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17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
33 Problem-Solving Products Just Perfect For Anyone Living Alone
We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page. Shopping · Including a sturdy beverage caddy for your couch to hold all three of your drinks you require while watching RHOSLC. 1. A double step stool with a safety lock and a weight limit of 330 pounds so you can reach stuff in the tippy-top of your kitchen cabinets without climbing on the counter. Trust me, you need one of these. (I live solo and use mine all the time in the kitchen, despite being 5-foot-9.) Promising review: "I recently moved into my first solo apartment and I knew I needed a step ladder to reach things because your girl is 5'2. This ladder is very sturdy, and I love that it folds up easily so I can hide it in my storage room. Would definitely recommend." — kmill Get it from Amazon for $29.49. 2. An organizing couch pillow with a sturdy spot for everything you require as you catch up on the Interview with the Vampire TV series, lest you forget your third beverage you need to watch as you thirst after Lestat. Cup Cozy Pillow is a small biz as seen on TV specializing in cleverly designed cup holders. Promising review: "I liked that it worked with cups and mugs, perfect for clumsy friends." — YAZ "This thing is great! I'm home on maternity leave with my new baby and spend most of my time on the couch under a sleeping baby. This product makes it easy for me to keep my drinks, remote, etc close by even with crazy dogs running around. It's a little more expensive than I would have liked but it works and I love it so money well spent!" — Amber Get it from Amazon for $29.99+ (available in more colors). 3. A pair of blackout, noise-canceling, AND thermal insulating curtains to help solve a plethora of problems — even if you've brought them on yourself by staying up all night marathon-ing Interview with the Vampire series. Ya gotta watch! I'm telling ya! Promising review: "Truly life changing sound barrier curtains!!! They definitely help with the quality of sleep, quietness, and solace for me and my whole family. The sound isolation is incredible! There was so much noise pollution around with constant main road traffic, pool/deck construction, chainsaws next door, water main construction on the main road with giant trucks/bulldozers and jackhammers, several lawnmowers, outdoor concert noise, birds constantly chirping, weekly Brazilian parties. Especially with people coming out of the woodwork after the pandemic with the noisiest, most annoying things on the planet all at once. These curtains truly dampened ALL that noise to a distance or to completely nothing. Almost all of it gone. Our sleep at night has dramatically improved and deepened. Best in our lives and finally feeling fully rested." — Heather Lascano Get two panels from Amazon for $59.09+ (available in 12 sizes and 14 colors). 4. A powerful dishwashing spray that, honestly, if you buy anything from this list, this should be it — especially if your old house *doesn't* include a dishwasher. You can spray down that casserole dish caked with enchilada sauce, let it sit, and you simply wipe and rinse away that saucy mess in a few minutes after you've conquered your meal. (Can you sense an enchilada theme here?) I live in an apartment without a dishwasher, and I honestly use that as an excuse to order takeout food instead of cooking. But, as soon as I got my hands on a bottle of this stuff (regular Dawn is my go-to dish soap, BTW), I put it to use on both a saucepan I used to make homemade enchilada sauce *and* the casserole dish I baked those enchiladas, which had a ton of caked-on food. It really does work like I say it does! Like, scary well. Get the starter pack from Amazon for $12.25. 5. A Shark Tank -featured Click & Carry Grocery Bag Carrier that'll help you take way fewer trips from the car to the house. It allows you to hook on your bags (up to 80 pounds!) and *comfortably* rest the carrier on your shoulder. Click & Carry is a Shark Tank and QVC-featured small business that specializes in easy carry accessories. Promising review: "TikTok made me buy it. This is great when you have a few bags and a box — for example, if you balance the bags, you can throw it over your shoulder and walk inside and have two free hands to carry the box, which is great. Product seems well built, and is comfortable on your shoulder or hand because of the padding." — Hung Get it from Amazon for $13.99 (available in seven colors). 6. Or perhaps a stair-climbing trolly dolly because I don't know about you, but the only time I hate living solo in a walkable city is when I have to grocery shop and then carry said groceries up my stairs. (Ugh, I think I need this.) Even if you have just a few stairs at your home, this'll come in handy for trips from your car to inside the house post-shopping trip. It can carry up to 150 pounds and the wheels LITERALLY climb stairs. (As you can see here.) Amazon, Check out a TikTok of the dolly trolley in action. Promising review: "I was getting so tired of making several trips to my car to retrieve my groceries after each shopping trip. I saw this trolley on Amazon and decided to buy it. Best purchase ever. I now can bring all my groceries in with one trip to the ca r. I also love that its wheel design allows the trolley to climb my front steps, making it so easy for me. I have used it in the house to help me carry things upstairs, and the climbing feature makes it safe and easy." — m Robinson Get it from Amazon for $87.59+ (available in four styles). 7. Self-heating soothing foot masks made with Epsom salts, lavender, and peppermint for those nights when you REAAAALLY want a foot massage but no one but your precious cat is around to help. Your kitty is busy making biscuits overtime. He knows the rent is due! Check out a TikTok of the foot masks in action. My colleague Emma Lord loves these: "I'm a long-ish distance runner and these were certainly an interesting experience for my feet! You slide them on and after a few minutes feel a tingling, mildly burning (in a good way) sensation. It doesn't quite numb your feet, but it relaxes them. I kept them on for 30 minutes and then toweled my feet off, and the tingling sensation slowly faded over the next 30 minutes. After that my feet felt very refreshed and relaxed at a time of day when they're usually aching from all the miles I put in. The whole thing was a mess-free, easy process, and I will definitely keep them on hand for longer run days!" Promising review:"Very soothing. My husband and l used these on our European vacation and they definitely felt good on our feet!" — KS2018 Get a set of three pairs from Amazon for $10.77. 8. Plus, a flexible grabber that's made for people with limited mobility but can come in handy for everyone while trying to grab stuff that's JUST out of reach. Also, you can fold it for easier storage and its sensitive grip means you get a better feel of what you're grabbing. Amazon Promising review: "Bought the 2-pack. Wanted my mother to be able to reach rarely used items in the topmost cupboard without getting on a step stool if my sisters and I weren't available. I'm using the other one to pick up trash when out mudlarking. Sturdy and convenient that it folds up." — Kristen Get it from Amazon for $16.96. 9. A rapid defrosting tray so you won't have to put off cooking because your meat is still frozen. You can't go back in time to put out your main dinner ingredient to thaw, but you CAN use this instead of using the excuse to order Domino's. Promising review:"I was a little concerned this was going to be one of those gifts that were hyped up but it's not. It's not going to thaw a huge chunk of meat in an hour but I have thawed a chunk of chicken in a few hours. The product itself isn't very thick which I like as it doesn't take up a lot of space for storage. It doesn't warm up, but pulls the cold from the meat, which makes the product thaw (like putting meat in cold water to thaw it faster and not cook it)." — Savannah A. Get it from Amazon for $19.89. 10. A dishwasher-safe silicone soup cube tray that'll hold one cup (or a serving) of delicious hot entrees like soup/chili/stew/sauce per cube so you can freeze and then reheat it later. Heck. Have it for breakfast! You live alone and no one can tell you differently. Amazon It also comes with a lid so you can easily stack them and four fill lines (½ cup, 1 cup, 125 mL, 250 mL). Souper Cubes is a small business seen on Shark Tank that specializes in bake-and-freeze storage products. Promising review:"I'm extremely happy with my Souper Cubes! I cook chili and soup and always make too much, having the ability to freeze serving-size portions is perfect. Saves time and food quality by not having to thaw it all each time I want another serving. High quality and since it's silicone and not rigid plastic it won't crack in the freezer. Highly recommend!" — Alexander S. Waterman Get it from Amazon for $19.95 (available in four colors and packs of two). 