RHOBH’s Fall From Grace

How the diamonds have fallen…

For those playing at home, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was my introduction to Real Housewives as general; you could make the argument that RHOBH was my first love. Once I was hooked, I began going through the other franchises, and now I sit here a self-confessed Bravoholic and Real Housewives fanatic.

But you never truly forget your first…

Well, until your first takes a massive nose dive in terms of quality and entertainment and becomes the least watchable franchise of all the Real Housewives franchises.

Let’s take an unnecessarily deep dive into what made Beverly Hills so good, and where the disconnect with fans such as myself came.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen… (CREDIT: Bravo)

From its conception, Beverly Hills was immediately recognisable for its lifestyle porn and this is what set it apart from other franchises that existed at the time like New York and Atlanta. You had the obnoxiously enormous wealth of Lisa Vanderpump and Adrienne Maloof, in the Rodeo Drive setting of Beverly Hills, and you had an evolving group of women all with the healthy balance of delusion and aspiration for glamour. On top of this, the cast members put in the work to create compelling and real drama, to the point where I firmly believe that the first two seasons of RHOBH are some of the best Real Housewives seasons ever.

This momentum continued on, through accusations of witchcraft and doing coke in someone’s bathroom, until around season eight, which fans proclaim to be one of the worst seasons ever. Tbh I can’t even remember much from this season, besides Snoreit being super late to a lunch with Teddi, and Erika reading a lil frightened Teddi for filth for being accused of having pretend amnesia. On top of that, season eight saw two unfortunate recurring themes begin here:

1) They used a friend of (Camille) as the main villain for the season, and;
2) The unnecessary alliance of the Fox Force Five really sprouted here.

No Housewives season ever should use a friend of as a main season villain for the sole purpose that they are not a main cast member. If a cast is that desperate for a villain that they’re willing to get a friend of to fit that role, then something is wrong here.

In addition to this, Housewives alliances can be good, but they are mostly detrimental to the franchise as some housewives will even attest to, and the Fox Fraud Five are largely considered the worst Housewives alliance ever. Because five of them controlled the majority of the cast, it just seemed like anyone who was not in that group were immediately considered outsiders, and in an ensemble cast show where all of the women are meant to bond in some sort of way, it makes that objective sort of impossible to achieve.

Season nine, while introducing one of my all time favourites in Denise Richards, also saw a decrease in entertainment value as the main source of drama for the season was whether Snoreit gave a dog back to a shelter or not. This pitiful excuse for storyline was blown up that much that LVP refused to film with any of the other cast members besides Denise for the majority of the season (and ultimately skipped the reunion), and production were forced to pivot to find another person to fit the main villain role for the season… so they resorted to friend-of Camille for the role again. Watching the women gang up on this iconic friend-of at the reunion really began to signal the beginning of the end of the golden years for this franchise.

Speaking of gang ups, season ten saw one of the most heinous gang ups in the history of Real Housewives as the Fox Fraud Five led a blind charge against Denise solely because Denise didn’t want her children to overhear adults talking about sex, and Denise may or may not have had consensual sex with another woman. This was a prime example of how alliances, especially the Fox Fraud Five, can ruin a franchise, because any member of that group was basically untouchable while everyone else was considered fox food. And they all turned on Denise so hard I’m surprised they didn’t catch whiplash from it.

And genuinely, from season ten onwards, my interest in the franchise has noticeably slipped, to the point where we’re at now after season 15 has finished airing that I confidently believe that RHOBH is the worst franchise out of all of them, and it would take a miracle to revive this dead franchise from the ground.

For starters, the lifestyle porn aspect of RHOBH slowly disappeared after LVP’s dramatic exit from the franchise. Sure, Kyle is still wealthy and boring af; Snoreit likes to exude wealth in her obnoxious designer label outfits; and this was the city that really introduced glam squads thanks to Erika Jayne; but the aspirational wealth of these women became less and less prominent, and the perception of them changed from having “fuck you and your mother” money to just having a lot of money. Their nice houses just don’t slap the same when someone isn’t walking a camel through it.

