By ATDLEFT
Here we are at the end of the first season of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip. It’s been a short yet memorable season, full of drama, suspense, nonsense, comic relief, grief over old relationships dying out, and new relationships blooming. Who knew a Housewives show could still be this enjoyable? This may be the final episode, but the Housewives’ storylines still have plenty of loose ends. Let’s see how they tie up those loose ends and wrap up the season.
Kyle’s Walk Of Shame
We start off with Kyle returning from a special “nightcap” with Mauricio. Kyle did her faux walk of shame in front of Ramona and Melissa. She immediately complained that Mauricio had nothing but a bar of soap in his hotel room for her to use on her face. Kyle quipped, “I am a floozie in the Turks and Caicos.” But come on – she just had a romantic night with her husband! Meanwhile in the house, Cynthia consulted with the kitchen staff on the menu for the last luncheon on the beach. Cynthia continued to bemoan her sidelined status on this trip. Yet she insisted she could get “back on track” at this luncheon.
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Immediately, Kenya complained and demanded a burger. But in her confessional, Kenya insisted, “I just want this tension to end.” Kenya promised that her attitude towards Cynthia was never a personal attack, and I can personally buy that Kenya was focused on getting her paycheck(s). But clearly, Cynthia saw it differently: She saw her friendship with Kenya unravel in real time. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see whether her planned “Bailey Bowl Olympics” can help Cynthia salvage her relationship with Kenya and the other wives. At least, the prizes seemed to appeal to the other wives.
The Bailey Bowl Olympics
Oh, great! We get to watch them “lick balls” and find the diamond ring hidden in the popsicle ball. Kenya, Melissa, and Teresa won that round, even after Luann filed her objection. Next, it’s a twerk off. Teresa and Luann won that round, despite Kenya’s fast moves, Cynthia’s voluptuous “assets,” and whatever the hell Ramona was doing. From there, they rushed into a buried treasure challenge finding the hidden teacups and spilling the tea. Luann, Kenya, Melissa, and Teresa won that round. Then, they played tug of war. Kenya and Melissa won the initial round, and (of course!) Kenya won.
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Kenya ultimately won the Bailey Bowl Olympics. But in a fascinating twist, Kenya used her acceptance speech to graciously donate her grand prize, a three-night vacation in Turks and Caicos, to Teresa and Luis. In her confessional, Kenya said, “To see Teresa so happy, after everything she’s been through. She lost everything, then she rebuilt it and found this loving man. Here’s a gift to you, from my heart.” Kenya also said she was hoping to “find the same thing”. Be careful what you wish for, Kenya! Back on the beach, Kenya and Teresa hugged it out, and all the Housewives were finally at peace. Maybe Cynthia knew what she was doing, after all.
A Turning Point For Ramona?
At the lunch table, Teresa gushed over Kenya’s generosity, then contrasted her new friendship with Kenya to her many battles with many of her fellow RHONJ castmates. Then, turning to Kyle and Ramona, Teresa exclaimed, “You know, when you go to college, and you meet friends for life? I want to keep you as friends for life! I really bonded with all you guys.” Somewhere in New Jersey, I can hear Jacqueline Laurita, the RHONJ Season Six castaways, and Siggy Flicker screaming at their TV screens.
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On a far more serious note, the beachside conversation took a very dark turn when Ramona spoke about her family’s history of abuse. Ramona explained how her mother’s experience as a domestic violence survivor influenced her own life choices. She contrasted her drive to escape that environment with her siblings.ongoing struggles back home. Kyle sought to connect the dots and attribute Ramona’s atrocious behavior on the trip to the coping mechanisms she learned as a child. Teresa implored Ramona to clean things up with Kenya. Ramona said she’d try to make it nice. (Author’s Note: This is a very sensitive topic for Tamara and some of our readers, so please be respectful of Tamara’s request not to post any triggering content in the comments.)
The End Of The Road For Cynthia
Back at the villa, Luann wanted one more day of flirting with Michael the concierge. In the confessional room, Cynthia opened up about her struggles with Kenya. “That hurts. I can’t have who I love.” It’s been so heartbreaking to watch their friendship fall apart like this, and all over this ridiculous reality TV franchise. Cynthia then used Kenya’s budding relationship with Melissa as an example of how Kenya played her. She said, “It hurts. But hey, now I know.”