11. A ~streamlined~ door draft stopper to help keep whatever temp air you prefer within the room you're currently in, rather than the rest of your home where you're not. Promising review:"So easy to set up! All you do is peel tape and adhere to a CLEAN and DRY door. Also looks great, I don't even notice it. I had a huge gap under my door. I could smell and hear everything from the hallway. Smells, drafts, and sound all are less of an issue now." — Brit B. Get it from Amazon for $9.99+ (available in four colors). 12. Plus, a reviewer-beloved veggie chopper can make quick work of the ingredient-chopping portion of a recipe because, well, you have to designate it to yourself! Amazon Check out a TikTok of the veggie chopper in action. Promising review:"Makes life so much easier. I can't imagine chopping onions or bell peppers by hand anymore, and it does so much more. We used to have a Prepworks chopper, which was a similar idea, but you had to press so hard to chop and it broke after not too long. This one requires very little effort to cut through the food and it has a generous container." — Amazon Customer Get it from Amazon for $29.97. 13. A folding sink topper that'll give you an ample surface when there's seemingly no room for all your getting-ready essentials. Now that you're done with the sink and don't have to wait for someone else to brush their teeth, you can make the sink pull double-duty! Sink Topper is a small biz that specializes in this product. Promising review: "Great for messy teenagers. Cool item for my teenager's bathroom. She likes to lay her hair/makeup stuff on it so she can keep her other bathroom decor on the sides. When she's done she puts what she was using under the sink and folds up the sink tray so it can slide under the sink as well." — Melina Get it from Amazon for $24.99 (available in two sizes and seven colors). 14. An under-cabinet lid opener to help pop open that jar of pasta sauce in a jiffy. Everyone can use this, but reviewers with limited dexterity especially find it helpful! Promising review:"Works exactly as it says it does. I have small hands and trouble gripping things. This makes opening jars extremely easy and it opens in seconds just by twisting the jar counterclockwise. I'm so glad I ordered two so I can give one to a family member who has trouble with opening jars as well. I would definitely buy this again!" — H.T. Get it from Amazon for $14.99. 15. A UV black-light flashlight that'll track down all sorts of messes that've been avoiding you. Now, you can figure out the source of that weird smell without recruiting someone else's nostrils. Good luck figuring out who's to blame, though! (Maybe this is how you find out you've got a messy ghostly roomie.) Promising review:"OMG this is disgusting!!! I hope this isn't all just cat pee that shows up cause there is a lot! I bought this because I thought my cat was peeing in one room and couldn't find the exact spot so I bought this. Found the spot and more. Would recommend." — Momof3boys Get it from Amazon for $12.99. 16. A no-scrub weekly shower cleaner you can simply just spray on after you shower, wait 8–12 hours while it tackles mold and mildew stains, soap scum, and just about any gross grime without YOU having to scrub. Talk about practical to the max. Promising review:"This product is so easy to use. As you can see from the pictures, my bathtub was staying pretty good. The guy that owned the house before me used Ajax to clean it so it has almost no enamel left on it and it's probably the staining and nothing could get it out until I bought this. After 4 8-hour applications you can see the difference. I highly recommend this to everybody and once it's completely clean I'm gonna go on the once a week application. I actually bought another bottle for my dad and mom." — Domenick R. Stamegna Get it from Amazon for $19.98. 17. A reusable pet fur remover might just have you tossing your old sticky roller after you see how much fur this reusable one (it has a sturdy brush system) picks up off your beloved couch. You don't wanna walk out the door with fur all over your behind, only to learn from your work nemesis. Promising review:"I have a golden retriever and the shedding is out of control. My fabric sofa is constantly covered in hair and I finally decided to try this after reading an article about popular TikTok products. The reviews do not lie, this thing works magic!! I wish I had taken a before and after picture because the difference is noticeable. I watched the video tutorial before I tried it to ensure I was using it properly and everything he says is true, you do really have to put your arm to work with vigorous back and forth movement! However, I find it's a great arm workout and it works wonders." — Joanne Ertel Get it from Amazon for $24.99. 18. A three-pack of Velveeta cheese sauce you can simply pour in a bowl, microwave, and then dump over pasta or just use as a dip for some good old tortillas. These'll come in handy when it's a Wednesday night and you barely want to lift a finger to feed yourself. No one is watching. Eat what you want!! Amazon Promising review: "These have been great to use. Cooking for just one person isn't the easiest thing for me, but these portions have been great when I want mac 'n' cheese, nachos, or a small smothered burrito for one. I'm sure when it's camping time these will make it into my camping stash." — M. Cheatham Get them from Amazon for $3.28. 19. A drill brush cleaning kit that'll attach to your drill/driver for an informercial-like cleaning sesh at the flip of a switch that'll have you seeking out all the dirty surfaces you've been ignoring. Includes three brushes that'll attached to a standard handheld drill. The white is a soft bristle, best for wheels, carpet, upholstery, glass, and leather; the yellow is a medium bristle, best for bathroom, bathtub, shower, tile, and porcelain; the green is a medium bristle, best for kitchen, stoves, cabinets, countertops, and linoleum; the blue is a medium bristle, best for boats, pools, canoe/kayaks, hot tubs, and plastics; the red is a stiff bristle, best for outdoors, siding, brick, garage, and gutter; and the black is a hard bristle, best for grills, loose paint, furnaces, ovens, and industrial use. Drill Brush is a small business based in New York! Promising review:"I'm in love with this. I manage many apartment properties and finding people to do the cleaning has been tricky business, so I end up having to get in and clean these horrendous filth pods tenants lived in and left me to deal with when they move out. The ovens and stove tops are usually the worst, and I absolutely hate cleaning. I came across this drill attachment set, and let me tell you, it helped me tremendously! I still had to get in with a putty knife on some of them but it really cut down my elbow-grease time. If it wasn't for this drill attachment, I think my arms would have just fallen off trying to clean it as good as I did! My only con would be that it doesn't have any extension of any sort, so I really had my drill all up in that oven, but well worth it." — alicia haats Get it from Amazon for $18.95 (available in six bristle types). 20. A mini air fryer in case you've put off the investment, or given up a too-big version a while back because it hogged all your counter space. (I actually gave a family-size one to my mom!) Promising review: "I bought this tiny air fryer to use while camping, but now it has a permanent space in my kitchen, too. I find myself throwing food into it instead of my expensive, gigantic one. So many times, I don't need the whistles and bells overkill of the big one. If you live alone or have a household of 1–2, and don't expect to cook a 5-pound anything in it, it's perfect and packed with the quality I expected from Cosori. (It also blew my camping buddies away when hot rolls hit the table on my night to make — Cheri Get it from Amazon for $59.99 (available in five colors). 21. A Dash mini rice cooker can easily make a hearty and filling side to go with that last piece of salmon or chicken you have in the fridge. But! It can also whip up oatmeal, stew, soup, quinoa, rice, and pasta. So that opens up all sorts of easy meal possibilities. Plus, it's small enough that you'll definitely find room for it on your one-bedroom apartment's kitchen counter. Promising review:"I bought this for my daughter for her dorm at college. She loves making flavored rice and warming up soups and things. She likes it so well that she brings it home from college with her on breaks. It is especially nice that it has a removable pot, which makes it so much easier to clean or keep leftovers in. Would definitely buy again, don't waste your money on a slightly cheaper one that does not have a removable pot." — midohtree Get it from Amazon for $19.99 (available in five colors). 