this one out a little bit, Adriana.

38:33Ronnie Karam: Yeah, like even on your birthday, like, it was like on your birthday. On my birthday, you're correct. That was on my birthday. So then we go back to Alexi and Frankie's and Julie is talking to Kiki about the same thing. And she's like, wait a minute. I saw that you left the party. I actually ran looking for you. She's like, wait, you came downstairs? well clearly i didn't see you because i was on the amazon truck and i took off that was an amazon truck last week you said that and i was like are you sure that wasn't production but we see the clip of it and it is in fact an amazon truck but i didn't think that she actually got into it but

39:07Ben Mandelker: like she literally hopped into an amazon truck like truly the luckiest driver in the world a supermodel just piles into your truck and was like just take me anywhere i mean i i would you even

39:18Ronnie Karam: no one would believe you it's just the best it's pretty privileged you know it's being so gorgeous that the amazon driver's like fuck yes get in my car i don't even care what happens to me over there get in my car i love this is the best day ever you know like we're talking a couple weeks ago about why adriana is so depressed and i was saying you know it is really depressing i think especially for women and especially for um beautiful women because you've you're used to being treated a certain way your whole life and then it starts to disappear and you're like but i'm not different on the inside like what the fuck what is happening and you know you're just so used to that pretty privilege and it it really is a thing i mean and this is an example of it someone just being like i want to get out of here amazon guy will you take me and he's like yes yes i will it's like you know it's just he just cut right to the second part of the billy ocean

40:10Ben Mandelker: song. I was like, get into my car. He didn't even have to dream it.

40:14Ronnie Karam: Get out of my dreams and drop that package right over there. Please, I don't want to get out of the car. We've really got a far way to go.

40:22Ben Mandelker: Get out of Art Basel and into my car. Beep, beep. Ooh, yeah. It took her 13 hours to get home. They had to make so many stops. Well, when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Another really ocean. Yeah, that's a good song. Still a good song. From the Jewel of the Nile, I believe. Isn't it from the Jewel of the Nile? Was the music video Daniel DeVito and Michael Douglas dancing to it. Oh my God. When the going gets tough, the tough, good going gets tough. When the going gets tough, the tough, good going gets good.

40:55Ronnie Karam: Yeah.

40:57Ben Mandelker: Did you hear when I said that Kiki is a Caribbean queen? I just really want to make sure all three puns landed. She is technically a Caribbean queen.

41:06Ronnie Karam: There you go. You landed them all. Every single one of them

41:12Ben Mandelker: Commercials Here comes one right now

41:20Ronnie Karam: So Adriana's like Oh do you remember we had so much fun Back in the day before Marisol's knees were so wrinkled And they're like yeah those were great times So then back at the other party Oh yeah so we did the Kiki thing So now we're with Julie and Kiki again So Julie is like I couldn't understand why you left because she mentioned that I called her racist which I never did I never said she was racist and so we see a clip of that and she's like I don't think the people in this group are racist so when she called me ratchet it's not like I went back and said yeah you're racist for calling me that I never said that well it's a conversation that we had between you and her she goes I know but Adriana's you know sometimes a little

42:04Ben Mandelker: you know old lady you know people over 60 don't can hear things you know she's very 32 32 times 32 minus five you know

42:13Ronnie Karam: yeah she's like i'm just gonna try and stay away from her that's that's her plan which is probably not gonna work uh so then we go back to mary souls and stephanie's like um okay since my holiday party is your concert um adriana then the kiki drink reveal then really it's just the three of us coming together for this event i mean how's this all gonna work are you guys gonna be okay together are you because i know how you are too and i know you don't drop things she's reactive she is she's reactive everybody knows it just admit it it's the truth no that night it's all

42:48Ben Mandelker: good vibes good vibes i don't want to bring negativity to that event unless it's people in

42:53Ronnie Karam: my band otherwise i'm not yelling at them okay yeah right so then now we go to the night of julia's opera and foster care event which can't i can't with the opera so with the like obviously it's good to do something for foster children this is not it of course you have to make this about everybody being forced to stand around and listen to your terrible fucking voice in order to support foster children oh my god just stop it i don't even have kids and i wanted to leave them after this

43:31Ben Mandelker: so Julia is there's a woman named Jeanette who is we see Maria who is the general director of the Florida Grand Opera also known as Fiji O and Connie who is a social worker and Jeanette who is an adoption support specialist and Julia is like I adopted my boys with wonderful Connie and Jeanette and Maria is like oh well it's important that this is that this is so good to have you here I mean we are so honored to co-mingle Florida Grand Opera with advocates of children and families. We still don't really understand how this is going to work. Are the children going to be singing opera? We just don't know.

44:05Ben Mandelker: But thank you so much for arranging it. Can we meet Martina yet? Oh.

44:10Ronnie Karam: Tonight we are not asking for money. It's not like charity. Because why would we do something that would actually help foster children? The purpose is to put together for future collaboration foster care for children and Florida Grand Opera. so you're just supplying tiny extras now what are you doing are they going to be appearing in the operas

44:32Ben Mandelker: just tiny extras you just want to force people to listen to your opera and make them feel bad if they don't be like but it is for the children it is singing off key for children

44:45Ronnie Karam: alright we brought the opera we brought the foster kids to listen to your opera and they have literally all just run away so This is good now because we have no faster children now. Job well done. We did it. Nailed.

44:58Ben Mandelker: Nailed, as they say. So, Alexia and Marisol arrive. Marisol's like, oh, my God, our swan, our singing swan. You know, I don't know if we've given, have we given Julia a nickname yet? Is it J? How about we start calling you swan? Swany swan swan. Swan swan. Mary. Swanson. Swanson. Swanson chicken stock. Stock. We're going to call you stock. Okay, stock. You're here.

45:24Ronnie Karam: I'm so happy you came. It means so much to me. So Martina comes in. She's like, hi, everybody. Me, Martina, international tennis star here. Glad to be here. Is there some paint I can throw a ball up against? The real artist has entered the room.

45:42Ben Mandelker: And Kiki blows a kiss at Martina. And she's like, I do have quite a crush on Martina. I don't know, but it's a je ne sais quoi. I don't really know what it is, but I don't know. I guess I've always had a thing for Tom Petty a little bit. Rest in peace. And Martina's like, oh, she's always flirting with me. Oh, her and Chris Everett. Am I right, everyone? Nudge, nudge.

46:02Ronnie Karam: And Julia's like, oh, thank you for coming to support me. I know you all have busy lives. And Alexi is like, never too busy for you and your family or this cause. I mean, too busy for Marysau's party because, you know, happy hour. But, you know, for this is good. I'll be here for this.

46:18Ben Mandelker: Too busy for the customers at my salon. I gave them my once a year appearance, but now I'm here for weird opera for foster children.

46:24Ronnie Karam: I was going to ask you, so what happened with the rest of the girls? And Julie's like, oh, the girls that I did invite, unfortunately, couldn't make it. Adriana is, as we speak now, she's practicing with a band, practicing with band. So we go to see Adriana shaking it on stage and going, Miami is on fire, on fire. Wait, that's hot, hot. No. No. Miami is on fire.

46:53Ben Mandelker: So by the way, this is a good time to mention that last week Peloton did a road to BravoCon ride where they played a lot of Bravo music on the Peloton ride. And then they sort of had some Bravo trivia, which was by the way, mortifying because they had three other instructors on the side. And they're like, you're the summer house expert. There was literally a guy there, Maddie Giacomo, whatever his name is, and the quiz was like, who said the following? How many sandwiches have you made me? And this guy's the Summer House expert and he was like, I don't know. Can someone help me out here? Sir, please get off my Peloton right now.

47:31Ben Mandelker: How do you not know the answer to that?

47:33Ronnie Karam: Summer House expert lies.

