The latest scandal to rock the Real Housewives world involves the most tedious couple to ever exist on a franchise and maybe all of television. (LaDames, start pouring those drinks!)
After vehemently denying that her husband had a girlfriend on a recent episode of Real Housewives of Potomac, cast member Robyn Dixon suddenly came clean about the allegation on "Reasonably Shady," her podcast with castmate Gizelle Bryant. For those of us who can spare some extra dollars, she’ll also be divulging more information on Patreon, a platform that requires people to pay to consume content.
“Yes, Juan was an idiot and communicated with this woman on Instagram,” Dixon said on Monday’s episode, alongside her co-host and castmate Gizelle Bryant. “He’s bored. He needs attention. It’s the pandemic, blah, blah, blah. However, they did not date.”
During episode 15 of Season 7, Karen Huger, Robyn's perpetual frenemy on the show, revealed that Juan, a college basketball coach, had a blonde girlfriend who resembled her during a cast trip to Mexico. She also claimed that Juan and this anonymous woman would frequent the Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Georgetown together.
Robyn laughed off the accusation and even got her eventual spouse on the line to deny the rumor. Over speaker phone, he threatened to “cuss out” the women for suggesting he was capable of such a thing. The fiasco culminated in Robyn calling out Karen in front of the other women and revealing a photo of her supposedly with her alleged sidepiece.
Now Robyn is claiming that she knew about the woman before Season 7 started filming after she direct-messaged her a hotel receipt with Juan’s name on it. (Bryant also received a DM from her.) She claims that, while they conversed on social media, Juan never met up with the woman. (Sure, Jan!) And like any good businesswoman (but maybe a sad individual), she told listeners she would save more details for a special Patreon episode.
“All of Season 7, I was waiting for someone to bring it up,” she said. “That’s our life. So I’m just ready for it. I’m waiting for it.”
To be fair, this is exactly what Karen did in Mexico. It’s also what many fans are arguing Robyn should’ve done on her own as a reality star sharing the ups and downs of her life.
Ostensibly, Real Housewives withhold information all the time. It would be naive to believe these women are presenting their truest, rawest selves 100 percent of the time. Nonetheless, given how much airtime was given to discussing Robyn and Juan’s mysterious nuptials, it seems strange that Robyn withheld this information. Additionally, the two argued over putting an infidelity clause in their prenup earlier this season, which seemed like the perfect opportunity to discuss the affair.
Whatever relationship Juan had with this woman, fans on Twitter are livid that they’re just finding out about it. Fellow cast members Karen Huger, Candiace Dillard Bassett, and her husband Chris Bassett—who’s been subject to cheating rumors throughout the season—have also publicly criticized Robyn since the announcement.
The Dixons have never shied away from discussing their romantic and financial issues previously on the show, which makes this whole scenario even more of a conundrum. Maybe Robyn thought she could shut down the rumor on the technicality that this woman wasn’t Juan’s “girlfriend.” (Again, who really knows?) Or maybe she’s drawing out their marital drama to distract from a lawsuit involving an alleged sexual assault at the university where Juan is employed.
Whatever the reason, many fans on Twitter are suggesting that Robyn be fired for withholding such juicy and relevant information. From the cast’s reactions, it seems that she may not have brought up Juan’s cheating at the recently filmed reunion either. The entire situation mirrors another Housewife, Salt Lake City’s Heather Gay, hinting about and then concealing details about how she received a black eye on a cast trip this season. Another self-producing tactic gone too far.
It will be interesting to see whether this comes back to bite Robyn in the ass next season. Is not disclosing your husband’s extramarital affairs during filming an actual breach of contract? Probably not. Although, there’s something particularly brazen about monetizing that information after filming. It could be enough to piss off production.
For now, we’ll wait for Andy Cohen’s response on the next Watch What Happens Live.
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