This week, Sara and Rosalinda get down and dirty with the latter half of the MET Gala Luncheon. They talk the Mary - Jen divide and try to get to the root of their issues. Next, the duo looks at Whitney's Jiu-Jitsu prowess and marvels at her ability to tackle both her father's addiction and her brother as well... In rolling fashion, they next take a look at Meredith's crumbling relationship with Seth and further question if either of them has ever really been on a first date... In contrast, they explored Lisa's "eternal" marriage and breakdown the logistics of such a relationship. Bringing it back around to the Jen - Mary conflict, they examine their two responses post-MGL and finally come down on the decisive victor. Finally, they talk the Heather x Mary dinner and delve into the harmful effects of sparkling water.
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This week, Sara and Rosalinda get down and dirty with the latter half of the MET Gala Luncheon. They talk the Mary - Jen divide and try to get to the root of their issues. Next, the duo looks at Whitney's Jiu-Jitsu prowess and marvels at her ability to tackle both her father's addiction and her brother as well... In rolling fashion, they next take a look at Meredith's crumbling relationship with Seth and further question if either of them has ever really been on a first date... In contrast, they explored Lisa's "eternal" marriage and breakdown the logistics of such a relationship. Bringing it back around to the Jen - Mary conflict, they examine their two responses post-MGL and finally come down on the decisive victor. Finally, they talk the Heather x Mary dinner and delve into the harmful effects of sparkling water.
Follow us on all of our socials:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJZaucK6j4_McwQQkMq3yqg
Twitter: https://twitter.com/metgalaluncheon
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/metgalaluncheon/
Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review!
Hey guys! Welcome back to Met Gala luncheon, I'm your host Sara Van Tuerenhout and I'm joined by:
Rosalinda Mendez:Rosalinda!
Sara Van Tuerenhout:And this is a podcast where we break down our favorite reality TV shows, and just dive into the craziness that ensues. This week, we're looking at Episode Five of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, "Ladies Who Lunch."
Rosalinda Mendez:And we pick up where we left off with some drama happening
Sara Van Tuerenhout:At the Met Gala luncheon. Again, our namesake.
Rosalinda Mendez:Exactly because it's the place to be like you right now listening to our podcast.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah. But unlike the MET Gala Luncheon in the show, you won't be leaving feeling awkward and uncomfortable.... hopefully!
Rosalinda Mendez:And you unfortunately you will not be leaving with Louis Vuitton headphones, but...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:*interjects* Maybe one day! ...Use our code. No. But yeah, so we have the second part of the Met Gala luncheon, where we kind of left it off last week, with Jen and Mary kind of starting to blow up, and here we kind of see what's happening. Jen is opening up about her life growing up and what her life is like growing up in Salt Lake City, and she brings up this point saying that she says everything that everyone else is thinking out loud, and Mary had a problem with that.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, I think that basically, Mary was just trying to say, No, you just say what you're thinking, and this is your way of justifying getting away with being mean.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah. Although the way she said it very much sounded like I'm better than you, and I would never say anything that you think or say. Because you're so like, unrefined...
Rosalinda Mendez:Right.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:...And not on my level.
Rosalinda Mendez:Exactly. Which of course, then went all the way down to Jen being called a hoodlum.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, which is just... Mary knows what she's doing when she calls Jen, a"hoodlum" or what she's saying or doing as "ghetto." Like that's intentionally trying to hurt her and have a dig at Jen. So like, we come into this luncheon to kind of iron things out, like that's the guise of this whole thing. But as Jen is cut, yes, maybe you could say she's kind of giving herself a pass for what her personality because of her upbringing, and that's just the way she is, and you have to accept it, because she's just a very fiery personality. Mary isn't really doing much to try to really iron things out.
Rosalinda Mendez:No, and she breaks her first rule, which is, Jen becomes super. I mean, I think for Jen, she was trying to be very honest and open with where she was coming from, and at least she was trying to open up, which is what Mary said she wanted. But then when she did, Mary stomped on her, and it's funny, because you kind of see that, you know, Mary, very upfront, an hour before Jen started sharing said, Hey, everyone gets to speak. Nobody gets to chime in. But she went in for the kill, which was really, really, I think, pretty mean.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:And then she had the audacity to say, Oh, I didn't know I could do that. I don't remember saying, I don't know.... "who said that? Who said that?" She said that, and yeah, she just doesn't want to follow her own rules. She really did set up that whole luncheon to just be mean to Jen, you know, because she was telling Lisa, how she didn't want to invite Jen in the first place. But then she does it anyway, because she wants to, you know, for the sake of the group, but then when push comes to shove, she doesn't want to mend fences with Jen. She just wants to get back at her for calling for Jen calling her a grandpa MFer.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, that's, that's pretty clear once that kind of all plays out, because honestly, I hate to say it, but at this point, I'm going to take Jen's side because Jen actually came into that whole luncheon saying, Okay, I'll be cordial. I don't want to have a problem with these ladies, and so I'll just try to eat and stay under the table, not knowing that she was going to put on the hot seat.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, I mean, like she was following Jen's *Mary's* instructions of sharing something about herself and then Jen *Mary* kind of just poo pooed her and kind of made her feel bad, and we also get to find out some more stuff about I guess, Jen and Mary's relationships and background information, because obviously, the "you smell like hospital" mess wasn't the only thing underlying their conflict, because she tells us about the 7-Eleven comment that she makes, saying that if there are black people at a 7-Eleven she just goes to a different 7-Eleven. So I mean, obviously that sparked something in Jen because she has black sons, black nephews, black family members and her husband's black.
