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Wives Gone Wild
Tamra Barney defines "Tamra-style" etiquette, and explains what really went down at her dinner party.
I just wanted to start off by saying thank you so much to Brian Malarkey for all he did for us. The meal was as amazing as his personality! I would also like to say congratulations on your new baby. I remembered Brian from Top Chef and actually met him and his lovely wife at the Project Runway fashion show in New York last year. Simon and I were both so excited about working with him. Thanks again to Brian and his team. The food was amazing!
I was actually looking into etiquette classes for my kids and came across Naomi's class and thought it would fun. I have never claimed to be high society and I'm not about to try now! Simon always teases me on my "Tamra style" of doing things. I am a no-frills type of person. I don't need 10 plates and 10 glasses and fancy napkins to have a meal. I do know there is a time and place for it though. Things to me are black and white and I tend not to sugar coat most things. I understand how that can rub people the wrong way. The one great thing about being on this show is that you get to see yourself from the outside. You have two options, you can use what you've learned about yourself to improve or you can ignore it. I think it has been a learning experience for each of us and we will all walk away as better people than when we came into this.
Overall I did find Naomi's class to be interesting, but I still hold my fork in my right hand.
I was surprised to see the storyline in this episode. Do you really think I would go to all the trouble and expense just to get someone drunk? There was no conspiracy or plot. If I never made that drunken comment, the show would have gone in a completely different direction. No one had a plot to hurt anyone! I made the drunken stupid comment to Vicki and production RAN with the idea to hype the show (which worked because the ratings were through the roof). If you noticed we were pretty much all "wasted" before I made that comment to Vicki, who in returned said, "Gretchen is already wasted." I think Vic and Jeana were the most sober housewives there. I went shot for shot with Gretchen, no one held a gun to our heads. It was actually one of the best nights we had together -- I think Gretchen is one of the funniest girls I know. My kids are still walking around the house yelling, "TamRRRAAAAAAAAAA." We all knew the footage was going to be wild, but we had no idea about the twist it would take. I knew Ryan and Gretchen were talking, but that was all I knew. Gretchen is a cute girl and Ryan had never met her before, he had no idea she had a boyfriend. As for Ryan's behavior, he did nothing wrong! If you watch the footage, his hands were to himself and most of the night he was rolling his eyes at us. At one point he had to catch Gretchen from falling at the bar. When things did get out of hand, Simon pulled Ryan aside and explained the situation. Ryan is a 23-year-old single boy and acted like any boy would if a pretty girl was flirting with them.
At the end of the night, Simon made sure everyone took cabs home (including Ryan). Gretchen was so drunk that we were afraid she was going to pass out in the back of the cab and who knows what would had happened, so she decided to stay at our house. Simon sat up with her for a while and made her something to eat. They talked about Jeff and what he was going through. Simon's mother had cancer 3 times and he was with her through the process. All the while I was in the bathroom hugging the toilet. I felt really bad about the comment I made when I saw the footage and knew at that time I SHOULD NOT DRINK. One thing I learned from this week's episode is that alcohol does not mix well with my Indian blood and therefore I should stop drinking. No excuses. Everyone is responsible for his or her own actions, drunk or not. I know that people are very opinionated about this week's episode and I understand why from the footage. But truth be told, the girls and I are a family. We might be dysfunctional, but in the end we are on this crazy ride together.