22. A rectangular lazy Susan made to hold more than the traditional round ones and to help you use every last bit of your apartment-sized fridge's space. Yep, it's time to really make the most of your legendary condiment collection before that fancy jar of preserves goes bad. Amazon Check out a TikTok of the rectangular lazy Susan in action. Promising review: "This is perfect for short people with big refrigerators! I could never reach anything on the top shelf and had to grab a step stool, now everything fits perfectly on this, and I can reach them all! It glides great and is very sturdy." — Tara Mann Get it from Amazon for $17.99. 23. Some sheet fasteners if that fitted sheet won't stay put on your mattress, and you end up in a sheet burrito. These are exactly how they sound, so no matter how much you toss and turn, your fitted sheet won't come loose in the middle of the night and require an extra pair of hands to put back in place. See them on TikTok here. Promising review:"I love these! Since I started using them my sheets haven't popped off once and that used to be a several-times-a-night problem because I toss and turn when I sleep. Thank you, TikTok!" — Gabby Get a set of four from Amazon for $8.99 (available in three colors). 24. A set of safe-locking magnetic duvet clips to keep your duvet in its proper place, instead of loose and saggy inside the cover you couldn't resist form Urban Outfitters. These work for duvets up to 10 pounds and then use a magnetic key to remove the clips on laundry day. Amazon Checkout a TikTok of the duvet clips in action. Pinion Pins is a small business specializing in home improvement products. Promising review:"I was super worried about if I would have enough of the Pinions, and I totally do! My duvet is kinda thick and the Pinions pierced through with no problems! Plus with a little extra room if I had some extra layers. I REALLY like how you have to have the magnet tool to pull them apart. Absolutely no moving! Don't walk, RUN TO BUY THIS. I also like how unnoticeable they are." — Abigayle Mishler Get a pack of eight from Amazon for $17.95. 25. A small compost bin/trash can will easily hang on a cabinet door for easy hiding and use. The lid lifts up *or* flips over for easily dumping as you food prep. Living solo means you likely create a LOT less waste and don't need a giant kitchen trash can to contain the mess! Promising review: "So I saw this tiny trash can on TikTok, and I was moving into a tiny studio apartment and thought this would be perfect. Turns out it's one of the best things I've ever bought. I installed mine with the over-the-cabinet hooks (also comes with adhesive stickers) on my kitchen island, and it is so convenient I can't even express with words. The lid is on this nifty hinge so you can open it by flipping the lid up, or by sliding it forward and it folds down out of the way. I usually keep it open while I'm cooking but I can close it super quickly if I see the dog coming. There is a little pull tab for easy opening. It is so easy to use and easy to clean. It's also so cute! I use my plastic grocery bags as trash can liners for this and they fit perfectly. It comes with a roll of bags as well. The lid lifts off easily to change bags out. Clicks back on easily over the new liner. Can't recommend this enough!! This is going on my list of 'best things I've ever spent my money on.'" — Ginger Get it from Amazon for $25.99 (available in three colors). 26. A set of two rechargeable emergency LED bulbs can function like regular ole light bulbs and then when a big storm hits and your power goes out, they'll stay lit for 3–4 hours, which is enough time to help you figure out what you're going to do next without tripping on something and hurting yourself. Promising review: "These little guys are so bright!! Got these on a whim after seeing it on a TikTok. These are super bright and charge when the light is turned on. These are worth the price." — Reid524 Get a two-pack from Amazon for $16.99+ (available in three colors and a four-pack). 27. A self-sealing magnetic screen door to let dogs help themselves out or in the house — so you won't have to peel yourself up from the hammock and leave your Margaritaville day dreams during bouts of nice weather. Promising review: "I bought this so my puppies could traverse to/from their backyard pen keep flying insects out. It is AWESOME! The puppies figured out quickly that they could go through the screen — the screen snapped back into a closed state immediately after they got through the opening. If only all things in life could be solved this easily!" — Lynette S Quigley Get it from Amazon for $28.99. 28. A Rapid Ramen Cooker that'll transform a brick of noods into the base for a delish meal in just three minutes in the microwave! 'Tis time to put that ramen you've been hoarding the pantry to tasty use and wash the minimum number of dishes possible. Rapid Brands is a small biz specializing in microwave cookware. Promising review:"God's ramen cooker. This thing may seem like just an ordinary Tupperware, but I assure you it will blow that thin plastic garbage out of the water. It retains heat amazingly and does not bend or falter under extreme temperatures. I'm a college student and I have never felt such joy from making ramen in my small dorm microwave, for a 900-watt I recommend five minutes. Buy this product if you live and breathe air, because it is beautiful." — Theron Get it from Amazon for $8.99. 29. A game-changing"bed wedge" pillow in a high-density foam and triangular shape to prevent stuff from falling into that gap between the mattress and the headboard. No need to scrounge down there for your phone or other stuff. Totally the stuff of nightmares! Bonus: There's a lil' side pocket for your phone, glasses, or other nighttime accessories. Promising review:"I did not realize that these were out there until I watched a TikTok about one. This has saved my pillows. I do have a headboard, but there was about a three-inch gap between it and my mattress. This has stopped my pillows from sliding down in between. I have had no issues at all with it. I did let it sit for almost 72 hours while it was getting its shape back from being in a shipping container, but after that it was perfect!!! I highly recommend." — Miss_Beck Get it from Amazon for $20.89 (available in two colors and Twin–California King). 30. A clear magnetic refrigerator dry-erase board that sticks directly on your fridge. It's a little bit more aesthetic of a reminder than a series of sticky notes. Feel free to jot down reminders to eat the leftovers that are about to go bad! It also includes four dry-erase markers! Promising review:"Saw it on TikTok being used as a dinner menu for the week! It will help me be more organized and add little chores that needs to completed or important reminders. Love it, no complaints." — Clarince Thomas Get it from Amazon for $14.99. 31. A jumbo pack of toilet cleaning tabs you simply throw in the tank every two weeks to keep your bowl (and bathroom) fresher on the reg. Promising review: "Effective at keeping the toilet bowl clean and very easy to use." — Amazon Customer Get a 30-pack from Amazon for $19.53. 32. A handheld steam cleaner (perfect even if you're in a small space and that's who you can afford to live solo) with a nearly 10-foot-long cord to help you get at all sorts of greasy, stuck-on messes sans chemicals. Promising review: "Cleaned stove top and the hood vents. Then, I had to clean the sticky grease from the sink. Worked very easily and without chemicals. Easy to use and to refill. The attachments make various jobs easy to clean." — Lori Get it from Amazon for $55.89. 33. And a playful bath mat because you NEED one anyway. Might as well make your nonslip, machine-washable mat extra cute. It's your bathroom. Decorate how you want! Promising review:"I absolutely love this rug. I was not expecting it to be as cute and fluffy as it is! I've gotten so many compliments on it." — Amanda Fiji Get it from Amazon for $16.99+ (available in four sizes and three styles). Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'RHOSLC''s Monica Garcia Is Pregnant, Expecting Baby No. 5 Less Than One Year After Experiencing Miscarriage: 'Grateful' (Exclusive)
