Kelly writes:
"I learned a lot about myself and my “friends” during our trip to Ireland. I also learned that (paraphrasing John Wooden), “The true test of a woman’s character is what she does when she thinks no one is watching.”
When I signed up to be a Housewife, I knew that my life, my personality, my family, my marriage would be on public display. My life has been an open book through my friendships and social media long before I joined the Housewives. Obviously, the scale of exposure is completely different now. I am okay with that because I am who I am, an open, honest person. What I didn’t know when I became a Housewife is that my reputation and character would come under assault based upon reckless scheming, as it did at the '70s party. I definitely didn’t know I would be subject to the rage of these women. I was shocked, disappointed and concerned about Tamra’s aggressiveness to say the least. More on that in a bit.
I love international travel. Learning the history of other countries and experiencing different cultures is important to me. So, when Meghan suggested we all go to Ireland I was super excited. At Heather’s book launch party I thought everyone was getting along well. I felt the trip would be a great chance to strengthen our bonds. Unfortunately, it turns out I was too optimistic.
During the flight to Dublin and the first evening as we settled in, things went well, and everyone had fun. The resort was beautiful and picturesque.
Our first full day in Ireland started with a pub crawl in Dublin. We whooped it up, laughed a lot and drank too much.
We all know that alcohol is a depressant. Quickly the initial euphoria of doing shots at the pubs wore off. While I was still in a great mood, I could tell that some of the ladies' moods were changing.
At one point, Vicki was spilling drinks on herself, so I pointed to her blouse and flicked her nose with my finger, just like I do Jolie. I thought it was funny, Vicki didn’t. That was the first time I felt Vicki react negatively to me. I was a little surprised. Straight away, I could see Vicki and Tamra talking smack about me at the end of the bar and I didn’t appreciate it. Why don’t these women get my humor?
When Vicki and Tamra finished their bitch session, as Tamra headed to the restroom, I told her “keep walking”. I was joking. Okay, it wasn’t funny, but her reaction shocked me. She quickly turned around and confronted me. Her tone and puffed-up posture indicated to me she wanted to physically fight me. This was an indicator of things to come.
Then, as usual, Heather tried to take charge and confront me. In all my dealings with Heather she never seems to get my humor. When I said that I thought Heather would have a better sense of humor because she’s Jewish, it was because my frame of reference at the time was my Jewish family and friends (all of who have a great sense of humor), and the multitude of famous Jewish comedians and comedy writers that I love. I am sure I offended Heather and a lot of Jewish viewers and for that I am truly sorry. I meant it was a compliment, not an insult.
Tamra and Heather told me that my silly kids joke took it to another level. Tamra started saying how she was always defending me and had kept my “secrets”. I guess to stir the pot she claimed that I told her I had looked into Heather’s finances, but had kept that secret from Heather. That was absolutely a lie. You saw my reaction. Righteous indignation!!! How dare she create such a bold face lie to cause problems between Heather and I?
Just as your saw in the '70s party, when I heard Nina and Jaci spouting their lies about me, calling me a prostitute and an adulteress, I cannot stand liars and react viscerally. Tamra's lying and bad intentions set me off.
That was the end of the Dublin pub crawl. For some reason it turned into a shopping trip.
When we left the pub I was still fuming over Tamra lying. I was thinking, what’s wrong with her? As I was walking with Shannon on the way to the department store, I told Shannon “no wonder her daughter doesn’t talk to her!”
I thought it was a private conversation with Shannon. I never meant to say that directly to Tamra to hurt her. But, of course, Shannon couldn’t wait to run to Tamra in the store and tell her what I had said.
Talk about taking it to another level. Tamra got pissed at what I had told Shannon. Tamra was in a rage and physically hit me. She is a very strong woman and she hit me hard.
I was proud of myself for not striking Tamra back to defend myself. I had seen the show Locked Up Abroad and was not interested in seeing the inside of an Irish jail.
I understand why Tamra was so mad at me. Her relationship with her daughter is the most sensitive topic in the world to her. Regardless, there is no justification for her hitting and threating me. The whole experience traumatized me. I was in pain and didn’t sleep the well the rest of the trip.
I thought it was unbelievable that Heather was more concerned about being asked to leave the store than the fact Tamra had hit me. I guess in Heather’s world, saying a few harsh words is worse than violence.
When Meghan suggested I should go to dinner with the ladies, I could not imagine sitting at the same table with Tamra shortly after she threatened to kill me. No way.
When I left for Ireland I was looking forward to getting some time away from Michael. Since he is home more than ever I felt I needed some space and time away. But, as always, when the s*** hits the fan Michael is always there for me. Michael understood what I was going through and helped calm my nerves. I wanted to leave Ireland right then. But, I decided to stay and make the most of it.
Stay tuned to see what happens next."
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