Yolanda: Why Is Everyone Afraid of Lisa?

Hello Bravo Lovers! It's hard to believe the first month of this New Year has already gone by. I hope you are well and enjoyed your Super Bowl Sunday.

First, I wanted to clear up Brandi's jab at me with her tweet while I was on WWHL saying I cancelled dinner plans with her. It surprised me because it would have been justified if I had been a hypocrite and cancelled plans with her and instead taken a business meeting that was more important -- but that’s absolutely not what happened! I cancelled because I was dealing with my crying child across the country in NY who was just diagnosed with a disease we were trying to figure out. This is something I shared with B in good faith -- but not something I wanted to share with all of you because that’s my daughter’s privacy. But since Brandi brought it up on national TV, I feel I have to clarify the situation.

Obviously she lashed out at my comment about our friendship (which made her feel that I don't love her). But, the truth is that I do care for her and never intended to hurt her feelings. We all lead busy lives. Even though we text once in a while, we have not seen each other in five months, so I am not going to sit here and pretend we are BFFs and talk every day because we don't.

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I have taken a lot of heat for supporting Brandi through all her ups and downs but I have done so because she supported me while I was down and out. Even though she is unfiltered on the surface, I always believed her to be a kind and good-hearted person deep down inside that needed my support, but I truly hope she does not mistake my kindness for weakness.

Alrighty on to tonight’s episode. . .

After Carlton's comment at my painting party, I completely understood Joyce's concern. But, like I said last week, I don't believe in spells, so I like to think Michael’s stomach flu was a rare coincidence. Carlton definitely has a mouth on her and a wicked sense of humor, for sure -- but in my gut I have never ever doubted her integrity. She has always treated me with the utmost respect. You can tell a lot about a woman when you meet her children, who in this case are extremely polite and well educated, which is definitely a reflection of her (and her husband).

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I have really enjoyed watching Kim and Kimberly go through the "off to college" process. Even though Gigi is my first to leave the family, it looks like it does not get any easier no matter how many kids have already left the nest.

I thought the matching tattoos were very touching. Tattoos are something I have talked about and am wanting to do with my girls -- but I just don't have the balls. I love the symbolic gesture, but I always worry about regretting it in 10 years from now.

Lisa has impeccable taste, so I enjoy watching her and Kevin plan an extraordinary setting -- but the fact that it's a joint birthday party for Ken and Mauricio leaves me more and more confused.

All I heard for the past two years is how Kyle so deeply insulted her integrity and -- like you all saw on the last reunion -- Mauricio was a user (in her opinion) and only befriended people who could give him real estate deals. (Which I believe is part of his job and the way he provides for his family.) Nobody ever spoke of this after the reunion, and I know for a fact that even when we all got back together this subject was never discussed.

Lisa always seemed to be a great friend to Brandi, but when things got tough and not so pretty, I did see her distance herself overnight without any explanation or acknowledgment. She clearly decided to reposition herself within the group and therefore bring Kyle back in.

Kyle on the other hand always said that Lisa is like Bobby Fischer because she strategically manipulates every move. I wish she would have had the courage to use this perfect example to point that out to Lisa. Kyle should have drawn a line in the sand and demanded an apology for her husband and at least some sort of acknowledgement of what went down before accepting the invite for a joint birthday party.

It is impossible to rebuild the foundation of a true friendship without that.

Lisa is a beautiful, smart and witty lady, and I am not going to deny that I have always enjoyed her company. Somehow she intimidates the women in this group and they are therefore afraid to hold her accountable for her actions. I am having a hard time understanding why it’s so hard for Lisa to acknowledge her mistakes, because the truth is that we all make them everyday, including myself. When I forgot to put hearts on some of the namecards at my dinner party, I came around and acknowledged my rude mistake, even though I had not done it intentionally. Painting a heart on a little canvas for the three girls involved was my way of saying, "I am sorry, I screwed up!"

As the quote goes, trust takes years to build, seconds to break and forever to repair; but to have your feelings validated and acknowledged is at least a healthy place to start to rebuild a true and honest friendship.

David and I hosted his youngest daughter Jordan's wedding at Mohamed’s house on July 20, 2013, which had of course been on the calendar for the past year. The bride and groom limited their guest list to those who have a personal relationship with them. I was surprised to see Lisa use the wedding as an excuse of why David and I were not going to be at her party -- because I am pretty sure that Ken’s actual birthday is August 24, so she really could have planned it any other night of the week.

The ugly fight at the dinner table about religion was sad to me and extremely uncomfortable to watch. Kyle asked Carlton about her religion the first day she met her at her home -- so by now, three months later, she could have been educated about it. I am embarrassed to say that after lunch at Carlton’s house, I went home and Googled "Wiccan" because I had never heard of it either. So I get Carlton's frustration -- but I don't feel Lisa's beautiful dinner party was the right place for her to go off the handle. With that said though, being labeled anti-Semitic would probably send anyone over the edge.

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Religion and politics are such delicate subjects that probably should not be discussed at dinner parties in this group. I thought Kyle’s peace necklace last week was a very kind gesture and I wish it would have had more lasting power than just one night.

It's unfortunate that you never get to see the serious side of Brandi in her favorite and most important role as a single mother of her young two sons. I really enjoyed watching her at work in the studio while shooting the cover of her new book and seeing her true commitment to be a financially independent woman that provides a wonderful life for her children and does nice things for her family at home; which you will get to see in the upcoming episodes.

Sometimes it's so hard to comment on all these subjects because a lot of important details and facets of us women go unseen. Please remember that writing this blog is part of our commitment to the Bravo fans and is never meant to hurt anyone involved but -- rather to share a perspective from our seven so different, but equally important, points of view.

Thank you for your continued commitment to traveling this journey with us.

Much love and a big hug,

Yolanda