Even though the Fox Fraud Five has since dissolved, their damage had been done, and the cast became so fractured and disjointed that you truly didn’t believe that they were all friends by the end of it. When Garcelle, Sutton and Crystal became a fan-favourite trio in seasons 11 and 12, it didn’t really seem like a true friendship, but more of a friendship of convenience because they knew they were the outsiders compared to the FFF and they had to stick together if they were expected to survive. Plus, we all know how fake the friendships within the FFF were.

On top of this, some of the casting choices over the past few years were absolutely abysmal. Annemarie Wiley will go down in history as one of the worst housewife castings of any franchise ever, and trailing not so far behind her was the utterly bizarre casting of Diana Jenkins. Annemarie’s main storyline was Sutton’s esophagus, and Diana lacked any shred of human empathy that makes a housewife even remotely likeable.

And now, for the cherry on top of the RHOBH Downfall Cake – and this is something that I think is a major fault of most if not all of the Housewives casts across the board – is that the cast have become too aware of their edit and how they present themselves when the cameras are up. Of course, I can understand that whenever a camera is present, you automatically become more self-conscious and aware of yourself and how you come across on screen, but what made the golden years of RHOBH so good was that the women were showing their true authentic selves, and nothing about it seemed self-produced at all. We all knew where we were when Kim accused Kyle of stealing her goddamned house, because that pain from Kim was so real that it was almost uncomfortable for us viewers to watch.

Now, we’re stuck with Kyle the lesbian pretending that sending her kids to college was showing the deepest and most raw parts of her life, meanwhile she’s questioned other women’s marriages, sexualities, finances, and livelihoods all for the sake of the show ratings; we’re stuck with Dorit still pretending to live a life of wealth yet we all know she’s facing money struggles, and her pretending that going through a divorce is equal to the life of a war-torn child in the Middle East; we’re stuck with the women pretending like Amanda Frances was this massive gamechanger disruptor to the cast, when in reality she was a small raindrop compared to the tsunami disruptor that was Brandi Glanville; and we’re stuck with women too scared to speak up and say what’s truly on their minds for fear of a bad edit.

These women are so aware of their edits that very little of what we’re getting is real, and we’re left to question what is actually going on in these women’s lives. As fans of reality TV, we shouldn’t be second guessing what we’re watching on screen because the show should be producing raw and real entertainment. Instead, we’re being fed scraps with a cast that’s too lazy to get off their asses and do the fucking work.

I want to see RHOBH come back from the grave and be as good as it once was, but for that to happen, there need to be some major changes. Like I’m talking RHONY season five levels of recasting, because this cast can’t thrive and we can’t enjoy the show for what it is if we’re forced to endure Vile Kyle vs. Snoreit for the third season in a row with Sutton throwing in quirky one-liners every now and then and Boz blindly agreeing with anything Snoreit says.

In conclusion, I’m going to leave you with five choice words: Give Dorit Her Pink Slip.

Please. For the love of all that is holy.

– by The Black Widow

So The Devil Wears Prada 2 Certainly Happened…

One of the highlights of my year turned out to be not what I expected…

If you are a millennial and you’re a gal, gay or they, then you probably have an affinity for the 2006 comedy-drama film The Devil Wears Prada. Featuring a trio of absolutely incredible woman in Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Meryl “Can Literally Do Any Role Perfectly” Streep, The Devil Wears a Prada ushered in a cinematic masterpiece of high fashion, low cunning, and the boss from hell.

But my god, the fashion… iconic! Everyone knows where they were during that iconic Anne Hathaway outfit change montage to Vogue by Madonna.

Icons. Icons. Icons. Icons.

So if you’re a millennial gal, gay or they, then you were absolutely looking forward to The Devil Wears Prada 2 as much as I was. The iconic trio, as well as the effortlessly talented and handsome Stanley Tucci, all returned for a sequel 20 years later in what I’d like to think was one of the most highly anticipated sequels ever.

Now before I get into it, I want to preface this by saying this is not an official Widow’s Lure review. Instead, this is just me sharing my thoughts on the film in a constructive manner which does not suit the template that I’ve set for a Widow’s Lure review.

And it goes without saying, SPOILERS AHEAD. You have been warned.