Monica Garcia is pregnant! The former Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star, 41, is pregnant and expecting her fifth baby, a rep for Garcia confirms exclusively to PEOPLE. Garcia, who made waves in season 4 of the reality TV show, is already mom to daughters Bri, 19, Jaidyn, 14, West, 8, and Kendall, 7, who she shares with ex-husband Mike Fowler. This will be the first baby for Garcia and her boyfriend, Braxton Knight. Garcia has also shared several exclusive photos with PEOPLE, baring her belly in a maternity shoot. The mom of four, whose makeup was done by Andy Truong, hair by Mariah Ergovich, and photos taken by Jesús Rodríguez, can be seen wearing a black blazer and no shirt, highlighting her pregnant belly, as well as posing alongside Knight, who sweetly kisses her stomach. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Related: Former Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Star Monica Garcia Reveals 'Heartbreaking' Miscarriage: 'I'm Still Processing All of This' Garcia tells PEOPLE that when she found out she was pregnant, she had a Disneyland trip planned with her partner and figured that'd be the perfect time to reveal her exciting news. "My best friend, Koa, helped me pull it all off," she says. "Koa had picked out the infant ears hat at the Mad Hatter and had 'Aries Baby' embroidered on them while I distracted Braxton with churros and getting my cotton candy. I told him while we were on Peter Pan, flying over NeverLand." So far, her pregnancy has been a little rough — Garcia notes that she's been "so sick" and has been throwing up her entire pregnancy. She doesn't know the sex of her baby yet and is planning on saving that special moment for delivery. The couple also doesn't have a name picked out yet. "We have no names!" Garcia shares. "We are really struggling in the name department. Send us all your name suggestions!" Although she's so excited for this next chapter, Garcia, who experienced a miscarriage just under a year ago, tells PEOPLE that it also feels like "such an eye opener" and says it's been a "complete mind shift." "It was difficult coming off such a tumultuous whirlwind with RHOSLC and all the love and hate I received from all of that," she candidly admits. "Old friends turned on me, I was iced out by the cast, I lost my job, my relationship with my mother has never recovered, my world was crumbling. Then I had an unexpected pregnancy and miscarriage at 40." "The entire time I was going through all of that, the world chose to spit on me and continue to kick me while I was down," Garcia continues. "The accusations of me lying about a pregnancy and miscarriage that I received daily while dealing with such an unexpected loss was a pain that I will never forget. I was losing a baby while being shredded apart by some of the most awful comments I've ever had said to and about me." The expectant mom of four says that her experience with the show and on social media led her to keep this pregnancy mostly private. Garcia, who is due in April, says that she wanted to "protect" and keep her pregnancy safe for both herself and the baby. "Being able to protect my peace was so important to me this pregnancy," she shares. "I'm grateful for those that have stood beside me, to the amazing fans, and loved ones I do have in my life, but that miscarriage was my lowest point with being in the public eye and I wasn't going to put myself through that again, for the sake of the pregnancy and the baby." "God has been there for me every single step of the way," Garcia says. "I have been so blessed and been silent about all of it. I just hope someone reads this and it resonates with them on some level. Reminds them that no matter what people do to you, say about you, or try to take from you, they can NEVER take what God has for you." Read the original article on People
Buzz Feed
07-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
34 Problem-Solving Products Just Perfect For Anyone Living Alone
We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page. Shopping · Including a sturdy beverage caddy for your couch to hold all three of your drinks you require while watching RHOSLC. 1. A double step stool with a safety lock and a weight limit of 330 pounds so you can reach stuff in the tippy-top of your kitchen cabinets without climbing on the counter. Trust me, you need one of these. (I live solo and use mine all the time in the kitchen, despite being 5-foot-9.) Promising review: "I recently moved into my first solo apartment and I knew I needed a step ladder to reach things because your girl is 5'2. This ladder is very sturdy, and I love that it folds up easily so I can hide it in my storage room. Would definitely recommend." — kmill Get it from Amazon for $36.99. 2. An organizing couch pillow with a sturdy spot for everything you require as you catch up on the Interview with the Vampire TV series, lest you forget your third beverage you need to watch as you thirst after Lestat. Cup Cozy Pillow is a small biz as seen on TV specializing in cleverly designed cup holders. Promising review: "I liked that it worked with cups and mugs, perfect for clumsy friends." — YAZ "This thing is great! I'm home on maternity leave with my new baby and spend most of my time on the couch under a sleeping baby. This product makes it easy for me to keep my drinks, remote, etc close by even with crazy dogs running around. It's a little more expensive than I would have liked but it works and I love it so money well spent!" — Amber Get it from Amazon for $22.99 (available in more colors). 3. A pair of blackout, noise-canceling, AND thermal insulating curtains to help solve a plethora of problems — even if you've brought them on yourself by staying up all night marathon-ing Interview with the Vampire series. Ya gotta watch! I'm telling ya! Promising review: "Truly life changing sound barrier curtains!!! They definitely help with the quality of sleep, quietness, and solace for me and my whole family. The sound isolation is incredible! There was so much noise pollution around with constant main road traffic, pool/deck construction, chainsaws next door, water main construction on the main road with giant trucks/bulldozers and jackhammers, several lawnmowers, outdoor concert noise, birds constantly chirping, weekly Brazilian parties. Especially with people coming out of the woodwork after the pandemic with the noisiest, most annoying things on the planet all at once. These curtains truly dampened ALL that noise to a distance or to completely nothing. Almost all of it gone. Our sleep at night has dramatically improved and deepened. Best in our lives and finally feeling fully rested." — Heather Lascano Get two panels from Amazon for $59.09+ (available in 12 sizes and 16 colors). 4. A powerful dishwashing spray that, honestly, if you buy anything from this list, this should be it — especially if your old house *doesn't* include a dishwasher. You can spray down that casserole dish caked with enchilada sauce, let it sit, and you simply wipe and rinse away that saucy mess in a few minutes after you've conquered your meal. (Can you sense an enchilada theme here?) I live in an apartment without a dishwasher, and I honestly use that as an excuse to order takeout food instead of cooking. But, as soon as I got my hands on a bottle of this stuff (regular Dawn is my go-to dish soap, BTW), I put it to use on both a saucepan I used to make homemade enchilada sauce *and* the casserole dish I baked those enchiladas, which had a ton of caked-on food. It really does work like I say it does! Like, scary well. Get the starter pack from Amazon for $16.88. 5. A Shark Tank -featured Click & Carry Grocery Bag Carrier that'll help you take way fewer trips from the car to the house. It allows you to hook on your bags (up to 80 pounds!) and *comfortably* rest the carrier on your shoulder. Click & Carry is a Shark Tank and QVC-featured small business that specializes in easy carry accessories. Promising review: "TikTok made me buy it. This is great when you have a few bags and a box — for example, if you balance the bags, you can throw it over your shoulder and walk inside and have two free hands to carry the box, which is great. Product seems well built, and is comfortable on your shoulder or hand because of the padding." — Hung Get it from Amazon for $13.99 (available in seven colors). 6. Or perhaps a stair-climbing trolly dolly because I don't know about you, but the only time I hate living solo in a walkable city is when I have to grocery shop and then carry said groceries up my stairs. (Ugh, I think I need this.) Even if you have just a few stairs at your home, this'll come in handy for trips from your car to inside the house post-shopping trip. It can carry up to 150 pounds and the wheels LITERALLY climb stairs. (As you can see here.) Amazon, Check out a TikTok of the dolly trolley in action. Promising review: "I was getting so tired of making several trips to my car to retrieve my groceries after each shopping trip. I saw this trolley on Amazon and decided to buy it. Best purchase ever. I now can bring all my groceries in with one trip to the ca r. I also love that its wheel design allows the trolley to climb my front steps, making it so easy for me. I have used it in the house to help me carry things upstairs, and the climbing feature makes it safe and easy." — m Robinson Get it from Amazon for $75.68+ (available in three colors). 