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These Are the Strongest Friendships Formed on Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip Season 3
Several of the eight women from across The Real Housewives franchise bonded while in Thailand and formed genuine connections. Others, not so much.
Some of Bravo’s favorite Housewives came to Thailand to develop a sisterhood, and that was precisely what they got in the third season of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip.
It was clear early on that many from the same city came with established friendships (and conflict), including Marysol Patton and Alexia Nepola of The Real Housewives of Miami; Candiace Dillard Bassett and Gizelle Bryant of The Real Housewives of Potomac; and cousins Heather Gay and Whitney Rose of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. But many of the ‘Wives hadn’t previously known one another, and others came alone.
Thankfully, unity could be found in even some of the RHUGT cast’s stickiest situations, forming bonds we hope can last forever.
Here are just a few of the friendships standing today.
Leah McSweeney and Candiace Dillard Bassett's Friendship
The bond between The Real Housewives of New York City’s Leah McSweeney and RHOP’s Candiace (who came with the hattiest of hats) was more impactful than the one the rest of the women formed with. Both the Miami ‘Wives said they’d never want to vacation with Leah again, though “Poor Leah” — crowned by Alexia as the biggest drama queen — hit it off nearly immediately with Candiace.
Despite Candiace later calling Leah out for being rude to Alexia in a later episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Candiace came to Leah’s aid following the women’s trip to the elephant sanctuary when Leah sobbed over her grandmother’s passing during the filming of RHONY Season 13. Candiace also stayed by Leah’s side throughout the New York ‘Wife’s ongoinghealth ordeals while in Thailand.
For Leah, it didn’t seem she’d made many friends while in Thailand. Gizelle and The Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Porsha Williams also later said Leah left the worst impression.
“Honestly, I’ve actually learned that most of the women here are a bunch of c---s,” Leah told producers in the season finale. “What I really wanna say is like, ‘I don’t f--k with half of you here, I don’t wanna associate with half of you here, love the few friends that I made, I’m good on the rest of you.’”
Well, at least Candiace was there for Leah!
Whitney Rose's Friendship with Gizelle Bryant, Candiace Dillard Bassett, and Porsha Williams
Despite the makeups and breakups between RHOSLC’s Whitney and her cousin, Heather, Whitney formed unlikely friendships with RHOP’s Gizelle and Candiace in the land of smiles.
Gizelle and RHOA’s Porsha later told Andy Cohen that Whitney was the life of the party, likely from her stripper pole antics and tantric dinners in the latter part of the season.
After a late night of drinking tequila in Episode 6, Whitney and Candiace snuck off into the confessional to laugh their heads off while smoking a blunt after the other ‘Wives retired for the evening, forming a real bond.
The next morning, Whitney and Gizelle shared a tender moment while alone in Villa Aye’s infinity pool, overlooking the Andaman Sea.
“You did a great job last night,” said Gizelle. “You put the ladies together; you made it fun.”
Gizelle Bryant and Porsha Williams' Friendship
Gizelle and Porsha had already met, but this trip solidified their friendship. Both ‘Wives said on WWHL that they had the strongest bond with one another (with the Miami ‘Wives placing second), which was apparent throughout Season 3 — and possibly founded on common enemies.
In Episode 3, while aboard a yacht, Porsha came to Gizelle’s defense when Leah indicated the pair wanted her to go home. Throughout the season (up to the season finale), Porsha also had Gizelle’s back when trying to get to the bottom of who stole Gizelle’s Casa Azul Tequila Reposado, which disappeared shortly after the group’s yachting trip.
In the confessional, Gizelle and Porsha high-fived, laughed, and even played Rock, Scissors, Paper over the tequila-stealing suspects. Thankfully, their new sisterhood seems forged from something sturdier than a game of chance.
Heather Gay and Marysol Patton
The Real Housewives of Miami's Alexia Nepola and Marysol Patton arrived in Thailand with a close friendship already, but they bonded well with other women on the trip. Both women later noted they ended up forming real friendships with Heather Gay.
Marysol told Page Six, “Heather and I are compadres. She thinks she’s Cuban. I’m supposed to be setting her up with someone in Miami. She needs a Cuban boyfriend. I still have to figure out who that’s going to be.But we dream about when she comes here and we have cockies and we set her up and she maybe gets a Cuban boyfriend.”
Alexia, meanwhile, took Heather's side in her battle against Whitney when asked about the fight on WWHL.
In general, Alexia said she became closest with Gizelle and Porsha in Thailand.
5. Pepsi and All the Real Housewives
You’d be hard-pressed to hear Villa Aye’s concierge Pepsi — whose real name is Thepsiti Thapthimthong — say a negative thing to say to any of the ladies.
Pepsi might have had an emotional breakdown or two — distraught over the women’s rows — but above all, he wanted peace and friendship among them, as seen when holding Leah’s hand through her health woes or bringing tequila in an epic fashion to put a stop to Gizelle’s larceny investigation.
“Anytime, when the girls need me, just go to the shop, open the fridge, find some can of Pepsi,” he told producers. “That’s me.”
You can learn more of what Pepsi’s up to now here.
And don’t worry, you can catch up on episodes of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, only on Peacock.
