A RHORI-ng Debut

Don’t worry. I hate myself for making that headline.

There are a few new additions in life that I enjoy – a new handbag, a new phone, a new book… and a new Real Housewives franchise.

Enter Real Housewives of Rhode Island.

This is how easy it actually is to tell them apart. L to R: Jo-ellen, Ashley, Alicia, Kelsey, Rulla, Liz and Rosie.

This wasn’t necessarily the franchise I was expecting, as there have been various rumours of cities like Chicago and Nashville and Las Vegas receiving their own Real Housewives show. Plus, besides the fact that I recently learned that Rhode Island is the safest state in the US for LGBTQIA+, there isn’t much I know about Rhode Island. Well, once on my Contiki trip in 2016 we stopped in Providence for lunch and I went to the Victoria’s Secret there and bought a cute new tracksuit with the hunkiest cashier ever… but that’s beside the point.

So this show was going to be my true introduction to Rhode Island. And my god, if I’m not hooked already.

Judging off the above photo, if you didn’t watch the pilot episode yourself, you’re probably thinking that all these brunette women look the same and how on earth are you going to tell them apart. Andy Cohen even said that once you get into the show you’ll be able to tell them apart easily, and honestly, he was right.

Immediately we were thrown into the lives of six of the seven housewives (Rulla is yet to show up) and we are quickly introduced to the friendship dynamics of the cast. And even quicker so, you are thrown into what I imagine will be one of the biggest talking points of the season – Kelsey is dating a gazillionaire who spends half his time in Rhode Island with her, and half his time in Florida with his other girlfriend, and all parties have agreed to this arrangement.

If that’s not enough to get you hooked into this show, in the very first episode of the show, Rosie and Joe-ellen get into it at a beach picnic where Ashley and Alicia have to intervene. Generally pilot episodes are used to introduce you to the cast and then maybe introduce some light drama at the end of the episode as a cliffhanger to get you watching the rest of the season. But this argument was like midway through the episode and was equal amounts petty and raw honesty between the two.

For me, a great Real Housewives franchise (and season) need wealth and lifestyle porn, drama but not too much that it suffocates the audience, and a cast of women who are actually friends with each other, and RHORI seems to have all of that already. I mean, there’s a room in Kelsey’s house dedicated to just massages with her own massage chair. HFD.

Plus, in just one episode, RHORI has managed to be more entertaining than the entirety of RHOBH season 15.

This show has gotten off to an amazing start already, and I can’t wait to see more of it. Thankfully, we don’t have to wait too long, as RHORI has moved to Mondays after its pilot episode (Sunday nights for you Americans) so I get to watch these wildly interesting women again very soon.

If I had to pick one obvious bit of constructive criticism that stayed with me for most of the episode, it’s that some of their accents are going to take a while for me to get used to. And they may just perpetually irritate me for the rest of the show, but let’s see how we go.

If you’re a Bravo fan, a Real Housewives fan, or just want a new show to start… please give RHORI a go. Trust me. It’s fucking great already.

– by The Black Widow

The West and Amanda of It All

You know we have to talk about it.

If you’re out of the Bravosphere but you’ve heard snippets of people talking about ‘poor Ciara’ or ‘I can’t believe Amanda could do that’ or ‘West really is a fuckboy’, and you’re wondering what on earth these people are referring to, let me quickly catch you up to speed.

On Bravo’s Summer House, a very popular reality show where a bunch of young attractive people share a holiday house over the summer (hence the name) which has featured a bunch of stars over the years, including Paige Desorbo, Hannah Berner, and Alex Wach (partially a joke, but I actually loved Alex… more on that in another post).

Keep these faces in mind as you read this post. L to R: Ciara, Amanda, West, Kyle.

Ciara Miller is a fan favourite, and it’s easy to see why – she’s down to earth, she has no fucks to give, she stands ten toes down in what she believes in, she looks like an actual goddess sent from heaven, and she also has a wicked sense of humour. When Ciara turned up in season five, she made an instant connection with fans and has been one of the top stars of the show ever since.

Enter West Wilson, the loveable himbo that he is, in season eight. In his first season, he had an instant connection with Ciara and things became closer and more intimate between the two, which was quickly shattered once the season had wrapped filming because West got caught up in the media whirlwind of it all and he fucked over Ciara big time. His abysmal performance at the season eight reunion, coupled with the fact that Ciara dogwalked him the entire reunion, left a poor taste in fans’ mouths after having a mostly positive debutante season.

