.................................................

[momrek06]

The show allows us to see a small slice of their whole life and it is severely edited.

I do not wish sit here and judge how much or little time Gretchen spends with her finace.

She made sure his kids were there to take care of him while she was gone.

Maybe she was contractually obligated to attend and maybe he insisted she attend.

I'm not going to judge her.

I think if Jeff had insisted Gretchen would have said something along the lines of... "I am committed AND besides Jeff wants me to go"....but she did not. She just said she had made a commitment.

AND ITA about Gretchen and all her "recharging"!!

Jeff has been IN the hospital along time. She has been with the OC Ladies to spas, luncheons, shopping, dinner parties at Tamra's and Lynne's, even a horse race while Jeff was IN the hospital. I just feel she should have stayed home. JMHO!

 

[beattyfamily]

I think if Jeff had insisted Gretchen would have said something along the lines of... "I am committed AND besides Jeff wants me to go"....but she did not. She just said she had made a commitment.

JMHO!

Well, you know, it could be clever editing. JMHO too.

 

[momrek06]

Well, you know, it could be clever editing. JMHO too.

Very good point...I will agree with you on that!!!

 

[Tomader]

I think maybe Gretchen should have put the show off for a while since Jeff was so ill. I guess if she loved him so much putting him and herself through a show like this is a little too much? I will say I do like Gretchen. I don't like her with Jeff but I like her personality. She comes across as the most genuine. Tamara and Vickie are the worst. In the beginning of the show I liked Vickie. She seemed fun. The last two seasons she has really become horrible. I don't know if it's the editing but they sure are not doing her any favors! Tamara is so jealous of Gretchen and I love it! Lynne is so old looking. Her skin is brown and wrinkled. She just acts so strange. She does not fit in with the other women. I think next season she will be gone. She brings nothing to the show.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

I agree that Gretchen seems like the most genuine, and the most fun and funny. I think she's very witty, and I get a kick out of her, and I don't see her as being at all mean-spirited like some of the others. But, personally I would not be taking off to go away while a close loved one was in the condition Jeff was in. Just wouldn't. Judging her? Maybe. Or just calling it like I see it.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

You can't take care of someone else...if...you can't take care of yourself. The stress is incredible...when caring for a terminally/chronically ill loved one. You have to have an outlet. You MUST take time to recharge.

That is true, but she has taken so much time to recharge that she should be like the energizer bunny.

 

[3jsmommy]

I agree that Gretchen seems like the most genuine, and the most fun and funny. I think she's very witty, and I get a kick out of her, and I don't see her as being at all mean-spirited like some of the others. But, personally I would not be taking off to go away while a close loved one was in the condition Jeff was in. Just wouldn't. Judging her? Maybe. Or just calling it like I see it.

I agree, at first I though Gretchen was selfish for going out so much, but Vickie & Tamara make her look like Mother Theresa.
Those two are so jealous & insecure it's gross!
They're eighth grade brats trapped in overly processed, surgically altered bodies!

 

[eh24fan]

Yea, I felt so baaaad for him. Where is it a written rule that you HAVE to go with your girlfriends to Vegas, just because you so called "committed", even though your very sick fiance is at home after being in the hospital for 2 MONTHS?!?! That was ridiculous. She should've stayed home....and it's even sadder, knowing that he has since passed away.

How do we know he didn't tell her to go and have fun? We only see snippets of their lives, but she has said she went to see him every day at the hospital, often just staying there and not going home for a day or two. He may very well have told her to go, have fun, his kids were there and she deserved a break.

 

[zalansky]

Lynne is so old looking. Her skin is brown and wrinkled. She just acts so strange. She does not fit in with the other women. I think next season she will be gone. She brings nothing to the show.

I just said the same thing to my husband. Its almost uncomfortable to watch her at times. She needs to go. Then again if Jeana doesn't perk up soon she needs to go too.

Don't agree with all the Gretchen judging because until you've walked in those shoes...you know how it goes and I've already spoken up about that on this thread. I will say if i could rub a genie bottle right now and make a wish I'd wish for her body! Its perfect. No fake balloons on her chest and very healthy.

 

[OhMari]

I burst out laughing when Lynne seemed insulted to be put in the same age bracket at Jeanna. Hey Lynne, we know you're not 30 like Gretchen. Get over it!

