At long last, Peacock has gifted us with the third season of Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip. It feels like forever since we’ve gotten a new Real Housewives crossover and it was long overdue after the Bezerkshires trip of Season 2. A group of Housewives past and present head to Phuket, Thailand for a girls’ trip like no other.
Peacock outdid themselves with the cast. From Real Housewives of Potomac, Candiace Dillard Bassett and Gizelle Bryant are coming fresh from their Season 7 feud. We also have Bad Weather from Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, even though Heather Gay and Whitney Rose aren’t on the best of terms, either. Real Housewives of Atlanta peach Porsha Williams steps out of retirement to party with the crew. Real Housewives of Miami besties Marysol Patton and Alexia Echevarria are accounted for, cockies in hand. Finally, we have the wildcard Leah McSweeney from Real Housewives of New York.
The premiere episode sets the tone for what this mashup group of ladies has in store for their exotic vacation. Gizelle wastes no time stirring the pot, as she does best, and everyone’s skeletons come out of the closet right away. Here are five of the main takeaways from the RHUGT Season 3 premiere episode, “We’re in Thailand, B-tches!”
Thailand Wins Best RHUGT Location So Far
It only feels right to kick off this recap with a love letter to the producers of Season 3. RHUGT was fun with Dorinda Medley and co., but a lavish trip to a villa in Thailand is truly next level. The ladies travel far and wide to stay in a bonafide palace, even though it almost takes Whitney twice as long to make the hike up the road as it did to fly there. They also have an amazing concierge named Pepsi to wait on them hand and foot, who I can already tell is going to be a fan favorite.
The producers also make the show even more fun with their editing tactics. They feature scenes from all of the ladies’ flagship shows to provide context to their relationships headed into the trip. It’s also a fun spin to see the ladies breaking the fourth wall. I almost spit out my drink when Porsha is bragging about her room to producers. “OK Bravo, they really do want me back. They’re trying to woo me,” she says in a confessional. A producer chimes in to remind her that she’s on Peacock now. It’s the comedic relief Bravo fans need to break up all of the drama going on these days.
Gizelle Immediately Gets Reasonably Shady
Any RHOP fan already knew how Gizelle was going to act on this trip, and she wastes no time getting to it. As the resident pot stirrer, she literally brings up all of the drama going on among the ladies. She doesn’t even let Heather put her bags down before grilling her about the Jen Shah of it all. Lucky for Gizzy, Candiace is feeling generous on this trip and decides to forgive Gizelle for the sake of keeping the peace. It doesn’t mean CandeePants won’t sneak around to her new roomies to warn them about her co-star from home.
At the first group lunch, Gizelle also makes Heather and Whitney attempt to hash out their unfinished business from RHOSLC Season 3. It’s the same fight about Lisa Barlow that they’ve been having for weeks now. I think I speak for all of us when I say we’re over it. Gizelle also gets bored quickly and makes the ladies stop fighting for her own amusement, which is just typical. At the first dinner just hours later, Gizelle makes the ladies play a game with the sole purpose of stirring up trouble. They have to share their best and worst first impressions from Day 1, which is quite a way to get this group of women fired up from the get-go. Again, did any of us expect anything less from Gizelle’s big RHUGT debut? I sure did not.
Alexia And Marysol Aren’t In Miami Anymore
Out of all the ladies in the house, Alexia and Marysol take the most time warming up. Sure, they’re used to the heat of Thailand coming from Florida. But maybe it’s because they have each other that they are a bit more reserved. They’re a dynamic duo for a reason, but we know that friendship will be tested on this trip. Marysol also spends most of the episode sick. Pepsi’s Thai cocktails aren’t sitting right in her stomach. She needs a big glass of vodka with a splash of orange soda and then she’ll be good to go. Marysol also admits to only drinking water when she makes her coffee with it. That woman is a scientific miracle.
Any RHOM fan knows that Alexia and Marysol speak their own language of Spanglish. Gizelle gets mad when Alexia and Marysol speak to one another in Spanish, which pisses off the Cockie Queen. She ultimately apologizes, but Marysol doesn’t like that Gizelle thinks she can make rules for everyone in the group. Alexia also doesn’t like Gizelle asking so many questions to avoid talking about herself, so who knows how these two will mesh with their new roomies.
Heather Feels The Group Pile On
Heather heads into the trip needing a vacation. Honestly, she and Whitney are just excited that the RHOSLC girls finally get to leave the “Mormon belt” for once. But really — filming began just days after Heather learned of Jen’s guilty plea. She’s ready to have fun in the Thai sun, but Gizelle’s nosy questions cut that idea short pretty quickly. Heather is upset that Whitney isn’t getting as many questions as she is, even though Whitney never was as ride-or-die for Jen as Miss Gay.
Aside from Heather’s issues with Whitney, she gets off on the wrong foot with Leah. When Leah arrives, Heather sweetly acknowledges her sobriety and then says she almost wants to stay sober in solidarity to help Leah through the week. However, after a few of Pepsi’s strong cocktails, Heather then thinks it’s a funny joke to want to “get Leah drunk.” Bad look. Leah brings up that a relapse could literally kill her. Even though Heather read Leah’s book about her addiction struggles, she still said it’d be a “challenge” to get her drunk. It leads to a major fight.
Almost everyone picks Heather as the person who gave them the worst first impression. Leah ultimately forgives Heather once she apologizes for her stupid comment, but the pile-on has just begun and Heather is feeling it. “Gizelle doesn’t like her, no one can like her,” Heather said in a confessional about herself. She feels a target on her back but in Heather’s own words, she’s just glad to be getting attention. It’s going to be a long trip for the SLC girls.
Porsha Is Back And Better Than Ever
The biggest takeaway from the RHUGT Season 3 premiere is that Porsha Williams is BACK, baby. And boy is she more on point than ever. It’s been a while since Porsha’s been “in the TV,” as she puts it, and I forget how much I’ve missed her. Porsha says she’s in an empowered place in her life and man, I believe her after this episode. Porsha and Marysol make fast friends on the flight to Thailand thanks to their mutual taste for a stiff cockie. From then on, she’s nothing but a walking party.
No one made me laugh more in this episode than Porsha. Pepsi shows the girls the “spirit house” at their villa, and Porsha doesn’t hide that she’s scared of ghosts. “I thought we were the ones who rented this place,” she quips. I’m screaming. Porsha also dogs Gizelle for digging into everyone’s drama before even learning their last name. Porsha tries to remember everyone’s last name and only comes up with “Heather Graham” and “Whitney Houston.” It’s just comical. The episode ends with Porsha and Candiace igniting some beef that fans expected was bound to happen between them. While I’m not picking sides in this fight, I’m just happy to see more of Miss Williams in a new environment on my TV on a weekly basis. Thank you, Peacock.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE RHUGT SEASON PREMIERE? WHO DO YOU THINK WILL GET IN THE MOST DRAMA THIS SEASON OF THE CROSSOVER SHOW?
[Photo Credit: Mark Rogers/PEACOCK]