Rosalinda Mendez:And culturally, as she said, she's been treated black ever since she's been in Salt Lake City. So even though that's ethnically not what she is she knows exactly how you get treated if you have a certain skin color.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:No, exactly, and I think it's... she says it best, Jen, where she's like, you know, she when she met Mary, she thought oh, finally another woman of color knows what it's like living in Salt Lake City, we can really bond, and it'll be nice to be on the show and with someone who gets where I'm coming from. But Mary just seems to be living in her own alternate reality and just refusing to see what's in front of her.
Rosalinda Mendez:Exactly. It's it's very strange to me that she really kind of backs away from her own cultural identity there, and it really is another thing where I think she's trying to set it up, and she did a pretty good job of setting it up, where she's just like, Oh, you know, Jen's just really jealous of me, and that's where all of this is coming from. It has nothing to do with the fact that I can maybe be offensive or I don't really understand or listen to other people and where they're coming from. Because when I'm done, I just say things like, Oh, well, you know, maybe she should've drank some water or like, you know, you're a hoodlum or something where you just diminish everything as opposed to really actively listening to what's going on. I think she was just waiting, like you said to pounce on on Jen when she when she made herself vulnerable.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Because I also feel like I entered this Met Gala luncheon not necessarily team Mary because what she said definitely was not nice, and I don't think she should have said that. I didn't think that Jen's reaction was proportionate to what Mary had said. So I guess I was not team Mary, but I also wasn't team Jen. But I'm... I've left this luncheon 100% team Jen. She like, actually came out with some facts, and she seemed very reasonable, which is, you know, totally against what we've been saying the last four episodes we've done now. So you know, I'm willing to admit that we were wrong.
Rosalinda Mendez:And I guess, you know, we can say that means that the Bravo editors are really good, because they're playing with your emotions at the edit bay. But, um, I think they're just both very strong personalities, and it's also interesting to watch the other ladies. I mean, I think they're a little horrified.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, they definitely don't know how to react to the situation, and to be honest, if I was at that luncheon, I wouldn't know how to react either. Because I don't think any normal person has really experienced a lunch like that, where people are just screaming across a table in public.
Rosalinda Mendez:Right, and I think it was really brave of both Heather and Whitney to try to delve in there even though they kind of got slapped down, but I think they both made really good points. I mean, I think they were just trying to say, Hey, why don't you examine what you're actually doing? Like, you know, Jen made herself vulnerable and you slapped her down and you talked when you shouldn't have, and, you know, Mary just went straight over that and she was she was just like, you know, I don't really care and I'm just now I didn't want her to be here and she's offending Valter.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:And Arturo....
Rosalinda Mendez:Then they're like, wait a minute, I know, Valter and Arturo. So....
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, I mean, really, though, Mary's again, still in the wrong here because she's embarrassing the whole group really, but mainly Jen by calling her a hoodlum, and just like attacking her, kinda really just pecking at her, and she's embarrassing her in public, which I think is way worse than anything Jen has ever, you know, quote, unquote, done to Mary, like call her grandpa MFer. Because at the end of the day she is. So where do you go from there?
Rosalinda Mendez:Well that's true, and it was really valiant to see Whitney kind of was just like, Hey, I may be the youngest one here. But I'm kind of the more mature one here, and yeah, it's kind of it's kind of interesting to see that she can she was basically like the Greek chorus saying, okay, all of this that's going on is really bad.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah. Because I mean, like, she was trying to, like, help mediate the situation and calm thing...like de escalate, and then Mary was like, "what do you know, you're 30," and really, like she said, she might be 30 or, you know, in her 30s. But she the rest of them were acting like they were 10.
Rosalinda Mendez:Exactly. They weren't being in any way, and it was just weird. I guess the thing that was also weird about that, I get that, you know, Jen first stormed off, and then she actually came back, right, because...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:*interjects* Yeah, but I mean Mary did kick her out. She was like, you know, where the door is. Leave.
Rosalinda Mendez:Right. I know. But and then at that point, yeah, I guess you're told to leave. But I think it was, it was pretty brave of her to come back to try to figure out how to clear the air, which is what again, Mary said she wanted to do.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, and then when Heather kind of pointed that out, because she forced Jen back in and was saying that y'all need to figure this out. Because this was the whole point of the luncheon. You said it yourself. We're here to iron things out, and get things out on the table so that we can better understand each other and have a good time, and then Mary calls her two faced because Heather was pointing out Mary's own hypocrisy, and so really, Mary seems to feel like she's beyond reproach.
