Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills newbie Dorit Kemsley may have come out of season 7 as a polarizing figure — we’re still upset about all the Erika Jayne #Pantygate slut shaming — but it’s time to stick up for The Housewife Of Many Accents. The busy mom came under fire during part 1 of the reunion show for having a nanny dedicated to each of her respective two young children, “fill-in” nannies, and three housekeepers. “Why do you have so many nannies if you pride yourself on being a good mother?” a fan from Nebraska asked. “Isn't there a thing as too much help?”
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First of all, no one has the right to criticize how a woman parents her children, unless she’s putting them in any type of danger. Having all the support Boy George music management money can buy isn’t danger. This viewer is basically saying having “many nannies” and “being a good mother” are mutually exclusive states. Not only is that line of thought insulting, it’s simply wrong.
Dorit obviously spends most of her time planning parties, going on international trips with the rest of the RHOBH crew, “overseeing” husband PK’s management agency, at least according to her Bravo biography, and trying to find things wrong with Erika Jayne. With a busy schedule like that, how is the Connecticut native supposed to also spend every waking moment with her growing children, Phoenix, 1 and Jagger, 3? If Dorit didn’t have the kind of dedicated child care team she has assembled, fans would still be calling her a derelict mom, simply for different reasons.
When you bare your life in front of a Bravo camera, it’s easy to believe you know every single thing about a person’s life. But, we actually have no idea how Dorit parents her kids 24/7, since the show isn’t called The Real Housewives of Dorit’s Mothering Skills. Viewers see a tiny fraction of Doirt as a mom, as compared to Dorit as someone trapped in a diamonds and rosé party feud.
The Bravolebrity explained as much during the reunion, telling host Andy Cohen, “[The nannies] are kind of on-hand. But even when the nannies are there, if I’m present, they’re not necessarily [working]. I’m not like I’m not choosing to spend the time with my children.”
While it’s good to hear Dorit confirm she chooses to spend time with her kids, it’s sad to see her defend something that isn’t really all of America’s business.
Welcome to Mothership: Parenting stories you actually want to read, whether you're thinking about or passing on kids, from egg-freezing to taking home baby and beyond. Because motherhood is a big if — not when — and it's time we talked about it that way.
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