I dont know why so many people don't like Briana, I think she is the most normal person on the whole show and the fact that she is so normal with Vicki as a mother and a weird brother says a lot. I wish Vicki would take some of her advice but every thing her daughter says seems to go in one ear and out the other. When other people talk I think Vicki just zones out and thinks more about herself.
shareAgree, Brianna has always been the most normal of anyone who's ever been on the show. It's amazing that Vicki is her mother, actually.
shareI think. Brianna is pretty level headed and seems to know her mom well. I just don't feel like she appreciates her mom at all, despite all of Vicki's issues she does seem like she tries to be there for Brianna.
I also think some of the things Brianna tells Vicki about herself, she could tell in private. She really puts all of her moms flaws on blast. I'm sure Brianna has flaws of her own but Vicki doesn't seem to share them with the world.
The trouble is it seems as if every time Vicki starts to do something for Briana, she fails, or shorts Briana in some way:
Briana drives the four of them to CA, though she is ill.
Briana is ill at Vicki's house and Vicki leaves her there, to take care of herself and her sons.
Briana tells Vicki about the despicable things Brooks said to her. Vicki listens then accuses Briana of lying and calls her fat and undesirable.
Vicki buys a car for Briana as a birthday gift, but Briana must make the payments.
Vicki "buys a house" for Briana's family, but they must repay her, and the house is too small anyway.
Vicki has the house renovated but that increases Briana's debt, while they are trying to live there.
Vicki gave Briana and Troy a wedding reception in her home and spent the evening talking trash about Troy and how they got married without her. Then she makes Briana go upstairs only to have to face Brooks, when Vicki already knows Briana cannot stand him.
Vicki makes Briana, the babies, Michael and Troy wait 1.5 hours for lunch while she gets her hair and nails done.
I can think of many more but I am typing this on a little screen, using a stylus.
Despite what Briana tries to tell her mother, Vicki still calls herself "a catch". Her opinion of herself is ridiculous. I would venture to say she is a narcissistic hag.
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Be kinder than necessary. J.M. Barrie
Oh I think you summed it up pretty well. Vicki is out for Vicki and will happily drag others down to make herself look better. Sadly, that includes her family and what "real" friends she can muster.
shareI'm so glad you said all this!!
shareThank you.
Do you remember when Briana was in nursing school she told her mother she was going to work in another country? I can't recall where it was but Vicki had a fit. "Oh no you're not! Blah, blah, blah."
What she should have done was praise her and tell her how honorable and selfless that was.
In the midst of renewing her vows with Donn she stopped to describe the stones in the ring and I think she went on to tell him the cost. It was all about the Benjamins.
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Be kinder than necessary. J.M. Barrie
I am not saying Vicki is some wonderful person.
Also, I don't think buying your child a car and having them make payments is 'shorting' them.
I also don't think buying them a house is 'shorting' them. If Briana really didn't want the car or home she could have turned them down rather than accepting the house and them complaining that it is too small.
I don't know many parents who put down payments on cars or houses for their adult, married kids in the first place.
I think Vicki was trying to help her daughter, but also trying to teach her to be responsible.
The true point that I was trying to make is that we all probably have family members (maybe even mothers or fathers) with some serious flaws that we know about and may call them on the carpet for, but I don't think Briana has to put Vicki on blast for every little shortcoming or character flaw that she possesses.
Joy, I did get your point.
I was writing about the things Vicki wants to appear to do for Briana, but are really just an effort to make herself look like she is generous and giving.
I don't think as parents we owe our children cars and houses. Neither do I show up with a ribbon bedecked car on my daughter's birthday, as if the car is a gift, then tell her she must make the paynents. No matter how much money a parent has, they don't owe their children a house, but they shouldn't go on TV, claiming they "bought them a house" and getting credit for such a gift when they know darn good and well the daughter/son must pay them back.
Vicki knows very well that she spins these things to look as if she is a VERY generous mother. Briana is well aware of how her mother tries to make herself look. "Being crucified, just like Jesus, when I have done nothing wrong." Vicki should not be on a reality TV show portraying herself as one thing and getting her daughter to back her up when Briana knows she is lying.
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Be kinder than necessary. J.M. Barrie
I think Vicki is a mess and does deserve some of what she gets from Brianna. But I just think Brianna has taken it a little far, like saying her mom was exaggerating with the accident. She was truly in an accident and I think she may have been exaggerating, but as her daughter- in that specific situation- I just didn't think it was necessary to say. Some of the other stuff she has called her mom out on I understood more.
I do agree that sometimes Vicki does stuff in front of the cameras to make it look like she is amazing and generous, but it seems like by now she should know that Brianna will call her out on that kind of stuff.
This is all just my opinion.
If I remember correctly didn't Brianna say at one point that she only wore the neck brace after the accident when the cameras were rolling???
