The Real "Drama" of Orange County

One thing is for sure, I love me some Real Housewives of any given city/geographical area. They are so ridiculously outrageous it's pure entertainment. Andy Cohen and Bravo hit a gold mine when they came up with this series. No, really.

The latest installment playing on Bravo are the "original first ladies of Bravo", the Housewives of Orange County, California. I started watching the series a few seasons back, but I started with the New York wives. Once I was hooked I wanted to see the ladies that started it all. I just have to say that when I first watched Orange County, I hated Vicki. She drove me right up the wall. I thought she was a mean, self-centered, pushy, crazy old bat. But this season I have started to like her. Maybe it is because there is a lack of better options or maybe she has toned it down a bit. She is still a little pushy, still a little self-centered, but for some reason I just find myself liking her. And this past episode. I felt bad for her. I found myself even siding with her.

This episode was focused around a girls trip or rather a couples trip as it turned out. You see, Vicki planned a nice little getaway to Ft. Lauderdale (ok, who are we kidding, Bravo planned the excursion) for all of the women, but well some of the husbands had a problem with that. Tamra and the new girl, Alexis, have um how do I say this? Oh yes, controlling husbands. Alexis and Jim have never spent one night without each other and Simon feels the same way with Tamra. Why should the little woman get to travel without the manly husband? Vicki was not happy about this. She is an independent woman that doesn't need her husband at every turn in life. She wasn't happy, but she put up with it. They still got to have their girl time, but anytime the men were coming to hang out, Vicki didn't want anything to do with it because she felt like the third wheel and rightfully so. No one wants to be the one hanging out with a bunch of couples. That's not fun. Especially when the whole premise of the outing was to get out without the men! At this point, I should point out that Lynn's husband wasn't there and she still hung out with them once, but Lynn seemed pretty hopped up on pain killers from her surgery that I'm not even sure she knew where she was.

Anyway, Gretchen, Tamra and Alexis all are hanging out with their mates and basically bashing Vicki because she was "throwing fit". Honestly, I don't think she was throwing a fit. She felt left out of her own trip and rightfully so. The most interesting part of the show was when Vicki opted out of the boat trip because she didn't want to be a third and Tamra promised it wouldn't be like that. Vicki still refuses and the boat trip does turn out to be Lynn sitting by herself while each couple has some couple time. How depressing! That does not make a girls trip! Props to Vicki for standing up for herself and not going.

I think this episode really highlighted the relationships of Tamra and Alexis and their husbands. Honestly, if my husband talked to me the way their husbands talk to them, I would laugh in his face. Not because I don't respect him, but because I am my own person. Just because he is my husband doesn't mean he gets to tell me what to do and vice versa. It kind of makes me sad to see these women in these relationships. If you want to go on a girls trip, you should be able to. I just found the whole dynamic to be interesting. You have one woman who is very independent (Vicki) and these two woman who can't go to the bathroom without their husbands having a say about it. At one point Tamra's husband is talking about her relationship with Vicki and how he doesn't like it. He says he has seen a change in her and he doesn't like it. I'm sure it's because Tamra has started to have her own opinion, stand up for herself and got herself a job. Oh no! I honestly half expected him to say these things! I am just dumbfounded that people would be in relationships like this. I guess maybe it has to do with money. I hate to say it, but...

Overall, two thumbs up for Vicki. Two thumbs down for woman bringing their mates one a girls only trip.