47:35Ben Mandelker: Summer House expert did not know about the sandwiches and then it was like, another thing was like, who said you don't want to see me activated? He's like, he was like, I was like shaking my Peloton but the point of the story is actually not about that I just needed to get that off my chest the point is that the music changed they were moving through the music really quickly and every song would be on for like 90 seconds and it just crossfaded into something else but they put on Adriana's song they put on fire fire and they kept it on like the whole time so it was like it was on so long that the instructor was like alright coming up next we're going to be starting a climb.

48:16Ben Mandelker: Oh, wow. This song is still going on. Huh? Wow. We're still in fire. Still in fire. Okay. All right, everyone. Now get out of your seats. We're going to start the climb now. Okay. The song is still happening. I was dying. She was like, this song? I don't know what the song is. I'm pretending to like Bravo right now, but why are we playing this song for so long? That's funny. She literally said a snarky thing to the producers. She was like, okay. All right. We're finally done with fire. I only cued the next song three times, guys. Jen Sherman was not happy.

48:51Ronnie Karam: Can we get a fade out here? Okay, let's get a little crossfade. Okay.

48:55Ben Mandelker: Get some Melissa Gorka in here. And she also, by the way, just last note about it, Jen Sherman, the Peloton instructor, she was like, fun fact, I was Sorority Sisters with Heather Dubrow. We were Sorority Sisters together at Syracuse.

49:09Ronnie Karam: Or as we used to call her, the stuck-up bitch in the attic.

49:16Ben Mandelker: Or as we used to call her, person who's just going to ride a bike the rest of her life. On a bike to nowhere. Question, can you see Drake from your bike?

49:30Ronnie Karam: That's funny. You played Drake during your bike ride. I played Drake while I was outside and he was singing at me from his balcony.

49:42Ronnie Karam: so um at julia's event kiki's like adriana is expecting us all to be there for her to soon to watch her perform she i don't know she could do some magic do something and julia's like well i hope one day adriana and i will be in a real better place we're trying we've been trying for months oh you know what i don't think it's just my opinion but i don't think she's trying because if she would have been trying, she would have been here today and she's not. You just miss okay, not only did you just miss your best friend's party to have your own party, but you also miss Julia's trip for her godchildren because you were being a sassy little butthead that day and didn't want to go.

50:21Ronnie Karam: So I don't need you here talking about support and Julia falls for it. She's like, yes, yes, true, true.

50:28Ben Mandelker: I think Adriana is allowed to save her hearing and not listen to whale next to a piano. What I said

50:37Ronnie Karam: to my friend sitting here, I was like, I'll bet she didn't even invite her to this thing. I'll bet she didn't even invite her or she didn't know about it or something and she planned this rehearsal not knowing. I'll bet she planned that rehearsal without knowing Julia had an event.

50:51Ben Mandelker: Also, she had a rehearsal. She has a rehearsal. Tribute songs to your dog do not just perform themselves.

51:01Ronnie Karam: They don't just write themselves, alright? This is Emilio Estefan we're talking about here. Let's have some respect for the craft.

51:10Ben Mandelker: So Alexia is saying like, I don't think Adriana is very happy about that. You know, I feel like Adriana is like the kind of friend that's like, oh, it's like me or it's none of them. You know, I think that's what it's like. Have you seen any footage of you star Alexia? I mean, really, it's truly the same thing. So now Julia is like, oh, I am so nervous to see. I'm so nervous. And the guy's like, don't be nervous. you know like what helps what nervous breathing just breathe oh oh i'm not going to lie i'm hurt because i've been in every single performance for adriana and i've made adriana i think it's adriana's made it very clear that tonight how important this is for me to sing opera to people who work at foster care but we're not actually raising money for it i can't i can't with her hey everyone this is the end of part one of this recap for part two keep an eye on your podcast feed it is coming up in just a moment thanks so much for listening catch you on the second half watch what crappens would like to thank its premium sponsors ain't no thing like alison king it's always a party on alison block our way is the amber way it's the foster and the furious it's amanda foster it's always automatic with ashley auto put your hands together for carly clap.

52:28Ben Mandelker: Get on the right foot with

52:29Ronnie Karam: Chrissy Offit. She's not just a Sheila, she's a Daniela. Itchles!

