The new reboot of the Real Housewives of New York City is going swimmingly, with each new personality adding their own twist to a new storyline. Jessel Taank, a mother of twins, has been pretty open about her lackluster marriage, especially after motherhood.
Jessel has found it hard to connect with some of her new best friends on RHONY Season 14, with some claiming she comes across as condescending. Fans’ first introduction to Jessel’s husband was when she told cameras she knew every bad thing about him, fixed them, and then married him.
While her dry English sense of humor may have worked in London, her jokes about her questionable marriage just aren’t hitting. Jessel’s openness may be her Achilles heel, as the other women are jumping on the bandwagon and lending their two cents about her unconventional union. Naturally, the other women have their opinions, but fans feel they should keep their thoughts to themselves and let Jessel navigate the rocky waters privately.
Jessel Is in a Drought
During a girl’s trip to the Hamptons, Jessel opened up about how she and her husband, Pavit Randhawa, hadn’t been intimate for 18 months since the birth of her twin sons. To many, 18 months is cause for setting off alarm bells, but Jessel didn’t seem to mind. In all honesty, she is probably exhausted and thought she would end up getting some support by telling the women, but instead, she was met with judgmental faces.
IVF Adventure
Even though the other women seemed appalled at the idea of not having sex for almost two years, they forget that Jessel went through a pretty traumatic journey to have her sons. She found it hard to get naturally pregnant and turned to IVF for the answer.
The newest housewife underwent five cycles before having any luck. However, her conservative family knew nothing of her decisions, forcing her to go through the process on her own, afraid of the cultural stigma. Jessel only recently told her mother.
For IVF, a woman needs to inject herself into her belly for two weeks with an increase in hormones. Naturally, these extra hormones upset your normal day-to-day life. Jessel was under an intense amount of stress and trying to get back to work, too. Sex would not have been a priority, especially since she also suffered from postpartum.
Jessel once told Bravo that the treatments also affected Pavit, noting, “I think that a lot of people, they ignore that—what we went through. It wasn’t just me by myself. It also affects the guy in the relationship.”
Everyone’s Marriage Is Different
During the episode, when Jessel opened up about her dry spell, Erin Lichy pointed out that she was a mother of three, going as far as to insinuate having twins shouldn’t be an excuse not to have an intimate relationship. In an unhelpful move, Sai De Silva just suggested that Pavit and Jessel have sex after her sons go to bed. Trying to end the conversation, Jessel told her friends, “Listen, I have twins; I don’t have time. I don’t sleep; I barely eat.”
The RHONY ladies suggested other ways of spicing it up in the bedroom, which included wearing lingerie (not the garment Jenna Lyons handed out) and using sex toys, but the advice came across as pushy. It is clear the group of women are trying to help, but they can’t ignore the fact that Jessel had a brutal experience with infertility. What woman would want to jump back into the saddle after dealing with physical and emotional trauma?
The jokes about being in a roommate situation, while meant to be funny, probably set Jessel’s mindset back. It is easy for a woman who has just had a baby to get inside her own head, questioning every little thing and dissecting every move her husband makes. While most viewers and co-stars wouldn’t enjoy a sexless marriage, this is exactly what is working for Jessel now.
However, with her husband’s upcoming solo trip to Vietnam, the ladies will no doubt wonder if Pavit is going to satisfy his cravings. Hopefully, Jessel can find the courage to get back on the horse before the ladies find more things to mock her for.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK THE RHONY WOMEN ARE HELPFUL WHEN IT COMES TO JESSEL’S SEXLESS MARRIAGE?
