Jessel makes it apparent at the end of The Real Housewives of New York City reunion that discussing her marriage is off limits, especially with Sai and Erin. After understanding how harsh she came across, Sai apologizes a lot, and Ubah goes on an emotional trip with Erin in the hopes of changing for the better.
Jessel’s marriage and sex life seemed to be a hot topic among the group, particularly with Sai and Erin. While they were busy making fun of Pavit and their lack of intimacy, they had no idea that Jessel was going through some postpartum struggles. Andy wonders if Jessel talked about those issues with the girls, and Erin claims that Jessel never discussed it to the “level she did in her confessional.” She calls her poking fun at Jessel’s sex life a playful thing, and Sai denies implying that Pavit was cheating.
The focus is on Jessel’s response to Jenna’s gift-giving. They talk about Sai’s decision to oppose Jenna’s green negligee present, and Sai says she jumped down Jessel’s throat because she could tell Jenna was hurt and ashamed. Jessel acknowledges that she was in error at the time.
Why is Jessel laughed at for disclosing her past? Erin asserts that Jessel didn’t seem to be *hers* during the season and that her insinuations about her upbringing were untrue. While Andy wonders why this is a contest to see who had the worst upbringing, Erin rambles on about how she “totally gets it,” despite the fact that she was the one who pulled apart every episode of Jessel.
Sai explains that her frustration was getting the best of her, hence her lashing out. Jenna calmly tries to explain that Jessel needs to acknowledge and understand that sometimes when she tries to connect with people, it misses the mark. For instance, when Jessel tried to liken the death of her alcoholic uncle to Sai’s alcoholic mother, it missed the mark. Sai understands that Jessel was just trying to find a connection to her, and Jessel apologizes profusely for this.
Brynn questions why Jessel is always the one apologizing, considering these ladies have ripped apart her marriage and ripped apart her background. It’s unbelievable. Jessel tries to clarify that she “grew up comfortable, but certainly not lavish,” but she shouldn’t feel as ashamed for her upbringing as Erin is trying to do.
Erin apologizes sincere for making light of Jessel and his wife, but she then states that she still finds it strange that Pavit would travel to Vietnam just to get a sandwich. Want to know what else is strange? The extent to which Erin and Sai care about Jessel’s marriage… Brynn tries to defend Jessel, and Sai flips out on her because she’s not ready for all of that, and Sai freaks out on her as she tries to give Jessel a much-needed apology. Jenna-I-Don’t-Get-Involved-In-Anything herself concedes that Sai had no justification for delving so far into Jessel’s marriage. The group still hangs together despite all the drama throughout the season, which is really odd given the way they converse.
Finally, Sai shows some emotion, and that’s only when her segment is shown and she has to discuss her mother again. Sai explains that her mother did her best despite suffering from a mental illness and drinking to cope with it all. Sai likens her mother to having a child and shares that she was in rehab/assisted living before moving in with her and David. David made Sai throw her own mother out because she got too drunk in front of her children, and then three months later, Sai’s mom died. Sai beats herself up about her mom’s death to this day, and she calls her mom an “artist” around the children, not an alcoholic.
Andy lightens the mood and wants to know why Sai is always hungry. She explains that she must eat every two to three hours, and when she is hangry, she cannot function. Perhaps she should just start carrying granola bars in her purse. That would really alleviate a lot of issues. Speaking of issues, Sai realizes that people took issue with having an influencer be a part of the RHONY cast. She knows that influencers have a bad reputation, but when Jenna jumps in to back up Sai’s influencing status, you gotta kinda believe Sai’s gig.
Brynn is instantly emotional when her segment comes up. We hear about how she tended to her absent father for his last three months alive and gained closure from taking care of him. Brynn’s dad was African American, and these days, Brynn is really embracing her background and feeling it more than ever. Brynn shares how important her Mimi was in her life and how grateful she is to be as close as she is with her brother, especially because she has no other man in her life.
While on the topic of men in Brynn’s life, the world wants to know what is up with Gideon, her ex-fiancé who, based on the clip from the season, clearly still loves her. Brynn poo-poos that connection and refers to him as a “hot cousin” with a “proper penis.” LOL. And even though she came onto Jenna throughout the season, Jenna knows that Brynn is very straight.
Ubah finds the unexpected bond between Brynn and Erin “sick,” believing it to be extremely false. Erin acknowledges making mistakes and injuring people during the season after Ubah calls her out on disparaging remarks about Brynn when she isn’t there—something she is completely guilty of doing. Ultimately, Erin and Brynn are quite alike, to the extent that Ubah proposes that Abe become an Islamic convert and wed both of them.
Ubah’s infamous stolen phone and Erin’s prank become the next topic to tackle. Andy wonders if anyone believes Ubah overreacted about this, and half of the group does. Ubah jumps in to explain that her family is in a different time zone, and so every morning and evening, she has to participate in a group chat to show she is okay. Plus, she has a business to run, and so, without her phone, she felt crippled. Ubah makes it very clear that she did not react until she was pushed.
Ubah believes that Erin gaslights everyone all the time, but Erin claims there was no malintent — it was simply a prank, turned misunderstanding, that went on for too long. Ubah does not appreciate Erin claiming that her fight with Ubah was the worst conflict in Erin’s life. Guess she didn’t have a ton of conflict growing up, huh? Why isn’t anyone jumping down Erin’s throat to pick apart her background??
Ubah swears she doesn’t get angry, and anyone who gets her anger deserves it. She reminds Jenna not to confuse being angry with being assertive, and as she goes on and on, Brynn jumps in. And so ensues a back and forth between the two of them: Ubah threatening Brynn to quit interfering in her conversation, and Brynn claiming she puts people in funeral homes. Ubah reminds the group that she goes from zero to 100, and she really isn’t kidding.
When Jenna says during the season that she saw a “side of Ubah hot,” it appears as though Ubah is confused about that figure of speech. Ubah thought Jenna meant she had many sides, but Jenna tries to diffuse the situation and attempts to explain that she would never do anything or say anything to purposely hurt Ubah. Ubah isn’t done with Jenna, though. he calls her out for saying she was “team Erin” after the sunglasses incident, and Ubah reminds Erin that she needs to get “recruited” to be on team Ubah.
Ubah unravels and gets upset because she feels as if no one had her back during that episode. It is clear that Ubah is activated and clearly needs to get those emotions out. Erin admits that she was being dramatic in her confessional when she said it was the worst conflict of her life, and the two ladies essentially kiss and make up.
After behaving the way she did, an emotionally spent Ubah tries to patch things up with Jenna, but Jenna wants to talk to Ubah about something she mentioned earlier in the reunion. As Ubah said that no one wanted Jenna to be on the show, the ladies all begin chatting at once and try to hide their butts. While Sai acknowledges that she didn’t think Jenna would fit in with the group, Jessel quickly corrects her, saying that Sai’s assumption was hurtful and incorrect. Yeah, right.
Drinks come out, and Andy tells the group how proud he is of all of them. He asks the ladies what they saw in the mirror after watching season 14, and Sai claims that she has learned she doesn’t listen to others and that she should open her ears and heart more. Wow — very self-aware with that statement! Jenna is learning how to be open and be more of a girls’ girl. Erin promises to lighten up and to watch her big mouth. Jessel will be a little gentler with her marriage and with herself. Brynn liked watching herself (classic response), and Ubah thinks that next time she should warn people before she gets too angry. Ubah wants to keep doing this with this group of women that she loves, and Erin leads the toast, to a great, great season. Jenna and Brynn end the reunion with a quick smooch, and that’s a wrap with these newbies!