Why did one 'RHOA' house husband ban his sister-in-law from their home?

At last week’s Gucci brunch, Shereé Whitfield did her best to bring all the ladies of The Real Housewives of Atlanta back together and mend some friendships. Most people were able to kiss and make up—except, of course, Marlo Hampton—but for Drew Sidora, the real problems were at home.

Since Drew’s debut on the show, her marriage has been under scrutiny, simply because her husband, Ralph Pittman, keeps acting a fool on and off the screen. We’ve watched him gaslight his wife in front of an entire production crew and double-talk his way out of a strange emotional affair with one of his assistants. But ever since the two announced their divorce in March, Drew revealed Ralph to be a "serial cheater and adulterer" amongst a slew of other atrocities.

Thanks to RHOA, we have insight into the ominous year that led to their breakup. And this week's episode presented yet another strike against Ralph’s already fledgling reputation.

Here’s a recap of everything that went down on Season 15, Episode 8 of RHOA:

Family feuds and new attitudes

For Drew, the filming of her music video is a pivotal moment in her career after a lot of stops and starts. She released a single in 2010, played Trey Songz's lover in the video for "Last Time," appeared in Yung Berg's "Sexy Lady" video as his girlfriend, and danced in Sean Paul’s "Give It Up to Me" video, but she’s never been able to bring her own music career full circle. At 38, it’s finally happened. The only downside seems to be that the man who produced the song and starred as her leading man is Ralph.

The episode opened with a conversation between Ralph and Drew about what first seemed like a pretty inconspicuous visit from her mom and sister, Allison Jordan. Since the age of 8, Allison managed Drew’s acting career, however, this ended in 2020 after she experienced a mental health break. But as Drew revealed the news of their impending arrival, an almost all too familiar hesitation appeared in Ralph’s voice: “We’ll go with the flow.” Going with the flow, however, lasted for five whole seconds. “Your sister has done a lot of things to hurt me,” he conceded without any context at first.

It’s never easy to have your friends (or siblings) hate your partner. But in this case, we’ve lived through Drew’s divorce announcement, and Allison was right to have her doubts. According to Drew, Allison and Ralph always have butted heads, but when she accused him of being “controlling and manipulating,” all hell broke loose. As a result, Ralph has banned Allison from their home for years. It's a little shocking to hear considering his own long list of infractions: lying, cheating, and now this?

While Drew’s music video shoot was reason enough to lift the ban, it didn’t mean that Ralph would act like he was happy about it. He slithered out of greeting her into their home by going to bed early. “I want us both as a united front to support her in her journey,” Drew said in her confessional. “So to dismiss himself, I don’t think, is the right choice.” The cameras then caught him as he avoided speaking to her on the day of the shoot.

As Drew filmed her—in Kenya Moore’s words—“lowkey low-budget Beyoncé ‘Blow’” music video at the skating rink, Ralph and Allison watched on from the sidelines. The tension was palpable, but surprisingly, it was Ralph who made the first move and asked Allison how she felt about the video. After she shared that it was like a “vision I had in my dreams” come to life, she choked up and got emotional, and in the biggest surprise of the episode, Ralph comforted her with a hug that seemed almost genuine, tender even.

“There’s been a lot of things that I feel like Allison has done that has well and truly interrupted our relationship, especially with Drew,” Ralph said in a confessional. “I wanted to see how she would be during this time, and I feel like she was extremely supportive. Now I feel like Allison, and I can build a really good bond and continue our relationship.”

Though, knowing what we know, it’s impossible to bask in the glow of this reconciliation after learning about his hasty ban. But with the editors seemingly keen to take Ralph down, it's clear that this is the beginning of the end. And I suspect we're about to learn a lot more about this marriage over the next few episodes.

Related: Bring the Drama! Everything about The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 15

This week's B-plots

The She by Shein accusations

For over 10 years, we’ve sat and watched She By Shereé go through its trials and tribulations. This epic saga finally culminated in actual clothes during the Season 14 finale when Shereé successfully pulled off a fashion show. However, a new problem arose. The website launched but ultimately crashed. The clothing sold online looked nothing like the runway collection on the show. And worst of all, people found pretty convincing evidence that Shereé's clothing looked eerily similar to stuff sold on Shein.

This week, Shereé took longtime friend Kandi Burruss to task for airing some shade publicly towards her brand. She invited her out for a walk, but clearly the dress code for a casual stroll is different in the Bravoverse. Shereé turned up in a mink fur coat and red bottoms, while Kandi showed up in a full beat, bundles slicked into a long, shiny ponytail and sweats. But her tie-dye joggers didn’t keep her from asking Shereé the hard hitting questions: Why can't anyone purchase the clothes from the runway show. The answer? “Drops, I’m releasing everything in separate drops.”

It doesn't make a lot of sense, but does anything about She by Shereé?

Related: A Meltdown at a Gucci-Themed Brunch Leaves One 'RHOA' Fleeing in Tears

Iconic ex-cons go on a blind date

Marlo admitted she hasn’t been on a date in four years. That’s about how long she’s had custody of her nephews. “I’m so tired of these bitches saying that I am a whore and only date white men. No one has been between these legs in four years.”

So it’s easy to understand that she may have been a little nervous before her first blind date. While most people turn to liquid courage or call a friend to hype them up, Marlo decided to do things a little differently. She called up a frenemy on the car ride over to the restaurant, looking for a fight.

Drew became the target once Marlo found out from (what seems like her only remaining friend in the group) Sanya that she wasn’t invited to the music video shoot. In a brief yet thrillingly bizarre phone call, Marlo pretended to apologize to Drew before launching into a discussion about how she wanted to be a better friend. Of course when the chat got boring, which is when Drew started to get into the thick of things, Marlo hung up. “Bitch get off my phone. She has an attitude too much.”

The real star of the scene was the driver, who cackled and offered validation to Marlo as she launched into a brutal rant about her former friend.

Marlo: “Bitch, you’re built like a whole square. Your man don’t even want you. He’s too busy looking at these nice vilicious? What’s the word?"

Driver: “Voluptuous.”

Marlo: “Volumptuous bodies. Bitch you’re a deranged wannabe actress."

Driver: “Yeah, preach!”

The blind date, however, was gorgeous. Scotley, 39, who Marlo described as a sexy “Black Santa Claus,” seemed to tick all of her boxes. Though it was his felonious background that really took him over the line. “I got a new member to the iconic ex-con club." It was a brief yet much-needed drama-free scene in a very weird episode.

So what happens next week?

Next week, it looks like Drew and her sister Allison get real and have an emotional conversation. Will Ralph cause tensions to bubble over? And Kenya Moore introduces us to her new man. But the real reason we’ll all be counting down the seconds til next Sunday’s episode doesn’t even have anything to do with anyone on the cast. As none other than Kim Zolciak-Biermann, Season 1 alum, makes her return at a dinner hosted by Sheree. Will she talk about her current headline-grabbing divorce? Will she debut a new single? Or perhaps a new wig line? We’ll just have to wait another week. So don’t be tardy for the party.

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