I just watched The Devil Wears Prada 2 in an advanced girls night screening, and I expected a little fanservice because it was clear just from the trailer that that’s what they were after; reuniting the main four in the same environment with a new story, new drama, and new high fashions.

But from the first almost three or four minutes of the film, you can see so much blatant fanservice from the first film that the novelty quickly dies off and you understand the real purpose of the film. Like immediately, you could tell the directors were like “Hey yo, how many references to the first film can we make in this little introduction Andrea walking in NYC scene”? And it became very clear, this movie wasn’t made to tell a story; it was made to pander to the diehard fans from the first film, and it did not land the way it intended.

From the jump, it was almost like they were grasping at any reason to reunite the characters in the most unrealistic ways possible, and after quickly – and I stress the word quickly – putting them all in the same room through the sheer power of Prue Halliwell, the purpose of the film became clear, and it quickly unraveled after that.

To make it worse, as the movie progressed, it just seemed like they were making the plot up on the spot and just told the actors to just ‘wing it’ and ‘see what happens’, because the plot of the movie was so all over the place and did not have a clear direction. Like at no point did I know where the movie was going to go and where it was going to end, and not in a fun thriller kind of way.

I also feel like some of the character’s motivations and their personalities kind of disappeared for the sake of the movie. Andy’s fierce independence and passion for journalism disappeared and she quickly found herself happily up Miranda’s ass again. Miranda herself had her cold and bitter moments, but they were marred with some nice and character redeeming moments, which I don’t think suited the character personally. Just because she’s an icon, doesn’t necessarily mean she needs to be a hero, because the appeal of Miranda Priestly is in her being a capital K khunt. Even Nigel lost some of his sass and zingers to be a crowd-pleasing supporting character. It was just disappointing.

At least Emily was still a bad bitch.

I wouldn’t say I hated the movie, but as a big fan of the original, I can say that I was disappointed by how lazily the sequel was executed. This could’ve been so much better than what it was, and I feel like the actors and us the fans deserved a lot better. If you’re thinking of watching this film, I would say give it a go, but don’t be surprised if it disappoints you. I mean, I know I won’t be watching it again.

Oh well. At least the fashions were still iconic.

– by The Black Widow

Three Things I Learned About Myself While Filming Heel Turn

And now for a self-indulgent post.

Hello Widow’s Lureans. I know I’m super inconsistent with posting on here, but it’s actually a goal on my vision board to write more and post more on here. So to quickly catch you up to speed on the past couple of years of my life:

– My parents have been living in Fiji for the past three years, which means I’ve been living in their house rent free so I could save more spend more money on clothes and beauty. Nikki maintenance is very expensive.
– Still at the same job which I enjoy most of the time.
– Still wrestling, still slaying in the ring and out. Still paired with my soulsister Frankie B, while also exploring solo opportunities as well.
– Had a crew film a documentary on me which premiered at the Mardi Gras Film Festival 2026 and was a hit with the people in attendance.

Just a casual documentary. You know, no biggie.

Talk about length. Talk about drama. Talk about stones. Talk about comfort.

The aptly named Heel Turn focuses on myself and how I navigate the wrestling world as a queer transwoman of colour and how wrestling has helped and harmed me. But specifically, how I play a villainous character (heel) when society villainises parts of my identity that I can’t control anyway.

Over three separate days of filming (training at the PWA Academy, performing on a show in a match against Cosmo Cooper, and capturing some moments of me at my home), the wonderful crew worked with me to capture the real moments that show public Nikki and the vulnerable Nikki all wrapped up in an eight minute short film/documentary. Not only did I show them Nikki Van Blair, the ultra glamorous, confidently sexual and magnetically bitchy Queen Bee, but they also interviewed the somewhat serious, outspoken and unapologetic Nikki Hamilton, and in those moments, I found that I learned a few things about myself that I wasn’t consciously aware of before. I’m very intrigued by the psychology of humans and how everyone is fundamentally different from each other, and as someone who is as self-reflective as me – some would say I am too self-reflective –  I love discovering new things about myself, why I do things the way I do, and why I react to things the way I do.