Rosalinda Mendez:I just find it funny. I mean, it's one of those things where you almost like, they don't like each other cuz they're so much alike because basically Jen was like, Oh, hey, look, Meredith is talking to Lis or Meredith is talking to, to
Sara Van Tuerenhout:*Interjects* Valter... to Mary. So you can't be my fri nd, and now Heather's *Mary i* like, well, you're kind of t king her side, so you can't b my friend. So like, literall, they both do the same kinds f things where you have to pic a side and be on that side, and if you're not, you're not t eir friend. So yeah, I think t ere's a little bit of both M ry and Jen where they're a lit le bit like each other tempe amentally in how they see thin s. So yeah, that was interest ng, and again, I just, I ju t I felt bad for everybody si ting around that table. I als felt bad again, again, for A turo and...
Rosalinda Mendez:...And Valter. It's really funny at some point, someone said, you know, asked him on I think one of the other interviews they did after the show and they're like, you know, who seen Valter and they're like, Oh, we see him all the time. He doesn't really care.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, no, I mean, honestly, the type of people and you know, that are going to Salt Lake City proud, you know, people with money, and it seemed like an expensive restaurant. So I mean, he probably has, has handled a few fights in his days.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, it's true. I mean, it's got to be a good restaurant, right? It's across the street from...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:*interjects* P. F. Changs...
Rosalinda Mendez:Exactly. So...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:...The national chain!
Rosalinda Mendez:...It's, it's, it's, it's up there in the....
Sara Van Tuerenhout:*interjects* Some good orange chicken.
Rosalinda Mendez:Exactly. So yeah, Jim could have got some orange chicken to go...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:*interjects* On the way out. Yeah.... But then you see, Jen finally does leave and Mary was asking for her gift back. "Oh, Could someone pass me that Louis Vuitton box?" Which I feel is like so tacky... If you give someone a gift, even if something blows up afterwards, you gave that person a gift, so you can't take that back.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, but as far as I'm sure like Jen was just like, I don't want your gift if you're gonna be this rude to me, which I don't think she just stormed off and forgot it. She was just like, I don't want your gift and which is all good and fine, which I- is respectable, and that's, that's, that's good. But the other thing is, it's like miracle to pick that up at the end. What does she think? Heather was gonna pocket it or something or somebody was gonna, somebody around that table had like shifty fingers, or she thought a waiter was gonna take it? I mean, you don't have to make such a big show of I'm taking it back because that just shows how petty you are, and you know, we're starting to see this side of Mary where, honestly, you know, with the first few episodes, you were starting to feel a little sympathy for her, and you were starting to see her in a light where like, Okay, well, she had this arranged marriage and, you know, it wasn't necessarily the life she wanted, but now she has it and she's making the best of it. She has a son and then and then you're like, oh, and Jen's being so unreasonable because she's, you know, giving her a hard time because she may have said something offhanded. But every, every, every episode now you're just seeing parts of Mary where you're like, this is not attractive or Christian or any of those things...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah no, with each episode my like, of Mary diminishes, and to be honest, the like, wasn't a lot to start with. Which also props to the editing room at Bravo. I mean, we know how great their edits are, and how shady really they are. But yeah, each episode we peel back that onion layer and I'm just crying more and more each layer.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, no, that's that's really good. So we move on, unfortunately, from the wonderful Met Gala luncheon to actually seeing Whitney.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, we actually see Whitney going to her, I believe half-brother's?
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Jiu Jitsu studio, which is actually pretty cool. Because we see her tackle her brother a couple times. I mean, they were talking about serious topics, but you have this montage of her flipping her brother three, four times. Which, you know, looking at Whitney, I would have never expected her to be so I guess... physical.
