In this episode we see Heather’s first day on the set for Hot in Cleveland. As if I don’t already want her life, here she is at the round table reading with Betty White, Valerie Bertinelli, and Wendie Malick. Heather had a successful reading the first day and her nerves were quickly calmed when she made everyone on set laugh with her lines (it’s the little things, right?). Best part of the reading though.. How ADORBS is Betty White??! I can’t get enough of her. It seemed like Heather and everyone on the set instantly clicked and had a great connection.
Who else loved what a group effort the Dubrow family made the week that Heather was on set for the show? Between Terry watching the kids on his own (well with the help of their nanny, which, let’s admit it- is still HUGE for Terry), their son Nicky pouring juice for everyone in the morning and Terry making coffee for him and Heather, wow! Heather noticed the slight shift in responsibilities and felt happy that Terry had finally heard her. Terry Dubrow for the win!
Heather gained a lot of support from the crew at her live taping of Hot in Cleveland. Obviously Terry was there, joined by Tamra, Eddie, Lydia, Doug, Vicki, and some of Heather’s non-RHOC friends. Coming late into the game were Gretchen and Slade. Right after they sat down in the audience, they got back up to fix something on Slade’s phone. It stirred up some chatter among everyone and did not sit well with the rest of the gang. According to recent claims on twitter, Gretchen posted that her and Slade were late because she had a previously-scheduled hosting gig with the Doctors, which Heather had already known about. She added that the taping lasted about five hours, and she and Slade actually caught a lot of the scenes Heather was in.
Heather on set on Hot in Cleveland
After the taping, everyone went out for a celebration dinner. The Rolls Royce news (yeah, Slade gave/leased—details are still blurry for me—a Rolls Royce to Gretchen for her birthday- keep reading for more details) was shocking to everyone, and all just kind of laughed it off. Directed at Tamra and Vicki who JUST SO HAPPENED to be sitting next to each other, Lydia brings up that the last time she saw them together, Tamra was calling Vicki a b!tch, and asked what the deal was between the two of them. Lydia is not afraid to bring up these sensitive issues and call people out on what’s going on- kind of reminds me of Yolonda from RHOBH. Tamra apologized to Vicki and admitted she didn’t mean to call her that. They end up cheersing it out, and Gretchen kind of rolled her eyes at the whole thing. Between Tamra’s condescending laugh at Gretchen’s Rolls Royce, her visible disgust with Gretchen’s attendance—or seemingly lack thereof—at the taping and Gretchen’s reaction to Tamra and Vicki’s “amends”, I sense a little tension between Tamra and Gretchen. I think we’re going to see more issues arise between these two as the season progresses, which I really hate to say, because I like the two of them being good friends a lot better than when they’re enemies.
Terry won major points with me, and I’m guessing a lot of other viewers throughout this whole episode, but especially with his toast at dinner. He mentioned how he’s always loved, cherished and respected his wife, but after that past week of seeing Heather bring her career to the table, he’s added how much she inspires and amazes him. Heather loves the steps Terry’s making to prove that he’s making an effort, but admits that there’s still a long road ahead of them.
Back in OC, Tamra went to the jeweler to pick out her and Eddie’s wedding bands- doing everything she can to get that wedding training rolling. Holy Lauri, when did she come back into the picture?! Lauri Waring Peterson from seasons 1-4 joined Tamra to help pick out rings. While shopping, the ladies discussed Tamra’s issues with Vicki and Lauri asked if she felt like Vicki played a role in breaking up her marriage with Simon… Hmmm trying to stir the pot, aren’t we Lauri? Tamra didn’t give a direct answer, but did admit that Vicki would bring up issues around Simon that Tamra confided to her in private, which led to additional drama in her marriage.
We also learned that Lydia’s mom (who lives right across the street from Lydia and Doug.. Oy vay…) still smokes pot on occasion and hasn’t completely given it up like we had all thought. Lydia became extremely upset and confessed that her first memory of her mother was smoking a joint, and how out of control her life was growing up. Lydia just wants her mom to be happy and healthy, and her mom feels like Lydia’s judging her and is trying to keep tabs on her every move. As much as I love her mom’s free spirit, I’m absolutely team Lydia on this one. Mom swears up and down that she would never smoke before or while she’s with the kids, but what if there’s an emergency where Lydia and Doug need someone close to watch the kids and grandma’s tokin’ up?
Alexis is going to acting school. Pause for enormous eye roll and exasperated sigh. Hey Alexis, what happened to cutting back on all your projects so you can re-commit to and spend time with your family? Or was that just because you failed as an “anchor woman”? Which ironically, was her claim to fame in her appearance on general hospital- which she tried to play up as this enormous role when meeting with reps from the acting school. I’m going to be honest and admit I am not looking forward to watching Alexis pursue this “dream” and call herself an actress, just as she once called herself a “news anchor”.
So onto the previously-mentioned Rolls Royce news. We caught the tail-end of Slade and Gretchen’s romantic getaway in San Diego for Gretchen’s birthday as they’re checking out of their hotel. Once they’re outside, up pulls Gretchen’s final surprise birthday present… A white Rolls Royce?! I’m still trying to figure out Gretchen’s reaction; which is okay because she was still trying to process the situation as well. I’m so unclear on how all of this works- Slade reassured Gretchen that the monthly payments were only a few hundred dollars more than what she was paying on her Mercedes. So did Slade just bestow this gift upon Gretchen, but she’s responsible for paying the increased monthly bills? Hey baby, happy birthday. I’m spoiling you with an additional $400/month deduction from your bank account. To be honest, I just don’t see Gretchen in a Rolls Royce- I think the Benz was much more fitting for her. Which I feel like she secretly agrees with, as she joked that she shouldn’t be driving that car, there should be a driver for her. Good try Slade, but maybe next year go with something a little less costly for the gift receiver.
See you guys next week!
LaLa