Ever since then, West has quietly and cautiously tried to win Ciara’s favour back – and in turn, the adoration of the fans – and he made a good headstart on this in season nine, and as season ten currently airs as of writing, we can see a small rekindling of a flame between the two.

Now let’s talk about Amanda Batula. Amanda was featured in season one as Kyle Cooke’s number one FWB, which then grew into an actual monogamous relationship. We then witnessed them get engaged on the show, and even caught their wedding. But throughout the duration of the show, whether it was as a dating couple or a married couple, we can see that their relationship was not perfect, and they would constantly argue in almost every season of the show. But through it all, they stuck by each other.

This is where it gets interesting, especially when you consider what’s currently airing. Season ten has obviously wrapped filming, after which it was announced that Kyle and Amanda have separated and have lived apart since late 2025. But what has recently aired from Summer House is a fight between Kyle and Amanda where West quickly jumped to Amanda’s defence in a very admirable and chivalrous manner. Now keep in mind he’s also working hard for Ciara’s approval, and it’s teased that he might have deeper feelings for her as well.

Then what do you know… AMANDA AND WEST HAVE ANNOUNCED THAT THEY’RE EXPLORING A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE TWO. In the most ridiculous joint statement you’ve ever seen.

There are two big things to consider at first:

1) On one of the most recent episodes that aired, Ciara spoke about the reality of being a black woman who dates white men in a public setting such as a reality show, and how she faces harsher criticisms and judgment because she’s black, while the white man tends to get away scot free, and;
2) We don’t know where the rest of the season is going. This could end with Ciara and West making a breakthrough in their relationship, possibly getting back together, and we as fans have to watch this knowing West and Amanda are currently a thing.

Now that you’ve caught up, I want to mention one thing about Amanda. Since the beginning of the show, and as her relationships with the other female castmates grew, it was clear to me that Amanda loved to stand up for women – even against her own boyfriend/fiance/husband – and that made her a girl’s girl. It was something that I absolutely admired in her.

Morally speaking, everyone is kind of in the green here. West is single as far as we know, and Amanda is separated from Kyle. Ciara has no tangible claim over West.

However, when you take everything into consideration, Ciara Miller was done fucking dirty here by both West and Amanda, and not that I am excusing a man’s actions in any way (since you all know how I feel about men), but I am mostly disappointed in Amanda because tbh this tomfoolery is to be expected from a fuckboy like West.

Granted, from a personal standpoint, I absolutely acknowledge that Amanda believes she is exploring a very real connection she feels she has with West, and as I’ve been in a similar situation before, I can understand that it’s foolish to not pursue something real if you feel it deep within you. If this connection was to manifest in a very deep and real relationship, then this would have all been for something at the end, even if it costed Ciara.

But Amanda would’ve seen that Ciara had an obvious interest in West, even if she was putting him through the work after releasing him from boy-prison and putting him out on parole, and Ciara clearly had a deep history with West that affected her core. And knowing all of that, she still pursued this elicit situationship with West who also should’ve known better, but we gave him too much credit in the first place because under that warm, himbo exterior that made me love him, is a dumbass man who has made dumbass decisions before.

Now I hear that Amanda has apparently lost sponsorship deals over this, and by no means should that be happening over a personal relationship which would have no affect on the world whatsoever if it wasn’t played out on reality TV. Like why on earth is this woman facing harsh repercussions when the literal men in charge of USA get away with… I’m not even going to get started on this.

But Amanda needs to cop to the moral ambiguity of this situationship, and most importantly she needs to take accountability for her actions with Ciara and not play it off as if she’s innocently pursuing a relationship with someone random as opposed to her supposed close friend’s ex. Because this is not giving girl’s girl, and that’s the image she’s tried to portray since being a main cast member of Summer House.

And West, honestly, just needs to grow tf up. Because I don’t see this leading to anything real if his relationship with Ciara and even Dara are to be considered, and he would’ve fucked his relationship up not only with Amanda, but with Ciara (again), and that would’ve also led to the destruction of their friendship. Just because he thought with the head in his pants.

As it pertains to Kyle, he’s said that he’s fine and he’s more concerned about Amanda because they’ve spoken since Amanda and West’s horseshit joint statement dropped and she’s apparently struggling. But I guess in a similar sense, West did his close friend Kyle dirty by shagging his estranged wife, and if subtle cues and body language suggest correctly, Kyle is fucking done with West.

Phew. I’m sure I’m missing more angles, opinions and takes on this foolishness but I feel like I’ve exhausted myself just writing this blog post.

And if you’re wondering where I stand, I’m firmly #TeamCiara. And no, she does not need to be featured on The Bachelorette because of this nonsense because Ciara does not need to be put on another show with even more fame-hungry gronks who just want to grow their social media following.

We at Widow’s Lure stand with you, Ciara Miller!

– by The Black Widow

The Housewives of Sydney: Ranked

Finally, we’re coming home!

Welcome to another edition of Real Housewives ranked, and I’m so excited to be writing about my first city outside of the Bravo universe, especially because it’s in my own city – Sydney!

Just a few queens hanging out. And Caroline.



Full transparency: I watched this out of chronological order. I saw the hype about RHOS coming back with season two after a six year hiatus. One specific housewife cast in season two was also a major reason why I decided to tune in, but more on that later. I watched season two, then season one, then the most recent season three.

With a small list of castmates comes a small ranking, so without further interruption, let’s rank the iconic ladies of Sydney!

13. Athena X Levendi
Just like the very first episode of RHOS suggests, Athena X is Jatz crackers! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a housewife like Athena X, and unfortunately I do not mean that as a compliment. She was capable of going from 0 to 100 in a matter of seconds, and she would go from attacking someone and belittling them for no reason, to then crying for forgiveness, just to rinse and repeat. Also the owner of the most exhausting reunion performance ever. Ugh.

12. Caroline Gaultier
I quite liked Caroline in season two, as I thought she was stylish, had a certain sass about her, and was fairly entertaining to watch. And then her abysmal performance in season Three shot her to the (almost) bottom of this list. She spent the entire season playing professional victim, shirking accountability, and just being a general piss irritating housewife.

11. Nicole O’Neil
I quite like that Nicole is possibly the preppiest housewife in any city, because we all know Housewives was intended to be lifestyle porn. Watching her navigate conflict calmly “like a lady” and then watching her blow up at Athena X was a very interesting contrast. But her performance in season two and three is mostly forgettable, and her refusing to participate drags her down.

10. Krissy Marsh
So I actually quite like Krissy, which goes to show you how good this cast is if she’s at 10. I think she’s quite funny, has great confessional energy, and her ability to navigate conflict but also get up from a table and walk off is quite fun to watch. There’s just something about her that’s quite pretentious? I don’t know. I still like her though.

9. Matty Samaei
We all know I love a peacemaker housewife that can also get into it and defend themselves when they need to, and Matty was one of the housewives who played this role in season one. I would’ve liked to learn more about her family and her career, but seeing her interactions with the group was entertaining. And her storm off in the finale was iconic.

8. Victoria Montano
Victoria is probably one of the most stunning housewives in any city, and I love that she has a flare for short skirts because so do I. She exudes wealth which is what a housewife should do, but there is an obvious air of elitism about her that’s probably a little too real. Her role in season three as Martine’s mouthpiece does keep her from going any higher in this list, unfortunately.

7. Martine Chippendale
Martine is an interesting case for me. First of all, she’s absolutely beautiful. Secondly, I find her feud with sunlight to be hilarious TV, and her ordering her husband to carry her parasol while she swung a golf club was great. Thirdly, I appreciate that she can speak her mind, especially as the newbie in season three. What keeps her from going higher in this list is I feel like the other housewives had to walk on eggshells around her after her blow up, which isn’t a nice feeling for anyone tbh.

6. Kate Adams
From episode one of season two, I could tell that Kate would be a great housewife. Calling out past drama that had nothing to do with her in a group setting was straight out of the housewives playbook, and then she continued the next two seasons constantly speaking her mind, standing up to someone if she felt slighted, and also going to the gutter for ammunition. Textbook housewife IMHO.

5. Victoria Rees
Victoria was really that bitch in season one, and the very first episode showed that. Her throwing Athena’s cape into the harbour may have been a tad overproduced, but lord did it set the tone for the most chaotic season of Housewives ever. She had a very interesting personal story of finding her family, and her season long feud with Athena is one for the history books tbh.

