Episode three of Preachers of L.A. gave more insight into the wives of the pastors this time around. It was a nice change to have some insight into them.
Bishop Wayne Chaney’s wife Myesha had an idea to host the first tea party for the first ladies of the church as a way for them to have a space to talk and connect. “There is no place where pastor wives can come together and be pastor wives.” She talked it over with her husband about who she wanted to invite. She wanted to invite the wives and fiancée of the other men on the show. After the conversation with her husband she met with Ron Gibson’s wife Lavette to get her opinion on the tea party. Bishop Noel Jones does not have a wife or fiancée, but he does have his friend of 16 years Loretta, so Chaney decided to invite her.
Ron Gibson spends the whole day with two former drug members Big E and Rick Dogg, taking them to the store to get them church clothes, while talking to them. The outing showed the progress being made in the two men’s lives as he prayed with them after dropping them off. Gibson expressed that he wanted them to be able to be change to others like them. He also wanted them to look at him as a brother to them, “I’m going to be like your big brother.” Toward the end of the outing the viewers could see how Gibson was truly helping these men. Rick Dogg stated that he would thank God every day before he got out of bed.
Jay Haizlip and his wife Christy take a walk where they talk to one another. Christy tells Jay about an invite to the tea party and whether or not she wants to go. Christy’s hesitation to go is that she is has a hard time making friends being a Pastor’s wife. Since her and her husband moved from Alabama to L.A. she does not have her friends from childhood around her. She is scared to open up to the new women because she doesn’t want to be hurt, she feels as though people mostly look at her status rather than her as a person, “I just haven’t really been able to find that girlfriend that I can just be Christy with and not the pastor’s wife.” After their talk, the Haizlip’s saw a woman walking her dog, the woman appeared very fragile and thin. Jay begins talking to the woman named DJ and she opens up to him about her having thoughts of suicide and suffering from anxiety and panic attacks. The Haizlip’s pray with her for her to be cured.
Deitrick Haddon and Dominique are having lunch and she mentions the tea party to him. He doesn’t seem interested in the tea party calling them, “kind of stuffy and stiff.” When Dominique mentions that Loretta, Noel Jone’s lady friend was invited, Deitrick appears confused. He doesn’t understand why she is invited to a tea party for first ladies when she is not a first lady or in waiting to be one.
Loretta has just opened her new restaurant with the help of Noel and other business investors, when Noel comes to visit the restaurant she tells him about her invitation to the tea party. Noel Jones is not happy about her being invited or even going to the tea party thinking that it’s a way for the other women to question her about their relationship. He tells her that she will be their victim and that someone will be offended by her boldness. He warns her “They are going to ask too many questions,” but tells her that if she is asked any questions that she does not want to answer to tell the first ladies that its none of their business.
Dominique talks to her mom about her annoyance at the fact that she and Deitrick cannot live together, especially with the wedding two months away, a sentiment Deitrick has expressed for the past three episodes. “Because I can’t live with my fiancé it’s like I’m living the life of a single mother,” she feels that if her fiancé was not famous no one would care about whether or not they shacked, but her mom set her straight telling her that, although it’s true, God does not say that shacking it okay.
The Tea Party: The event went well; Myesha wanted the women to feel comfortable so allowed each one to bring a friend. The Tea Party was the most powerful part of the episode as the women opened up to one another. The question, “You are a pastor wife, do you have friends in the church?” opened Christy up. She explained that she was skeptical of people that come up to her because she is unsure if they want to be her friend to know her or for her status. The women around the table agree with her sentiment that being the First Lady can be lonely because of constantly having to discern the motives of others. Dominque asked “How do you ladies deal with other women?” Each woman gave their own stories of women trying to talk to their husbands or slipping their numbers to their husbands.
The conversation turned to Noel Jones and Lavette’s relationship. Lavette told her not to wait much longer and Loretta replied ““Let me be clear. Let’s just not assume that I’m here to be his wife.” At the Tea Party there was tension between Loretta and Lavette, Lavette tried to give Loretta advice in a motherly way, but the advice was not what Loretta asked nor cared for. “At the end of the day there is no marriage coming around the corner,” Loretta is fine with her relationship with Noel, but she wouldn’t mind something more with him.
Before the women dispersed Lavette talked to Dominique just to give her some words of wisdom about cohabitating. Dominique felt that she and Deitrick were already married because they have already consummated their relationship which in biblical terms means their married. Lavette told her that, that was fornication.
The episode ends with Deitrick and Dominque checking out the venue for their wedding. Deitrick says he’s letting Dominique run the show, but his actions show otherwise. They get into an argument about how this is Dominique’s first wedding and his second, each expressing a different perspective. Deitrick doesn’t want to wait to be with her, suggesting eloping but she doesn’t agree. In the end they settle the argument.
Next week episode shows Dominique wanting to elope with Deitrick a month before the wedding, is she compromising too much for Deitrick or should they wait? Tune in to Oxygen next week Wednesday at 10/9 c!