So as an interesting thought piece, I wanted to share a few things with you that I learned about myself during or after the filming of Heel Turn with this fabulous crew.

1. I don’t have emotional walls built up; I have a door that I control.
We all know the saying that someone has walls built up to protect themselves from getting hurt. These walls can be beneficial, but in turn it stops people from getting to know the real you. I participated in a podcast interview for LGBT In the Ring with the director of the film Isabella, and she made a comment that I have a wall built up. I understand why she came to that conclusion because I know I do have a very noticeable public persona, but I respectfully disagree with her labelling. I don’t have a wall that people need to chip down or hurdle over; I have a door that I willfully control, and I can freely let people who deserve it into my inner thoughts and feelings and become vulnerable with them if and when I choose to. This documentary wouldn’t have worked if I refused to get raw and real with the team, and I found it easy to not only show them the Queen Bee, but also the woman who walks through life and navigates the wrestling world carrying an invisible burden through spaces that no one else has to think about. And that’s because I control that door, and I control that door handle.

2. I watch way too much Real Housewives
Now I’m very aware that I watch too much Real Housewives, but the actual point I want to make here is new to me. There is a point where the crew asked me how I felt after planning my match with Cooper, and by all means it was an easy and seamless experience as Cooper is great at what he does, he’s a professional, and I trust him not only as an opponent but as a friend as well. But because watching rich women scream at dinners has become second-nature to me, and knowing what they have to do as part of their job to create drama and entertainment, I brought up a small point of contention to the cameras between Cooper and I during the planning conversation. This was not fake or ‘produced’ in any way as it was something that I had genuinely felt in the moment. However, it was such a small thing to note that not mentioning it would’ve honestly sufficed, but because I’m a Bravo-holic, I brought it up. Because I know what makes good TV. Thank you Tamra Judge.

3. My story in wrestling is a lot more interesting than I originally thought, and is one that needs to be told
I feel like everyone can relate to this. Because I am living my own life in real time and experience everything I experience, none of it seems overly fascinating or interesting to me since it’s all real to me. But talking to the crew about everything in my life, personally and professionally in wrestling, and them being so fascinated with the everyday workings of my life, actually made me realise that my story is interesting. Not only that, but verbally coming to the realisation with the crew that I’ve knocked down a lot of doors for future queer folk in Aus wrestling, helped me realise that my story is a story that needs to be told. Because who doesn’t like a real story of someone who has to fight through discrimination, invisible walls, and moving through spaces with an extra weight on their shoulders, and creating a legacy for others to catapult off, because in reality that’s what I’m doing, and it’s incredibly humbling to realise.

I know that I take a lot of time to look within myself and self reflect, again some might say that I do that too much, but making these realisations about myself during or after the filming of the documentary have helped me to understand myself more and acknowledge that my journey in Australian professional wrestling is full of unchartered waters and untrodden path that will helpfully make it easier for future wrestlers of all the tribes that I proudly represent – Pacific Islanders, LGBTQIA+, women.

While the Mardi Gras Film Festival – and its on demand service – has ended, Heel Turn might be popping up in new online places, so keep your eyes and ears out because this short film will make you laugh, make you reflect, and might even make you cry. If I dare say so myself.

And you might even learn a new thing or two about me after watching it.

– by The Black Widow

The Summer House Cast: Ranked

Widow’s Lure rankings should be fun. Amanda, not fun.

So you all know I love Bravo, in particular the Real Housewives shows, but once I had tore through every Real Housewives franchise that was made available to me, I had to venture outside of that safety net. And while Summer House was not my first non-Housewives Bravo show, it’s probably my favourite. The format of putting a bunch of young attractive people into the same holiday house with alcohol and watching chaos ensue is a great recipe for reality TV.

The young and attractive cast of Season 10! (CREDIT: Bravo)

If you’re not aware, Summer House as I so eloquently described it, is a reality show that sees a group of friends share a house over the summer on the weekends before they go back to their normal lives during the week. At first, I was confused as to how the dynamic of going back to work from Monday to Friday would work as I expected everyone to stay at the house for the entire duration of filming, but I actually love the idea. It gives the cast reprieve, especially if a huge argument/drama ensued over the weekend, so they can return the following weekend with more clarity and with better intent to resolve the issue.

