Real Housewives of Orange County: The Tale of the Two Nags at Del Mar Race Track
It’s season four of The Real Housewives of Orange County. This week’s episode featured a hat party, attending horse races at Del Mar, and the tale of two nags, Vicki and Tamra.
Jeana, Tamra, Gretchen, and Lynne attended a “hat party” where they picked out what to wear to for their “special” day at Del Mar Race Track. Vicki, who was in Florida, missed the hat party.
The hat party was next opportunity for the “wives” to get to know the newest housewife Lynne. Last week’s episode Lynne failed to make a “good impression” with Tamra and Vicki. Tamra (off camera) made a federal case out of Gretchen’s buying all the pink hats. According to Tamra, she was now “forced” to buy a new outfit.
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Tamra met Lauri for lunch where they discussed Lauri’s son Josh’s problems. After Josh was arrested for drug possession, Lauri dropped out the show in order to concentrate more on her family. Lynne is her replacement. Tamra told Lauri about how she had made the comment to Gretchen that she wouldn’t leave the hospital if husband Simon was a patient in ICU. Never mind that Gretchen had been at her boyfriend Jeff’s side for months while he battled cancer. Jeff’s funeral was held in September.
Tamra told Lauri that she should have handed Gretchen an Oscar for her performance at the restaurant. It never occurred to Tamra that it was her comment that made Gretchen cry. Or perhaps Tamra was fully aware of the damage she had done with yet another of her little “quick to judge” barbs.
It’s my observation that Tamra is, at times, oblivious to the damage caused by the barbs that she’s known to throw at her intended victims. It’s obvious that Tamra feels threatened by Gretchen as she perceives Gretchen as competition as the “hottest” housewife in Orange County. Well beneath the shallow emotions that make up Tamra, she has to know that Gretchen is in a league far beyond that of Tamra.
Gretchen is real. She’s an honestly beautiful girl who enjoys life whereas shallow and narcissistic Tamra feels better about herself by being judgmental and stabbing others in the back. The same applies to Vicki. They’re both well-heeled “heels” who live in glass houses.
Tamra told Lauri that she hated “catty” behavior, then immediately made a nasty comment about another housewife.
Vicki’s son Michael invited friends over to his mother’s house for a daytime pool party. Vicki called from Florida and told Michael’s girlfriend that Jeanna had called her and told her that there were a large number of cars parked in front of Vicki’s house. The apple didn’t fall very far from the tree as after the phone call, Michael and friends bashed Jeana and her family. What’s amazing is that they knew what they said about Jeana, including calling her a “bitch”, was being filmed. Later on the show, at the race track, Vicki and Tamra exhibited the same behavior.
The housewives attended a day at the horse races at Del Mar Racetrack. Tamra, Simon, Vicki, Donn, Jeana and Jeana’s daughter Kara, took one limo while Gretchen, her brother, Lynne and her husband, Frank, rode up in another.
It was deja vu a la Lake Havasu, with Vicki and Tamra “freezing” out Gretchen and Tamra at the race track. It was a fabulous day, beautiful weather and the excitement of a day at the race track. Not so for Vicki and Tamra. In their private suite Vicki and Tamra, along with their spouses, “froze” out Lynne and Frank. They sat at another table and refused to talk to Lynne while Gretchen, Frank, Jeana, and Kara went to place bets on a race. Vicki pulled the same stunt at Havasu after Jeana showed up with Vicki’s “nemesis” Frankie.
The definition of a nag is a horse that is old, or in poor condition. The thoroughbreds at Del Mar were sleek, powerful, and shiny, while Vicki and Tamra were the nags. Vicki corralled her husband Donn, Tamra, and Simon away from Gretchen and Lynne which turned into a farce: while the gruesome twosome talked trash about Gretchen and Lynne, everyone else had a good time.
Jane Austen, who wrote such famous tomes as “Sense and Sensibility”, and “Pride and Prejudice”, would have had a field day with Vicki and Tamra.
The two women were unintentionally comical: while they huddled in another room eating their expensive chow with hubbies Simon and Donn, they “sliced and diced” Lynne and Gretchen. At one point, Vicki made a comment about her husband, something on the order of Donn being a nonentity married to Vicki. Donn stood up and walked over to another side of the room while the chivalrous Simon rose to his feet. “Apologize to Donn” he “bellowed” at Vicki. Vicki, taken aback, claimed she was merely joking. Simon asked Donn if he thought it was a joke. When Donn replied that he didn’t think Vicki’s comment was funny, Simon glared at Vicki who then turned red and began to sputter and then apologize, rather feebly, to Donn.
The future looks grim for Lynne as she failed to “mesh” with Tamra and Vicki. Or does it? Who in the right mind would want to be “friends” with these two women? They’re both cut from the same cloth, classless, clueless, manner-less, and judgmental, they make themselves feel “better” by gossiping about others.
Tamra claimed she “doesn’t” trust Gretchen. Vicki thinks Lynne is “controlling”. And yet, by their very own behavior, it’s apparent that Tamra is the one who cannot be trusted while Vicki epitomizes the need to control.
Gretchen, Lynne, and Jeanna are fairly laid back and confident in themselves. The opposite is true of Tamra and Vicki. They view other women as “threats” and treat them accordingly. Narcissism is thy name.
Next week, Tamra hosts a “fancy” dress-up dinner at her home. Previews have Gretchen getting drunk on tequila shots, foisted on her by Tamra. Gretchen gets “flirty” with Tamra’s slacker son, Ryan, yet another opportunity for Tamra to “judge” Gretchen. Yet in the game of Life, Gretchen is already a winner while Tamra’s future is grim: her self-worth is predicated on her botox deep looks and her husband, Simon. Tamra is malicious while Gretchen is the opposite.
The childish Vicki has low self-esteem which she hides behind an aggressive exterior. It’s no wonder that Jeanna and Kara chose to hang out with Gretchen and Lynne. They had fun while Tamra, Simon, and Donn hung around Vicki like dark planets orbiting a weak and dying sun.
Real Housewives is fascinating. These women enjoy a higher standard of living than most yet, in the case of Tamra and Vicki, they cannot escape inner demons of low self-esteem and the need to control plus a self-worth predicated on their bank accounts and looks. The two are unable rise above pettiness and middle school behavior and, because of a reality show, their antics have been caught on film for posterity.
More Real Housewives:
Real Housewives of Orange County: Gretchen’s Tragedy and Glass Houses
Real Housewives of Orange County: Lauri Bids Goodbye and the Mystery of Quinn
Real Housewives of Orange County Spinoff: Date My Ex: Jo and Slade
Real Housewives: Jeanna’s Husband, 6 Months in Jailhouse
Real Housewives of Orange County: The Mysterious Lou
By LBG
Image – Horses
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