“Real Housewives of Potomac” Season 8 was full of friendships gone awry, fights, and accusations of curses — not the typical F-you, but the evil, dark, voodoo kind.
The reunion is finally here and the cast is about to address all of those things. The women are all dressed in black, signifying the death of Robyn Dixon, Candiace Dillard, and Wendy Osefo’s time on “RHOP.” Karen Huger is sporting a short, blonde ‘do, which Andy Cohen LOVES.
“RHOP” newbie Nneka Ibrahim tells Andy that her first season is a “ten out of ten.” Wendy rolls her eyes. Mia Thornton acknowledges her new boyfriend amid her separation from Gordon Thornton, who will join the cast later. In unsurprising news, Ashley Darby shares that she’s not yet divorced from Michael Darby.
In an effort to bring the ladies together, Andy says, “I want to set an intention for us today that as a group, each of you can find a path towards forgiveness and moving forward.”
“You know, I have to say, I love this show. But as a fan, it was somewhat frustrating to watch this season because the show, you know, is about finding common ground and it’s about taking ownership of actions as they affect others. Are any of you willing to say now that you feel prepared to do that tonight?” Daddy Andy asks.
“Andy I believe in these women, each and every one of them. I know they went through a lot but I do believe that these girls can pull through, and I expect nothing less tonight,” Karen warns them says. They all agree.
Robyn Dixon sticks up for her man
Andy brings up Robyn’s continual defenses and denials about her husband Juan Dixon’s many cheating allegations. Flashback to the “RHOP” cast questioning her about questionable things like Juan cleaning his phone out and Robyn just accepting that he went to the nail salon with a colleague. As Robyn defended him over the season, the screen shows Juan accusing her of “feeding into” the so-called gossip instead of being grateful that she even has his back.
At the reunion, Robyn reveals that Juan didn’t watch Season 8. When Andy asks if she’s still going to maintain that Juan didn’t cheat on her, Robyn says, “I can’t say anything for certain.” Karen’s mole almost falls off.
Robyn then backtracks and says that she can’t say for certain what anyone does or will do but she believes Juan did not cheat on her. Okay, Robyn.
Andy throws some shade when he points out that Juan isn’t showing support by not coming to the reunion. “He does not have a basketball game.”
Wendy tells Robyn, “He doesn’t know that you’re going to be under fire tonight because of his actions? The least he could do as your husband is to stand behind you and say, ‘Baby, you don’t have to take all the bullets. I can take some too.'” It’s the most reasonable thing Wendy has said all season.
When asked about how she felt about Juan deleting stuff from his phone, Robyn says she doesn’t care and that they don’t have each other’s passwords. Robyn loves to sweep, sweep, sweep things under the rug!
Robyn Dixon vs. Candiace Dillard and Karen Huger
Candiace addresses her fallout with Robyn amid all the Juan allegations. “For me, the issue was never whether or not Juan was cheating. My issue was, you kept information about your marriage from the group and demanded that the group share our personal lives.” Karen nods her head in agreement.
Robyn asks for an example and Candiace points out the time she pressed Karen about her life in Mexico the previous year. Flashback to Robyn accusing Karen of being with “Blue-eyed Man” in Vegas despite being married to Ray Huger.
“That was after she talked about Juan holding hands [with a woman] in Georgetown. I didn’t demand anything from her prior to that,” Robyn says. “That was not going on in my marriage while we were filming that season. I chose not to talk about it at that time because it wasn’t relevant.”
Karen and Candiace point out that Robyn “had a whole story going on” and chose to talk about it on Patreon behind a paywall, instead of on “RHOP.” In all fairness, Robyn had to make the money after Juan got fired.
Andy reads a fan question pointing out that Candiace stated in Season 3 that she can choose what to share about Chris Bassett. It turns out that the “fan” is Robyn’s friend and Candiace has receipts. Preparation is key when it comes to reunions!
Candiace comes out with a posterboard of screenshots of Robyn talking to bloggers allegedly stating that she was mad at Gizelle, who is not blind-sided at all because she knew about it. Clearly, Candiace’s Office Depot attempt didn’t work. She lamely puts her posterboards aside.
When asked if she still believes Gizelle and Ashley played a role in tarnishing Chris’ name to take the heat off of Juan, she says, “I do, yes … I think that she knew that talking about my business, it would keep her business under the table.” Cryangle time.
Gizelle starts laughing, which Andy even admits is mean. Candiace cries that she wants her friends to acknowledge that it hurt her and Chris after Gizelle intimated that it was shady of him to want to talk to her alone in a hotel room. “Chris also considered Robyn a friend,” Candiace says.
Robyn tells Andy that she doesn’t want anything from Candiace. “Clearly, she thinks that I plotted on her husband. I would advise, if you really feel that way, to not be my friend.”
Gizelle Bryant vs. Candiace Dillard
The cast pivots to Gizelle and Candiace’s feud. Andy brings up death threats brought to Gizelle and asks why she didn’t bring it up to her this season. “I was told that she would be talked to,” Gizelle says.
“I want to know what, how it is my fault that people are crazy enough to threaten her life,” Candiace shoots back.
“The color of my skin has caused many people to directly say, ‘Oh, you are a colorist and I’m coming to kill you. Oh, you are a colorist, I’m coming to your house to kill your children,” Gizelle reveals.
Candiace tries to defend herself by stating that it’s not her fault that Gizelle is receiving death threats but then Andy points out that she’s liking tweets regarding said comments, so she’s basically contributing to them.
Robyn then drops the bomb that there are screenshots of Chris’ “limp penis” and voice memos of him with another alleged woman. All the housewives are like WTF?
There’s a back-and-forth about the woman who came out saying that she saw Chris’ penis and some of the cast agrees that there’s no credibility.
Candiace tells Andy that she doesn’t think she can move on with Gizelle, despite what they all promised at the beginning of the reunion. She can’t get off the train that Gizelle seemingly accused Chris of sexual assault. “No, I did not,” Gizelle says.
Andy asks the experts and Lawyer Nneka says she doesn’t think Gizelle’s statement counts as sexual assault. “I’m not apologizing for things I’ve never said,” Gizelle says.
Wendy asks Candiace, “If Gizelle holds herself accountable, what are you willing to hold yourself accountable for?” Andy’s all, “Thank you, Wendy.”
“I can hold myself accountable for the response,” Candiace responds. “Accountability inspires accountability,” Sensai Andy says. Candiace finally apologizes to Gizelle for all the death threats handed to her.
Mia and Gordon Thornton’s marital issues come to light
“RHOP” fans know by now that Mia and Gordon are separated and on the brink of divorce. Mia is now dating a radio personality named Inc and reveals that she’s living in a penthouse in D.C. “I’m in the happiest place,” she tells Andy.
Gordon is living in a Charlotte, North Carolina apartment but will be moving across the street from her, Mia tells Andy.
Mia gives a recount of how she and Inc were dating but he wanted to focus on his radio career and she wanted to focus on whatever career she had at the time. Then, Wendy steps in and inserts, “One of the things that Gordon did say was that Inc came to your house and was trying to take Jeremiah (Mia and Gordon’s son) because he believed that that was his son.
When Andy asked if Inc thinks Jeremiah is his son, Mia admitted that he does. GIRL! This concludes the first part of “RHOP” Season 8 Reunion.
