'Real Housewives of Atlanta' recap, episode 5: don't touch that pickle!

NeNe Leakes, post surgery, continues to struggle with her 13-year marriage ever since Gregg borrowed money from Dwight Eubanks and didn't tell her about it. "Trust has left the relationship," she said. There may be other issues related to trust but NeNe has not conveyed what they are specifically.

NeNe is seriously considering divorce. During a party at Cynthia Bailey's pad featuring five of the six housewives, NeNe expressed her doubts and insecurities:  "I feel like he has taken care of me for so long, I feel scared to be out on my own."

The most dramatic moment happens when NeNe brings up the curious topic of cheating at the dinner table. She said she is surprisingly not that sexual or aggressive in bed, preferring to be the "wide receiver."  Cynthia's husband Peter Thomas immediately says he thinks perhaps that's why Greg might be cheating on her, without saying it exactly in those words. NeNe immediately gets defensive, saying her sex with him was just fine and that wasn't the primary issue. "He crossed the line,"  NeNe said and Cynthia was appalled considering he had promised to keep off that topic before the party started.

Kandi, in the meantime, is grappling with her daughter Riley's absent dad, who has re-entered their lives recently. Riley, who liked Kandi'a late fiance late A.J. Jewell, doesn't even want to see her biological dad. "I don't care," Riley said, "if I have a dad or not." Kandi gets teary with her mom Joyce later as she recalled her own distant relationship from her father, who hadn't been close to her since she was five.

That was the serious stuff.

On a much lighter side, here's a quick summary:

- Phaedra Parks has special pregnancy pictures taken with local celebrity photographer Spark St. Jude , who I know personally. Phaedra wants photos done with pickles. Lots of pickles. She chews on one, sucks on it and giggles. "Pregnancy photos," Phaedra drawls, "are so artistic and beautiful." (Check them out here.)

At Cynthia's party, Phaedra gets squirrelly about when she got pregnant, arousing suspicions among the other housewives. They wonder whether she got knocked up before she got married to Apollo last year.

- Cynthia, besides hosting the party, is a sympathetic ear for NeNe. Hearing NeNe's problems sets off yet more alarms in her brain about getting married. "That's a red flag," said the model, who has been engaged twice before but has never been hitched.

- Sheree Whitfield goes on her second date with Tiy-E Muhammad, the self-proclaimed "doctor." Rather than take her to a five-star restaurant, he brings her to a friend's house to make her dinner. She wonders rightfully if he has any real money.  He even forces her to do what she describes as "manual labor" - as in cutting strawberries. He clearly thinks this is foreplay. He feeds her cookie dough from his fingers. She is grossed out. He thinks this is foreplay. Though he's a vegetarian, he considers himself buff and asks her to take his shirt off. Yes. More foreplay. In the end, he says he's more about love than money. Ding ding! Round over. Sheree needs the benjamins and he clearly does not have them. This may be the last we see of the "Love Doctor."

-  Kim Zolciak is barely in this episode, skipping out on Cynthia's party over a fever. She does talk with Kandi on her on-line sex talk show "Kandi-coated nights" about Big Poppa/Lee Najjar. Kandi grills her about whether she considers what she's doing cheating. Though "on paper" he is cheating on his wife since he is still married, she said Lee lives in Atlanta while his wife lives in Los Angeles. They are truly separated in her mind so she doesn't feel like she's cheating. [Kim is apparently dating some Falcons player now.]

- Kandi, on her sex talk show, references beef curtains. Look it up. And at Cynthia's soiree, there's a frank discussion about oral sex and sugar that made NeNe (suddenly, the queen of prim and proper) squirm and wretch.

NOTABLE QUOTES

"Love ain't paying no bills!" - Sheree, after "Dr" Tiy-E Muhammad says he is more about love, than money.

"Let's keep it real: I don't even like to wear bras. I paid for my [breasts] to stand up." - NeNe, post breast reduction surgery.

"I just spent money: I'm ready to walk around nude!" - NeNe, more post breast reduction surgery.

"Be a lawyer: get your money honey!" - Phaedra, providing advice to a child who wants to be a model.

SCHEDULE CHANGE

Note:  "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" moves to Sunday nights at 10 p.m. starting November 7 on Bravo.

RATINGS

Last week's October 25 episode reached 2.49 million viewers, down from 2.82 million for episode four, season two. But it is the highest ranked show this season.

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