7. Self-heating soothing foot masks made with Epsom salts, lavender, and peppermint for those nights when you REAAAALLY want a foot massage but no one but your precious cat is around to help. Your kitty is busy making biscuits overtime. He knows the rent is due! Check out a TikTok of the foot masks in action. My colleague Emma Lord loves these: "I'm a long-ish distance runner and these were certainly an interesting experience for my feet! You slide them on and after a few minutes feel a tingling, mildly burning (in a good way) sensation. It doesn't quite numb your feet, but it relaxes them. I kept them on for 30 minutes and then toweled my feet off, and the tingling sensation slowly faded over the next 30 minutes. After that my feet felt very refreshed and relaxed at a time of day when they're usually aching from all the miles I put in. The whole thing was a mess-free, easy process, and I will definitely keep them on hand for longer run days!" Promising review:"Very soothing. My husband and l used these on our European vacation and they definitely felt good on our feet!" — KS2018 Get a set of three pairs from Amazon for $10.47. 8. Plus, a flexible grabber that's made for people with limited mobility but can come in handy for everyone while trying to grab stuff that's JUST out of reach. Also, you can fold it for easier storage and its sensitive grip means you get a better feel of what you're grabbing. Amazon Promising review: "Bought the 2-pack. Wanted my mother to be able to reach rarely used items in the topmost cupboard without getting on a step stool if my sisters and I weren't available. I'm using the other one to pick up trash when out mudlarking. Sturdy and convenient that it folds up." — Kristen Get it from Amazon for $23.95. 9. A rapid defrosting tray so you won't have to put off cooking because your meat is still frozen. You can't go back in time to put out your main dinner ingredient to thaw, but you CAN use this instead of using the excuse to order Domino's. Promising review:"I was a little concerned this was going to be one of those gifts that were hyped up but it's not. It's not going to thaw a huge chunk of meat in an hour but I have thawed a chunk of chicken in a few hours. The product itself isn't very thick which I like as it doesn't take up a lot of space for storage. It doesn't warm up, but pulls the cold from the meat, which makes the product thaw (like putting meat in cold water to thaw it faster and not cook it)." — Savannah A. Get it from Amazon for $19.89. 10. A dishwasher-safe silicone soup cube tray that'll hold one cup (or a serving) of delicious hot entrees like soup/chili/stew/sauce per cube so you can freeze and then reheat it later. Heck. Have it for breakfast! You live alone and no one can tell you differently. Amazon It also comes with a lid so you can easily stack them and four fill lines (½ cup, 1 cup, 125 mL, 250 mL). Souper Cubes is a small business seen on Shark Tank that specializes in bake-and-freeze storage products. Promising review:"I'm extremely happy with my Souper Cubes! I cook chili and soup and always make too much, having the ability to freeze serving-size portions is perfect. Saves time and food quality by not having to thaw it all each time I want another serving. High quality and since it's silicone and not rigid plastic it won't crack in the freezer. Highly recommend!" — Alexander S. Waterman Get it from Amazon for $19.95 (available in four colors and packs of two). 11. A ~streamlined~ door draft stopper to help keep whatever temp air you prefer within the room you're currently in, rather than the rest of your home where you're not. Promising review:"So easy to set up! All you do is peel tape and adhere to a CLEAN and DRY door. Also looks great, I don't even notice it. I had a huge gap under my door. I could smell and hear everything from the hallway. Smells, drafts, and sound all are less of an issue now." — Brit B. Get it from Amazon for $8.99+ (available in four colors). 12. Plus, a reviewer-beloved veggie chopper can make quick work of the ingredient-chopping portion of a recipe because, well, you have to designate it to yourself! Amazon Check out a TikTok of the veggie chopper in action. Promising review:"Makes life so much easier. I can't imagine chopping onions or bell peppers by hand anymore, and it does so much more. We used to have a Prepworks chopper, which was a similar idea, but you had to press so hard to chop and it broke after not too long. This one requires very little effort to cut through the food and it has a generous container." — Amazon Customer Get it from Amazon for $23.99+ (available in five styles and four colors). 13. A folding sink topper that'll give you an ample surface when there's seemingly no room for all your getting-ready essentials. Now that you're done with the sink and don't have to wait for someone else to brush their teeth, you can make the sink pull double-duty! Sink Topper is a small biz that specializes in this product. Promising review: "Great for messy teenagers. Cool item for my teenager's bathroom. She likes to lay her hair/makeup stuff on it so she can keep her other bathroom decor on the sides. When she's done she puts what she was using under the sink and folds up the sink tray so it can slide under the sink as well." — Melina Get it from Amazon for $24.99 (available in two sizes and seven colors). 14. An under-cabinet lid opener to help pop open that jar of pasta sauce in a jiffy. Everyone can use this, but reviewers with limited dexterity especially find it helpful! Promising review:"Works exactly as it says it does. I have small hands and trouble gripping things. This makes opening jars extremely easy and it opens in seconds just by twisting the jar counterclockwise. I'm so glad I ordered two so I can give one to a family member who has trouble with opening jars as well. I would definitely buy this again!" — H.T. Get it from Amazon for $15.99. 15. A UV black-light flashlight that'll track down all sorts of messes that've been avoiding you. Now, you can figure out the source of that weird smell without recruiting someone else's nostrils. Good luck figuring out who's to blame, though! (Maybe this is how you find out you've got a messy ghostly roomie.) Promising review:"OMG this is disgusting!!! I hope this isn't all just cat pee that shows up cause there is a lot! I bought this because I thought my cat was peeing in one room and couldn't find the exact spot so I bought this. Found the spot and more. Would recommend." — Momof3boys Get it from Amazon for $12.99. 16. A no-scrub weekly shower cleaner you can simply just spray on after you shower, wait 8–12 hours while it tackles mold and mildew stains, soap scum, and just about any gross grime without YOU having to scrub. Talk about practical to the max. Promising review:"This product is so easy to use. As you can see from the pictures, my bathtub was staying pretty good. The guy that owned the house before me used Ajax to clean it so it has almost no enamel left on it and it's probably the staining and nothing could get it out until I bought this. After 4 8-hour applications you can see the difference. I highly recommend this to everybody and once it's completely clean I'm gonna go on the once a week application. I actually bought another bottle for my dad and mom." — Domenick R. Stamegna Get it from Amazon for $19.39. 17. A reusable pet fur remover might just have you tossing your old sticky roller after you see how much fur this reusable one (it has a sturdy brush system) picks up off your beloved couch. You don't wanna walk out the door with fur all over your behind, only to learn from your work nemesis. Promising review:"I have a golden retriever and the shedding is out of control. My fabric sofa is constantly covered in hair and I finally decided to try this after reading an article about popular TikTok products. The reviews do not lie, this thing works magic!! I wish I had taken a before and after picture because the difference is noticeable. I watched the video tutorial before I tried it to ensure I was using it properly and everything he says is true, you do really have to put your arm to work with vigorous back and forth movement! However, I find it's a great arm workout and it works wonders." — Joanne Ertel Get it from Amazon for $23.99. 