The Hollywood Exes are split up this week. Drea Kelly is in Chicago, Mayte Garcia is in Los Angeles, and Nicole Murphy is in New York City. Sheree Fletcher and Jessica Canseco meet Nicole in NYC after a chat in the park.
Sheree asks Jessica why she hightailed it out of her birthday dinner. Jess explains, Josie invited a boy over, and she wanted to spy and/or surprise them by returning home earlier than expected. Sheree doesn't believe her. She pushes the issue, asking if Drea made her feel uncomfortable, but Jessica stands by her story. You mean the world doesn't revolve around Drea? Woah. Somebody better check her email. In all seriousness, I don't believe Jessica either, but I also can't blame her for fleeing from that restaurant.
Sheree pretty much tells Jessica that they all talked about her after she left. Sheree reminds Jessica of the comments she made about Gia's birth mother, adding, "We all came to the consensus that your timing was off." Jessica plays dumb. Sheree chastises Jessica for ruining Mayte's celebratory moment. And Jessica plays dumber. Sheree urges Jessica to reach out to Mayte, adding, "You don't have to be wrong to offer an apology." Jessica says she wants to make things right. Mayte's keeper will stop this from happening.
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Drea and Tony shiver and catch up in Chicago. Drea dishes, her recent trip to Los Angeles was exactly what she had expected, which means Jessica pissed her off. Glad to hear she went with an open mind! "This is less about Jessica," she explains. "And more about what Drea can allow, what Drea will accept, and what Drea will put up with." Drea announces that she's done with Jessica – once and for all – and Tony calls for a moment of silence.
Sheree and Jessica are now in New York City with Nicole. Their attempt to open a bottle of alcohol is comical. Jessica is three seconds away from a murderous rage, I'm sure, so Nicole busts out a cork vacuum. Sheree, the preacher's wife, jokes that it looks like a penis pump. They giggle like a bunch of school girls. Eventually, the bottle opens and the alcohol flows, and Nicole tells the others she invited Shamicka Lawrence, ex-wife to Martin Lawrence, to join them.
Meanwhile, Drea works with dancers at her studio, and it's obvious that she loves to dance. Can we get more of this authentic, vibrant, and happy Drea? Pretty please! Sadly, Drea's smile is short-lived, as her injured foot hinders her ability to dance. Still. On one hand, she doesn't want to push her body, but on the other hand, she isn't willing to accept that her dancing days could be numbered. Drea says the pain she continues to feel is a harsh reality, solemnly adding, "Retirement is at the back door."
Shamicka joins Nicole, Sheree, and Jessica in New York City. Right off the bat, Jessica announces there's liquor, but Shamicka admits she doesn't drink. "Oh God," says Jessica. "She's going to be boring." SMH! So, it's get to know Shamicka time, and we learn that she drives her kids to L.A. (two to three hours one way) for school. She's nuts. Also, Shamicka was a professional singer prior to dating Martin, but she quit to be "his woman" and "raise their children". She smiles, she cries, she smiles, she cries. She's exhausting.
In L.A., Mayte shoots an instructional belly dancing video, and things go well until Nelly brings Gia into the studio. She toddles wherever she wants and her cuteness distracts Mayte. Nelly takes Gia out so Mayte can focus on her work. To the camera, Mayte talks about finding a work/home balance now that she's a mother, she feels confident that she can do it.
Drea hosts a family dinner in Chicago. They all talk about Drea's life in L.A. vs. Drea's life in Chicago. She's torn – Does she open a dance studio (big commitment, big opportunities) in L.A. or not? Should her priority be her kids and their life in Chicago or what she wants/needs to do for her own happiness/goals? For now, Drea is content to travel back and forth, though she admits she can't keep that up for much longer.
Meanwhile, Shamicka is still talking about herself, telling the others how she met Martin. (mutual friends) She was like, nice to meet you, but your celebrity doesn't impress me. Martin pursued Shamicka for over a year. "It's not reality," she says about dating a celebrity. "It's a fairytale but also a lot of work." Everyone nods their head in agreement. Then, Jessica and Nicole share how they met Jose and Michael, respectively. For Jessica, instant attraction, she traveled with him two days after meeting him. For Nicole, instant friends, they bonded over being newly divorced.
Drea continues to worry about her injured foot, saying, "I dropped babies and danced again faster than nursing this toe back to better." Over the phone, Drea tells Mayte, she suspects something isn't right. Drea worries she'll never be 100% again and wonders if stress has contributed to her problem, adding, "Maybe my heart needs to heal first, before my foot can." Mayte's like, speaking of stress, Jessica and Co. are in NYC. "Don't bring up Jessica," hisses Drea. "I can't deal."
In NYC, Nicole's segment on LIVE with Kelly and Michael is over, and she says it went really well. NOTE: Nicole did NOT down a bagillion SHOTS before taking the LIVE stage. Sheree, Jessica, and Shamicka help Nicole celebrate her successful shoot. Sheree points out, "Next time you do a cooking segment, you might want to actually do some cooking," adding, "Only Nicole can do a cooking segment and make her man do it all."
Lunch is nice and easy. They're all laughing and having a good time. Someone jokes, "Better check your email!," to which Jessica says, "I keep checking my email, nothing is there." I suddenly realize I don't miss Drea and Mayte – as part of the group – and I find myself wishing Hollywood Exes would feature all three cities on the regular. For me, the bright spot of this show is Nicole and Jessica's friendship, though I realize not many feel the same way.
Right on cue, Jessica apologizes to Shamicka in advance, for anything she may do or say that's offensive. Shamicka isn't sure what to do with this, simply adding, "I better stay on my toes!" At the end of the day, Shamicka enjoyed her time in New York City with Nicole, Jessica, and Sheree and she looks forward to more fun times. Cheers!
TELL US – YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS "THREE CITIES" EPISODE? DO YOU LIKE SHAMICKA SO FAR?
Photo credit: VH1
