Is it jealousy or a desire to have Jenna open up to the group more? On this episode of the Real Housewives of New York City, Jenna is left defending herself on a girls’ trip to Anguilla. Perhaps Jenna should learn that Erin is not the one to confide in. According to these ladies, Jenna can hardly do anything right…
It is right before Christmas, and Sai and Ubah are on the hunt for some resort wear for their upcoming girls’ trip to Anguilla. Ubah has been out of the loop, stuck in her COVID bubble, and so she is relying on Sai to spill the most recent tea with the group. The first thing Sai brings up is Jenna’s “gifts,” aka collabs with her brands. Sai realizes that Jenna has an intention to share this with the ladies and calls it more of a marketing gift. Like JENNA LYONS needs SAI to promote her sh*t… psssht.
The next thing Sai shares is Erin’s angry exit from the wreath party. Erin was aggravated by Sai leaving her party without saying goodbye, AND Erin was upset with Brynn‘s over-the-top flirtation with her husband. Sai is nervous since Anguilla will be the first time Brynn and Erin will be seeing each other since their blowout.
Jenna pushes through the crowd at Rockefeller Center with her little brother, who is in from California. They talk about their first memories of New York, and Jenna proudly shares how she has been working to revamp the retail around Rockefeller Center to represent more of what New York is. Cool to see all her hard work pay off, and it’s cool to see Jenna utilize her skills in various ways.
Jenna tells her brother that she has never been on a girls’ trip, and she is nervous to show off her body around this group of ladies. Her genetic disorder has affected her teeth, her hair, and her skin, leaving Jenna self-conscious clad in a bathing suit without a tan. She explains she has another dental surgery coming up and she hasn’t even touched her bottom teeth yet. It’s just… a lot for her and the trip is looming over her.
A few days after Christmas, Brynn is in L.A. with her brother, who lives in Sol. L.A. is their traditional meeting place since it is in the middle for them. Brynn’s brother questions her life plan, and Brynn thinks she might just have a kid. She talks about not being ready to commit, mainly because she sits in her thoughts and thinks of the worst. They discuss their difficult childhood, and her brother applauds her for trying to move on with her life.
Two weeks later, Jenna welcomes Erin to her apartment. Erin came bearing some butternut squash soup to try and help Jenna through her recent dental surgery. Jenna refers to her as “Momma Erin,” and Erin divulges that she does not even want to go on the upcoming trip. Jenna didn’t realize how hurt Erin really was after the wreath-making fight, and Erin says that Brynn’s attitude got to her. She did not appreciate Brynn’s constant flirting and the fact that Brynn could not even own her comments.
Jenna lets Erin know she will be heading to Anguilla two days early for personal reasons. One of which is the fact that she is uncomfortable with her skin condition, and she would like to get a good tan going before being seen by the other women because she is “not working with the same deck as you guys are.” Naturally, a few of the ladies joke that Jenna is a “diva in disguise.”
The other reason Jenna will be getting there before everyone else is because… she didn’t want to fly coach. Erin is appalled to hear Jenna admit to this but laughs it off.
Later, we see Jenna board her business class flight (lucky), and then we see Jessel packing while Pavit sits, watching her shove sh*t in a suitcase. Jessel questions Pavit’s recent interest in taking a trip to Vietnam, and Pavit claps back. He explains that he needs to have some time to himself, especially after Jessel goes to Anguilla for five days. They bicker about his reasoning, and Jessel realizes he is just escaping, leaving her with the twins after her mother leaves to go back to London, and he points out it’s “your problem to figure out.”
The peasants arrive at the airport to take their commercial flight while Jenna basks on the sunny beaches of the Four Seasons, already in Anguilla. Erin is ready to let the Brynn drama go and just have fun with her friends on vacation. Once they arrive, they are driven to their villa, which looks like a castle. Sai did GOOD. Because it’s a Housewives show, there is a mad dash to find a bedroom, and Ubah is salty that she must share a room with Jessel. Jenna gets stuck in the worst room because, duh, they’re trying to punish her for not traveling with the group.
Before Jenna joins the ladies at the villa, Erin (of course) lets the girls know that Jenna is flying early to tan, BUT also because she didn’t want to fly coach. Sai’s response is, “Ew, that’s corny,” and Erin does not even feel bad for repeating what Jenna told her. Erin feels as though Jenna needs to start being open and honest with the girls. No one can understand why Jenna wouldn’t just tell them that and they are confused about what Jenna’s deal is.
As the group awaits Jenna’s arrival, Brynn worries that Jenna is going to pull out her baby voice and then she won’t be forced to be accountable. Brynn is over it. She wonders if Jenna wants to be her true friend or if she just wants to have the group promote her. Brynn sees Jenna as, “An older successful New Yorker who has a lot of money and gives gifts,” but there is no true relationship behind it. Brynn is on a tear, and Erin jumps on board, calling the (marketed) gift-giving “ick.”
When Jenna rolls up to the villa, Sai wastes no time and throws Erin right under the bus. Jenna tries to talk her way around why she wanted to fly business, and she shares details about her genetic disorder/desire to get a tan. Ever the understanding friend, Sai retorts that Jenna should have just gotten a spray tan like the rest of the group. According to Sai, Jenna is not straightforward, but the reality is that Jenna doesn’t owe anyone an explanation. She is there with the group NOW, so what gives?
Brynn will not allow Jenna to use the excuse of being uncomfortable in her own skin around the ladies (which is unfair), and she gets snotty with Jenna. Jenna is perplexed about why and how she walked into an interrogation and Erin, the sh*t stirrer, is loving that Jenna called out in hopes that she was taught a lesson on…. friendship?
In the meantime, Brynn is desperately trying to get back onto Erin’s good side by having her luggage brought directly to her room. When Jenna sees the size of Jessel’s room, she realizes she is being punished by getting the smallest room in the villa. Jessel tries to take Jenna’s temperature about her greeting, and the reality is, Jenna is unsure what is going on between her and Brynn.
Jenna feels like there is some pent-up animosity in Brynn, but Brynn claims her issue is that Jenna doesn’t share enough for her to get to know Jenna. Brynn does not appreciate all of Jenna’s excuses, but Jenna isn’t sorry. She did what she had to do to make herself feel comfortable and ready for her first-ever girls’ trip. Can Brynn and Jenna figure out a way to turn this feuding into friendship, or will what seems like Brynn’s jealousy cause a rift for good?
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