It was a tense premiere full of “hattitude” for Real Housewives of Potomac Season 9, Episode 1! The ladies are back, and there’s major drama afoot with Karen’s recent DUI. This week the group tries to put the pieces of the puzzle together regarding Karen’s accident. However, she is remaining mum on the situation. Gizelle also has a hattitude party for Karen’s birthday, but that goes left when Mia’s personal relationships get put in the spotlight. Here’s everything you need to know about RHOP Season 9, Episode 1: “A Crash Course in Deflection.”
Gizelle tries to get Karen to set the record straight about her DUI
The Grande Dame sure knows how to make a dramatic entrance. Season 9 kicked off with a reenactment of the night of Karen’s DUI. A series of charges against Karen flashed across the screen: DUI, DWI, the list went on and on. Needless to say, the cast was shook. Ashely was concerned this was a repeated offense, and Mia observed you can be a danger to yourself but not to others. Gizelle surmised this was not the Karen that she knew.
A month later, Gizelle picked up Karen for lunch. The two looked fab twinning in their denim bustier tops. After they ordered two “Karen specials,” consisting of french toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon, they got down to it. Unfortunately, Gizelle didn’t get the answers she was looking for. Karen couldn’t say much because her case had not been adjudicated yet. But she did share that the loss of her parents and marriage issues had affected her state of mind that night. So they moved on to Gizelle setting up a birthday lunch for Karen. She was going to need all the carbs she could get for the questions to come.
Mia and Gordon were in a much better place than when we saw them last. Flashback to Mia accusing Gordon of locking her in a room, and Gordon revealing he knew she had an affair. Eesh. Now the two are living in the same building. Mia didn’t like she couldn’t have her “sneaky links” with Inc, but the setup was best for the kids. She then asked for a paternity test to verify Gordon is Jeremiah’s father. Inc was questioning it because Mia had an affair with him shortly after her IUI. Gordon told her to tell Inc to drop it. That’s probably not going to happen.
Wendy officially resigns from her role as professor
There were some big life changes happening for Ashley and Wendy. After two years, Ashley was finally ready to move on with the divorce process. And she was hopeful that Michael would be reasonable regarding custody of their kids. Wendy was ready to move on from her role as a professor, so she sent in her resignation letter. She wanted to spend more time with the fam and find something more fulfilling. As Eddie hugged her congratulations, the fear of having to tell her mom next lingered over any excitement she had with sending that email.
Karen met up with newbie RHOP star Stacey Rusch at their friend Vivien Agbakoba’s boutique. They needed dresses for Gizelle’s hattitude party. We learned that Stacey recently moved back to Potomac after quitting her job at QVC. She also has a daughter and is going through a divorce. It’s been rough, but Stacey was level-headed and said it was the right thing to do.
After a classic montage of trying on dresses, the three celebrated with some bubbly. Vivien and Stacey were concerned about drinking champs in front of Karen. However, Karen reassured them she was only drinking water because of her medication. She would be having drinks with them later. The ladies all cheered to that, but it was awkward at best.
Jacqueline spills some serious tea before Karen arrives at the hattitude party
Gizelle had a lovely hattitude party set up for Karen’s birthday lunch. Custom-made hats were designed and named for each lady. She explained hattitude was all about love, style, and grace. Then she added she “needs for these ladies to act like they have some.” And if they didn’t, a taco, banana, or construction hat awaited their fate. Ashley arrived first and tried to get the lowdown of Gizelle’s conversation with Karen. But Gizelle told her Karen had shut her down and told her to read the paper. Maybe Ashley could get answers from Karen later.
Wendy arrived and was ready to have a conversation with Gizelle about their relationship. Gizelle claimed to be all about peace these days. And she too hoped to mend things with Wendy and move on. Mia came with her new bestie, Jassi Rideaux. Jassi is a flight attendant who recently settled down in Potomac with Kansas City Chiefs NFL player Darius Harris. Wendy let out her inner Swiftie and wanted to get all the Taylor Swift goss immediately.
Mia’s frenemy Jacqueline was also there. She spilled the tea that she had recently talked with Karen, who sounded tipsy on the phone. Jacqueline didn’t have proof, but everyone’s eye brows raised two notches. Finally, the birthday girl arrived in a bedazzled cowboy hat. Let the showdown begin.
Mia does the first walk off of the season
Karen wasn’t too happy when she saw there was a non-alcoholic drink called “The Grande Dame” on the menu. But she moved on once Gizelle gave her the “Hollywood” hat. Karen then opened the floor for questions like it was a press conference. She announced she wanted to know who her true friends were and didn’t want any “fake bitches” around her. She got crickets.
Gizelle then handed Ashley the “Cowgirl.” Ashley announced everyone was invited to her and Gizelle’s upcoming GnA fusion event. Wendy joked that they didn’t even have any apparel on their website, so how could they fuse anything? Mia was given “The King” for playing two guys. Of course Gizelle had to be shady and asked Mia if she had shared Inc with Jacqueline yet. Stacey was taken aback; she was not used to a “no boundaries” policy with questions. Welcome to the Real Housewives!
Things were lighthearted at first when Mia joked she and Inc had done Gordon’s laundry. But Karen and Gizelle took it to the next level when they brought up Gordon mentioning their kids had seen mom in bed with Inc. They didn’t think Mia was protecting her kids by seeing both men. Mia was shocked, and Wendy jumped in and said that was too far. Mia shouted her kids were thriving and it was wrong for them to bring this up. She then ran off upset, with Jassi and Jacqueline trailing behind her. We are so back.
Real Housewives of Potomac continues Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC SEASON 9, EPISODE 1? DID GIZELLE AND KAREN TAKE THINGS TOO FAR WITH MIA AT THE HATTITUDE PARTY?