52:33Ben Mandelker: We never miss her call, it's Diane Call. Aaron McNicholas, she don't miss no trick-a-less. Hava Nagila Weber. You'll never hide from Heidi Eleanor Jones. I go, you go, we all go for Hugo. Jamie, she has no less

52:47Ronnie Karam: name-y. She's our kind of mess, it's Jennifer Messer. Sips some scotch with Jessica Trotch.

52:53Ben Mandelker: She's our favorite streamer, Caroline Peacock.

52:55Ronnie Karam: Kristen the Piston Anderson. Get a B in your bonnet with Lacey B. Que sera, sera, whatever we'll be, we'll Lauren Sills be. She gets an A from us, it's Lindsay D. Let's give a kisserino to Lisa Lino. Fresh as a daisy, it's Maisie McHenry. We love her on the rocks, it's Melissa Cox. Megan Berg, you can't have a burger without the Berg.

53:18Ben Mandelker: This is Livin' with Michelle Vivian.

53:20Ronnie Karam: I love a ya, Olivia Williamson. Tastier than Flanderson, it's Rachel Manderson.

53:25Ben Mandelker: She sure is swell. It's Raquel.

53:28Ronnie Karam: Yes, we canna. It's Sadana.

53:31Ben Mandelker: Cast a spell with Shannon Spellman. Let's share with Sharon Eldridge. Darn Skippy, it's Tippi.

53:37Ronnie Karam: And our super premium sponsors. She's VVIP. It's Amanda V. Can't lose when you're with Amy Baldwin.

53:44Ben Mandelker: Somebody get us 10 cc's of Betsy MD.

53:47Ronnie Karam: We're taking the gold with Brenda Silva. Let's get real with Caitlin O 'Neill. Put us on a stretcher. It's Charlotte Fletcher. Don't get salty with Christine Pepper Can't have a meal without the Emily Sides

53:59Ben Mandelker: Who, what, why, where and Gwen Pentland

54:02Ronnie Karam: Let's go into the woods with Guy Tubbs It's our queen, it's Queen Laifa

54:08Ben Mandelker: Nobody holds a candle to Jamie Kendall Hail the cork master, the master of the cork, Jennifer Corcoran We got our wish, it's Jen Plish She's not harsh, she's Jill Hirsch My favorite Murdo, Karen McMurdo We love him madly, it's Kyle Podshadley In the study with a candlestick, it's Leslie Peacock. G, it's Lisa H. We're ride or die for Lisa Rider Baron. She's a whiz, it's Liz Sarthy. Always killing it, it's Lola Alkalani.

54:35Ronnie Karam: The incredible edible Matthews sisters. She eases our woes, it's Melissa St. Rose. There's a chance of meatballs, it's Rebecca Cloud. Neat, it's Ronit Feldman.

54:46Ben Mandelker: Maximum love for Sandy Maximoska. She's the queen bee, it's Sarah Lemke. We cannot tell a lie. It's Sarah Tellefson. Shannon, out of a can, and Anthony. Please don't stop. It's Soli and Pop. Let's take off with Tam LaPlane.

55:01Ronnie Karam: She ain't no shrinking Violet Kuchar. We love you guys.

55:12Ben Mandelker: Acast powers the world's best podcasts.

55:15Ronnie Karam: Here's a show that we recommend.

55:20Ronnie Karam: F1 has taken North America by storm in recent years, and 2026 is shaping up to be the most exciting season of Formula One racing yet. With a completely fresh set of cars and engines, Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and the rest of the world's fastest drivers are speeding into the unknown this season. Whatever happens, the Race F1 podcast will be with you for every corner, crash and controversy, starting with F1's all-important pre-season testing this month. We're on the ground at every Grand Prix, including the three unmissable US events in Miami, Austin and Las Vegas, talking to the key players and bringing expert analysis on the stories that matter.

55:58Ronnie Karam: Just search for The Race F1 Podcast to listen or watch wherever you get your podcasts.

56:15Ronnie Karam: dot com.