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Bronwyn & Whitney Unpack Off-Camera Drama That Sparked Lisa Barlow Fight: “First Sign of War”
Bronwyn Newport and Whitney Rose shed new light on the drama that unfolded in Palm Springs on the RHOSLC After Show.
Season 5, Episode 7 of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City made it clear that the once-solid friendship between Lisa Barlow and Bronwyn Newport has faltered — however, it turns out there's more to the story.
Bronwyn revealed as much on the subsequent episode of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City After Show while reflecting on the group's Palm Springs vacation, which Heather Gay was not invited to join (much to the disappointment of Lisa).
Lisa and Bronwyn ultimately clashed over this exclusion during the trip, but according to the latter 'Wife, their problems began before the vacation even started.
As Bronwyn explained to Whitney Rose on the After Show, "I call Lisa before Palm Springs, and I really said, 'Are you gonna be OK with you coming? Are John [Barlow] and Justin [Rose] going to be fine?' I really gassed Lisa up, and then there was like a weird ghost-y moment of she wouldn't respond to texts or calls. And I did not know if she was coming."
This, Whitney pointed out, was actually a sign of the drama to come. "First sign of war," she said, "is Lisa ghosts you."
Why was Bronwyn Newport upset with Lisa Barlow in Palm Springs?
In addition to not really hearing from Lisa before the trip, Bronwyn was also irritated that when they were finally together and speaking, Lisa continued to bring up Heather's absence. "[Lisa] and Meredith [Marks] sit on the plane and they tell me over and over that I'm misunderstanding Heather and that they feel sorry that she's not here, and all these things," Bronwyn recalled. "I'm like, 'Okay? There's no other venue you guys could talk about this in other than to me?' Like, I don't want Heather here — and for good reason."
Things only got worse when Lisa called Heather in front of Bronwyn. "I knew where Lisa's alliance was and where her loyalty was, but I was very shocked and very angry that she FaceTimed Heather," Bronwyn said on the After Show. "That didn't feel like supporting Heather or feeling sorry for my friend that's not on this trip, that felt like antagonizing me, just to make me mad. And it did!"
Bronwyn went on to note that she was also upset about the fact that Lisa hadn't asked her what happened at her and Heather's fateful pre-Palm Springs meeting.
"She not only heard Heather's side but continued to parrot it for everybody else to hear. It just felt like a very odd choice. If my friends are fighting, I either want them to fix it or I stay out of it. But I don't choose one side without even knowing the other," Bronwyn explained. "So, sometimes things hurt your feelings because they're true and they need to inspire change. And sometimes they're just malicious. And that was malicious to call Heather."
What did Whitney and Meredith think of Lisa calling Heather in Palm Springs?
Whitney validated Bronwyn's feelings about the FaceTime, telling her on the After Show, "I wanted Heather there too, obviously. [But the phone call] was literally seconds after you got out of the hot tub."
Meredith was more understanding of Lisa's motivation for calling Heather, but didn't fully agree with the way she went about things. "It's not abnormal to want to check in on your friend, but do I think you need to throw it in her face? No," Meredith said.
What does Heather Gay think of Lisa and Bronwyn's drama in Palm Springs?
Heather expressed on the After Show that she was glad Lisa had reached out to her while she was stuck at home (even if the call upset Bronwyn).
"It's offensive to me that just you guys being friends with me in front of Bronwyn or behind her back is offensive in any way," Heather told Meredith. "How about, Bronwyn, these are my friends much more than they're your friends. Like, you should give them a little bit of grace if they want to reach out. It's a FaceTime. They didn't invite me and have me show up and make my own T-shirt and participate in all the activities."
(FYI, that's exactly what Angie Katsanevas did during Season 4's Palm Springs trip.)
"You know, I felt bad that I wasn't included," Heather continued. "There's a part of me that just was like, they're having a great time without me, they could just go on their merry way and that would be devastating to me. And so to be remembered and have her reach out just made me feel good, you know, that I wasn't forgotten."
Does Lisa regret calling Heather since it upset Bronwyn?
Lisa stands by her decision to FaceTime Heather in Palm Springs. As she put it, "I'm like, 'We're all friends with Heather, and from what I understood, you wanted Heather on this trip, so I don't know why you're upset that I'm calling her. Maybe in hindsight I should've just gone into my room and called her privately, but we were all talking about missing Heather, so I'm like, 'Okay! Let's call her.'"
Lisa also expressed her belief that Bronwyn was more upset over the FaceTime than she should've been because she had been spending too much time with Whitney and Angie K.
"I think it's easy for her to start hearing them say all these, like, bullsh-t things about me and, like, assimilating to their opinions and I think they're committed to telling everyone I'm a bad friend," Lisa said. "They're trying to poison the well. I don't get friends like that. I don't start being friends with someone because of my disdain for somebody else."
Hear more from the ladies in the above RHOSLC After Show clip.
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