The Real Housewives of Dubai Season 2 Reunion has finally arrived, bringing a close to many different storylines and friendships within this cast. It’s been an excellent showing of shifting alliances, extreme wealth, and petty antics. This week, we hone in on Taleen and Brooks’ ongoing feud, while in contrast, Stanbury and Ayan are still going strong, pissing Lesa off all the more. As for Stanbury, she’s not here for any further “sugar daddy” allegations, so she does her best to explain away her friendship with Michael Davis, the man who let her and Sergio overstay their welcome as their house was getting built. It was a lot, but also, it was just enough, expertly mixed as always in this light-stakes Real Housewives series. Catch what we mean now via our Real Housewives of Dubai Season 2 Reunion, Part 1 recap.
The blood/love fest begins on the RHODubai Season 2 Reunion, Part 1
As the ladies arrive, Ayan makes it clear that she is here for “no b*tch.” Meanwhile, Stanbury’s pumped, Taleen is nervous, and Lesa is in hair and makeup, reminding herself not to call anyone a b*tch. The footage then rolls, previewing the drama that lies ahead. As these scenes and words prove, this reunion will be a fest of blood and love, as evidenced by the firey red-clad ladies of Dubai.
Ayan takes the stage first. Their host, Andy Cohen, smiles, taking in Ayan’s ensemble. “You’re so understated,” he jokes. He then helps her move her gown’s train so that she can sit down.
But when the cameras cut back, Andy is underneath her train. It is now his cozy blanket as he is a very mindful, resourceful king. Stanbury enters and laughs. As Andy drops Ayan’s cloak, Stanbury remarks how wild it is that she and Ayan are sitting on the same side of the couch, and he agrees.
Taleen joins their side of the couch as Sara, Brooks, and Lesa take the other. “Let the fun begin, darling,” Ayan laughs as the 3, 2, 1 countdown sounds overhead. Once the on-air light glows, Andy addresses their set, which resembles Beyoncé’s infamous concert in Dubai. Andy thinks they all had great seats, but Ayan jokingly disagrees.
Andy briefly touches on the rifts between Taleen and Brooks. He also asks for an update on Ayan and Lesa’s friendship. They are still at odds. Ayan is sad about this, as she misses Lesa’s kids, and unfortunately, their divide has also affected their spouses, who are “not really” in touch anymore.
Andy hates this. He asks, “Can we set an intention to leave the day in a better place than you are right now?” Lesa and Ayan both say yes.
Stanbury and Ayan reflect on their friendship, as Brooks, Lesa, and Taleen also weigh in
In Season 1, Stanbury and Ayan butt heads. In Season 2, they set aside their differences and became the snarky powerhouse duo of my dreams. Ayan explains that their friendship formed after the Season 1 reunion. They were stuck on a plane together for 16 hours, so they had some drinks and worked their shiz out.
Andy then turns to Lesa, asking if Ayan told her about their shared drinks and rekindling in real-time. Lesa says no. But, at other times, Ayan did speak kindly about Stanbury to her, and Lesa was “always fine with it.”
Bringing Taleen into the fold, Andy asks who is the most bothered by Stanbury and Ayan’s friendship. Taleen answers Lesa, but she also thinks Brooks “loved seeing the demise” of Lesa’s friendship with Ayan. “I don’t care about it [Stanbury and Ayan’s friendship],” Brooks quips.
Taleen sarcastically asks, “Really?” Brooks shuts her down, stressing that Andy was talking to her only. Brooks then states that she did find Lesa and Ayan’s rift comical, but after she saw how Ayan was affected emotionally, Brooks did her best to try and bring her and Lesa back together. Lesa interjects, stating that she had no issues with Stanbury and Ayan becoming friends, but Ayan laughs, hinting that she does not believe Lesa.
Andy does not either. He recalls how Lesa called Stanbury and Ayan the desperate duo on Watch What Happens Live. Lesa owns her prior statement, but then she throws Ayan under the bus, explaining that she has texts that show Ayan feeling “uncomfortable” in the early days of her rekindling with Stanbury.
Lesa hands her phone to Andy. He reads her texts to Ayan aloud. Ayan says these statements were from forever ago, and then all hell breaks loose.
Lesa and Ayan, and Ayan and Brooks, are still not fine in Dubai
Ayan wonders why Lesa is trying to use this old news against her. “Oh, look at you. Professional victim? Not the villain, being the victim,” Lesa responds.
Her statements rile Ayan’s feathers. Stanbury takes notice, trying to encourage Ayan to take her anger down a notch. But Ayan cannot, stressing that the word victim is the worst thing Lesa could have called her. Lesa cares little, calling Ayan a victim once more, as Andy moves on to the next topic, keenly aware that this is going nowhere.
