Originally posted Sunday, November 25, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Shamari Devoe and Eva Marcille, the new full-time "Real Housewives of Atlanta" cast members, are out to make a mark and try to ensure they're around for a season 12.
Devoe, for one, reveals she's been "bi curious" and in an open relationship with her hubby Ronnie Devoe for a period of 18 months. The rule: she could only sleep with other women. He could sleep with other women, too. She said she had two and he had ten. She opened the door, then shut it.
“I realized the grass isn’t greener on the other side,” she explained.
Clearly, this was all designed to “come out” this episode. First, there was a scene with her mother in law that felt super contrived, even by “RHOA” standards. And her mother in law was “shocked” to learn this whole “open relationship” deal. Next week, we see in the trailer that Ronnie is upset this came out.
Later, Cynthia Bailey supposedly comes up with a game at her housewarming party by her lake in Sandy Springs where the whole open relationship deal conveniently comes up. The women all look sufficiently surprised. Her freak number, as Kandi might say, is pretty darn high.
Shamari during her debut appearance last week had already left a negative impression on Kandi by asking her husband to critique Xscape. It’s unclear how seriously Kandi put this against Shamari but she did joke about it during Cynthia’s party.
Eva, in the meantime, said some shady stuff regarding Shamea Morton last season while she was a recurring character. They supposedly buried the hatchet but maybe not? "RHOA" does like to drag out petty arguments.
And Eva supposedly spread a rumor about Cynthia paying her season 10 boyfriend Will to date her. It’s absurd and Cynthia denied it. All this rumor-mongering is a way to get airtime but hardly makes fans with the other ladies.
In other story lines:
Kandi Burruss wants another kid despite her daughter Riley saying in an earlier episode that she and Todd are too busy to raise her and Ace. They talk to Miss Jackie from "Married to Medicine" and discuss surrogacy because Kandi had fibroid issues. Kandi has two eggs on ice but she doesn't feel comfortable trying to go through another pregnancy herself. The price for surrogacy is daunting but they seem open to the idea.
***
We find out that Eva met attorney Michael Sterling at a fundraiser.
“He had on a taupe suit and he looked so good. I didn’t do too much but the flirtation was definitely real. It was literally love at first sight.”
She seeks advice from NeNe, who she said is the sister she never had. She also asked NeNe to make a speech during upcoming nuptials.
***
Tanya Sam shows up as a "friend" of NeNe's and gets the briefest of introductions. She shops at NeNe's boutique and NeNe describes her as a cool geek. How much time she gets on the show is unclear.
***
Evoking a little Phaedra Parks and her patented over-the-top parties for her kids, newbie Shamari plans a big-time party for her twin boys. She stops by the Elf's Cakery in Stockbridge. Ronnie's mom Flo is there and they have a conversation that is clearly not organic about how Shamari had to work hard to gain her mother-in-law's trust since so many women chasing after him were deemed gold diggers. (She and Ronnie met in 2001 and have been married for more than 10 years.)
But she then reveals to Flo that they had an open relationship for a time.
“We were going through some really bad times,” she said. “There was a girl I was interested in at that time... I was bi-curious.”
She said, on the bright side, “it has allowed us to be where we are today.”
***
During Cynthia’s party, Eva calls out Shamari as having the “snatchiest” outfit.
Marlo Hampton, who works super hard to stir crap up at every party, said Eva could be the "biggest liar" in the future after bestowing Porsha as the biggest liar in the past.
“We don’t know who Eva is,” Marlo said.
“You’re basic,” Eva said.
“You’re basic darling!” Marlo said.
Yes, it was a particularly half-hearted argument.
***
Porsha meets Dennis McKinley's mom at Frankie's The Steakhouse in Duluth in a scene set up clearly for laughs. (Porsha's vegan diet is well in her rear view mirror.) The mother starts peppering them with questions, like whether they were going to get married soon. "How do you feel about prenups?" she added. They are both cool with prenups. She looks suitably skeptical as Porsha said, "nothing can break us up. We're good."
***
Cynthia is serious with sports broadcaster Mike Hill despite the bi-coastal arrangement. They Skype eight or nine times a day and are exclusive. Cynthia seems quite smitten. And for the height of cheeziness, she admits they now use a hashtag #CHill by combining their names. Ouch.
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