"After the tumultuous wedding invite, the big wedding day was never going to be a walk in the park for me. Or in this instance, I should say, the beach. The only way I conduct myself at any event is with the utmost grace and class and Gamble and Rick’s wedding is no exception. I am going to support Gamble and help her to celebrate one of the most important days of her life. Mentally, I am prepared to move on (even though I can’t help think the invitation was obligatory) and have put aside what had happened. After all, this day isn’t about me, it’s about Gamble and her lovely partner, Rick. Arriving with the other ladies in Byron Bay, we were all smiles as you can see here. I can’t resist a cheeky little mention of my abs in this picture… I work hard for this body and I’m proud of it!
With three days to the wedding, Gamble and Rick are perched atop surrounded by beauty as they discuss their Prenup. I couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable watching Gamble and Rick discussing their Prenup on-air. Despite Rick admitting he finds a Pre-nup “hard to talk about,” he didn’t seem to have any issues with handing Gamble one and worst still, she smiled and commented how romantic it was to receive one. Ha!ha! pull the other one Gamble! It’s a discussion of a romantic ending. Just saying. However this is up to the individuals concerned, but I think it should be a private discussion.
It is no secret that Gamble is infatuated by Gina and hero worships the ground Gina walks on. So I am not surprised Gamble has got Gina to be the Celebrant at her wedding even though she is not an official Celebrant. If I could see through Gamble’s eyes, I’m sure I might see Gina in a white, glam outfit rocking a halo. Let’s be brutally honest here: this observation perfectly explains some of the self-centered nonsense Gamble has been hurtling about Gina in the last few days.
Unfortunately the weather is rotten, it is freezing and blowing a gust of wind. One would think that with so much visualisation going on, Gamble would have considered a Plan B if her beach wedding was rained on. Instead, she called on Jackie to conduct a psychic reading. I’m not one to add fuel to the fire but what was with Jackie’s refusal to share whatever vibes she was feeling about Gamble’s big day? And if she was not feeling any vibes, why didn’t she just say “I can’t pick up on anything” I have witnessed Jackie randomly giving unsolicited readings to strangers. Instead, she rants about how it was her day off and states, “darling I don’t give out vibes like that.” What does that mean? Does she want a fee? Does she want Gamble to book an appointment? Does she not help friends? Does she not like you enough to give you a reading? I wish she just explained what she meant. I would happily pay for Jackie to ‘read’ for me (fingers crossed anyway). I am sure Gamble would pay for a private reading, this is Jackie’s profession and it is fair enough if she wants to charge. Just don’t give excuses. I’m a highly successful businesswoman and I can tell you no sound professional would refuse a potential client. Jackie then has a go at Lydia for saying “it will be lovely to hear your vibe of what’s going on you know.” However, she did not have a problem with Chyka saying, “what about the weather though, are we going to have good weather?” #doublestandardsmuch. I am still trying to figure out what Jackie’s gripe with Lydia is all about.
By the look on Gamble’s face, she is clearly mortified that her so-called friend refused to use her ‘gift’ to arm her with peace of mind ahead of the most important day of her life. Gamble summed it up beautifully: “A percentage of Jacki’s vibes are pointing out the obvious.””Picking that on the Wi-Fi,”
Jackie says “I will tell you this, your wedding needs to be more organised”. I was holding my breath for some mind blowing vibe to come out of Jackie’s mouth. (only Chyka hears them). Gamble is worried about her wedding getting wrecked by the storms and me screaming like a racoon. I must accept that a dig at me is the norm in this group. If it floats your boat, knock yourself out. I must say, however, that it blows me away what small things actually amuse Susie. It was funny seeing her make comments about my dislike to walk barefoot. She must be bored. On a side note, Chyka discusses a plan B for the wedding and says with a very impressed giggle at the end, “doesn’t mean going to lots of restaurants makes you a cook.” You mean foodie. (That little giggle at the end was so cute Chyka)
A moment that really touched me was meeting Gamble’s mum – she was such a soft, warm woman who Gamble said worked 12 to 14 hour days to support her family. Rick and Gamble’s mum shared a moment in the garden that had me all teary… mostly because it reminded me of my incredible father, a true gentleman and the kindest person I am blessed to call dad who was never able, at either of my weddings, to walk me down the aisle. It’s those moments that really leave a mark on you and Gamble’s mum sharing how much she approved of Rick, was one of those special moments. It was a beautiful morning and the ladies shared funny baby stories. Jackie was not about to be left out of this conversation and in true Jackie style, shifted the attention to herself by carrying on and getting all squeamish about baby’s faeces. Seriously Jackie, this was attention seeking at its highest caliber. Is this woman for real? She is the first one to point out that everyone else is attention seeking, when she is the biggest culprit. If Jackie is serious about having a baby of her own, she better get her big girl panties on and get used to the idea of a lot more than just talk.
