Welcome back to the latest recap of The Real Housewives of Orange County. Last time, a messy game at Tamra’s party unboxed everyone’s true feelings. And Gina wondered about Carmella’s motives. Here’s what happened in RHOC Season 20 Episode 5: “Designers and Dildos.”
What happened in Real Housewives of Orange County Season 20 Episode 5?
The ladies were suspicious when Carmella offered Jenn a job opportunity. Gina confronted Carmella about her birthday gift for Emily. Meanwhile, Carmella revealed her past legal troubles.
Vicki was suspicious of Carmella in The Real Housewives of Orange County
Vicki and Jenn met up for facials. “I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but I’ve never been called a Debbie Downer,” Vicki admitted in her confessional. To demonstrate her point, she told the aesthetician, “I am not a Debbie Downer. So excited about life.” Thanks, Emily, for giving Vicki her new catch phrase for the season.
Naturally, they discussed Tamra’s party, and Vicki was pleasantly surprised by Heather. “I always thought she was kind of a cold fish, like nothing hurts her,” Vicki admitted.
Next, Jenn detailed her night out with Tamra and Carmella. “My Mike [Smith] is a developer,” Vicki said. She added that Carmella’s “not a developer.” Then Jenn dropped a bomb about Carmella. “And she is inviting me to do development projects with her,” Jenn said.
However, Vicki insisted that Jenn should “stay in your lane.” Poor Jenn just wanted to learn about Carmella’s career and have a shot at financial independence.
“I have a red flag, icky gut about her,” Vicki stated. “Don’t get hurt. Don’t invest any money in it.”
In her confessional, Vicki said, “I guarantee you Carmella’s going to ask Ryan [Boyajian] for money to develop their next project. I’m not stupid.”
Jenn’s new job offer raises eyebrows in RHOC
Elsewhere, Emily stopped over to visit Carmella. Her kids go to school in Rancho Santa Fe, while Carmella works in the OC. Emily shared her impressions of the newbie in her confessional.
“I think Carmella is a hustler. I think she enjoys making her own money and supporting herself. And I find all those things admirable,” Emily said.
Next, Emily revealed that the group discussed Carmella’s job. “Well, I think Vicki, she said that you’re a liar and that you didn’t know what you were talking about,” Emily remarked.
“I develop properties. I’ve been doing it for almost a decade,” Carmella said. “Like, I’m a lot of f*cking things, right? Liar isn’t one of them.” She added, “That’s insulting.”
In her confessional, Carmella said, “Vicki is incorrect. So, I don’t know where she gets this, like, cuckoo crazy sh*t. Like, get a hobby,” she added.
When Emily asked what Jenn’s duties would be, Carmella replied, “Picking out, like, the tiles, and help me put together the design. It would just be good for Jenn to experience it, and I’d be paying somebody anyway.” She added, “I told her I’d give her like $20,000 bucks.”
Of course, Emily had some reservations about Jenn’s new job. “That’s such a random, arbitrary number,” she said in her talking head. “Did you just pull that out of the air?”
Carmella reveals her wild past in The Real Housewives of Orange County
As far as an invite to Vicki’s event at a winery? It seems that Tamra invited Carmella. When discussing Vicki’s event, Emily made a joke asking if Carmella had “any criminal background.” She replied, “I mean, I do. I did get convicted of violating a restraining order.”
Carmella explained, “Something happened with some woman, and my ex-husband, who was not my husband at the time. We had an altercation.”
This woman got a temporary restraining order against Carmella. “I wasn’t allowed within 100 yards of her, and I was being hard-headed,” Carmella said. “We were at the same place at the same time, and I was being a hard-ass, and I wouldn’t leave.” Vicki will take a victory lap when she hears this news.
The incident happened at an Ohio bar. Carmella was on a stripper pole, and the woman, who had dated Carmella’s ex, “starts talking sh*t to me.” When Carmella responded, the woman’s friend “takes a drink and nails me in the face.” Carmella said she was found “not guilty of the assault, but I got convicted of violating the restraining order.”
In her talking head, Carmella said, “Lesson learned. I was 20.” For some reason, Emily was impressed.
Is Emily the problem in The Real Housewives of Orange County?
Heather, Shannon, Vicki, and Gina met for dinner. Fancy Pants had a sleepless night over Emily. She wasn’t happy that Emily told Jenn about the “obsessed” comment. “I am upset because there was no context to it, and then Emily told me to stop talking,” Heather said, as she started crying.
“Emily was harsh that night,” Gina agreed in her confessional. “It’s not easy to be holding Emily accountable, but I feel like it’s the right thing to do for both of my friends in this circumstance.”
Later, Gina and Tamra met up for a walk. “Carmella’s not very happy with you,” Tamra stated. “It’s just odd to meet somebody. Here’s a Dior bag, and something to masturbate with,” Gina remarked. “But Emily is like hanging out with Carmella, throwing me under the bus.”
Then, Tamra spilled the tea that Carmella planned to involve Jenn in her next project. According to Gina, it was “a red flag.” Another red flag for Carmella.
Carmella was in the hot seat in RHOC
Vicki invited everyone to a winery, except for Carmella. Tamra arrived first and informed Vicki that she invited Carmella. When Tamra asked Vicki to take it easy on the new girl, Vicki responded, “I think she’s a liar.”
Even though they met on two occasions, Vicki told Carmella they “met-ish.” Oh, the shade! And Emily was in luck, because Carmella brought some vodka with her.
Later, the ladies revealed that Emily hurt Heather’s feelings. “You told me to be quiet,” Heather remarked. Emily insisted that she gets “cut off all the time.”
When Gina entered the conversation to explain Heather’s side, Emily told her, “I don’t need you to jump in.” Gina misunderstood Emily’s comment about not needing her. “That hurts my f*cking feelings,” Gina said.
Finally, Emily apologized to Heather. Naturally, the topic of the Dior gift came up. Gina wanted to explain her point of view. In a flashback, after meeting Emily, Carmella told Heather, “Emily is a very good questioner. I know that it came from a good place, but it was a lot, quickly, I guess.”
Gina said that Carmella repeatedly asked Emily to open her gifts at her birthday party. “And then she gets home, and the gift is a Dior bag and something to masturbate with. It blew my f*cking mind!” Gina exclaimed.
Will Gina and Carmella bury the hatchet?
In her confessional, Tamra said, “I feel like Gina’s a little jealous of Carmella.” Then, Carmella explained that she brought the vibrator hoping that Emily had a great sense of humor. “Had I known it would cause this amount of chaos, I probably wouldn’t have done it,” Carmella said. “But I wanted to do something nice.”
However, Gina wasn’t buying it. She wondered if Carmella liked “to flash her money around.”
When Carmella suggested that Gina call her next time, and not talk with the whole group, Gina fired back that she didn’t have her phone number. “You didn’t even have her phone number, and you bought her a Dior bag and a dildo!” Gina said of Emily.
“It’s okay that you think it’s weird or extravagant. But guess what? It’s me,” Carmella said. Then Gina pushed Vicki under the bus, sharing that she called Carmella a “liar” and shaded her business.
Once again, Carmella clarified that she is both a real estate agent and a broker. “And she’s an investor. This is where I’m trying to be,” Gina stated. Is there common ground here after all?
In the end, Gina apologized to Carmella. And the ladies toasted the newest housewife.
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs on Thursdays, 8/7c on Bravo. It streams on Peacock the next day.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF RHOC SEASON 20 EPISODE 5? IS GINA JEALOUS OF CARMELLA?