18. A three-pack of Velveeta cheese sauce you can simply pour in a bowl, microwave, and then dump over pasta or just use as a dip for some good old tortillas. These'll come in handy when it's a Wednesday night and you barely want to lift a finger to feed yourself. No one is watching. Eat what you want!! Amazon Promising review: "These have been great to use. Cooking for just one person isn't the easiest thing for me, but these portions have been great when I want mac 'n' cheese, nachos, or a small smothered burrito for one. I'm sure when it's camping time these will make it into my camping stash." — M. Cheatham Get them from Amazon for $3.28. 19. A drill brush cleaning kit that'll attach to your drill/driver for an informercial-like cleaning sesh at the flip of a switch that'll have you seeking out all the dirty surfaces you've been ignoring. Includes three brushes that'll attached to a standard handheld drill. The white is a soft bristle, best for wheels, carpet, upholstery, glass, and leather; the yellow is a medium bristle, best for bathroom, bathtub, shower, tile, and porcelain; the green is a medium bristle, best for kitchen, stoves, cabinets, countertops, and linoleum; the blue is a medium bristle, best for boats, pools, canoe/kayaks, hot tubs, and plastics; the red is a stiff bristle, best for outdoors, siding, brick, garage, and gutter; and the black is a hard bristle, best for grills, loose paint, furnaces, ovens, and industrial use. Drill Brush is a small business based in New York! Promising review:"I'm in love with this. I manage many apartment properties and finding people to do the cleaning has been tricky business, so I end up having to get in and clean these horrendous filth pods tenants lived in and left me to deal with when they move out. The ovens and stove tops are usually the worst, and I absolutely hate cleaning. I came across this drill attachment set, and let me tell you, it helped me tremendously! I still had to get in with a putty knife on some of them but it really cut down my elbow-grease time. If it wasn't for this drill attachment, I think my arms would have just fallen off trying to clean it as good as I did! My only con would be that it doesn't have any extension of any sort, so I really had my drill all up in that oven, but well worth it." — alicia haats Get it from Amazon for $18.95 (available in six bristle types). 20. A mini air fryer in case you've put off the investment, or given up a too-big version a while back because it hogged all your counter space. (I actually gave a family-size one to my mom!) Promising review: "I bought this tiny air fryer to use while camping, but now it has a permanent space in my kitchen, too. I find myself throwing food into it instead of my expensive, gigantic one. So many times, I don't need the whistles and bells overkill of the big one. If you live alone or have a household of 1–2, and don't expect to cook a 5-pound anything in it, it's perfect and packed with the quality I expected from Cosori. (It also blew my camping buddies away when hot rolls hit the table on my night to make — Cheri Get it from Amazon for $59.99 (available in five colors). 21. A Dash mini rice cooker can easily make a hearty and filling side to go with that last piece of salmon or chicken you have in the fridge. But! It can also whip up oatmeal, stew, soup, quinoa, rice, and pasta. So that opens up all sorts of easy meal possibilities. Plus, it's small enough that you'll definitely find room for it on your one-bedroom apartment's kitchen counter. Promising review:"I bought this for my daughter for her dorm at college. She loves making flavored rice and warming up soups and things. She likes it so well that she brings it home from college with her on breaks. It is especially nice that it has a removable pot, which makes it so much easier to clean or keep leftovers in. Would definitely buy again, don't waste your money on a slightly cheaper one that does not have a removable pot." — midohtree Get it from Amazon for $21.95 (available in five colors). 22. A rectangular lazy Susan made to hold more than the traditional round ones and to help you use every last bit of your apartment-sized fridge's space. Yep, it's time to really make the most of your legendary condiment collection before that fancy jar of preserves goes bad. Amazon Check out a TikTok of the rectangular lazy Susan in action. Promising review: "This is perfect for short people with big refrigerators! I could never reach anything on the top shelf and had to grab a step stool, now everything fits perfectly on this, and I can reach them all! It glides great and is very sturdy." — Tara Mann Get it from Amazon for $21.99+ (available in four sizes/styles). 23. Some sheet fasteners if that fitted sheet won't stay put on your mattress, and you end up in a sheet burrito. These are exactly how they sound, so no matter how much you toss and turn, your fitted sheet won't come loose in the middle of the night and require an extra pair of hands to put back in place. See them on TikTok here. Promising review:"I love these! Since I started using them my sheets haven't popped off once and that used to be a several-times-a-night problem because I toss and turn when I sleep. Thank you, TikTok!" — Gabby Get a set of four from Amazon for $8.96 (available in three colors). 24. A set of safe-locking magnetic duvet clips to keep your duvet in its proper place, instead of loose and saggy inside the cover you couldn't resist form Urban Outfitters. These work for duvets up to 10 pounds and then use a magnetic key to remove the clips on laundry day. Amazon Checkout a TikTok of the duvet clips in action. Pinion Pins is a small business specializing in home improvement products. Promising review:"I was super worried about if I would have enough of the Pinions, and I totally do! My duvet is kinda thick and the Pinions pierced through with no problems! Plus with a little extra room if I had some extra layers. I REALLY like how you have to have the magnet tool to pull them apart. Absolutely no moving! Don't walk, RUN TO BUY THIS. I also like how unnoticeable they are." — Abigayle Mishler Get a pack of eight from Amazon for $17.95. 25. A small compost bin/trash can will easily hang on a cabinet door for easy hiding and use. The lid lifts up *or* flips over for easily dumping as you food prep. Living solo means you likely create a LOT less waste and don't need a giant kitchen trash can to contain the mess! Promising review: "So I saw this tiny trash can on TikTok, and I was moving into a tiny studio apartment and thought this would be perfect. Turns out it's one of the best things I've ever bought. I installed mine with the over-the-cabinet hooks (also comes with adhesive stickers) on my kitchen island, and it is so convenient I can't even express with words. The lid is on this nifty hinge so you can open it by flipping the lid up, or by sliding it forward and it folds down out of the way. I usually keep it open while I'm cooking but I can close it super quickly if I see the dog coming. There is a little pull tab for easy opening. It is so easy to use and easy to clean. It's also so cute! I use my plastic grocery bags as trash can liners for this and they fit perfectly. It comes with a roll of bags as well. The lid lifts off easily to change bags out. Clicks back on easily over the new liner. Can't recommend this enough!! This is going on my list of 'best things I've ever spent my money on.'" — Ginger Get it from Amazon for $23.99+ (available in three colors). 26. Or some pink! Cherry blossom–scented! Forceflex trashbags that'll be able to withstand all kinds of odds 'n' ends you throw in maybe buy you a little more time with bad food odors. Promising review: "These are my absolute favorite. They are stretchy and durable. They smell great and keep my house from smelling bad when I have food trash. And I love that they are pink." — Ashley van Kirk Get a 90-pack from Amazon for $21.99. 27. A set of two rechargeable emergency LED bulbs can function like regular ole light bulbs and then when a big storm hits and your power goes out, they'll stay lit for 3–4 hours, which is enough time to help you figure out what you're going to do next without tripping on something and hurting yourself. Promising review: "These little guys are so bright!! Got these on a whim after seeing it on a TikTok. These are super bright and charge when the light is turned on. These are worth the price." — Reid524 Get a two-pack from Amazon for $16.18+ (available in three colors and a four-pack). 