In Defense Of Peggy Sulahian, The Most Misunderstood Housewife Of Orange County And Beyond

There was once a time where you were skeptical of Erika Jayne and Dorinda Medley, believe it or not. While most of us now bow down to them as the queens that they are, they were once rookies on their respective seasons of Real Housewives. But it’s been quite some time since we’ve encountered a Housewife as polarizing as The Real Housewives of Orange County’s Peggy Sulahian.

I’ll be honest in admitting it took me a few episodes. In fact, nearly half the season to “get it.” She’s not like the other women, and it’s not just because of her brunette hair. It’s also not quite because of her Armenian heritage. It’s because she’s currently the most misunderstood Housewife.

The Iceland trip we’ve watched over the past few episodes has not been kind to Peggy. She’s encountered small skirmishes along the way of her first season of RHOC but this is her first full-on clash with the women of Orange County.

But let’s lay out a few pieces here before we examine her recent behavior on the show: Peggy joined the show mere months after the passing of her father and SIX WEEKS after she underwent a preventative double mastectomy (she lost her mother to breast cancer). As she told us last month, joining the show was what essentially motivated her to get out of bed after all that. So before she could really even check in with herself and her family and process what she’d just been through, she was jumping in front of the cameras. This is why it was so confusing to know exactly what happened with her health and if she had breast cancer or not. While it doesn’t quite matter if there was cancer hanging out in there or not, undergoing a double mastectomy is a brutal process, on both your physical and mental health and it was brave of her to show as much of her experience as she did. The other women (with the exception of Lydia who introduced her to the group), and specifically Shannon’s husband David, showed little to no sympathy or understanding of this when they pried her for answers. In reality, all Peggy wanted from this experience were female friends and support.

In other words: she came here to make friends. So how exactly did she end up making so many enemies, or frenemies, along the way? Well, it’s the Real Housewives. Lydia introduced Peggy into the group and Vicki, being a bit vulnerable since she wasn’t the most well-liked woman at the start of the season, saw a fearlessness (and maybe just a tad bit of opportunity to recruit) in Peggy and took a liking to her right away. That alone is no easy feat, especially considering Vicki has made it her “thing” to not like the newbies, forcing them to earn her respect over time (and loyalty). Shannon and Meghan never were interested, and Tamra and Kelly were indifferent at best. Not quite setting the scene for a group of supportive girlfriends.

But Peggy prevailed. She stayed true to herself, showing off her (very rich yet normal) family, her silly relationship with her husband, and her ability to not care when she misunderstands a word or phrase and others are laughing at her. She repeatedly shrugged, brushed it off, and continued to make the points she wanted to get across. Unfortunately, the other women were checked out by then.

Which brings us to Iceland. Peggy was fresh off her anniversary party and that gorgeous back diamond necklace when she had to pack her bags and head across the world for her first ever (!) girls trip. It was almost innocent and sweet until you realized what fiery hell she was cannonballing herself right into. Somehow (alcohol) Tamra and Vicki’s tearful, loud reconciliation led to all of the women (minus sensible, sleep-appreciator, Lydia) screaming at each other and Tamra peeing in her pants (which we learned is not enough to make her change out of them the next day). The late night brawl led to Kelly and Peggy getting into it, but if you notice, Peggy employed her unimaginably cool, calm and collected response to it all, only raising her voice when Kelly referenced her father. Whether it was intentional remains unknown. Kelly is certainly no stranger to low-blows, but at that time, she was even more familiar with all the drinks and it’s likely they got the best of her.

Peggy pulled her first real questionable move of the season, retreating to her room and locking the door. IRL? That is the most responsible move you could make, separating yourself from the screaming drama and shutting it out while collecting yourself in private. Nine out of ten Housewives would’ve taken that opportunity to hurl insults or drinks at their opponent. But Peggy has, up until this point, remained just about as classy as it gets. On TV though? Sorry girl, but you gotta face the screeching music.

Last night’s episode took a turn for the worse when it comes to Peggy’s behavior, but wouldn’t the same be true for you if you’d bottled up all that negative energy towards these catty gals? When she finally emerged, puffy-faced from her hotel room to speak with Lydia, she called Megan a “giraffe” which is not right, even if it’s slightly humorous. She also recorded the sounds of Kelly, Meghan and Tamra wildly laughing during the night, while claiming Meghan’s daughter Aspen was crying for 10 minutes. Look, I’ve recorded wild bird noises when they wake me up in the middle of the night, so I understand the urge. But we learned earlier this season when Kelly accused Shannon of recording her that it’s simply a no-no. Not to mention, that’s what the cameras are there for. One quick note on that though: Shannon claimed to be technologically illiterate, but when the women go to dinner and all whip out their phones to take videos of the Viking play around them, Shannon is the only one holding her phone horizontally, which is the correct way to take non-Snapchat videos. Just saying, her days of pleading ignorance when it comes to iPhones is over.

The only real bigger no-no than recording someone is commenting on their parenting. Now, it’s nearly impossible to defend Peggy on this one. She was, on some level, questioning Meghan’s methods due to the baby’s noises. The women were quick to gang up on her for this, but ultimately, she could’ve been simply connecting the dots between the women being loud and waking up the baby (and therefore Peggy). The bottom line, no matter what her real intentions are, is that these women finally broke her and got the best of Peggy. That it took this long really says everything about her — that’s some strong ass will to stay composed this long amongst this group.

That she felt the need to pack her shit and go is unsurprising and ultimately, probably for the best. Have you ever had to sit on a long plane ride for hours with someone you’re feuding with? Would not recommend. Plus, she’d never been away from her husband and family for that long. It’s like the first time you have a sleepover with a friend – it’s scary and you can’t wait to get out of there and back to your own home and have your cereal there. Not to mention, Peggy and Diko have one of the strongest marriages on this show (and probably all of the Bravo network, really). These two legitimately love and care for each other. When she called him to get his advice on Vicki’s hospitalization it’s because she trusts him and his judgement and was in desperate need of a second opinion she couldn’t get from anyone else on the trip. Now consider her company: two of the women are ending the season with separations from their husbands. Watching a bond as strong as Peggy and Diko’s is inevitably going to cause some jealousy, conscious or otherwise, from this group.

So let’s put it out there: Peggy slipped up. She let her anger get the best of her and she lashed out in ways she probably didn’t expect from herself. But again, that it took a full season of these women questioning where she went to college or why she doesn’t understand idioms for her to finally let it all out should be respected. Peggy is nothing if not a woman of conviction, so she’ll watch these episodes back and either feel silly or stand by her actions. But she’ll gather herself up again because she’s too rich and too secure in herself and her family to let this keep her shook.

Last night’s episode ended with Vicki crawling back onto Peggy’s good side, and not just because she wants “peace” with everyone. There’s something about Peggy that probably scares Vicki a little bit. She rightfully has empathy for her and likes what she sees — probably because she even sees a bit of herself in Peggy (or what she aspires to be and have). A word of advice: take a lesson from Vicki Gunvalson here, as she’s recognized ahead of many others, that you do NOT want to mess with Peggy.

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