Anywho, we’re not here for my thoughts on the show as a whole. We’re here for my rankings of the cast! As of the currently airing season 10, Summer House has had 34 main cast members which sounds like a huge number, but considering the amount of one season wonders they’ve had, it makes sense.

So going back to the days of Jaclyn the fit model, to the hot Aussie hunk Ben, let’s rank the castmates of Summer House! And for fairness, I’m ranking as if Amanda and West-gate didn’t happen.

34. Lindsay Hubbard
Lindsay is a dangerous self-centered narcissist who somehow gets away with her deranged work because she has “iconic moments”. This is one of those Bravo stereotypes that I don’t subscribe to. If you’re a horrible person, I don’t care how many iconic one-liners you have; you’re still a horrible person. I feel like the cast lets her get away with shit they wouldn’t tolerate from normal people, and to me that’s a concern.

33. Jesse Solomon
No matter what any of the men in Summer House do, they can rest easy knowing that I will never dislike them as much as I dislike Jesse Solomon. Jesse was an arrogant tool from the moment he stepped into the Hamptons, and his horrible and gaslighting treatment of Lexi really solidified his spot at the bottom of this list. Also someone take him away from the microphone… we don’t need to hear him sing. Ever.

32. Jordan Verroi
Speaking of douchebag men, enter Jordan; a man who has the body of a 16-year-old and somehow thinks that qualifies him as being super attractive. Add that to the fact that he has a questionable relationship with the truth, and he treats women horribly and refuses to take accountability of his actions, this guy finds himself near the bottom of this list.

31. Cristina Gibson
The first one season wonder of this list, I never found myself liking Cristina, and found myself saying out loud “Omg someone get her off this show” during the show’s pilot season. She was snobby, dismissive, and refused to acknowledge her own shit. I was glad to see she was a one season wonder tbh.

30. Bailey Taylor
As season 10 airs, I have not found myself liking Bailey at all. In fact, I can’t stand her. Her starting shit with Ben at the dinner table then crying victim because he dared to call her out did it for me. And then spending the day after bragging about how she was going to confront him at the vineyard, just to be mute the entire time… yeah, I don’t get along well with women like Bailey.

29. Danielle Olivera
Danielle gets points for being the first visible POC on the show, and a respect for quietly navigating that through her time on the show without feeling the need to be performative about it. That’s about where my praise ends, because Danielle was such a pick me on the show and I found myself confused with so many of her actions. Like making Carl and Lindsay’s engagement about her, presenting Balloon Guy to Gabby just to snag him for herself… yeah, 29 is a good spot for her.

28. Everett Weston
Everett was mostly forgettable during his time on the show, but his fights with Lindsay in the first season were very uncomfortable to watch. I just remember him being unfairly douchey to Lindsay, and even though I can’t stand her, no woman should be treated like that.

27. Jaclyn Shuman
Jaclyn was such a fever dream on this show, I can’t even believe that Jaclyn the fit model was ever a part of this super popular show at all. The fact that the only thing I remember about her was that she was a fit model says it all really.

26. Ashley Wirkus
Ashley was not cut out for this show solely based on the fact that she was happily married. This show really works with singles, and Ashley suffered there. Besides jumping in to back her twin sister, Ashley didn’t really have many big moments to push her higher on this list.

25. Imrul Hassan
Imrul was another fever dream on this show. He came in later in the season, had sex with a new woman or women every night he was in the house, and that was about it. I like that he opened up about his culture and the expectations of him because of that, but he was a really weird casting. He was also not allowed to participate in the full reunion of his season, which says a lot.

24. Amit Neuman
Amit was probably the most deserving of being a one season wonder. He didn’t really do anything besides kiss Lindsay and then flat out deny it minutes later. He was hell handsome and unproblematic, so I liked that about him.

23. Levi Sebree
I need to see more of Levi to really make an informed opinion of her, because as far as I’ve seen on the currently airing season ten, her only personality trait is “Bailey’s friend”. That could be because of production, though. And I don’t really like Bailey, so I need her to branch out and create something for herself.

