Tension flared between Brooke Bailey and Jackie Christie on the Season 10 reunion of Basketball Wives May 8.
While discussing the death of her late daughter Kayla, Bailey confronted her fellow castmate about the lack of emotional support she showed as she was grieving the unimaginable loss of her child.
“You sit here, and you say how good of a friend you’ve been to people, but I really feel like you’re not,” the 45-year-old model said. “And the reason why is because when my daughter passed away, you didn’t even send a flower. You’ve been in LA, and you didn’t knock on my door to give me a hug or just to sit next to me quietly. You showed absolutely no support.”
Christie, 53, seemingly apologized for her lack of support, but instead of listening to the concerns of her grieving co-star, the mother of three jumped into defense mode.
“First of all, I didn’t know what to say. And I’m so sorry that I didn’t show support. I called you, and I talked to Tyler Rene. Is that not your friend or your sister?” the reality TV star asked.
Bailey clapped back, “But you didn’t show me support.”
Struggling to defend her absence, Christie tried to play the blame game.
“I’m glad we’re having this conversation because I’ll be honest with you. I knew that it would be a touchy situation when I saw you again. It hurt my heart to hear about your daughter,” she claimed. “I sat, and I cried for hours. I have two daughters. I didn’t call you, but it hurt my heart that this happened to you. You had been through shit with your husband… I didn’t know what to say.”
The reality TV stars raised their voices at one another as they tried to get their points across. Bailey wasn’t buying the Seattle native’s excuse. She noted how all of the cast and the production crew of Basketball Wives swooped in to support and uplift her during her darkest hour.
The grieving matriarch’s fellow cast member Brandi sided with her. Brandi, 39, argued that as the eldest of the group, Christie should have done more to help Bailey after Kayla’s passing.
Sadly, things took a turn for the worse when the defensive housewife let her true colors show.
“I wanted to give you space to deal with the grieving. I’ve never lost a child, Brooke!” Christie shouted. “How am I supposed to know? You would not have known what to do if it had been one of ours,” the unapologetic star said as she put her hand in Bailey’s face. “I’m going to leave it like this. I’m sorry, PERIOD!”
Social media users react to Bailey and Christie’s tense spat on the reunion.
After the cringey clip surfaced on the Basketball Wives’ official Instagram page, social media users flocked to the comments section for their take on the heated dispute.
A few people said they were upset by how Christie handled the situation.
“Jackie was deflecting & it was sad and hard to watch. I loved Jackie, but this reunion made me look at her in a different light. She has no empathy for others,” the concerned fan wrote. “She lacks responsibility and sits like she’s higher than others. But she must remember that she, too, might have a hard fall. You may need the hands of the ones you’re looking down on.”
A second person penned, “Brooke and Jackie needed this moment in private. But I’m glad Brooke called her out. Even if she didn’t know what to say, Jackie should have at least called to offer a shoulder to lean on, say I’m here for you, or just sit and cry with her. That’s what friends do! We don’t always know what to say, but a friend shows up no matter what!”
Several users rushed in to defend Christie’s stance.
“Sometimes people don’t know what to say in times like that. It’s not easy either way,” a third user argued.
Another supporter of Christie chimed in, “Everyone saying Jackie is being defensive, but she was apologizing, Brooke wasn’t taking the apology. And her grieving made her even more aggressive, and that’s when Jackie got defensive. Not everyone knows what to say when it comes to something as tragic as losing a daughter.”
As reactions poured into the comments section, Christie stepped into to double down on her crass response during the reunion.
“Really hope everyone stops spreading lies & hate about such a sensitive topic. I’m truly disappointed the narrative is being spun in such a way to insinuate or say I did not call her on the very morning we all found out,” she clapped back at detractors.
“As I said at the reunion I spoke to Tyler and sent my love prayers and condolences,” Christie claimed. “I was assured she would reach out when she felt up to it. I then text & dm’d several times after and received back messages when the service came I don’t do well with them so I didn’t go and find out at the reunion my absence was missed and I apologized period. At this juncture, I’m done going back and forth. We spoke and moved on at the Bbwla reunion.”
What happened to Kayla Bailey?
In September 2022, Kayla Bailey died due to fatal injuries sustained from a car crash. As MADAMENOIRE previously reported, Kayla and another victim died in the tragic incident when their vehicle collided with a tractor-trailer on a highway near Hollywood, Tennessee.
On Instagram, Bailey wrote a touching tribute to honor the 25-year-old’s life and legacy.
“Forever my baby, Pretty Black aka Kayla Nicole Bailey,” the Skin By Brooke Bailey CEO captioned a photo of her late daughter. “This is not a goodbye. Mommy will see you soon.”
“Kayla left a mark on so many lives. She entered the room and demanded respect, love and attention,” the 45-year-old reality star added in an Instagram Story. “If you had the pleasure of meeting her and being friends with her, she has forever changed your life.”
Bailey also had a tattoo of her late daughter inked across her arm.
That reunion was tough to watch. We pray that these two can reconcile their differences.
*UPDATE*
Late Tuesday, Jackie took to Instagram to address Brooke’s claims one final time. Adding a clip from the reunion with screenshots, the veteran reality star indeed reached out to the grieving mom on multiple occasions– with Brooke responding back.
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