4. Sally Obermeder
With the two peacemakers from season one gone, it was Sally’s turn to step up, and she fit this role well. She was mainly a fence sitter in season two, being an ally to everyone on the cast. Season three was lowkey a fantastic performance from Sally, as she started the season off trying to bring everyone together, but then would get into it with Victoria on different occasions where she won each time. Plus, you can just tell she’s a wonderful human. We love that.

3. Melissa Tkautz
Of the two aforementioned peacemakers in season one, Melissa was my favourite. A stunning housewife and pop icon from the 90s, Melissa was mainly an ear to anyone who needed one, but when her own friend Athena turned on her for literally no reason, Melissa did not back down and defended herself against that haunted woman. I would love to see a Melissa return in the future tbh.

2. Lisa Oldfield
Lisa is absolutely a one of a kind. With the sharpest tongue on any Real Housewife ever, Lisa could cut you down so quickly you wouldn’t even realise she did it, and she truly had the best confessionals of any Housewife in any city. Probably the owner of the best one liners from any Housewife, Lisa was equal parts vile, entertaining, and quality TV. I hope she did get to thank that morbidly obese guy on a kayak towing a giant inflatable swan for saving her life. 

1. Terry Biviano
When I mention there was one name who made me want to watch RHOS, I’m talking about Terry Biviano. If you’re an NRL fan, you know who she is. If you’re an Aussie reality TV fan, you know who she is. If you love a good pair of shoes, you know who she is. I have never picked someone as being the perfect Real Housewife as I did for Terry. Not scared of conflict, arguments, or stirring up petty drama and shutting it down with class, Terry is absolutely a top tier Real Houswife, and a lot of women could learn a thing or two from her on how to navigate conflict on reality TV.

I do have concerns that season four may not be coming any time soon. Season three was announced pretty much as soon as season two had ended, so the fact that we haven’t heard anything frightens me, because this entire cast is reality TV gold, and this show is only really just getting started. As long as Terry comes back, obviously.

Because honestly, Sydney is probably one of my favourite cities of Housewives ever – and that’s saying a lot!

Also I just want to include this photo here for no reason at all.



– by The Black Widow

Review: Wrong Place Wrong Time

Another book review? No way!

I want to preface this review by saying the blurb of this book sold me immediately, and I showed my friend – who had no prior interest to thriller/mystery types of novels – said blurb and she was like “Wow! That’s a good blurb! Now I want to read it!” And then I ended up buying the book after declaring that I ‘wasn’t going to buy anything; I just wanted to browse’.

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister tells the story of Jen Brotherhood, a loving wife to Kelly and mother of Todd, who one days looks out her window and witnesses her sweet and innocent son murder a complete stranger on their street. After going through the terror of accompanying their son to the police station, Jen wakes up and finds that it now the day before the murder. With her new passive time-travelling ability, Jen decides to find out the reason why her seemingly innocuous son could take someone’s life like that.

I hope I did that iconic blurb justice.

9781405949842

This book was very well written with a gripping and refreshing storyline, and I managed to finish this book within 48 hours of buying it. I really struggled to put it down because the story was so gripping, and the twists and turns in the narrative were so intriguing that it didn’t bother me that I was going to be up until 2am reading it.

And then, the most unsatisfying ending happened.

I won’t get into too much detail as to why I found it so unsatisfying; whether it was a good ending or a bad ending because every reader is different. But from such a huge build up with an interesting time travelling storyline just to finish the way it did, it left me with a rather bitter taste in my mouth. The ending felt a little rushed, to the point where I felt like Gillian was rushing to tie up the narrative with a little bow.

For what it’s worth, the storyline was impeccable for the first 95% of the book. Gillian writes with easy to understand language that also makes it very easy to imagine in your head as you experience the narrative being laid out for you.

I wouldn’t say that the characters are really well fleshed out to the point of being complex and layered, but a few of the main characters are written with enough depth that the more you learn about them, the more you realise you were wrong about them when you initially judged them, and that was something I quite enjoyed about this book.

Wid-o-meter
Storyline: 6.5/10
Style of writing: 8/10
Overall: 7.25/10

Again, if you’re a fan of the thriller mystery vibe (especially with a time travelling aspect) then I would recommend you pick this one up and read it. Just don’t have high hopes for the ending.

Oh well. It is what it is.

– by The Black Widow