The Truth Hurts

We start out this week with Ramona's photo shoot, and I've seen the end result, which looks great. With Andrew behind the camera, Maya on makeup, and Sonja and Melissa cheering her on, the initial stiffness didn’t last long and they got some great images.

"I've never met anyone who was willing to go up against her; I'm so happy!" These were Jill's words about Ramona to Cindy. "No one has anything nice to say about Ramona," said Cindy. Jill at least had the presence of mind to remind Cindy that I must have said something nice about her. In fact, every time I'm alone with Cindy, I say nice things about Ramona, and if Cindy is an honest person, she should admit that. She didn't out and out lie about my feelings toward Ramona, but she minimized them as much as she could. She thinks Ramona has changed? Well, I've only known Ramona four years, but her methods of communication haven't changed one bit. Has she become more emotional due to her daughter growing up, and has she reacted to life changes? Certainly. Has her personality changed? Nope. Cindy thinks Ramona's core is not good? I'm beginning to think Cindy should take a good look at her own inner core.

It's simply not true that "everyone" is saying bad things about Ramona. Cindy, Jill, Kelly, and LuAnn are. Jill said Ramona makes everyone cry. The only person I can remember whom Ramona has made cry is Jill, and possibly one interview applicant. Jill thinks that Ramona doesn't make Cindy feel good about herself. Ramona bent over backward to introduce Cindy to all of us, including Jill. There's one thing she wanted to clear the air about -- Cindy's brother -- and that's it.

Love Chris March from Project Runway, and was thrilled to see him helping Sonja with her masquerade costume. He took that wig and outfit and made them into a spectacular confection; she looked amazing! And I had to laugh at one random thing when Jill and LuAnn were at Creative Costume; did anyone realize they were standing right in front of Simon's outfit? Yes, we all get our costumes from the same place; it's where we got the moose for Simon two years ago as well.

Regardless of what she's like around her peers, Cindy is certainly in love with her babies. I was sorry to see that it's hard for Howie to be around the father of Cindy's girls, and hope that gets better with time. Ditto the relationship; I can only say that it seems like Cindy and Kevin both have the girls' best interests at heart and that's as good a start as any.

Ms. Maya Shapiro was busy this episode! After Ramona's photo shoot we see her again doing Sonja's makeup for the masquerade party; Maya's technique is amazing and we all love her. Chris outdid himself transforming the costume and wig; and I cracked up that neither she nor Amina remembered their bloomers. For the record, I had NO idea what Jill was going on about when she was passing judgment on Sonja's costume. Now, I didn't see her bend over, but when she was standing up the dress was perfectly long enough. I've worn shorter, and so has Kelly, for that matter.

I know Jill was feeling sick that night, which might be why she didn't have a good time and complained about everything. Everyone else at the party enjoyed it; how can you not have fun in the vault at Cipriani? Anytime you go to a party there, you know it's going to be a good night. Kelly was happier than I'd ever seen her -- Sonja went out of her way to bring cute, single straight boys for her to flirt with, the food was great, and there was a hot (both in talent and looks) violinist performing. What’s not to like? Before the chums became as obsessed with Halloween as they are, Simon and I used to go to a Halloween Ball in Central Park with thousands of people nearly every year. Guess what? Everyone always wound up just hanging out with their own tables. I actually preferred Sonja's masquerade in the vault because it was beautiful, intimate, sexy, and everyone got to have real conversations, not hit-and-run air kisses. What a great night.

At Serafina, we were so excited to toast Ramona and hug the beautiful bride Jennifer who had returned from her honeymoon, plus we hadn't seen Vittorio (the owner) since St. Barths. It was Spirit Day 2010, a day to wear purple to speak out against hate crimes and LGBT bullying, so Simon and I both wore purple. LuAnn showed that she was excited (as she should be) by her new boyfriend’s business, and wanted to prove to Ramona how much she knew about wine. Ramona performed well under pressure, answering LuAnn’s questions for a bit and then suggesting that they get together later to discuss it in more detail should LuAnn choose.

I was so happy to see Jennifer; we had seen each other off and on at parties, but became friends last year after the yacht party with Ramona, and Labor Day weekend in 2009. She's a great girl and a straight shooter. Jennifer’s description of being bombarded by Jill about Ramona, Simon and me was exactly the same at Serafina as it was when she told it the day of the wedding. Even though Jill admitted to me on the day of the wedding that she was bothering the bride and Ramona trying to find out if I'd be there, she apparently forgot by the time we got to Serafina a month later, and denied it.

Watching Ramona talk to Jill was like watching myself deliver the message to Jill last year. Anytime Jill feels put on the spot, she leans in to you with a weird faux-friendly smile, and talks over you. . . and over you. . . and over you. She did it to Ramona, and then she did it to Jennifer outside. Kudos to Jennifer for not backing down, although Jill wouldn't let her speak. She does this to every person who says something she doesn't want to hear. And outside in the car, Jill cried to Bobby on the phone that Ramona did it to her again. And LuAnn held her hand, while shooting daggers at Ramona. For the record, Ramona held a glass all night, but I don't think she ever finished it. That fight wasn't alcohol. That was raw emotion. Funny that Jill and LuAnn couldn't see the difference.

See you next week! I am off to escort Simon to Andy's Clubhouse, where he'll be singing "I Am Real" live tonight, followed by a 12:30 am show at Splash. If you're in NYC, come out and join us! He has also released TODAY a special "Thug in a Club Mix," available now on iTunes.

Thanks for reading, and please check out Thug in a Cocktail Dress, our fashion recap, and Simon’s blog. You can also find us on Facebook as well as Simon's and my Twitter feeds.

Oh, and one last thing. After last week's episode many people asked me if our son François has any sort of spectrum disorder. He does not. He was tired, bored, and didn't want to play with the piano or the people in the house. If any child of ours had a condition, we would be out loudly raising money, showing parents there's nothing to be ashamed of, etc. It's rather like the comments suggesting that Simon is gay. Neither are bad things for a person to live with, but neither are true for Simon or François. End of discussion.

xo

A