RHONYC Reunion: Shit Gets Real

So much went down during the nine hours of filming the reunion that it’ll be aired in three parts. On last night’s installment, Alex and Ramona supported Bethenny’s claims that her fight with Jill was over some dirty, behind-the-scenes activity.

Bethenny held nothing back as she revealed exactly why she and Jill are no longer friends, and it makes a lot more sense than Hobby Gate. Bethenny claimed that Jill was jealous of her newfound success (getting to co-host the last hour of Today, getting a spin-off, and something to do with the Kentucky Derby). According to Bethenny, Jill called her up and said that Bethenny wouldn’t even be on Housewives if it weren’t for her and her husband Bobby, and therefore, Jill felt that Bethenny should share her new opportunities with Jill. The final straw was that Jill had approached the other women on the show and asked them not to film with Bethenny, so as not to give her additional publicity for Bethenny Getting Married?, a claim that both Alex and Ramona confirmed. While I don’t think that Alex is a liar, the confirmation of those allegations just wouldn’t be as convincing coming from her alone, as she totally hates Jill. But the fact that Ramona also confirmed it is pretty damaging, since that woman seems incapable of even telling a little white lie in order to just make someone feel a little more comfortable.

At first, Jill made an attempt to deny these allegations by claiming that she “didn’t remember” what happened, and wanted written proof. But eventually, she fessed up, tried to apologize, and then, when she saw that it wasn’t cutting it, she walked off the set. After trying to convince the audience that she was being genuine with her apologies and the way she treated Bethenny, she Tweeted this last night:

Kelly, who exhibited very poor comprehension skills—if not a total disconnect from reality—said that this entire situation was “crazy” and “almost embarrassing.” Hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day!

My favorite part about the incredibly tense confrontation between Bethenny and Jill was that Kelly was totally disinterested in it, and found the feather on her bracelet so much more fascinating.

You know, after all the years that I’ve been writing about reality TV subjects, I’ve gained a certain sympathy for many of them, and try my best to restrain myself from being too harsh, because I think that watching one’s own embarrassing moments on television must be hard enough, not to mention the cruel judgments from anonymous commenters on personal blogs, Facebook pages, and Twitter accounts. But I think that really only applies to reality TV subjects who are able to actually understand words, or feelings, or at least recognize what an opinion is. So, I’m just gonna say it: Kelly Bensimon is a fucking idiot asshole. I’ve been trying to decide if maybe she has a mental illness, but really, it doesn’t matter, because at the end of the day, she says dumb shit, attacks people, and then claims to be a benevolent victim. I feel like her real problem is that she coasted on her looks and affluence for so long that she never really had to develop the necessary skills that would enable her to interact with others on any level above “moronic.” It’s like a lifetime of legginess and smiles have atrophied her interpersonal abilities. I’m glad Ramona called her stupid to her face. I just wish Kelly had the aptitude to know what she meant.

Part two of the reunion airs on Monday, which involves more walkouts, a Ramona freakout, and more accusations about Jill’s off-camera behavior. Here’s a preview: