We’re four episodes into Season 8 of The Real Housewives of Potomac, and boy oh boy. These storylines are all over the place. The cast is majorly divided with Candiace Dillard Bassett and Dr. Wendy Osefo on one side and pretty much everyone else on the other. Either way, Candiace has been MIA because of her nine-city tour, and Karen Huger has a hunch that the group is trying to ice her out.
Ashley Darby introduced a bizarre rumor about Dr. Wendy’s family being part of a shunned and outcast group of Nigerians. Meanwhile, Nneka Ihim, the newest Nigerian Housewife, was convinced by her cousin-in-law that Dr. Wendy’s mom put a hex on her. Yes, we’re going there. The word on the street was that it was a retaliatory curse for Nneka using Wendy’s name to get on RHOP. It’s a Nigerian-on-Nigerian beef that has sent social media into an uproar.
Whether you’re on Team Dr. Wendiace or Team Everyone Else, the one thing that everyone can agree on is pickleball. It’s the sensation sweeping the nation, and thanks to the Grande Dame, it’s arrived in Potomac.
On Real Housewives of Potomac Season 8, Episode 4, the ladies gathered for a Pickleball Party, and for the first time all season, every single cast member gathered under one roof, which had a fiery outcome. Here’s what went down.
Facebook frenemies
Nneka and Wendy have shared approximately five seconds of screen time together, yet their relationship continues to get more and more complicated. In this episode, it was about the husbands.
Outside of the whole cousin-in-law connection, Nneka explained that her husband, Dr. Ikenna “Iyke” Ihim also knows Eddie Osefo. They’re both University of Maryland alums. They were even Facebook friends — until Wendy’s mother allegedly submitted Nneka’s name to her shrine. Nneka said that right after Wendy’s prayer warriors started coming after her, Eddie suddenly unfriended Iyke from Facebook. Was it a coincidence, or is there something fishy going on here?
Luckily, Nneka and Ikye scored an initiation to the Grande Dame’s Pickleball Spectacular, so they’ll have an opportunity to clear up these issues with their fellow Nigerian power couple.
A green-eyed spat
Elsewhere in the DMV, Gizelle Bryant and Robyn dealt with some awkward energy in their friendship. The two of them met up for lunch, and we learned that an uncomfortable situation went down between Gizelle and Juan Dixon. Now, it wasn’t quite on the same level as what allegedly went down between Gizelle and Chris Bassett last year, but here we are again with Gizelle lodging accusations about someone’s husband.
Gizelle explained that she was not happy with Juan for running around Baltimore and embarrassing Robyn at hotels, laundromats, and nail salons. Juan barely participates in RHOP, so how hard is it for him to stay out of the headlines, too? Gizelle said that she had a chance to talk to Juan about everything that was going on with him, and in response, he yelled at her.
“He kinda came for me,” Gizelle told Robyn. “He was talking loud. “
Apparently, Juan was adamant that he didn’t cross any lines during any of his viral rendezvouses with various women. Of course, Gizelle didn’t take too kindly to being yelled at by Juan, but she also wanted to stand up for her friend. So, Robyn found herself in the middle of her best friend and her “husband.”
Robyn blamed Juan’s elevated tone on the fact that he’s a former basketball coach. She said he just can’t hear anything after years of being on the court, so he’s always loud. That’s a stretch, but Robyn’s ability to come up with excuses for every single aspect of behavior of Juan is impressive.
Obviously, the Green-Eyed Bandits are stronger together than apart, and Gizelle said she didn’t want any of this to impact her relationship with Robyn. So, as long as Juan behaves himself, these two should be all good. But, it’s noteworthy that we’re seeing Gizelle and Robyn have a bit of a disagreement here. Has this ever happened on RHOP?
Tough love with Mama Dot
With Candiace on the outs with most of the group, her big moment in this episode came via a sit-down with her mom, Dorothy. We can always appreciate a cameo from Ms. Dorothy because she’s one of the only people on this show who can put Candiace in her place.
Over a glass of wine, Candiace and Ms. Dorothy chatted about what was going on in Candiace’s life. Right now, her only focus is her Deep Space Tour, which she spent six figures putting together. Candiace said Chris screamed at her over the money she was spending. Then, Dorothy asked Candiace the golden question that we’re all wondering: What is Chris working on right now?
