It’s the thrilla in Manilla! On the March 29 episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, the girls take a trip to the Philippines — where, surprisingly, they don’t duke it out, but try to resolve their differences once and for all.
Following their group counseling session with Dr. Jeff, Claudia Jordan enlists former frenemy Porsha Williams to help her plan the trip.
“The Philippines is all about peace and zen,” Claudia says. “I know the other girls might laugh…at my hippie retreat, but I think it’s gonna be good for us.”
NeNe Leakes skips this excursion — she has issues with blood clotting, and she couldn’t get medical clearance. The girls aren’t surprised — or too upset — to leave without her.
“No surprises there!” Kenya exclaims in her confessional. “NeNe doesn’t want to move forward. She doesn’t want to put herself out there and be vulnerable.”
After an 18-hour flight, the girls arrive to a detox resort in the jungle where “no meats, no booze, and no drama is allowed” according to Claudia. Time to weigh in!
![RH Recap](/https/www.usmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/real-housewives_1.jpg?w=476&quality=86&strip=all)
Round 1: Phaedra Parks vs. Claudia Jordan
Their beef:
Claudia’s a Tall. Phaedra is a Small. Enough said.
Happy ending:
Because Phaedra’s been going through a very nasty and very public divorce with husband Apollo Nida, Claudia offers the biggest room to her. Phaedra’s touched — and surprised — by Claudia’s generosity.
The next morning, she invites Phaedra to lunch so that Phaedra will know “this isn’t a set-up.” Claudia tells Phaedra that she, too, went through a divorce, and that it was the worst time of her life.
“I dealt with it in a not great way,” Claudia reveals. “I drank a lot of wine, I was depressed, I had suicidal thoughts…there’s nothing wrong with showing vulnerability and saying ‘look, I’m hurting.’”
Phaedra appreciates Claudia’s support, but refuses to talk about her broken marriage and Apollo’s legal issues because she’s a “private person.” However, she does admit that her marital strain has been very tough because it affects her two small children.
Claudia doesn’t take Phaedra’s unwillingness to talk personally, and considers their lunch date progress.
“The fact that I’m letting my guard down, Phaedra’s letting her guard down — it was kind of a special moment,” Claudia says in her confessional. “We’re getting somewhere!”
![Phaedra and Kandi](/https/www.usmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/Phaedra-Kandi.jpg?w=476&quality=86&strip=all)
Round 2: Phaedra Parks vs. Kandi Burruss
Their beef:
Though they talked a few weeks ago and agreed to move on, Phaedra still thinks that Kandi hasn’t shown much support throughout the Apollo ordeal. Kandi’s bothered by Phaedra’s tendency to gripe about their issues to the other girls — who have shown more support than Kandi in Phaedra’s eyes.
Happy ending:
Kandi and Phaedra meet at the Healing Sanctuary to mend their bodies — and their relationship. During a relaxing massage, Kandi confronts Phaedra about their distance. Phaedra finally opens up about the things that have been bugging her.
“You don’t invite me to nothing,” Phaedra tells Kandi. “You don’t call me, so I’m like, I don’t want to force her.”
Kandi admits that she’s been distant as she’s going through her own issues. She reminds Phaedra that she should be able to come to her with their problems instead of ranting to the other girls.
![Claudia Real Housewives](/https/www.usmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/1a769bd0aee58036150774ac93281bdd25010962.jpg?w=476&quality=86&strip=all)
Final round: Claudia Jordan Plays Peacemaker
Over a group dinner of smuggled chicken and booze, Claudia — who’s determined for all of the girls to be friendly upon their return to Atlanta — tries her best to mend the remaining fences. Phaedra still doesn’t get along with Cynthia Bailey after Cynthia confronted her about Chocolate, a man with whom she had an alleged affair.
Cynthia’s guilt catches up with her, and tries to apologize to Phaedra for the drama. Phaedra’s not so forgiving and barely acknowledges Cynthia’s effort. Porsha finds Phaedra’s silence humorous and laughs. Claudia calls Porsha out — “this is serious!” — and Porsha snaps at Claudia.
“I’m not going to be checked because I’m giggling,” Porsha says, and all hell breaks loose.
Kenya Moore and Demetria McKinney accuse Porsha of “going backwards” and undoing all the effort that the girls have made thus far. Porsha refuses to be reprimanded. An exasperated Claudia tries to get the group to focus, clinking a glass with a spoon (and breaking it!) to bring order to the table.
“Let them have their conversation!” Claudia shouts.
Unfortunately, Claudia’s efforts are in vain, and Phaedra doesn’t budge.
“When it comes to Cynthia…I will not be featuring her any day in my movie theater,” Phaedra says in her confessional.
Kenya takes an opportunity to fix her Phaedra problems, too. The girls haven’t meshed since Apollo accused Kenya of sending flirty texts to him. Apollo later came forward and admitted that he lied, but Phaedra still has her doubts on the validity of it all.
“I can’t change what I believe, because it doesn’t really add up,” Phaedra tells Kenya.
Kenya asks Phaedra if she’d be willing to have a private conversation so that she can set the record straight. Surprisingly, Phaedra agrees. The girls cheer and toast to “doing the work” and taking a step forward. One small step for womanhood. One huge step for the Housewives!
Peach of the week: Though she’s the newest Housewife, Claudia Jordan should be commended for inheriting (and trying to fix!) the deep-seeded issues within the group.
Pit of the week: Phaedra Parks seems to enjoy being the difficult Housewife, refusing to move forward and her feuds. In fact, most of the drama from tonight’s episode revolved around her. Let it go, girl!