Despite the horrible weather, for me, the evening at the Beach Bar was memorable as it was the first time Lydia and I had the chance to chat since the mishap. To quote Lydia: “It’s taken me a long time to apologise to Pettifleur and sincerely mean it”. I am relieved she did not apologise earlier if she did not mean it. I was not waiting for an apology, just wanted her to acknowledge that she had hurt Gamble and my relationship further. I was very hurt by our distance. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to talk to Lydia, it was more like she did not make herself available to me. I try not to allow the other women to see how much I really missed Lydia, as like Jackie, they would dismiss my feelings and either bitch about Lydia or say to me the obvious, “go talk to her about it.” I am human. I have feelings. When I make friends, I make them for life but that doesn’t mean I don’t hurt.
I know Lydia’s husband Andrew and have shared her heart-wrenching experiences in the last year. I feel content knowing I’ve been there when Lydia needed me because that’s what real and true friends do. Good friends don’t breach trust, good friends back one another when the pack of vultures attack… most importantly, good friends talk to one another and realise that it’s always not about them, they listen to each others issues for hours and will not hold it against you, even though it may be one sided at times.
I am a straight-up woman. I don’t take sh*t, I don’t need to say things to earn the approval of people. I am comfortable with who I am. I am happy Lydia and I agreed to put the past behind us and move ahead. That was until Jackie entered the picture. And when I say that, I mean rudely interrupted a heart-to-heart among good friends. If that wasn’t enough, she promptly cut me down and had no issue in excluding me from any conversation. Now that is a mean girl act: the moment I spoke, she dismissed me. Talk about bad manners! Not only did Jackie hijack the beautiful conversation between Lydia and I, she then ignored my presence, my thoughts and tried to ‘put me down’ when I piped up and said I was only looking out for Lydia, I was further astonished that Lydia, after our emotional heart-to-heart didn’t bat an eyelid to defend me or even realise my reason for staying at the table was to support her. If you ask me, actions speak louder than words (and tears). They say one is the loneliest number but I’d rather go and sit alone than spend another moment caught up in all of the fakeness. Oh, and I can’t help myself: how does the word ‘banal’ fit into this conversation? Maybe I need to start taking my pocket dictionary with me when socialising with these ladies.
In the midst of all this, Gamble is very upset with Gina for leaving her party early. Some of the girls are exacerbating the situation without trying to calm an already emotional Gamble who has been drinking all night. Poor Gamble was feeling very sorry for herself about Gina’s early departure (of course, it’s all about the bride… bridezilla comes to mind here). I do understand Gamble’s point of view that she wanted to spend every minute with Gina, however, Gamble pays no attention to the fact that all of us girls are with her celebrating (an obsession with Gina comes to mind). Is it just me or has Gamble been rambling that “Gina isn’t here?”
I had no idea what Gina was planning but as it turns out, she planned a viewing party with some of the wedding guests to watch her appearance on Celebrity Apprentice. I take no issue to the fact that Gina has split her time between her friend and her son’s birthday.
Anyone who knows me knows how important family is to me. I love my three boys and they are my world. To be honest, I see nothing wrong with Gina taking a time out from the Gamble show to spend some time with her boys and watching her work. However, honesty is something I value so instead of sugar coating what she was doing here, Gina should have been upfront and honest about what she was planning. In my opinion, that’s where she has really failed. She lacked honesty.
Also, I must say Jackie and Janet’s mean girl behaviour here over another one of their liquid breakfasts, certainly didn’t help the situation. Friends should help not hinder. Is it really any of their business? Perhaps that liquid breakfast they have all too frequently has gone to their head and thoughts a little more than usual. Then again, who could possibly think bringing up your first appearance on Celebrity Apprentice and looking yourself up on your phone while witnessing the signing of a Prenup would be okay? It’s all about Gina here… has her ‘celebrity’ status gone to her head? We certainly have a few self obsessed women in this group, In fact I think we are all self obsessed, some more so than others and cannot see it, however very quick to point it out in others.
Finally, the big day arrived and there we all were: on the beach, walking on the sand and grateful the sun was shining through. Best friend/wedding planner/maid of honour/page boy, Alin, strolls behind Gamble holding up her train as the sand threatened to gobble it up while she walks down the aisle in a dress that was beautiful in every sense. Although I must point out, it probably was more appropriate for a cathedral or church wedding as opposed to the beach.
Gamble made for a truly beautiful bride and I must admit that like Gina, I had tears in my eyes. Gina did a really good job as the future official celebrant.
Now, I can’t leave you for the week without mentioning a special memory. I loved being walking down ‘the beach aisle’ (albeit minus a carpet) on the day with all eyes on me as though I was the bride. Forget about all of the nasty comments hurtled toward me by Jackie. I’d be talking about me too! I was in my element (oh, and look at the bottom of my dress. Oh so intricate) and completely comfortable in my own skin and that’s not something I apologise for. Gina mentioned something about me thinking I was in a Disney movie and she’s right in a way. I am in my own kind of fairytale where I’m completely comfortable in my own skin and couldn’t care less about the bitter thoughts of women who clearly feel threatened.
Thanks for reading this week’s blog. There will be more fun and games next week!
Lot’s of love,
Pettifleur"
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