Previously, Chris was managing a restaurant, but Candiace said it caused issues in their marriage because he was coming home too late. Now, she clarified that he’s making his money by offering virtual cooking classes and selling his line of seasoning salts.
So, Candiace is burning through thousands of dollars going on a tour with less than 15 dates. Chris’ only real source of income is from virtual cooking classes. That means Dorothy better keep her checkbook handy. She’s probably going to have to bust it out soon to cover some of the Dillard-Bassett overhead.
The power of pickleball
Karen and Ray Huger planned a pickleball day as the season’s first all-cast event. Karen nobly took on the responsibility of trying to bridge the ever-growing gaps in this group.
“We’re all a mess, and pickleball might bring us together,” Karen explained.
Everyone and their partners (where applicable) showed up for Karen’s pickleball event. Even the new friend Kiearna Stewart popped up for a split second.
The most surprising attendee was Juan. With all of the rumors and the nastiness, you’d think he’d stay hidden from the cameras. But, as Mia pointed out, he doesn’t have a job so what else is he going to be doing in the middle of the day?
Despite Karen’s effort to create a peaceful event that would unite the ladies, it didn’t turn out that way at all. When Candiace arrived, she didn’t greet Gizelle. They ignored each other and the same thing happened with Robyn. In their confessionals, they all made it clear that there’s no resolution in the immediate future and they’re all harboring some resentment from Season 7.
Now, normally pickleball is played like tennis: singles and doubles. The ladies of RHOP played an ultra-bizarre version of pickleball that was four on four. It was Team Ish Starters versus Team Finishers. Despite the entire episode being focused on this pickleball outing, the ladies played for approximately ten seconds before going over and sitting down for food and drinks. That’s when things got extra messy.
Nneka and Wendy face off
Karen (and her former assistant Matt) went through the trouble of having a fully catered pickleball party, with lots of pickles, beans, macaroni, and other random foods that didn’t seem to go together. However, before the ladies could even enjoy their food, Nneka stood 10 toes down in handling her business with Wendy. She called out Wendy over the situation with her mother’s shrine, and we saw Wendy spiral into full deflection mode.
Dr. Wendy replied, “I don’t know you. Sweetie, I’ve never called you. That never happened. Pull up the phone records.”
Wendy wanted so badly to deflect from this conversation that she randomly asked to have a private conversation with Mia of all people to discuss their issues. Somehow talking to Mia sounded like a better plan than continuing to talk to Nneka. All of a sudden, Wendy wanted to make up with the person she called “slow” in the last episode. Interesting.
Nneka has been clear and consistent with her story about her connection to Wendy and her family. Wendy’s reaction coupled with her sudden hyperfocus on Catholicism make it seem like there could be some truth in what Nneka said. Why would her cousin-in-law make up such a specific lie about Wendy and her mom? Gizelle and Mia fully believe it, too. On the other hand, Karen and Candiace aren’t buying it.
As if Nneka and Wendy cussing each other out wasn’t enough action for the pickleball court, Iyke decided to confront Eddie about being unfriended on Facebook. Similarly to Wendy, Eddie went into full deflection mode when confronted and claimed that he didn’t know Iyke. Happy Eddie didn’t look too happy. Gizelle was watching from the corner and said, “Eddie doesn’t want that smoke.”
Meanwhile, when playing pickleball, Juan bumped into a fence which caused a domino effect with Karen’s gorgeous bean spread. The food dropped to the floor, the chafing kit caught the carpet on fire, and chaos ensued.
Was it a demon? Has the entire RHOP cast been submitted to Wendy’s mom’s shrine? Only time will tell, and unfortunately for Karen, peace wasn’t achieved during this outing. If anything, the group dynamic just got worse. Maybe they should play dodgeball next time.
The hexes and the drama continue to unfold on Real Housewives of Potomac, Sunday nights at 8/7c on Bravo.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC SEASON 8, EPISODE 4? ARE YOU TEAM NNEKA OR TEAM WENDY? SHOULD IYKE HAVE CONFRONTED EDDIE ABOUT THE FACEBOOK UNFRIENDING? DO YOU THINK THE JUAN SITUATION INTERFERED WITH GIZELLE AND ROBYN’S FRIENDSHIP?