I think Lynn is actually older than Jeanna.

 

[of the seas]

She has been with the OC Ladies to spas, luncheons, shopping, dinner parties at Tamra's and Lynne's, even a horse race while Jeff was IN the hospital. I just feel she should have stayed home. JMHO!

Don't forget the July weekend at the lake!

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Don't agree with all the Gretchen judging because until you've walked in those shoes...

I walked in those shoes, as did my mother, with my father. I'm not saying she or I never left his side, but when he was in really bad shape, we were there. That was the one year we didn't go to WDW. We would have been planning the trip in the beginning of the year (for November), but no way would I leave with the condition he was in. I stayed at the hospital every night from 8 PM until 6 AM for the last week so that if he died, he wouldn't die alone. He died that September; then we didn't go away for a long time because I needed/wanted to be here for my mother.

I agree my mother should have gotten out more the last few months, at least for lunch with a friend or something. But to take off for weekends...no. And she wouldn't think of it. I can't imagine doing otherwise for my spouse. Jeff was sick for something like 9 months. This wasn't some lingering illness that took YEARS.

Gretchen can certainly do what she wants. And I can have an opinion about it. I'm not calling the authorities to have her arrested, for heaven's sake.

 

[beattyfamily]

Aren't we all voicing our opinions here about the show and the laidies? No one has said we can't have different opinions or that any opinion is wrong or not allowed. It's what makes this thread interesting.

I'm going to be very sad if/when they show Jeff die.

 

[Blue Skies]

I understand why some are being critical of Gretchen. If I was in her shoes I don't think I would have gone on the trip.

That being said, after watching the episode I was left wondering if perhaps Jeff wanted her to go in order that he could spend some uninterrupted special time with his kids. I find it hard to believe (even though Gretchen was speaking otherwise) that Jeff didn't know his days were numbered. He had already expressed to Gretchen his desire to come home to die. When my father died of cancer and came home to die, my siblings and I were glad to have some time alone with him.

We don't really know whats up with the Gretchen/Jeff situation, but there is likely way more than what we will ever know!

 

[Loverly]

I understand why some are being critical of Gretchen. If I was in her shoes I don't think I would have gone on the trip.

That being said, after watching the episode I was left wondering if perhaps Jeff wanted her to go in order that he could spend some uninterrupted special time with his kids. !

I agree with this completly! The kids maybe embraced having their Dad to themselves.

 

[mbw12]

About Gretchen and all of her "recharging"....remember the lunch she had with Jeana where she tells Jeana that she had it out with one of the ex-wives because the ex showed up at the hospital saying that the SON was upset that Jeff was alone all the time.....

I guess we will never know tho.....HEY...does anyone know the amount of time they spend filming? I mean...for 8 weeks of shows or whatever....is it filmed over the course of a 6 month period? Than maybe it is not as bad as it seems...just editing??

 

[zalansky]

Well, I have walked in Gretchens shoes with both of my parents and I also know that when they were dying from cancer we knew full well when it was getting closer to the end. When my father was dying, but not close to death (thanks to hospice letting us know those things) my husband took me and the kids to Disney for two nights, and Lord knows I needed that getaway during that terrible time.

Now Gretchen was out at nightclubs in Vegas and I don't know that I'd be doing that if I were in any relationship...man dying or not. Then again she is ten years younger than I am. I am sure that Bravo financed that show because it made for good tv watching.

But back to the Jeff thing, when I saw him last night in the episode it was clear he didn't have much time left. I have seen people like that before with the same disease and, you just know how it looks.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

The lake, Vegas, lunches, spa days, the Kentucky Derby, the dinner party, the sex toy party, the cuff party, the gym vacation, hmmmm.....did I forget anything? I am all for taking a break to recharge, but what is she recharging from? The last party?

 

[Allison]

The lake, Vegas, lunches, spa days, the Kentucky Derby, the dinner party, the sex toy party, the cuff party, the gym vacation, hmmmm.....did I forget anything? I am all for taking a break to recharge, but what is she recharging from? The last party?

Exactly. I thought it was awful for her to go to Vegas because she had committed to a girls weekend. What about the commitment to her fiancee?

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Exactly. I thought it was awful for her to go to Vegas because she had committed to a girls weekend. What about the commitment to her fiancee?

I think the only thing she is committed to is herself. JMHO.