22. Gabby Prescod
I really wanted to like Gabby, but she wasn’t really given much to play with. And when Danielle was quietly kicked off the show, Gabby became the new “Lindsay’s second in charge” which will never sit well with me. I did find her family dynamic interesting, and the contrast between her and Ciara was fascinating to watch tbh.

21. Dara Levitan
Dara is beautiful and she speaks in a way that seems so calm and natural that you automatically feel at ease listening to her. To me, she doesn’t give performative. However, if she hurts my sweet innocent baby angel KJ, I will NOT be happy.

20. Kyle Cooke
Kyle is arguably the star of this show, and it was clear that production wanted it centered around him. He’s a polarising one, in that you either really love him or you don’t. I can’t say I love Kyle, but I appreciate what he brings to the show, and I think under it all, he has a good soul. He just needs to act his age, and learn how to treat women properly.

19. Carl Radke
Of any of the cast members of this show, Carl has had probably the most growth. He went from typical fuckboy, to a considerate soul, to less of a fuckboy and more of a lover, to the businessman we see today. In saying, I can’t say I’ve ever found myself really backing Carl. He goes through the female castmates of this show like underwear, and it’s just not fun to watch. Also I hated his entire relationship with Lindsay.

18. Lauren Wirkus
Okay so I really liked Lauren, even if I felt she was a bit naive for fallng for Carl when he was so clearly a fuckboy. She was a messy bitch, especially when drinking, and her together with Stephen was a dynamic duo that I loved watching. I felt like she could’ve used one or two more seasons of this show tbh.

17. Jules Daoud
Speaking of needing another season, Jules definitely needed another season. She was a lowkey stirrer, but she did it in such an effortless way that I lowkey respected it. Granted, she didn’t fit in well with the cast, and it was painful to watch her try be one of the girls when it wasn’t natural at all, but I feel like another season could’ve seen her become a breakout start tbh.

16. Lexi Wood
If Lexi hadn’t fallen victim to Jesse Solomon’s nonsense, I feel like she would’ve stuck around for season ten. Stunning and likeable, Lexi appeared to be out of reach but had a down-to-earth personality that seemed so real and grounded. She was honest about her feelings from the jump, but was unfortunately led on by that giant turd which was ultimately her downfall.

15. Chris Leoni
Chris was kinda cringe to watch when it came to flirting with women, but outside of that, I really liked him. He struck me as the happy-go-lucky kinda positive guy that I love to be around, plus I found backstory interesting in being a photographer but also a former marine. Plus, the rig on him was spectacular.

14. Samantha Feher
Sam was a nice addition to the cast, representing the bubbly blonde girl next door archetype who had a healthy sex positive view on dating and relationships. Her flirtationship with Kory was cute, even though I thought she deserved better. She could’ve used a second season to really show more of her.

13. Luke Gulbranson
Luke was kinda hard for me to rank, because on one had I think he’s super fine and I loved watching scenes with just him and learning more about his backstory. However, his chaotic relationship with Hannah and his treatment of Ciara prevents him from going any higher on this list. He could’ve used maybe one more season on the show, but I feel like his duration was served with purpose.

12. Alex Wach
Okay. Hear me out. Alex was a victim of production because he was so obviously cut out of scenes and not given as much airtime as Andrea, for example. However the glimpses we got of him were interesting. He was structured and rigid which conflicted with the rest of the cast which could’ve created interesting tension with other housemates, and I enjoyed learning about his backstory and growing up as a biracial Asian man. Plus, his call on Austen being the “Honda Civic of male attractiveness” alone should’ve guaranteed him a second season. And… he was hot af.

11. Andrea Denver
So I had seen all the fuss about Andrea being the hottest guy on Bravo ever, and physically I didn’t see it. But then you get to see the sweet, sensitive and loving side of him, and then you really see how attractive he is. Not only that, he was so chivalrous and considerate of the other women that I found my eyes straying from gymbro Alex to this hunky Italian man. A great addition to the cast whose time was way too short.

