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I was initially set on doing a recap about how Bravo should never ever give Yovanna Momplaisir another ounce of screen time on Real Housewives of Atlanta. She played way too many games with her claims that she knew who recorded Cynthia Bailey talking bad about NeNe Leakes, but never revealed who that person was. But after the first 30, 35 minutes of the episode passed and the ladies got over the close call brawl in Marlo Hampton’s hotel room, I realized we need to talk about Kenya Moore.
We should talk about sis not because of her exchange of b-words with NeNe or those damn Chanel sandals she wore with her Caribana outfit, but because of her desire to kick Tanya Sam off of her happy high horse.
Now, she never said it outright, but at breakfast the morning after the ladies’ fun at Caribana, Kenya dampened the mood by giving the impression to the ladies that she had some tea about the partner of a woman in the group. That tea, that the individual had hit on another woman and got her number despite being very taken, was was about Tanya’s fiancé Paul Judge. A woman who perhaps owned the cookie shop Kenya and Cynthia visited early in the season let the women know that Paul allegedly was “all over” her at a bar despite being engaged. This information was also shared with Kandi Burruss, but was just hung over the head of Tanya. And really, the only reason it was shared was to, without Tanya’s knowledge, put a dent in the idea that her relationship with Paul is “perfect.” She told the women they were in an amazing place with or without holy matrimony after being asked her when she and Paul were finally going to marry after their long engagement. Nevertheless, Tanya remained unphased and smiling as Kenya talked in circles, sure that if Paul was cheating or had cheated, she would have found out.
At the end of all that, Kenya didn’t share that she was talking about Paul. She just stated if the women wanted to know if their man was cheating, they would eventually find out, and that she learned from her own moody husband that once a man cheats, he will always be a cheater. Tanya, however, stayed confident in her situation, saying she and Paul are not here for cheating.
“No, we don’t — uh uh. It would be a betrayal,” she said. “I could pick up his phone. I have all his passcodes, I can play on his phone, his Instagram. I just feel like we don’t have secrets like that.”
To allude to turmoil in someone’s relationship without just being forthcoming about the information you have is wack on Kenya’s part. It’s dangling the information over someone to see them sweat and then using their response for entertainment. It was having important information, but only sharing it when it suits you, not because you don’t want them to be hurt. It was quite messy, and it gets messier.
In the preview for next week’s episode, Kenya tells Kandi about perfectly happy Tanya, “I’ve got your number. I do have tea about your man. The b—h is badder than her!”
When the whole episode and preview was over, it didn’t take long for me understand why Kenya was going so hard to seemingly expose cracks in Tanya’s situation. It was clearly done out of jealousy.
If you watch all of the “Snake Bye” episode, Kenya consistently tries to poke at Tanya’s seemingly genuine happiness. She imitates her voice and demeanor, even well after the ladies have stopped doing impressions of each other for fun, and the confidence that Tanya feels about her relationship, she attempts to erode by sharing but not sharing inside tea. Tanya never really lets it impact her though, which is probably why Kenya is still harping on that info she got from the cookie lady in the next episode. It’s pretty confusing because Tanya coordinated such a fun trip and doesn’t seem to want to have an issue with anyone; but sometimes the easiest targets make unhappy people feel the best about themselves.
You know, I was one of the few people who felt that Kenya didn’t have ill intentions when she spilled that Cynthia’s man, Mike Hill, “might” propose to her at the opening of Cynthia’s wine business, where he certainly did pop the question. She, of course, was tipped off by Kandi, so it wasn’t just a simple feeling she had. I do now think that even if she had no malice in her actions on that particular day, she doesn’t like to see people in a great place romantically while she is trying to figure out what her future with Marc Daly will be. With that in mind, she says and does little things to mess with people’s happiness in the moment. She may let a big surprise slip out, question Porsha about what Dennis had actually done after his re-proposal when she was on Cloud nine, or play around about what she knows about Tanya’s man and their so-called “perfect” relationship. It seems that if Kenya can inadvertently (or purposely) put a damper on the happiness of the women in her circle, she can share some of the cloud over her own marriage.
As someone who has rooted for Kenya to have her happily ever after in the last couple of years and felt for her in the ups and downs of her marriage, it’s disappointing to see. Instead of actively poking holes in other people’s relationships, including those she calls friends, she needs to focus her energy on fixing the big hole in her own.
Check out reactions to Kenya coming at Tanya via Twitter by hitting the flip:
