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Brandon Reid

Source: Lifetime / Kinetic Content

Well, it initially looked like the (Black) couples were going to find themselves in a much better place after last week’s episode. Michael and Meka worked on forming a friendship to help them deal with the awkwardness between them following their misunderstanding about sexual timelines. Brandon and Taylor were enjoying the group trip on a boat, swimming, getting tan and seemingly more and more comfortable with each other.

But there were signs that things were going to go left, particularly with the latter pair. Brandon kept making it very clear that he was not a fan of Taylor posting on social media, which falls in line with the things that have been claimed about him outside the show. When she would ask someone to take a photo of her, or she would take a photo of her food, he would mention that he thought such behaviors were strange. He told her about his aversion to women who thought themselves to be “Instagram models” because of how shallow they can be, though Taylor was clearly not. It was all an interesting gripe considering that Taylor was never asking for him to be in the photos, which would have been understandingly frustrating if that’s not your thing. She was simply just going about life as she usually does, sharing what she likes.  Brandon, whose flat facial expressions during their conversation proved he wasn’t going to allow his opinions to budge, started to turn judgmental. He was the “private” person while everyone, including Taylor and even his co-stars, were too busy trying to look good on camera all of the time.

Things would eventually escalate though, and we saw that dark side of Brandon, who previously appeared to give Taylor the silent treatment over her capturing him snoring. This time, his ire was directed at the production team, whom he expressed frustration with over food and not being allowed to not be filmed. At one point, he tried to ditch the crew, putting his hand in front of one of the cameras and refusing to go anywhere while holed up in an elevator, if he couldn’t be given 10 minutes to himself. Granted, that request wasn’t extreme, because sometimes people just need a moment, but such are the realities of signing up to be on reality TV.

Now, for anyone getting to know someone, there is something very off-putting about watching them be unnecessarily abrasive with people who are just trying to do their job. Taylor, looking to talk some sense into him, pulled him to the side to tell him that the positive side of him needed to come out to play because the negative one was not going to work for her. Not the best pep talk, but he needed a reality check. Unfortunately for her though, she forgot that it takes negative Brandon however long he wants it to take for him to get out of a funk. With that being said, he took her words to mean that she didn’t want to be married to him because he’s negative, threw his ring and stormed away from everybody.

Taylor, still trying to be nice, as she does when he gives her the silent treatment, packed her things and his in preparation for them all to head to the airport back to D.C. By the time cameras catch Brandon again, he is getting on the group bus and having a complete meltdown. He ends the honeymoon by cursing at production, with the rest of the cast looking on in confusion, and worst of all, curses out Taylor in front of everybody (at least that’s the way it’s edited), saying “f–k you.”

It was disgusting, and I had many thoughts. The obvious thought is, why sign up for reality TV if you are so private and any moment of not getting your way can take you to that level? Why want to be followed for eight weeks if you weren’t interested in cooperating? The other thought is, why does Brandon only operate on two modes, silent and raging, when annoyed? He seemingly has no control over his moods when things don’t go his way. Third thought is, Brandon is controlling. He wants to only be captured a certain way, to tell you how long you should be mad at him for cutting up, and don’t think we haven’t noticed him trying to push her to be called “Mrs. Reid” each episode when she’s not comfortable calling herself that. Fourth thought is, how can you be a “private” person and put your wife on blast in front of your co-stars every chance you get? You weren’t private when you were cursing her out. Last thought is, as judgmental as he was of Taylor over some damn photos on social media, he’s been the only one out of them both to really display behavior worthy of a negative judgment.

While I still don’t understand why he wanted to be married to a stranger on TV if he wasn’t comfortable with what came along with it, it’s become quite obvious why he needed the help and wasn’t having luck in the D.C. dating scene. He’s petulant and mean. Get a therapist, sir, not a wife.

 

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