28. A self-sealing magnetic screen door to let dogs help themselves out or in the house — so you won't have to peel yourself up from the hammock and leave your Margaritaville day dreams during bouts of nice weather. Promising review: "I bought this so my puppies could traverse to/from their backyard pen keep flying insects out. It is AWESOME! The puppies figured out quickly that they could go through the screen — the screen snapped back into a closed state immediately after they got through the opening. If only all things in life could be solved this easily!" — Lynette S Quigley Get it from Amazon for $26.99+ (available in five sizes). 29. Plus, an investment-worthy MicrowavaBowl you should absolutely make room for in your cabinet. After all, you have free reign of all the kitchen cabinet space! This bowl's elevated center distributes the appliance's heat evenly and quickly, so your leftovers are ready to go faster. Oh, and it's dishwasher-safe! Promising review: "These bowls are high quality and very convenient. They heat up food very quickly and evenly, saving you valuable time and energy. Its ability to heat the food and not the bowl itself is very valuable to me. Prior to this purchase, I would have to use a hot bowl holder to avoid burning my fingers. The size of the bowls are perfect for the dishwasher, making them easy to clean and use. I would highly recommend them to friends and family!" — Alana Get it from Amazon for $34.99. 30. A game-changing"bed wedge" pillow in a high-density foam and triangular shape to prevent stuff from falling into that gap between the mattress and the headboard. No need to scrounge down there for your phone or other stuff. Totally the stuff of nightmares! Bonus: There's a lil' side pocket for your phone, glasses, or other nighttime accessories. Promising review:"I did not realize that these were out there until I watched a TikTok about one. This has saved my pillows. I do have a headboard, but there was about a three-inch gap between it and my mattress. This has stopped my pillows from sliding down in between. I have had no issues at all with it. I did let it sit for almost 72 hours while it was getting its shape back from being in a shipping container, but after that it was perfect!!! I highly recommend." — Miss_Beck 32. A jumbo pack of toilet cleaning tabs you simply throw in the tank every two weeks to keep your bowl (and bathroom) fresher on the reg. Promising review: "Effective at keeping the toilet bowl clean and very easy to use." — Amazon Customer Get a 30-pack from Amazon for $22.99. 33. A handheld steam cleaner (perfect even if you're in a small space and that's who you can afford to live solo) with a nearly 10-foot-long cord to help you get at all sorts of greasy, stuck-on messes sans chemicals. Promising review: "Cleaned stove top and the hood vents. Then, I had to clean the sticky grease from the sink. Worked very easily and without chemicals. Easy to use and to refill. The attachments make various jobs easy to clean." — Lori Get it from Amazon for $55.89. 34. And a playful bath mat because you NEED one anyway. Might as well make your nonslip, machine-washable mat extra cute. It's your bathroom. Decorate how you want! Promising review:"I absolutely love this rug. I was not expecting it to be as cute and fluffy as it is! I've gotten so many compliments on it." — Amanda Fiji Get it from Amazon for $16.99+ (available in four sizes and three styles). Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'RHOSLC''s Mary Cosby Reveals How Life Has Been with Son Robert Jr. After Rehab: 'He Wanted to Change'
Mary Cosby is offering an update on how her son is doing after going to rehab for a drug addiction. In part two of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City reunion on Wednesday, Jan. 29, Mary opened up about Robert Jr.'s sobriety journey after he confessed to struggling with drugs and opened up about his mental health in an emotional scene earlier this season. He went on to enroll in a 30-day rehab program, and Mary said she is proud of him for sharing his story. 'My mission was accomplished,' she said. 'Robert and I came together and I told him that I was gonna talk to him and I wanted him to openly tell me what was his struggle, what was going on, because I [knew] he's absent. We didn't plan on what we were gonna say but we came together and said, 'If we can help just one person, then we'll just tell our truth.' When the cameras went up, he told me what he did and I just immediately wanted to help him.' 'The mission was to help someone,' she continued. 'And I feel like with the love I've been receiving, someone resonated, someone connected, someone understood me.' Related: RHOSLC's Mary Cosby Reveals Her Son Tried Heroin amid Struggle with Addiction: 'If I Don't Blame Myself, Whose Fault Is It?' Thinking back to that moment, a tearful Mary said she never expected to hear her son say the things he did. 'I didn't know that he was doing all that, and the fact that I was unaware scared me because he lives in my house,' she said. 'We're so close, and I just was shocked.' When host Andy Cohen, who also grew teary-eyed listening to Mary, asked how Robert Jr. responded to rehab and getting clean, she said she made sure the decision was his own because she knew that if 'he doesn't want to change, all of it's no good.' 'He wanted to go,' she revealed. 'And the way that he was telling me and opening up to me, that was a cry of help. That was him saying, 'Mom, help me. I'm drowning, and I don't know if it's a problem or an addiction.' He was kind of in a crossroads. He didn't really know, but whatever it was, he wanted to change.' Related: RHOSLC's Mary Cosby Sobs During Heart-Wrenching Conversation with Son After He Reveals Drug Addiction: 'I Let Him Down' Since returning home, Mary says Robert Jr. has been 'good,' but the road to recovery is still challenging. 'I still worry because I feel like once you go to rehab, you have to change your friends,' she explained, saying he spends more time at home and 'for the most part' isn't friends with the people he used to spend his time around. 'He goes to those classes, AA classes, he does those frequently and he has friends he has met from there.' Calling him her 'everything,' she went on to explain that although she was heartbroken to learn about Robert Jr's suicidal ideations and drug use, she was proud of him for being open and honest with her. 'He's worthy, you know. And I want him to believe that,' Mary cried. 'I feel like we are our worst critic, we're really hard on ourselves. And I see that through him and that he is really hard, and I just don't want him to be like that, and I wish I could change it.' Reflecting on her own childhood, Mary said she tried her whole life to give her son everything she didn't have, even moving to New York for eight years so he could grow up in 'a diverse atmosphere' with 'the best education.' At some point, she admitted she felt his struggles were her fault. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 'I do blame myself,' Mary said. 'I feel like somewhere I missed the mark on catching it, but I feel like everybody has their own journey, everybody has their own testimony, everybody has their own story, and I feel like that one is for him.' The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo. If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP. If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to Read the original article on People
Vox
28-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Vox
The rules of being a good Real Housewife, explained by messy Mormons
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City season five finale ends in a twisted game. The women are having an already tense dinner in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, when cast member Heather Gay suggests that they pull out their phones and share the meanest things they've written about each other as a 'healing' exercise. This moment is clearly designed to set up next season's feuds, but Gay, the crafty ringleader of the bunch — practically a producer on the show — frames it as a necessary release for the paranoid group of friends. Naturally, the scene ends with Gay's castmate and cousin Whitney Rose tricking frenemy Lisa Barlow into reading a sexually graphic rumor about her and her husband, John, which leads to Barlow reactively blurting out a sexually graphic rumor about on-and-off friend Angie Katsanevas's husband, Shawn. Any rebuilt trust among the group quickly unravels, and the women are, rest assured, back at square one. With a less outrageous and colorful cast, this clearly produced moment may have landed with a thud rather than a bang. But the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City cast has discovered an effective and refreshingly simple way to approach conflict as the 10th installment in the Real Housewives universe: Give the audience what they want, no matter how pre-meditated or