If that's not being dramatic and doing a woe-is-me act then I don't know what is.
If I remember correctly didn't Brianna say at one point that she only wore the neck brace after the accident when the cameras were rolling???
If that's not being dramatic and doing a woe-is-me act then I don't know what is.
I thought the poster meant Briana said Vicki only wore the neck brace when cameras were rolling, not herself.
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Be kinder than necessary. J.M. Barrie
Joy, I agree to some extent. However, I think it's like "the Boy Who Cried Wolf". Vicki has pulled so many stunts, no one knows when or what to believe.
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Be kinder than necessary. J.M. Barrie
I think Vicki is a mess and does deserve some of what she gets from Brianna. But I just think Brianna has taken it a little far, like saying her mom was exaggerating with the accident. She was truly in an accident and I think she may have been exaggerating, but as her daughter- in that specific situation- I just didn't think it was necessary to say. Some of the other stuff she has called her mom out on I understood more.
Well then you just see things differently than I.
It's not about the knowledge Brianna has as a nurse or the fact that the other Housewives thought Vicki exaggerated. I agree that Vicki probably exaggerated.
My mom has done things that I don't agree with and I have discussed those things in private with her but I hope on national TV I wouldnt call her out about her every flaw and shortcoming because she did try her best to raise me and take care of me, even when my father didn't stick around.
There are some things I agree with Brianna for bringing up - like when Vicki stayed with Brooks after he made derogatory remarks toward Briana.
That was truly hurtful and wrong of Vicki to do and I understand Brianna's hurt.
However, calling her mom out about the accident and some other moments were not necessary in my opinion.
Vicki is a hot mess but I have seen her try to do some things for Brianna, like help with her grandkids and even surprise her daughter with a visit from her husband, Ryan, etc.
In short, Vicki is self-centered and cares mostly about herself. Maybe not everyone who posts here realizes there are parents that care more about themselves than anyone else, including their kids. I have one such parent myself. There may be some love there, and there may even be some generous acts on occasion, but all that stuff is secondary. It's the classic narcissist's circle where the narcissist is at the center of the circle. The family's existence basically circles around anything and everything the narcissist demands and wants.
As a child, I could do nothing about it. As an adult, I left the circle.
California Über Alles
Tay, I feel for you and I am sorry for the pain she caused you. I had the same type of mother. She abused me until I left the herd. Out of four children I was the only one she abused, physically, emotionally and verbally. The last time she hit me it was a sucker punch in the back of my head. I was forty years old. "I'm gonna cut the blood out of you. I despise you. I wish to God you'd never been born," were a few of her favorites. Yes I get the narcissistic thing. My mother was a Mommy Dearest mother to me. I was able to get myself declared an emancipated minor at age 16. Probably TMI, but I do get it.
Some parents treat their children like chattel and hide the abuse, or do things in front of others to make themselves look like good parents. Fortunately we have the choice to move away.
To bring this back to on topic, I think Briana might still be better off living in a different town than her mother. Ryan and she could have afforded a bigger house away from the OC, anyway.
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Be kinder than necessary. J.M. Barrie
Darla,
That's terrible. With me it was my dad (father/son) and he was certainly physically and emotionally abusive when we were younger. As an adult, his side of my family was causing endless friction with my marriage. I basically cut them off for about a decade.
Now, I do see him on occasion but our relationship is beyond distant. He's a really smart guy (even brilliant), had a successful career, is probably the wealthiest person I know. But I don't think he's capable of being close to anyone (even his kids), and I don't think it's possible for him to be happy.
I've moved on and really don't have much to complain about. But I appreciated your laundry list reflecting Vicki's half-ass, passive-aggressive parenting. It reminded me of the moment I realized my dad's priority was himself.
T
California Über Alles
Briana and Troy
Andromache, thank you for the correction, though I am pretty certain you knew what I meant.
Feel better now? Lol
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Be kinder than necessary. J.M. Barrie
I think. Brianna is pretty level headed and seems to know her mom well. I just don't feel like she appreciates her mom at all, despite all of Vicki's issues she does seem like she tries to be there for Brianna.
I also think some of the things Brianna tells Vicki about herself, she could tell in private. She really puts all of her moms flaws on blast. I'm sure Brianna has flaws of her own but Vicki doesn't seem to share them with the world.
So if Brianna wants to give her mother a dose of her own medicine; to try to force her to have a bit of personal insight, and does so in front of the cameras, where Vicki lives her life and happily makes others miserable, then I say -- good for you, Brianna.
I laughed when Briana told Vicki that if she hurts someone's feelings, she focuses on them for about two seconds and then turns it back to herself. Vicki acknowledged that for about two seconds and then went back to talking about herself. She is such an ass.
shareI noticed that too. When someone is speaking to Vicki, she seems to be thinking of what she will say next, rather than listening.
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Be kinder than necessary. J.M. Barrie