Barbara Kavovit is nearing the end of her first season as a “Friend of” on the Real Housewives of New York. So far, we don’t really know a lot about her. Barbara is in the construction business, once had a relationship with a woman and…she sometimes favors shirts that don’t quite reach the top of her pants. And that is about it. She seems nice enough, but Barbara has not really made a big impression.
Barbara is not overly dramatic like Bethenny Frankel. She doesn’t enjoy starting fights ala Dorinda Medley. And Barbara doesn’t down booze on an epic Sonja Morgan level. So, how does an aspiring Housewife stand out amongst a group of ladies who love to be the center of attention? Well, if you are Barbara, you might try to stand out in a different way. By being the “normal one.”
And what does that mean to Barbara? She recently told Page Six, “I think I am the voice of reason in that group. You always need a voice of reason in a group of women who think they know it all.” True, but do any of the women really listen to Barbara? If no one listens, all the reasoning in the world is not going to do much good.
On last week’s episode, Barbara explained how she felt left out of the group. The other ladies were open to her concerns, but Barbara probably should have spoken up months ago, as her presence has been a bit of a snooze fest all season. When loveable, but dull Tinsley Mortimer is more interesting than you are, it is time to change up your Housewife game!
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Barbara also feels that the other ladies haven’t been very receptive to her. She shared, “I think for me, being new to the group and not being embraced the way I think I could have been embraced, I think I held my own pretty well.”
Let’s hope that Barbara was not expecting any loving embraces from Ramona Singer, who has been openly disdainful of her all season. Barbara taking on the Ramonacoaster would have been a great way to draw attention to herself, but she doesn’t really seem up to the task. And Ramona is so self-involved, she probably wouldn’t have taken Barbara’s bait, anyhow.
Being on the show has been a postive experience for Barbara, in some respects. She explained to Page Six, “It was great to learn to be around these types of women and still be able to have a sense of self.” Does she mean women who can sometimes suck all the oxygen out of the room, make it all about themselves and shout instead of speak? Those types of women?
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Barbara believes that her career might have been a barrier to her establishing relationships with the cast. She stated, “I’m not someone who is a lady who lunches, I’m someone that gets up every morning and goes to an office [and] has responsibilities. I want to let my cast mates know that this is what I do, I respect what you do, but respect what I do and what I wear and who I am.”
Maybe Barbara should have been telling the ladies these things all along. Talking about her business could have been a great bonding experience with her cast mates. Bethenny and Ramona are both business owners. And Sonja…well, she…talks a lot about business!
RELATED: Tinsley Mortimer Wonders Why Barbara Kavovit Has No Loyalty To Dorinda Medley After Their Long History
And what about Barbara’s friendship with cabaret business owner Luann de Lesseps? Barbara’s “in” to the show was her relationship with the self-involved, tone deaf chaneteuse. How did their friendship fare this season? Barbara declared, “We love each other. We’ve known each other for 14 years and we’ve been though our ups and downs, but at the end of the day she has my back and I have her back no matter what…she’s a good person.”
The rest of the show’s cast might dispute Luann’s “good person” status at this point, but I will give Barbara points for loyalty. She could have easily thrown Luann under the bus to garner favor with the other ladies, but she has remained loyal. Which you have to respect. Remaining loyal to Luann can’t be easy.
Would Barbara return for a second season if asked? She teased, “I’ll always consider it, never say ‘No.’ If you say ‘no’ you can’t build a skyscraper.” Which I guess is Barb the Builder’s way of saying–“Hell yes, of course I would come back for another season–are you crazy?!”
TELL US-DO YOU THINK BARBARA DESERVES A SECOND SEASON? HAS BARBARA BEEN TOO WILLING TO STAY IN THE BACKGROUND THIS SEASON?
[Photo Credit: Heidi Gutman/Bravo]