contrived. Meanwhile, the women of the Real Housewives of New York City reboot have struggled to create fresh, compelling storylines as the newest show in the 20-year-old franchise. Their second season also recently concluded with a jaw-dropping finale, although it was ultimately more shocking than satisfying. After a season of failed pranks and boring arguments, the finale took a sharp and disturbing turn, focusing on a cast member's sexual assault and bringing out some troubling racial dynamics in the group. Both RHOSLC and the RHONY reboot have demonstrated the tricky business of joining a reality franchise so late in the game. However, after a few unbalanced seasons, RHOSLC has managed to carve out its own identity while leaning into the most classic Real Housewives tropes. Meanwhile, the level of self-awareness of the cast of RHONY is one of the reasons for its downfall. Since The Real Housewives of Orange County premiered on Bravo in 2006, there have been 11 different shows, almost 200 Housewives, and numerous tell-all books, all forming an exhaustive manual on how to succeed (and fail) on the popular franchises. RHOSLC , which premiered in 2020, is an example of a show that has clearly taken notes, sometimes feeling more contrived than earlier shows like RHOC and Real Housewives of New Jersey. The group of mostly practicing or excommunicated Mormons arrive each season with trivial beefs, fresh gossip, and even gimmicks (i.e., Angie K's literal scroll of grievances against Meredith Marks this season) ready to argue with anyone at any moment. But five years in, this setup has proven to create reality TV magic, producing instantly repeatedly one-liners, like 'high body count hair,' and indelible images, like Mary M. Cosby accidentally lurking in the background of a middle-aged woman's bat mitzvah. Finally, a coterie of ladies who are always ready to play the proverbial game. Even previously difficult cast members have come a long way in serving the show's funniest moments and biggest fights. Cosby has gone from ditching group outings for the McDonald's drive-through to being a primary player in this season. Additionally, Marks dropped her 'disengaging' act; now she is fully lunging at castmates from the back of vans. It's fair to say that the series has all but replaced the original RHONY as the campy, theatrical franchise, proving that a level of staging and blatant engineering can work on a reality show when everyone is equally committed. This more staged approach didn't always work. The show's first three seasons were heavily dominated by the series' overpowering antagonist, now-felon Jen Shah. Every time the dubious marketing maven entered a scene or spoke in a confessional, it seemed like she was reading directly out of a Housewives handbook, while also lacking a much-needed sense of humor. She also weaponized 'receipts' — a classic trope — until it became exhausting; to the point where the women were walking on eggshells around her when they should've been confronting her. Her closest friend in the cast, Gay, was particularly held back by her allegiance to Shah. It's no coincidence that the show has finally been allowed to breathe with Shah no longer present. (In 2023, Shah was sentenced to six and a half years in federal prison, though it's since been reduced.) Notably, Gay has emerged in a more dominant role, as the voluntary guardian of the group. She seemed to assign herself this position after she uncovered the shocking revelation in season four that new cast member Monica Garcia secretly ran a gossip account that exposed dirt on several of the Housewives. Now, it's become her job to side-eye the newbies and deliver a monologue about friendship at any given moment. Gay has also shown that she's eager to be the producer's puppet, doing whatever it takes to keep the momentum of the show going, including leading the group into a therapy session where they spew vile things at one another. It's fascinating to watch Gay essentially replace Shah as the authoritative figure for the cast, even if the fans don't agree with it. Instead of blackmailing the cast into submission, though, she's pulling their best performances out of them. It doesn't hurt that this particular cast, even out of all the shows on Bravo, are clearly yearning to be famous. On RHONY , the women are guided by the same awareness of what it means to be an iconic Real Housewife. But while the cast of RHOSLC is eager to be Bravo's show ponies, the New York Housewives have been much more hesitant to play the game. This replacement cast took over for a group of iconic but thoroughly exhausted housewives, including Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan, and Countess Luann de Lesseps, but after its first season, fans and Bravo pundits diagnosed the new RHONY with having a PR problem, aside from the women not exactly being the funniest bunch. The show's group of women, including fashion executive Jenna Lyons, were more professional and more renowned, and weren't willing to scream across tables at restaurants and get excessively drunk on TV, like their endlessly amusing predecessors. The second season was a bit different. Some of the cast, mainly Brynn Whitfield and Erin Lichy, were more eager to get down and dirty, spreading rumors and causing (admittedly not that compelling) rifts among the group. However, Lichy and Whitfield struggled to recognize the difference between embracing drama and completely manipulating the plot. Whitfield, the season's main menace, seemed to assume that the editors wouldn't reveal flashbacks of her being told one thing by her castmates and twisting it into another, or that she wouldn't get caught telling blatant lies. This all caught up to Whitfield in last week's season finale, where her tensions with castmate Ubah Hassan come to a disturbing head. After spending most of their cast trip in Puerto Rico provoking Hassan, Whitfield gets wound up over a hypothetical Hassan throws out about Whitfield 'maybe sleeping with someone' to get cast on the show. However, Whitfield continues to add on to the remark, claiming that Hassan used more graphic language and called her a 'whore.' Whitfield tells the group that Hassan's comment is particularly triggering because she had been raped, and that Hassan knows that. By the time this gets back to Hassan, it's clear she had no idea about Whitfield's assault and appears devastated by the news. At the end of the night, Whitfield eventually tells the group that Hassan 'may not have clocked' this anecdote within a larger conversation they had. With a group of more alert Housewives, Whitfield would've immediately been called out for egging on Hassan and blowing up the entire exchange. (Fans online also recirculated a scene from a previous episode where Whitfield tells her brother that he's the 'only person she's told' about the assault.) Instead, the women rush to Whitfield's defense and take her word over Hassan's before later admitting that they've probably been taken advantage of by Whitfield. While producer Andy Cohen excitedly teased the season's 'dark' finale, it didn't suddenly make the reboot any more compelling than it had been in its short time on the air. In fact, it felt like a desperate move for an already floundering show. The lack of content warnings demonstrated a careless attitude toward the episode's subject matter. It was also frustrating that Whitfield, a white-passing biracial woman, was effectively able to weaponize her real trauma against Hassan, a dark-skinned Somali woman, and briefly turn the entire cast against her, despite Whitfield's well-documented history of fabricating stories to the rest of the women. The entire encounter made Whitfield unwatchable from now on and revealed a colorist dynamic among the rest of the group. Oppositely, on RHOSLC, the women are surprisingly delicate when discussing dark subject matter, including family trauma and their scars from the Mormon church. The women, mainly Katsanevas, were especially respectful in honoring the privacy of Mary Cosby and her son, Robert Jr., when he confessed during the season that he had a drug problem and, later, went to rehab. All in all, the rules of being a good Real Housewife have never been more accessible, but the disparity between RHOSLC and RHONY proves that there's a delicate art to making a mess. Everyone has to be game and have a sense of humor. Most importantly, everyone has to know where to draw a line in the sand. You've read 1 article in the last month Here at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you — threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country. Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change. We rely on readers like you — join us. Swati Sharma Vox Editor-in-Chief See More:
