Real Housewives of New York: What The Hell Moments S5E17

Don't go away mad Ramona, just go away!

The reason I jumped on to season five of the RHONY is because they brought in three new wives. I only watched a few shows of the past four seasons and had no favorites. In fact, if anything, I found them all obnoxious and annoying, looking for any excuse to argue and behave badly. The arguments were heated and over petty issues. When they brought in three new wives I thought, this is my chance to poke fun at the show, because it has been “reinvented” and all the “dynamics” have changed. Maybe a fresh point of view on an old show is in order? And that’s where I am coming from. I have no allegiances to anyone on the show. I write what I see and feel. Let’s get to the show!

Aviva: "I may be dependent on Reid, but YOU are dependent on alcohol!"

Aviva is getting a bad rap from what I saw on Twitter last night. Aviva “heard” that Ramona called Harry, her ex-husband” to ask him about Aviva’s phobias. Why the hell is that Ramona’s business? She obviously doesn’t like Aviva at all. So why does she intrude into her Aviva’s personal life like that. Everyone watching the show knows they would be pissed if someone you didn’t like called your ex or anyone you were close to, to ask questions about you. And, that’s why Aviva was pissed and THAT is what she wanted to talk about at lunch. It wasn’t Aviva who brought up St. Barth’s at all, it was Ramona. Ramona must have assumed Aviva wanted to rehash it, but that was clearly not the case. Once Ramona went off, Aviva defended herself. Aviva barely got to discuss Ramona’s inappropriate call to Harry. Ramona kept the conversation on St. Barth’s because she knew she was dead wrong to make that phone call. Now how did Aviva know about the phone call to Harry? Did Harry call and tell her or did a producer mention it? Whatever the case, she had every right to be angry and confront Ramona about it. What if had been Aviva who called Mario to discuss Ramona’s drinking?

As for Aviva bringing up Ramona’s drinking issue. This is not the first time this has been brought up on the show. I watched the Reunion Show of season four…don’t ask why…and it was either Kelly or Jill who accused Ramona of being an alcoholic. Ramona drinks too much on the show. She often appears to be tipsy, slurring words, talking out of her hat, and not too steady on her feet. I think there is cause for concern. Whether you like Aviva or not, the fact that she brings this up to Ramona to make her aware she may have a problem, is a good thing. After all, Ramona keeps insisting that Aviva is dependent on Reid, and Aviva never denied it. But, those dependent on alcohol are often in denial.

Sonja: "Boo Hoo I have to sell the house in France!"

Aviva also brings up the fact that Ramona “enable” Sonja’s drinking. Sonja is depressed over her financial problems…boo hoo she might have to sell the house in France! We should all have those problems. But, alcohol is a depressant and not good for someone who is allegedly depressed. I think Aviva is has a point that Ramona should be more concerned for her friend, Sonja, and not encourage the drinking. However, if they both have issues with alcohol, they sort of give each other permission to drink because it’s “social.”

Now I can just hear all the Aviva haters hating me too! But, the New York Daily News reported its own What The Hell Moments, on September 18th, saying that Sonja was “straddling cameras naked” and Ramona almost broke one of the cameras, during one of their drinking binges. Of course, this footage never made it on to the show. It was also reported that the two ladies locked themselves in their room, leaving the crew outside the set. Subsequently there was a meeting between the women and the crew to discuss how they were treating staff. So there is some real validity to Aviva’s remarks and perhaps there should be more concern from others who are close to these two women? In other words, don’t kill the messenger!

George made things worse, Ramona was already traumatized at lunch!

Now for Aviva’s Dad. Why the hell did she send him to Ramona’s charity event? Was it to get even with Ramona? Well it worked! But no, she should not have sent him to the charity event, especially since she is well aware of his predatory behavior around women and that he needs to be supervised. At 80 years old, the man has a lot of energy, but lacks censorship in his brain. Whatever he thinks immediately comes out of his lips. It’s not big deal that Aviva missed the event…Ramona and Sonja both blew off her charity. Ramona gave her a check, Aviva reciprocated, but she should have mailed it or gave it to one of the other women to deliver. George needs to go to obedience school to control his “urges” or reduce his medication and natural libido enhancers!

Now a tip for Aviva. There are professionals who specialize in helping people with phobias. They say they are relatively easy to “cure” because although there may be some real trigger that started them, many are irrational fears that can be eased with baby steps. Maybe she could make a list of her fears and they can be worked on one by one. Even if they only eliminate half of them, it would reduce her stress level. I am concerned that her children may overhear her say she is afraid of this, that and the other, and develop phobias themselves to some of these things. For all I know she has already tried behavior modification, but I had to throw it out there.

My assessment of the ladies so far is that Ramona and Sonja are the worst behaved, prima donnas I have ever seen. I have always disliked LuAnn for her condescending attitude towards the other wives, but this season she seems a bit more like the rest of us…peasants. Maybe Carole’s presence is a reminder that no matter how high up you are on the social ladder, there are always people higher than you? As for the new wives, Carole is like no other. She is always the calm during the storm. Carole is level headed, logical, intelligent and funny, even though the others barely let her get a word in. Her blogs are hilarious. I like her, she is consistent and she considers others, not herself. Heather is pleasant. She tries to avoid confrontation and drama, but doesn’t run from it. She handled both Ramona and Sonja very well, even though they really tried her patience. She speaks the truth and tries to be diplomatic if the subject is touchy. I like her too. Aviva seems to be the one all the older fans of the show love to hate. I will admit that I had had enough of the “leg story” in the early episodes. For someone who didn’t want to focus on her leg and disability, Aviva seemed to always bring it up. However, let’s not forget that editing and the producers have a hand in this. I think Aviva did her best to get along with the “old” wives, Ramona and Sonja. It wasn’t working. I don’t think it’s all Aviva’s fault. The issues she had with Ramona, and Sonja “by proxy,” were brought on and created by them for the most part, in my opinion.