Brandi Can Do No Wrong

This week we get a glimpse into Joyce's life with her family at home. Her boys are adorable, and her husband Michael couldn't be nicer! Mauricio and I immediately liked both of them when we first met at The Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce party. They are both kind people who are very happy together. I love seeing that.

On our way to Carlton's for lunch, the girls and I discussed Lisa's faint on Dancing With The Stars. We all knew Lisa was fine and were joking like she would have with us if roles were reversed.

Lisa said in last week's blog that she had been plagued with health issues. Blood transfusions, anemia, brain scans, fainting spells, etc. I had NEVER heard this in all the time I have known Lisa. NEVER.

[video_clip_url:http://player.theplatform.com/p/PHSl-B/yT7k3t_YLXoZ/embed/select/eTF6GLFEeSAz]We arrived at Carlton's and I was immediately intrigued. It feels like a church when you step inside, between the architecture and so many crosses. I grew up Catholic and converted to Judaism and am very open about that. When I asked Carlton what religion she is, I was surprised she was so offended. She said in her interview that it's rude to ask someone their religion the first time you meet. A) It was the third time we met, not the first and B) I didn't ask that to be rude.

I am proud of my religion and would never be offended if someone asked me about it. After seeing all the crosses I was simply curious and had no clue she would be offended. It is very clear NOW that Carlton did not want to like me. I was clueless and actually liked her.

I had heard that Carlton was a Wiccan or "witch" and was curious what that meant. When she was talking about her "witches balls" in her garden, I decided to ask her. NOT a good idea. In an attempt to make conversation and get to know her better, I clearly pissed her off again.

[video_clip_url:http://player.theplatform.com/p/PHSl-B/yT7k3t_YLXoZ/embed/select/SftTUGk87Wql] Later, we all went to sit down for lunch. Carlton didn't want to sit at the head of the table and told me to. It felt awkward, that's why I made a joke. Plus, knowing some of these women, I knew it would be used as an opportunity to say something catty -- which is exactly what Lisa did.

The lunch was at first a bit awkward as none of us knew Carlton well. I was asking questions so all of us could get to know her better. She seemed quite interesting and I am a curious person by nature.

When Brandi said that Carlton was edgy and a "c---" I almost fell off my chair. I was thinking Carlton was going to say something back to her but it seems Brandi can do no wrong and EVERYTHING I do IS wrong.

[video_clip_url:http://player.theplatform.com/p/PHSl-B/yT7k3t_YLXoZ/embed/select/x4_EIteQgn3F]Then Brandi dropped a bomb. I was seriously blindsided as we had been getting along and this clearly was not the place to bring up the tabloids that had been attacking my family. It had been causing all of us great pain and the last thing I wanted, once again, was to talk about it in this "arena." Brandi, Lisa, and Yolanda continued to talk about it. I sat there trying to keep a straight face with a lump in my throat. I knew I was under attack and didn't want to give them the satisfaction of hurting me.

Lisa in one breath will say, "Oh, it's all nonsense. You can't pay attention," then when Yolanda went to say something (once again), Lisa quickly jumped in saying, "Where there's smoke, there's fire." If you're my "friend," why would you say that to cast doubt in everyone's minds? For me, that was a pivotal moment in our relationship. They would say they didn't believe the lies but still wanted to bring them up and cast doubt. I needed support from these women at a time that was clearly difficult. I have never been the subject of tabloid lies before this, and I was clearly not equipped. I wanted to just brush it off and "act" like it was no big deal like everyone had been telling us to do, but I just could not. That's not who I am. We could not believe that there are people in the world that would lie to make money and try to hurt us. I left Carlton's house in tears and with a clearer understanding of who my friends are...

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