'Real Housewives of Atlanta' recap: Marlo Hampton crashes Africa trip

OPINION - The posse prepares for their trip to Africa by working out, reading travel books, and of course gossiping...

The posse prepares for their trip to Africa by working out, reading travel books and of course gossiping.

In the first 13 minutes of the episode Kandi and Kim take two very different approaches to losing weight. One hired a personal trainer, who weighed her in at 153lbs and put her through an intense bootcamp workout. The other hired an LA Slim Wrap specialist to wrap her up like a mummy for an hour, at $150 a session. I’m sure you can guess who did what.

Surprisingly Cynthia stopped whining to Peter for help with packing long enough to comment on the research she’s been doing for the trip. She really wants to embrace all things Africa, including dressing in South African garb, doing a safari, and dancing. Peter actually encouraged her to take advantage of the experience.

Things couldn’t stay cordial with the Bailey/Thomas duo, so it wasn’t long before the passive-aggressive comments began. “I haven’t seen you this happy in awhile, you’re really happy to leave,” Peter exclaims. He was smiling a little too hard to keep me from scratching my head and wondering just how right his joke was. And Cynthia’s mute response didn’t quell my suspicions.

What kind of show would it be if we didn’t have a hefty dose of gossip and worries for the upcoming trip?

NeNe, the queen of slander, and her latest bosom buddy, Marlo Hampton went on a little shopping trip to do just that. It didn’t take long before the conversation turned from landing a rich African man to the other housewives. Marlo, who is familiar with everyone, decided to condemn all black women as being standoffish based on Kandi’s behavior towards her. NeNe surprised me when she said she was willing to “hear what Kim had to say” in regards to making up.

I’m sure you all remember NeNe’s loud declaration in the first episode of the season. In case you forgot let me remind you. “I’m rich.” Well the owners of the boutique wouldn’t have known it because NeNe had to put back a necklace when she racked up a $10,512 bill.

While everyone was preparing for South Africa, Kim was also getting ready for a trip. This trip was for her beloved, Kroy who has to go to NFL training camp for a month. I by the way really enjoy Kroy! He is not afraid to walk around with his baby boy proudly strapped to his chest in a baby carrier. He also seems to have had a calming affect on Kim, although she was awfully excited to have her first drink in a year. I just hope that she isn’t breastfeeding, because I don’t think KJ wants tequila-flavored milk for dinner.

The big day finally arrived in the last 10 minutes of the episode when the housewives gathered at the airport. Phaedra and Apollo gave us a glimpse of their bedroom life with a make-out session in the back of the town car. Sheree made her first appearance of the episode arriving in comfortable sweats. Are we surprised that Kandi took along Mama Joyce for the ride to the airport? For a second, I almost cried thinking that Mama Joyce was headed to South Africa also. Luckily after a few ‘Mama Joyce words of wisdom,’ she left the ladies standing on the curb waiting for NeNe.

The showstopper finally arrives to join the waiting group. They were all set to head to the ticket counter when NeNe stops them to announce the presence of Marlo who hung back in the car for no reason other than having a dramatic entrance. I’ll leave it to Phaedra to sum up the apparent feeling of the group in regards to Marlo attending the trip, “The more the merrier, just a little more spice in the gumbo.”

Next time: A montage of the vacation shows a safari, money being thrown in the air, a visit to an orphanage, and a huge fight where NeNe has to step in to calm her pit-bull Marlo down who freaks out on Kandi.

Quote of the Night: “When I walk into the room I own it, when she walks into the room she almost owns it,” NeNe referring to Marlo.

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