Do It For The Plot

I’m an O.G. reality TV girlie—been locked in since elementary school. I’m talking Gretchen and Slade (the first documented crash-out), Big Poppa and “close your legs to married men,” even cooking chicken in the microwave. Every major moment on the top shows, I was there. Since pilot season. Every time.

Give me two drinks and I actually drift into an alternate reality where I’m a Housewife currently filming—happens at least 80% of the time. Who am I kidding? You really don’t even have to give me a drink. It’s just a permanent state of delusion.. Maybe manifestation. Guess we’ll see what was what one day in the future. Somewhere out there, there’s even footage of me in a friend’s backseat complaining about my limo breaking down instead of getting out to help. Troy Homecomings were quite the adventure, lol.

Reality TV has always been more than background noise for me. It’s been a source of pure entertainment, a way to bond with new friends over recaps and hot takes, even a coping mechanism (those Insecure watch parties during the pandemic were next-level). Unpopular opinion: depending on how you look at it, some of it was lowkey educational. That’s why it’s honestly hard to watch what it’s all become.

The rise and fall of both reality TV and scripted shows tends to ebb and flow based on what’s coming out of those writing rooms and creative meetings—but lately, it’s all taken a sad turn.

Back in the day, the reality girlies fell into two solid categories: high-class luxury (Real Housewives) or chaotic, unfiltered, and down for whatever (Jersey Shore, College Hill,etc). The storylines felt real. The connections were real. The lifestyles were authentic—either you had it or you didn’t, and nobody was pretending.

Enter social media and the influencer era and that’s exactly where the shift started. Suddenly the “haves” and “have-nots” started blending in weird, confusing ways. Everyone started faking it. Production teams, desperate for ratings, keep swapping out cast members like it’s musical chairs—leading to shallow friendships, manufactured relationships, and lawsuits left and right. Remember when Peter Gunz had both Tara and Amina pregnant and beefing on national TV? That was dedication. Messy? Yes. But real? Also yes. Truly scary times.

What we have now just isn’t what the people want. Look at Phaedra on Married to Medicine—a total snooze fest. Love & Hip Hop has completely lost its spark. It’s so ratchet it’s more pathetic than entertaining. Don’t even get me started on the Real Housewives of Atlanta disaster. (Whoever cast Brit needs to be blackballed from the entire industry. Period.) And to top it all off, scripted shows barely drop 7–10 episodes a season—and then make us wait 1–2 years for a new one. Maybe that’s why TVs are the only thing that’s gotten cheaper since the pandemic. There’s barely anything worth watching anymore.

If only the networks would sit down with us day ones—real fans. Give us a focus group, a seat at the table, anything. We know how to fix this. But maybe nothing really lasts forever. That’s why they say: enjoy it while it’s there.

So shoutout to the legends who made me fall in love with the game: Nene Leakes, New York, Kenya Moore, Dr. Heavenly, Karen Huger—and honestly, the entire OG casts of RHOA, RHONJ, M2M, and RHOP. Whether you were a fan favorite or a villain, you understood the assignment and showed up ready to work. The reads, the drama, the iconic moments… they’ll always have a special place in my heart.

Remember some of the best stories are still unwritten— so live boldly, embrace the unexpected, and make sure your life story is worth the MF plot!