Rosalinda Mendez:Hey, she's got that great core from pole dancing.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Oh, that's, that's a good point. That's a good point. She is athletic. We've already noted that so it's not much of a leap, I guess.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, I know. I think she's got a lower center of gravity and a good core so she can flip him. But no, it was actually really sweet, and we get a another glimpse at Whitney where I'm sorry they're doing an awe- I mean, I mean, I can't see any bad sides to Whitney yet. The editing. I- you see all these women who are very judgmental of her because of you know, the way she was in her relationship now and, you know, all these other things, but you know, she's taking care of her dad. She's like, she talks about the divorces that they went through and, you know, or I'm sorry, the fact that she lived in a family with two divorced parents that then got divorced. So you know, it was very it was a blended family to start with and then she and her sister came along, and then her dad had this addiction and she took care of him, and she even supported him when he went through rehab, and then kind of skipped out on the follow up. But, you know, she was always there, and it was really also nice actually to see Whitney's brother. You know, because as she says, in the, in the show, after the divorce all the kids all pick sides, depending on you know, who's who their parent was, and her half brother seems to be saying, Okay, well, I'm willing to give him a chance, if he's going to do the work, we should kind of rally around and you know, make things right again, and it was really nice to see that you can have siblings that can overcome the problems their parents have, and also see their parents as flawed individuals that also need their love. So that was actually really nice. I was and it was really just good to see Whitney in a different dynamic because sometimes I think they they don't they they go the extreme with Whitney. She's the pole dancer. She's the young one. She's the whatever, and so it's nice to see how grounded she really is.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, I mean, I definitely feel like she's giving us the most you could say "realness" of the cast. Maybe bar, Heather. But no, I really like her arc. I think she's a really down to earth, nice individual, and I'm intrigued to see how that'll play out in this season. Because we know anyone who signs up for a reality TV show, probably something else going on there. So I'm sure we'll see some feisty moments.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, and it's also nice that they go through the whole arc so that after she leaves the Jiu Jitsu studio, she goes and she takes her dad to sober living and she really is like it she you can see her becoming the parent kind of saying, you know, I'm proud of you. I really am glad that you're doing this but she takes him with on a rainy day with his TV in the back of the truck.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:I know. I don't know if any of y'all noticed that. But there was a TV in the bed there of their truck, and I was you know, honestly I'm getting worried for that TV. I hope it made it...
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah. So you know cuz in sober living, you got to have something to...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:*interjects* Well you have to have something to do. You've gotta replace one addiction with another right?
Rosalinda Mendez:I know. You gotta be able to stream whatever you can or binge, whatever.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, binge the new Real Housewives episode.
Rosalinda Mendez:Exactly.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:I wonder if he's watching the show?
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, I don't know.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:I'd be intrigued to hear his perspective, looking back on himself.
Rosalinda Mendez:Right, and so then we go back to another ladies kind of, you see, Meredith?
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yes
Rosalinda Mendez:....And she is picking up her husband.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, he just flew in from Ohio because I guess he now has a corporate headquarters and I believe Akron. I don't really know, Ohio very well so don't don't at me at this. But she picks him up at the airport expecting you know, to be like a very kind of light, breezy thing. Like, oh, hey, how are you doing? How's it going? Because, again, they're dating. They're like, supposed to be having fun.
Rosalinda Mendez:And she even says, "let's treat this like a first date."
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah.
Rosalinda Mendez:And for the first, I don't know, minute and a half, it's going okay, like, he's kind of excited about the fact that it's like a first date, and he's excited about her picking him up just but just like for a minute, like when, he's getting in the car...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:No well cuz I mean like, even then though, he's treating her like, "oh, well, you never pick me up from the airport. You never do this. What's up? What's going on with this??
Rosalinda Mendez:That's true at the very, very beginning. But then when he gets in the car, he and she says that. He becomes like, oh, okay, well, maybe I should just, you know, be nice and light about this. But that lasts for a whole about minute, and then we get into it again.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah. Because then he asked her "oh, will you move to Ohio?"
Rosalinda Mendez:*interjects* After ski season, right? He's like, are you gonna be moving to Ohio? Because I think he's in Canton.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Oh, Canton. Yeah.
Rosalinda Mendez:And then but he said they could live in Akron, which I believe is a bigger town.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah. Which is close to Cleveland. I had to look it up.
Rosalinda Mendez:So anyway, so yeah, but but then he makes this whole argument about, you know, what's more important, you know, the person you're with or the place you're at, and honestly, when he goes through all of his arguments, and she then describes how many times she's had to move for him. It's like, yeah, at some point, you get tired of doing that, and like, what is the point after a while, I understand that you make some, you know, sacrifices in your marriage, but she was just saying she's never really even gotten to enjoy things with her kids, because she's constantly moving.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, I mean, I think should they move to like four plus different cities for his job, and we have to remember too, that she has her own business, and I can't even imagine how hard that must be to keep moving your quote unquote, corporate headquarters every six, seven months,
Rosalinda Mendez:Right, and it doesn't sound like she, I mean, at least when she was first starting, and let's face it, who do we not know that doesn't have a jewelry line sometime in their life. So, I mean, it's kind of hard to get traction. So literally, I guess the thing is, is it's hard to get something up and up and rolling, and it sounds like when they moved to Salt Lake City, she found her sweet spot. She found a niche. She found, you know, people who were buying her jewelry, she obviously is not a cheap, it's not very, you know, it's not like a cheap jewelry line. It's fairly, it's very expensive. So it's not easy to kind of build that business, and then all of a sudden say, Oh, yeah, well, I'm not going to move this $14,000 whatever, you know, a piece thing to Canton, Ohio, where I'm going to have Oh, so many people coming in to buy my stuff...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, that's just not her client base at all, and I get well hi- like her client base and his client base are so different, they're just diametrically opposed. So I mean, it doesn't really make much sense why she would move to Akron, especially since they're in this kind of state of limbo of separation. So I totally get why she wouldn't want to move, and it seems like they had just moved to Salt Lake City because she's still furnishing her home, and so that's a very much a, in the moving phase of moving into a house. So it seems like she hasn't even finished on packing, and he's already asking, oh, well, why don't you want to leave?
Rosalinda Mendez:Right. So I think that, you know, in some ways, you know, he's the one that's just kind of saying, you know, you need to be the, you need to be the little woman and move for me, and if you don't want to do that, then I'm not, and I'm glad she turns it around on him, and says, "well, why don't you want to just move here?"
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Well, yeah, that's a little thing, because he was saying that, Oh, well, I would move anywhere for you, which is just a blatant lie. I mean, how did he not know that was gonna get, like, thrown into his face, because they are living in Salt Lake City, and as she says her corporate headquarters is in Salt Lake City. So if he really would move anywhere for her, then why wouldn't he just move to where they already own a house?
Rosalinda Mendez:Exactly. Plus, I mean, and honestly, I guess at this point, I'm sure one of the things he's thinking is, you know, the kids are all out of school, it doesn't matter anymore. But I think she's just having PTSD from the entire marriage. Like she was like, I was never happy having to get up and move all the time, and kind of now I don't have these extra responsibilities of carting kids around and I can really focus on my business, and it's going well, and I'm happy here and I have friends and everything seems to be... and now. I mean, in some cases, and this happens a lot in marriages, where if you have the kids to focus on, sometimes it kind of patches over all the other bad things that are happening in your marriage, because you have to deal with the kids, and once you know, those kids aren't they aren't around. They don't need you to be there for them as much, then, you know, the cracks really start to show.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, but then we get into another scene with them where they're talking. They're at their house now, I guess, post airport, obviously, and they're talking about how Meredith might need some space, and that maybe their relationship won't last.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, I think the idea that they need some spaces is probably the best thing for their marriage, and, you know, if he's going to take this hard line, I just I don't see it really working out. I really don't. It doesn't look like it's a salvageable thing. I think that I mean, she's very sad about it, like most people would be I'm sure this is, you know, obviously, someone she's, you know, the father for children. It's somebody that she really cared about. It's somebody she's made in, you know, incredible sacrifices for...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:I mean, I have no doubt that she doesn't*does* love him. I believe that there is still love there. But as I'm sure many people know, like, there's a difference between loving someone and being in love with someone and you know, you have to kind of just accept that.
Rosalinda Mendez:Right, and you can, I mean, you can almost tell at the very end of that scene, she's just so sad. When he says, Well, maybe if I leave, you know, and I'm away, you'll see that, you know, your life is better without me in it, and she goes on, and I think that that might be true, and so I think at that point, she really nails what what she's feeling, you know, instead of having this back and forth, back and forth, it's just like, I need the space. I need you not here, and this isn't really working. But we'll see. I mean, obviously, it looks like there's a lot we're gonna have to dive into about their relationship.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, and on a light hearted side note, if anyone noticed in that scene in the bedroom, where they're talking about the demise of their marriage, so really cheery stuff... In the background behind Meredith is a bear poster or painting, I don't even know maybe a photo, and if you remember or rewind back to the art gallery episode, you see that same bear painting. So clearly, she bought something there. I thought that was an interesting add in because she's all like, Oh, I have a very elegant monochrome simple design ideas, and here she has this like big, very colorful bear in her bedroom, which is like standing towering over her. I don't know, that's just like not something I'd want in my bedroom. It is. I mean, honestly, bold choice, and I kind of like her more for doing it.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, I know. It's almost like that big bear is like the- their marriage. It's just like, over her, and overarching, and it's about to pounce...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:*interjects* About to eat her....
Rosalinda Mendez:Exactly. So now we move over to Meredith's twin, Lisa.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Oh, yes. Oh, Lisa. We start kind of this conversation with Lisa. We see her at her son's eighth birthday party, honestly, whatever. We don't care about the birthday party, but her next conversation is about marriage, and that kind of spurs off of the conversation that her and her husband were having at the eighth birthday party about Meredith and Seth's separation, and she was talking about how I guess in the Mormon Church again, I'm learning so much about the Mormon church, and their beliefs and things. I'm sure it's totally not representative of the church as a whole. But anyways, I'm going to take it as fact. But they were saying how marriage is forever, like eternal, which is a really long time to be with someone....
Rosalinda Mendez:I know, at least in all the other denominations that I know of, it's till death do us part. I mean, you kind of have this rosy thought of, you know, oh, you die, you go and meet your husband. But that's not what the contract says. "Death do us part."
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, I mean, cuz you could die and then maybe meet somebody else.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah. What are you gonna do? Have like gonna be, you'll be like a Mormon in Heaven. You'll have multiple wives, or husbands.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:But then that also brings up a logistical question. I believe Mormons believe in hell, I'm not sure. But let's go with that. But what happens if one partner is in hell, and the other partner is in heaven? Like is the marriage still there? Is the other partner just kind of forced to be in heaven and not do anything?
Rosalinda Mendez:I think, you know, the way that Mormonism seems to work, you know, where you have to be perfect, and all these other things is that if you if your partner's in Hell, I think you have to go down and join them, because they're not going to let an imperfect person into heaven. So I think you are literally tied to that person. Youneed to make sure. I think that's why they try to make sure I think they- she talks about this, like having this family dynamic that Mormonism is about the eternal family, right, and so I think that that...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:*interjects* Scary thought...
Rosalinda Mendez:...I know, so I think that part of that is is that you keep each other honest, so that you both enter heaven. So it's not like gonna be one of these things. But still, we've seen like, and we've heard about sneaky Mormons. So we know that there are people who are not keeping up to their
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Perfectionist goals.
Rosalinda Mendez:Exactly. So....
Sara Van Tuerenhout:And then I feel bad for Lisa's husband, because then she talks about how when sometimes when she's mad at him, she's thrown out his Rolexes out the car window, I guess, while they're driving,
Rosalinda Mendez:Right. That was really funny, because that was in the confessional, and basically, what happened was, the producer was like, you did go back to get it? And she's like, Yeah, but it was really hard, because it was in a snowbank, and I was like...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, and like she didn't go back to get it, he went to go back and get it and like, Rolexes are so expensive. Again, rich people do not deserve money. They just literally throw, like, how much is an average Rolex?
Rosalinda Mendez:I don't know, it could be anywhere from $5000 to $100,000. I think.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Okay, we're throwing out a $5000 plus dollar watch. I mean, let's be honest, it's probably like $20,000 -$30,000 out of a moving car. Like who does that like that could give someone a home. That's some, some people's whole yearly salary. Like these people live such vapid lives, which I guess is why we like to watch them. But you know, sometimes it's jarring to hear it, you know, when you're not thinking about it.
Rosalinda Mendez:Right, and I think that part of it is, is that Lisa is trying to at least when she's talking to her husband about it. She's kind of saying things like, you know, you should just worship me, and I shouldn't have to do things for presents, and he's like, would you?
Sara Van Tuerenhout:He's like, please perform services....
Rosalinda Mendez:So yeah, so we see a little bit of their marriage, and, you know, it seems like a pretty typical marriage. She pretty much rules the roost in that house, you can tell.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Oh, for sure.
Rosalinda Mendez:So then we move on, and we see another marriage and how it works, which is something Jen has talked about in the very first episode, which is basically her FaceTime marriage with Sharrieff.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, and they actually have a nice heart to heart which I'm actually surprised they were... that he was allowed to take a phone call midday because you think you'd be practicing. But regardless, Jen was giving Sharrieff the 411 about what happened at that luncheon, which I'm, well I guess, since they have a FaceTime marriage, that would be the first opportunity she could have told him but moving on, she was giving him the 411 and she was talking about the 7-Eleven comment, and how Mary called her a hoodlum and ghetto, and I think again, this just further reinforces how Jen is totally in the right here, and I really don't see anything redeemable of what Mary has done or said, and so, yeah, I'm team Jen.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, for this one. I am too, and basically, it's really nice that Sharrieff is easy. It's really funny. It sounds like he's talking to one of his players when he's talking... I'm really proud of you, and you know, he's going on and so you can see how he'd be a good coach. Because he's...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:*interjects* Yeah, he seems like such a great guy honestly...
Rosalinda Mendez:... Super motivational super, like, you know, very good at pointing out like what you personally did
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah. Although I mean, I think I would right, and you know how you shouldn't let these things affect you, and you should basically stick to your guns, and so it's it was actually it was a nice conversation. So you see a very nice, healthy looking marriage even though it's you know, again here I mean, here you have somebody else like, I'm sure that I'm not sure it wasn't clear that Sharrieff has bee a coach anywhere else. So ot they've had to move around oo many times. But his job ta es him everywhere, like dur ng football season, and the I think, during not when, ou know, he's probably does, ou know, spring recruitment and ll these other things. So, ou know, he's, he is probably a honestly really like to see the kind of circa to 2010, 2011 ay a lot, and so and he leaves en alone, which I think in s me cases is part of our prob em with Jen, is that she fe ls lonely. So she has to fill up that time with things with ight assist style, Beverly Hills, dads kind of scenes, you know, where not the dads, but you know, the husbands where all the husbands would go out to drinks and you would get to see that, like, I kind of want to see the Salt Lake City housewives, all of their husbands get together and just see how that's like, I mean, I don't know how that would work with Sharrieff's schedule, but I think that would be cute.
Rosalinda Mendez:Well, it would be cute. But the thing is, is I think that in the case of Beverly Hills, a lot of those guys were.... they kind of travel in the same circles, whereas I'm not sure that that's really true for the Salt Lake City guys.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:That's true. It could be really awkward. I just want to see more of Coach Shah.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, I know. I just I'm trying to think of what Coach Shah and Robert senior would have to talk about.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Oh, God, you're right. You know, I take that statement back, I don't want to see any more of Robert Sr.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, I think we're good.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:But speaking of Robert Sr., we have all of this Jen unloading to Sharrieff juxtaposed with Mary unloading to Robert Sr. and she is just living in La La Land. Like she is so delusional about what's going on between her and Jen and really her and the rest of the group because she sees herself as kind of this queen bee figure, when all of us can see she's the one on the outskirts like she is one comment away from getting kicked out of this group.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, definitely, and you can also see where you know, where you have kind of a more.... Sharrieff is kind of much more assertive and has a place, you know, Robert Sr. You know, basically, it's kind of sad, because it's almost like you look at both of them, and they're like they're in this I don't know if it's a love marriage or not a love marriage. It doesn't sound like one to me, honestly, from looking in, and yes, it was an arranged marriage, but it was arranged marriage for the same reason for both of them for the money, like it..., and so he feels because that money came from Mary's grandma that he has to basically kowtow to her and say, Oh, honey, yeah, you're right, and this isn't wrong, and yes, they're just jealous, and I mean, obviously, she pitches it that way. So from him not being there. He sees it that way. But it's just kind of crazy. I mean, I just I don't I the things that she said were again, as you know, they're pretty indefensible. Like, I don't know, how anyone can kind of be on Mary's side and say, well, especially when she starts talking about, you know, she kinda... she just belittles it, right? It's like, it's like I don't like hospitals. I don't like convenience stores. It's like she's I mean, we apparently if you're Mary's friend, you somehow have to know all the things and topics that are going to set her off. Because if you bring them up, then you know somehow, you're doing it just to injure her.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah.
Rosalinda Mendez:So the other thing that's hilarious is she's like she then sets the whole argument up to be like, Jen is the problem. She's the rotten apple as long as one person that screws it up for everybody, and she doesn't realize that she's that person.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, she's definitely the rotten apple of the bunch, and she's really bringing everyone else down, and I don't know how you watch that Met Gala scene, and see Mary as the victim or the sympathetic... She's the instigator. She kicked Jen out. She said, really mean things to her, and then oh, but Whoa, is me. I just I you know, I wish I lived in that fantasy land of, I'm right, everyone else is wrong.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, and then we go again to a housewife and housewife dinner. Again, it's either everybody's there causing drama, or they're one on one, and then it's just kind of an odd pairing. You know, basically, it's Mary and Heather having dinner, and it was really strange, because, you know, basically Mary told Heather, she was two faced.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, I don't.... Like personally, if I thought someone was two faced, why would I want to go have dinner with them, and then, on the flip side, as Heather like if someone called me two faced I'd be like, fine. I don't need to be friends with you if you think that about me, so I don't get why they're having dinner. But nonetheless they are. So they're talking about what happened, what really went down, and we get to hear more about Mary's delusions. But before that....
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, we get the best line of the entire episode which was, again Mary dropped some pearls of wisdom down there, because the waiter comes to find out if they want water, and so the subject of carbonated water comes up, and Mary's like, you know, carbonation affects your ovaries...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Which to me, though, is she thinking about having another child? I don't get it. I mean, also, where did she find this information? WhatsApp?
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, I don't know. This is hilarious, and then the great thing is that Heather's like, I'll take two.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:I know because she's like, I don't want to have any more kids, which honestly, I totally get that. But yeah, I don't know where Dr. Mary gets her. I mean, first we have water will save your legs. But now carbonated water does not have the same healing effects. It fucks up your ovaries. So watch out ladies.
Rosalinda Mendez:Or if you're looking for a different form of birth control, and you don't want to like take any chemicals. Carbonated water. Yeah, yeah.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:But why ovaries specifically? Why not the whole reproductive system?
Rosalinda Mendez:I don't know we'll have to check with Dr. Mary. So if anyone out there listening knows why carbonation is...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:*interjects* And is it only carbonated water that affects your reproductive or ovaries? I should say.
Rosalinda Mendez:I don't know. I had a lot of fizzy drinks, and I was able to have you so...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:And a pitcher of Margarita.
Rosalinda Mendez:That's true. So... I was a little housewifey before Sara turned up. Anyway. So then we have Mary then going over all of her problems with Jen Shah.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, she pretty much listed it out for us, and I kind of wrote them down. But she one thinks that Jen is jealous of what she has, because Jen would not be used to seeing a black woman have money and power because Jen has no relation to anyone that's black that has money or power.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, it's really a Jen who had the I don't know what to say. $40,000 like birthday party.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, like$46,000 birthday party. She lives in....
Rosalinda Mendez:*interjects* For Meredith...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:A freakin chalet, and her husband is like one of the top black football coaches. So I think she has a little idea.
Rosalinda Mendez:And she's rocking those like six inch Louboutins all the time.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:I think she has just a little bit of money. So this whole idea that...
Rosalinda Mendez:*interjects* She has eight assistants...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah she has eight assistants...
