The Real Housewives of Orange County has its first spin-off: Date My Ex: Jo and Slade. The show debuted on Bravo, Monday, July 21.

The show, starring Jo De La Rosa and ex-boyfriend, Slade Smiley, touts itself as a “reality” show. While we get to follow Jo as she releases her first album and lives the single life in LA, we’re not so sure how “realistic” the show’s premise is: Jo will date several guys who, get this, have to live in Slade’s house and undergo a Slade purview if they want to pursue the lovely ex-Housewive from Orange County.

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Monday’s night show was a trip down memory lane with clips of Jo and Slade from Real Housewives.

The “flashback” included snippets of Jo in a little French maid outfit, Slade mentioning the cost of their upcoming nuptials which never occurred: $100,000, Jo and Slade making out with Jo going topless (nice shot of Jo boob’s), and Slade removing the license plate from Jo’s car after they broke up.

Jo and Slade broke up and made up, several times. Jo was bored being a “housewife” even though she admitted she never cooked. Yet feather dusting in the little French Maid outfit with the 5 inch heels plus the stress of shopping can be exhausting, so we do give her points on that.

Jo was 12 years younger than Slade and destined to be his 3rd wife. When Jo came home and announced she had gotten a job, Slade threw a hissy fit. Slade was upset over her decision to get a job. We’re not sure why, as Jo explained to Slade that she had grown “bored” staying at home. Slade, instead of congratulating her on getting a new job, became angry and then told Jo that she should know” he always “supported her”. Financially, sure, but not so much emotionally, as the relationship seemed to be one of Slade controlling Jo while Jo enjoyed the perks until boredom seeped in.

Jo moved to LA with Slade not far behind. But not before Slade discovered Jo strumming a guitar. He ran out and found a record producer and got Jo an audition. Jo’s album, Unscripted, will be released August 19. Oddly enough, the first single is “You Can’t Control Me”.

The premise of the show is that Jo will be set up on dates by two best friends but with a twist which takes the show from the reality realm to Freudian fantasy: the guys will have to live with Slade in his house while they compete for Jo’s attention.

Of course, we all remember how the guys we dated after we broke up with our ex had to live at our ex’s house. Not.

Anyway, the reviews for Date My Ex are mixed:

“To say it is ridiculous gives ridiculousness a bad rap. Ol’ Jo might have a smokin’ hot bod and an admirable willingness to part with her thong at a moment’s notice, but a conversationalist she’s not and frankly, I think anyone seeing her without all that makeup might be in for a shock. So clearly no one’s looking for a relationship, or even romance.”
–Mary McNamara, LA Times

Nicole Lyn Pesce of the New York Daily News thought the Date My Ex premise wrote that the setup had a good chance of working:

Gimmicky? Yes. Implausible? No. The right kind of ex-boyfriend might be able to home in on exactly what you’re looking for.

“It actually could be a really good circumstance for a setup,” says relationship expert Cooper Lawrence. “If you know somebody really well, I think you’re in a better place to set them up.”

Yes, well, we think making guys live with your ex, while you date them to see if you “like them”, is kind of strange. And we also think any guy who doesn’t think this is weird is a weirdo, and not worth dating.

David Hinckley of the New York Daily News reviewed the show. We’re not sure why, as Hinckley seemed rather biased to the original Bravo series, The Real Housewives of Orange County:

“The Real Housewives of Orange County” achieved a certain cult following because the women were so cartoonishly superficial and narcissistic that when they spoke, you expected to see little word balloons come out of their mouths.”

With this attitude it’s no surprise his review of Date My Ex contained less than zero praise:

“So ask yourself the following: Does anything about this ridiculous situation sound as if it wasn’t staged just so everyone could get on television?

At the auditions’ end, Jo calls the men in and, one by one, fires the losers as if she were Donald Trump, who — come to think of it — probably is her real fantasy guy.”

We admit, we would have watched Jo’s adventures in LA without the silly twist. We’re fascinated by the dynamic in Jo and Slade’s relationship. Jo, at 12 years younger than Slade, would have been his 3rd wife. Jo showed some growth when she realized that she was “bored” being a housewife in Coto, the upscale gated community in Orange County. When Jo began to “pull away” from Slade, Slade’s behavior, was almost too painful to watch.

Who could forget Slade, left home alone on Jo’s birthday, showing up in their bedroom as she and her friends were getting “dolled” up to go out and celebrate. Slade had arranged with a jeweler to “borrow” an assortment of stunning pieces which he told Jo to “take her pick” for her evening out, without him. Jo picked out a tiara.

Or Jo in the garage of their Coto home packing up her belongings to leave Slade, Slade driving up in a garish Hummer and the two getting into an argument culminating in Slade removing the license plate from the Mercedes (Slade owned) that Jo drove.

The two are now featured in their own reality show, Date My Ex: Jo and Slade. Slade denies he’s Jo’s manager yet the BravoTv website claims he is:

“Since calling off his engagement to De La Rosa, he has followed his ex to Los Angeles in order to pursue entertainment opportunities and advise De La Rosa on her blossoming music career as her business manager.”

Slade, a former professional athlete did some modeling and acting but it still came as surprise when we came across this photo of Smiley.

Sadly, Slade’s younger son, Grayson, is battling brain cancer. Slade is involved in the Make a Wish Foundation. He’s stated that Grayson is one of only three in the world who suffer from the type of cancer Grayson was diagnosed with.

We believe the added “twist” to Jo and Slade’s show may have been too “cutesy” for it’s own good. If they had just stuck to the basics, Jo goes to LA to start a record career, helped, we might add, immensely by Slade who got her started in the biz, and not the silly dating premise.

Time will tell how viewers will react to Jo and Slade’s new “reality” show.

By LBG

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