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Ten minutes later, Cynthia walked up to Kenya’s room to confront her over this. Kenya wasn’t interested. As she walked away, Cynthia lamented, “When I walked out of the room, there was a part of my heart that closed up.” But, in her own confessional, Kenya countered, “She didn’t see all the times I had her back when talking to Kyle, Luann, and everyone else. No, Cynthia’s a good girl!” Kenya continued, “Don’t make me look like I did something wrong to you. I did not do something wrong to you.” Again, my own assessment is that Kenya came to fulfill the assignment and snatch that paycheck. But, Cynthia wanted a real experience. Whatever one thinks of how Kenya plays the game, it’s just depressing to watch the Comcast-NBC suits dispose of Cynthia like this.
Money Can’t Buy You Class
Later that evening, Teresa Facetimed Luis to tell him Kenya won a Turks and Caicos trip and gave it to them. As RHOC’s Shannon Storms Beador would say, “It’s a gesture!” But at least on RHUGT, there was no wasted sushi and there was no talk of lawsuits over botched boobs. In the confessional room, Teresa gushed over how she missed Luis so much. Meanwhile in Luann’s room, she was playing her own auto-tuned songs and promising to “surprise the girls” with her money guns and Jovani gowns. Then, they all finally headed off to Grace Bay for one last beachside dinner.
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Kyle kicked off the final toast of the trip and thanked everyone for “such an amazing trip”. Luann and Ramona seemed to make amends. Ramona said she’s now closer to Luann than to Sonja. Ramona then pulled Kenya aside for the apology we’ve all been waiting for. Back at the main table, Kyle and Teresa filled the other ladies in on their own conversation with Ramona. Then on the couches, Kenya and Ramona finally seemed to bond over their similar broken family backgrounds. Kenya promised, “I won’t hold a grudge against you.” Kenya graciously gave Ramona the redemption arc that Ramona denied herself when she went nuclear on Eboni.
We’re Going Out Feelin’ Jovani.
Speaking of storylines and redemption arcs, Teresa continued to express relief over her past scandals. The Rumor-gate drama with Jackie Goldschneider is finally fading into the background. She got a decent edit on this show. Cynthia called out Kenya for doing an on-camera resolution with Ramona after refusing to make amends with Cynthia. And finally, we got the big reveal. Luann popped out in another Jovani gown. She shot out money to the ladies while performing her signature (auto-tuned) song. Melissa says, “This is what I call a happy ending.” The producers actually shot off fireworks as they all celebrated a successful first season.
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Of course, the other Housewives gushed over how awesome this was and how they all bonded so much together. But in her final confessional, Cynthia kept it 100: “Do you guys feel the blood coming down my back? I’m just too old and too tired to be around people who do not respect the boundaries of what a friendship is supposed to be. Bailey out!” Regardless, this first RHUGT season is the one of the best Real Housewives shows I’ve seen in some time. This has been one wild ride, I’m glad we all got to ride this together, and I can hardly wait for the second season of “Bezerkshires” madness with Housewives of seasons past. On this note, let’s just sit back and enjoy the fireworks show.
Edited because I just added a horrendous Video of Luann’s new “song” and I use the term very loosely, that she made about the trip to the post. She has the lowest voice of any natural born female in the world.
What the hell did I just watch?
Luann’s “music career” is… Something else.
OMG, she can’t sing…..she just talks into the mic. I don’t know-how in the world she has her own show.
Delusional, party of one!
Literally laughing out loud at your comment.
Thank you for the recap. Why was Cynthia so uncool for this trip? I know she is friends with Kenya but did Cynthia expect to be tied to her hip all week? I thought it was good to see the women interact with the ones they don’t know so well. Cynthia took this too personally for me. She could have enjoyed a light breezy vacation, made a few new friendships and reminisced with Kenya went they got back home.
I don’t do trips with friends who expect us to do everything together, lockstep. Kenya, and most of the other ladies, knew the assignment.
As I hinted at in the recap, my sense is that Cynthia was getting sick and tired of “playing the game” of these Peacock/Bravo/Comcast-NBCu reality shows. Perhaps Cynthia was hyper-sensitive. Perhaps Kenya, Kyle, and the others couldn’t take any more of Cynthia being so sensitive. It’s just that I’ve personally been there before, so I’m a little more willing to cut Cynthia some slack here. She just didn’t want to “play the game” any more, and I got the sense that she already knew this was the end of the road for her RHOA journey.
I didn’t watch just read TT’s recaps but wish Cynthia had a happier last housewives trip. She’s been a RHOA for so long and has brought balance and kindness to the franchise. I wish her all the best.
So do I. As much as I love Kenya, it’s so hard for me to watch Cynthia being shoved out of the franchise like this. I get that the RHOA producers felt the urge to shake up that show’s dynamics, but it just felt cruel to see how the RHUGT producers edited Cynthia here.
After reading all of the splendid recaps, I am going to give this series another shot.
I WOULD be looking forward to the next chapter if it didn’t involve the shrieking and squealing of Vicki and Tamra. Even though I like Shannon more, her shrieking is the worst, so at least she isn’t on it. I hope we get our “old” Dorinda back. Clip!
Shit! Tamara and Vicki?! Now I know what it feels like to lose an erection! 😂
Ok, that was an awesome jacknife dive Melissa did in the video! Luann doesn’t sing, she talks. Hey, I can sing rings around her, but although I have sung in a few bands I do not have the “entertainer” gene. I love practicing in the barn with the guys but do not enjoy being onstage. There’s a lot to be said for her entertainment skills. JS.
I wished Kenya didn’t blow Cynthia off like that. That was cold. I LOVED Kenya on the trip! But not that part. And she won the tug of war single handed! I was betting on LuMan (sorry) and Theresa to kick Melissa’s scrawny ass, that was great. Kenya giving that trip was beautiful. I’m just thinking it would have gone a long way if she had given it to Cynthia, but IGI.
I do understand them becoming so close so fast. They have the common bond that no one but a HW can possibly understand. I got incredibly close with the chicks I went through rehab with because we had a shared bond.
We are getting a Beserkshires UGT? Maybe there Is a Santa! Great job recapping!! Outstanding 👏 👏👏
I really like Luann but that girl has no talent. That was just sad. Why does housewife equal music career to all these tone deaf people?
please give atdleft writing credit for this piece
Oh shit! Sorry! I totally forgot. Fixing it now.
Not that I excuse a lot of what comes out of Ramona’s mouth but from what she has let drop over the years I knew she had some serious family baggage. I think that’s why she lacks that chip that makes one think before opening their mouth. Even when she is in the right or trying to comfort someone there is a hardness to her delivery that I believe is a defensive stance from childhood.
She is what I call a child of trauma who never got the help she needed at a young age so its become second nature to her to blurt out crap then get defensive when called out.
Your comment is perfect.
She is traumatized beyond most people’s conception.
This is the closest Ramona has been to facing her issues.
I hope more Real Housewives Ultimate Trips continue to be produced.
Enjoyed the bond they formed with one another.
Witnessed a softer side to all of them.
Kenya was very dismissive of Cynthia, though I also think she cares about her too. Cynthia gave too much credit to Kenya and Nene friendship wise. With those two it’s “ reality friendship” first and real friendship second.
I enjoyed this show very much. I wouldn’t be surprised if they do another one next year with a similar cast of top-tier housewives (and their sidekicks lol). I’d like to see more of Ramona and Kenya together, Kyle being her best and Teresa just being happy and honest about everything.
And poor Cynthia man. So sad. I don’t think we got the whole story of what exactly happened between her and Kenya. Oh well.
I’m sorry but LuAnn can NOT sing …. this was terrible
I’m just now getting around to watching the series even though I’ve been reading the recaps from the beginning. I’m only 3 or 4 episodes in but boy is Cynthia a sour puss. I feel like I’ve missed what really happened b/t Cynthia and Kenya. All of the little things don’t seem to add up to wanting to end the friendship. It was nice to see Kenya being liked and accepted by the other ladies. We got to see a lighter side of her where she seemed to have more fun. I don’t blame her for not wanting to hash it out with Cynthia, what a vibe killer.