Andy asks Ayan how old she thinks she is, and Ayan answers that she is likely over 50. “She looks” her age, Lesa responds, as Sara states the opposite, stressing that Ayan looks youthful. As for Stanbury, she is 48. Brooks then admits that Stanbury’s facelift makes her look fresh, while Lesa quips, “She looks okay.”
Switching gears, the Ayan Beauty launch party comes up. In her confessional, Brooks credited Ayan’s business partner while shading Ayan. “I don’t think it was rude of me,” Brooks begins, as Taleen interjects, pointing out that Brooks’ discrediting of Ayan sucked. “Shut the f*ck up,” Brooks claps back.
Changing courses once again, Andy praises Ayan for speaking out about her experiences with female genital mutilation at the age of 5. Ayan starts crying, saying that when this episode aired, she went into a deep depression. Ayan faced all kinds of jokes and bullying from her community. The backlash was tragic for Ayan, who was only trying to raise awareness of this unethical practice in her homeland.
“I don’t want to be attacked. I am trying to save young girls,” Ayan wept. Her positive approaches to her former sh*t narratives are why she hates being called a victim.
Both couches on the RHODubai Season 2 Reunion soundstage clock in for battle
Ayan’s tears did nothing to stop Lesa’s wrath. She still thinks Ayan plays the victim role to a T. Ayan grows angry, stating that everyone in this room knows how much Ayan once loved Lesa, but Lesa quickly shuts her down, saying her love is not what’s currently in question. “My issues with her [points at Stanbury] stem because I was defending you [points at Ayan],” Lesa states.
Stanbury grows mad, telling Lesa that Lesa never liked her anyway. “That’s not true,” Lesa argues. Taleen then asks Lesa, “Are you going to cry?” Lesa calmly answers no, as Ayan clocks back in, stating that “Ozempic is always crying.”
Without missing a beat, Lesa asks, “Ozempic that you introduced me to? You were on it.” In response, Ayan releases a loud, comical yell as Brooks whispers to Lesa, “Ayan is doing the most.”
Up next, Andy brings up the battle of the Carolines. Flashbacks appear. These scenes show Stanbury incessantly joking with Taleen about her vaginal-showing cartwheel at Beyoncé, which Brooks often brought up in Season 2. Taleen moved past her vaginal storyline, but Brooks could not, as she remembers Taleen crying, and she goes hard for her friend.
In Season 2, Brooks went on a healing journey. “She tried to sue the healer,” Stanbury jokes, as Ayan agrees, noting that Brooks asked for her money back. “Only Brooks would sue a healer,” Taleen suggests, as Andy effortlessly points out that refunds and lawsuits are different beasts.
Halfway through Season 2, Brooks revealed that Stanbury had a sugar daddy in her friend Michael. Stanbury spoke to Michael about this. He made a poor joke, but Brooks doesn’t buy it. Stanbury does not care because she knows she works hard for everything she has.
Part 1 of the RHODubai Season 2 Reunion ends on Liar’s Lane
As for how Brooks makes money, Stanbury says Brooks works hard, but she has “men.” Brooks is disgusted, but Taleen remembers Brooks bragging about men buying her stuff, including a Shrek look-alike. Brooks insists she never slept with this man, and he never bought her anything.
Taleen then reveals that Brooks wanted her to join this series hot, gunning for the same women Brooks hates. Brooks says Taleen asked for a heads-up if anyone ever spoke poorly about her on their cast. They each deny the other’s claims.
Taleen is still mad that Brooks called her a beggar, and Brooks feels like Taleen has no loyalty. As for Stanbury, she’s still annoyed that Brooks invited a guest to her seated dinner party. Taleen does, however, apologize for calling out Brooks for not having a husband.
Both couches then fight over whether or not Raffi, Taleen’s husband, shouted at Brooks during this dinner party. Raffi has been tight with Brooks for years, but she says this is their first real fight. Taleen disagrees, calling Brooks a “pathological liar” as the credits roll on Part 1 of the RHODubai Season 2 reunion.
Can somebody check on Andy? Our boy looks exhausted.
The Real Housewives of Dubai Season 2 Reunion Part 2 airs next Tuesday, September 17, on Bravo at 9/8c.
TELL US – DID YOU ENJOY PART 1 OF THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF DUBAI SEASON 2 REUNION? CAN YOU SEE ANY OF THESE FRACTURED FRIENDSHIPS HEALING IN TIME? WHO DO YOU THINK IS LYING – BROOKS OR TALEEN?