10. Stephen McGee
Every time I think about Stephen, my exact thoughts are always “Ugh… I looove Stephen McGee”. Not only is it refreshing to see queer representation on an otherwise heteronormative orgy reality show, but Stephen was Miss Messyboots especially in the second season, and we loved to see it. Plus watching his personal story of finding comfortability in his identity while also trying to honour his parents was very touching and resonated with me in a personal way.

9. Mia Calabrese
Mia’s first season isn’t even over yet and I can already tell that she is the best friend that every girl needs. She’s constantly been there for Ciara, but appears to not take herself too seriously and seems to really be having fun as much as possible. I know I said that being in a relationship isn’t good for someone on this show, but Mia makes it work, respecting her partner while also understanding she can have fun.

8. Hannah Berner
I loved Hannah on this show, and it genuinely surprises me that there are people out there who didn’t. I really fuck with her sense of humour because she would constantly have me laugh out loud with her one liners and confessionals, plus I just loved watching her friendship with Paige and Amanda. Her last season was not very good for her, however, and while I still ride for Hannah, she was dead wrong in several of her interactions with the other castmates.

7. Mya Allen
Mya was SO fucking good for this show and I was devastated to see how little time she got on the cast. She didn’t come in like a house on fire which can backfire on certain people; she just came in as herself, articulated her feelings effectively and, with Ciara, had one of the very first real conversations that this show has ever seen. I loved watching her relationship blossom on the show as well… obviously until we learned he cheated on her. Trash.

6. Ben Waddell
Ben’s Australian like me, so he was immediately going to be in at least the top 10. But what puts him here is how he handled his conflict with Bailey. He never raised his voice egregiously at her (like she claimed), made his feelings well known to her, and agreed to move forward at the end despite what her deluded ass believed. Plus, he’s handsome af. And for the record, “fuck me mate’s missus” is a very legitimate phrase here in Australia, and anyone who judges it is an ignoramus.

5. KJ Dillard
If Mia’s the best friend everyone needs, then KJ is the little brother that everyone would die to protect. Completely and confidently in touch with both his masculine and feminine, and acknowledging when it’s difficult for both of those to coexist at times, KJ is the type of man I’d trust around my unwatched drink. And god, it’s so refreshing to see a man talk about his feelings so clearly without resorting to minimising it to ‘protect his masculinity’.

4. Amanda Batula
As a reminder, this is not taking Amandoval into consideration. Amanda is beautiful, speaks her mind, is a good friend to everyone she holds dearly, and is there to support her husband but also check him when he desperately needs it. Her talking openly about her mental health struggles was also very refreshing to watch as these topics, while talked about more, are still not discussed as openly and frequently as they should.

3. Ciara Miller
Ciara is considered a queen of the Bravoverse and for very good reason. Unapologetically herself, not scared to be opinionated or outspoken, and more than willing to have hard conversations when necessary, Ciara makes for compelling TV. Plus I LOVE how she’s aware of how beautiful she is but also doesn’t take herself seriously. Her themed party costumes always slap, but her casually announcing that she was dressed as a plague infested rat sends me every time.

2. West Wilson
As a reminder, this is not taking Amandoval into consideration. West is the kind of guy I can see myself being charmed by easily, and falling for even easier. I love me a himbo, what can I say? Charming but also equally dorky, sporty but not too jocky, and handsome but not painfully so, West is my favourite man on this show thus far. Plus I love watching how affectionate he is with the other male cast members without worrying about what it might do to his perceived masculinity. We love a healthy masculine male.

1. Paige Desorbo
Amanda might be considered the Queen of Summer House due to her tenue on the show and relationship with Kyle, but we all know that the REAL Queen of Summer House is Paige Desorbo. Effortlessly stylish and chic with killer confessionals, killer looks and killer wit, Paige is easily my favourite castmate of this show. And I’m sorry, but her leaving the dinner just to come storming back because she heard Kyle mutter that she’s two faced was actually legendary TV. Paige is the woman I strive to be every day tbh.

HFD ranking 32 people is a bloody effort. But I lowkey have enjoyed revisiting my tenure of watching this show. Now we get to see how the rest of season 10 unfolds… and this reunion is going to be SUPER bloody interesting.

– by The Black Widow