Real Housewives of Orange County Season 18 Episode 3 Recap

Tensions are still at an all-time high between Jennifer and Gina on Real Housewives of Orange County. Last week’s episode ended with Gina laying into the mother of five for essentially becoming a squatter in a million-dollar mansion. This week’s episode, aptly named “Red Flags and Flag Football,” will offer the ladies a chance to get their aggression out on the field. Shannon will have to come to grips with the fact that Alexis is taking over everything she ever loved, except David Beador. And Gina will have to follow through with her tough decision of asking Travis to vacate their shared home. Here’s your Real Housewives of Orange County Season 18, Episode 3 recap.

Jennifer doesn’t get the idea of team spirit and brings animosity to the field. Instead of decorating her team shirt, aka Team Love, she just spent every ounce of energy trash-talking Gina. The message is clear: Don’t rent a house you can’t afford.

The moms go for round two, with Jen admitting she has never had control of her finances or a credit card to her name. She shared that Ryan has taken on her $24k debt and lent her his car. I’m seeing red flags all over this plan. I don’t need to be a psychic to know that this is not going to end well.  

On the other hand, Gina reveals she is having Travis move out for her financial security. Gina explains Travis is moving out because both have been destroyed by divorce, and she doesn’t want to make a bad financial decision. But for our sleuth, Tammy Sue, the math isn’t mathing. She notes that she doesn’t know anyone who has been together for four years, only to move out. The whole situation left Gina and her fans feeling very unsettled. 

Malibu broke Barbie 

Emily thinks that an athletic event is a good idea for these hostile women. “Let’s beat each other up and walk away,” the mother of three jokes. Honestly, she isn’t wrong. Leave it to Heather to show up to the beach in a fur coat. Flag on the play! Luckily, she is just the referee. Sadly, there is no designer referee shirt, but there is a whistle. 

It is absolutely exhausting to watch Jen show up in full glam and still not realize what she did to Gina was wrong. As we all know, Gina is a relatively new realtor who went on a limb for her friend. Instead of being grateful for not having to go through a credit check, she would have failed; Jen doubled down while at flag football. She told the group, “At the end of the day, Gina was a  woman who lived in a casita I thought she’d understand.” Jen laments, “I never knew what fear or stress was. This is a new spot for me.” Honestly, the privilege that this woman had is beyond my scope of reasoning. 

Gina, who is extremely empathetic to Jen, states she is “no longer here to educate Jen on how not to be an idiot.” Fair enough. Also, not everyone is thrilled with Shannon’s quarterback costume, but it’s adorable!

Get a new gym

Shannon is appalled that John is now taking Alexis to her gym. I get it. These women live in Orange County. You can find another gym! Alexis quips that she’ll still go unless Shannon has bought the gym. Even though Shannon is annoyed, she gets a touchdown. Score one for our girl! Well, almost. Sadly, Alexis grabbed the flag.

Emily, on the other hand, is embracing her love of the gym to the point where it might be becoming a bit obsessive. The lawyer notes that she doesn’t like to miss a day sharing; she often has an “internal battle.” There’s a lot of pressure in OC to be forever young that it can be a “mind f*ck.” Obviously Emily is scared of going backward. I appreciate how open Emily was about her struggle. But I wish Emily could be proud of her achievements, too. 

He’s moving out

Episode 3 felt very much like a filler episode. But perhaps the saddest moment was watching Travis move his stuff out of the closet. He isn’t buying the “it’s for the children” excuse. The man looks overwhelmed and frankly beaten down. Probably from the drama his ex-wife is creating. I almost shed a tear when he told Gina they’ve gone from a “one single family unit to more like adult dating.” The episode ends with Gina waving her man off as she wonders if she just made a big mistake.

 Real Housewives of Orange County continues on Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo.

TELL US – DO YOU THINK JENNIFER UNDERSTANDS HOW SHE HURTS GINA? DID GINA MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION FOR TRAVIS TO MOVE OUT?