Rosalinda Mendez:On the payroll.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:I just genuinely don't know where Mary comes up with these things. I mean, she really just pulls them out of her ass and honestly commendable because I'd get too stuck in my head about that not just being true at all. But you know, she just goes for the delusion.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, and so and then she says Jen's being racist, which I really don't understand.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, that yeah, she... again delusion and she...
Rosalinda Mendez:*interjects* No proof. No, like what it was that actually did it other than she said, I don't think she's ever seen a black person with this much stuff.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:And she's like...
Rosalinda Mendez:*interjects* Like she's seen her husband...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:No, exactly, and like, she also was saying Mary was saying that Jen was jealous because she's not queen bee nor MVP, and she didn't like that she wasn't number one, which let's be real. Jen probably is number one of this group. She is the biggest personality. Everyone comes and hails to her side. So I don't know where Mary's getting this idea that she's the, you know, circus leader.
Rosalinda Mendez:I thought this was just an interesting.... well it was an interesting episode. In some ways, it was a little it wasn't as exciting in some ways. But it was it was interesting to me in watching this kind of in the scope of what we've kind of gone through this past summer(2020), and the fact that you have these two women of color, who are... have these totally different ideas of race, and they obviously, you know, come from a different socioeconomic background. They have different upbringings. But the weird thing to me was watching this, was watching the white woman not know how to discuss race. Like Heather tried a little bit, I think, but not really, and nobody ever said, You know, I mean, at some point, someone as opposed to hearing it off camera, you know, in these little snippets to, you know, either other housewives or to husbands. At some point, you feel that one of these white girls should've just said, Hey, this is inappropriate. What you just said is wrong, and you know, but I just felt like they were just on the sideline watching, which is kind of basically exerting their white privilege to not get involved.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, but I mean, that's just in typical housewives fashion. I don't expect any of these women to be up on race politics and feel comfortable enough to talk about race.
Rosalinda Mendez:No, I understand. But I mean, basically, the things that Jen was saying to me was actually more like I may be not racially black. But I understand it because it's been my experience, whereas Mary just doesn't talk about it at all, and the only, you know, view you have in on her is basically my family had money, and I don't you know, have to deal with it.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah. My thing though... it's like what Sharrieff said, you know, there are black people who don't like other black people.
Rosalinda Mendez:No, and that's exactly what Mary is, I think...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah.
Rosalinda Mendez:...A Black person who doesn't really appreciate other black people.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah, I don't think you know, when Jen had that first interaction with her like, Oh, another person of color who gets what I'm going through and what we're both going through. I don't think Mary had that same reaction.
Rosalinda Mendez:No, I don't think so. At all. So, but, you know, again, they are both the mothers of black sons.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Yeah...
Rosalinda Mendez:And you think that Mary would like worry about her son.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Well, I think she kind of just lives in this like insulated bubble.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, no, no, and that's basically how it is. But I again, I understand it's Salt Lake City, you know, the women were brought up in a certain kind of way. There weren't any black people around. I that was the interesting thing too, about going back to race issues from Episode One when Jen's talking about marrying Sharrieff. I mean it took Sharrieff to like point out that there were no other black people in the Mormon church for to go, Oh, well, then I want to be part of this. Like, you didn't notice the entire time you were there that that wasn't a thing.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Well, that's my other thing too, though. So like, they have completely different lived experiences because--- well, I don't understand how Jen wouldn't be cognizant of that fact.
Rosalinda Mendez:But she says it which is really odd...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:No, I know, but but she says that she... her lived experience living in Salt Lake City, is that a black woman. But then she didn't even notice that there weren't any other people of color or black people in the church?
Rosalinda Mendez:No, that's what I mean, and it took Sharrieff to say that and she's like, oh, okay, well then I need to quit.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:So I mean, that's just kind of questionable.
Rosalinda Mendez:I mean, I'm not sure exactly the Muslims are really happy with As-salamu alaykum bitches.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:Ehh, I mean, she drinks, sooo...
Rosalinda Mendez:That's true...
Sara Van Tuerenhout:I don't think she's the "perfect" Muslim.
Rosalinda Mendez:She's not gonna be a strict Muslim.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:But yeah, I- to end it kind of on a more light note. Thankfully, this episode is not a two parter. We finally get rest. I'm so thankful. Thank you. Bravo, gods.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, exactly.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:No more two partners. I am begging you! No more. Please. Free us from this torture.
Rosalinda Mendez:Yeah, we're done with the two parties for at least one episode. We'll see. Well, I- we'll check in to it. We'll check in on our next podcast and we'll find out whether we are either at a cliffhanger again or not.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:I can't say I'm very hopeful.
Rosalinda Mendez:But anyway, till next time.
Sara Van Tuerenhout:That's our podcast! Thank you so much! If you wouldn't mind leaving us a like, comment, subscribe, leave us review, and we'll see you on the next one. Bye!
Rosalinda Mendez:Bye!