Farewell For Now

Welcome back to our final episode of Season 5. It's very bittersweet knowing that this season is over. I'm ready to pass the baton onto NYC and hope you enjoy watching them as much as you did us.  From talking with Jill, seems like they have had their share of tears this season so it should be just as juicy.

When I said in my interview that this season was tough for me, I was referring to the drama with the other women. Seeing how Tamra spoke about me when I left Lynne's was shocking and still very upsetting. Regarding Alexis, this girl just turned out to be nothing but drama and a hypocrite.  Tamra and I have talked a lot since the season wrapped filming, but it still makes me wonder why she felt the need to be so mean when I wasn't around. In my "real life," I just don't have that type of drama or fighting going on. My family is doing awesome, my book is getting amazing reviews, my marriage is really good and my business Coto Insurance is still solid. I just don't have this type of negativity in my life and if it comes in — I do whatever I can to get it out as soon as possible.

The season finale at the St. Regis was so pretty and I went there with the intent of just having a great time.  When I saw Gretchen and Slade arrive, I thought maybe they were going to announce to us that we were attending their wedding because of how they were dressed. I would have been shocked, because if they were going to get married, I doubt Tamra and I would  have been included on the guest list. As I have said before, if Gretchen is happy with Slade then that's all that matters. I just know there is a BIG world out there, and would hate to see Gretchen settle. After Jeff died, she immediately started dating Slade and I'm sure that's why her mother is so hesitant of him as well. My advice if she was my daughter would be to stand on her own for a while and date casually to really figure out what you want in a husband and the father of your children. Gretchen, you need to read my book!

When I saw Lynne's girls Alexa and Raquel show up to the party drunk I was pretty shocked. If they were my daughters, I would  have sent them home with myself — party or no party! No questions asked and no arguing — HOME we would have gone. They continue to humiliate Frank and Lynne which is completely disrespectful and I don't understand it. Don't they know they are being filmed??

It's been so amazing having Michael join Coto Insurance this year. He is consistently becoming one of our top agents and is just a natural on the phone with our clients. When our customers get a call from him, they always have nice things to say to him about our family and the TV show and they always let me know how courteous and customer service friendly he is.  It makes me so proud to know that he is entering a business that he will be able to be in for a long time, and will be able to be in a career that allows him to have a nice life for him and his family if he so chooses. I was raised in a family-owned business of construction in Chicago, and it was always my father's dream to have my brother take the business over. Once my father passed away, my brother was able to carry on the business and make it very successful. It's a great feeling when your children decide to follow in your career path; it makes me feel like i'm leaving a legacy as well. Go Michael!

The advice I gave Tamra was to be true to herself and to live for her happiness and no one else's. I do not condone women staying in relationships where they are unhappy. It was clearly evident from watching tonight's episode that Tamra was visibly upset and breaking down. It was painful for me to watch. When i decided to divorce my first husband, I met with a counselor to get advice if it was the right thing to do or not. I remember very clearly her telling me about the three As. She told me, Abuse, Adultery or Addiction, and if you have any or all of these three, it was a green light to get divorced. When i was married to my first husband, I had all three. I don't know all the ins and outs of Tamra's marriage, but i do know it's been a downhill spiral for several years.  In my book More Than a Housewife, I talked about the pivotal turning point in my life and how i decided to make a better life for my children and I and get divorced.  Hindsight it was the best decision i ever made, and I couldn't imagine what my life would have been like if I had still stayed married to  him.

When I look back on this season, my favorite moment was remarrying Donn in Turks and Caicos. It was magical and brought us so much closer. My worst moment was when I was in Florida with all the conflict. Hindsight I should have just left and not even stayed there to be humiliated by all of them and their husbands/Slade. It really was a very uncomfortable situation to be in.

I have been asked to talk about what Alexis has added to the show this year and I have to say, not much! We need our old Housewives back! The show was much classier and much more fun to watch. "I'm just sayin."

What I've learned about this season is "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." I've had to "zipper up" and put a shield around me when I'm around some of these women as my friend Heidi has taught me to do. I've had to forget about the hurtful things that others have said about me and to gravitate to those who love me, inspire, and make me laugh. What I do know about me is that I'm an amazing mother, and loving wife, an amazing insurance advisor, and my older clients count on me and trust me for their retirement planning needs. I have made for three consecutive years MDRT's Top of the Table, finished No. 2 for the top advisor as a Retirement Planning Specialist in the country, am currently one of the largest wholesalers for life insurance in the country, have employed  over nine internal staff members this year, and contracted an additional 280 agents in the past nine months. That is my purpose. This is what I am proud of and this is where I am the happiest. Life is either short or long, and we don't know when we will be called home. What I do know, is while I am alive, I treat each day as if it is my last and therefore want to be around people that respect and love me and make me laugh. I live my days to the fullest doing what I do best and be around people that make me the best that I can be. One of my favorite songs is "Live Like You Were Dying" by Tim McGraw.That's how I choose to live my life and I hope you do the same. 

Thank you for an amazing 15 weeks of Season 5. I bid you farewell for now. Woo-hoo!

Love,
Vicki
www.vickigunvalson.com
xoxo