The Vacation Episode! Poolside Chats, White Lotus Theories, and Beverly Hills Drama

Brandi’s got a surgery date. Dr. Carlo Henrado is going in on Friday to figure out what’s actually going on under her skin — two specific spots, already marked, exploratory. She’s calling it great news, which tells you everything about how the last few months have gone.

Brandi’s face is rattling. That’s not a metaphor. She’s got some kind of fungus situation going on, it’s moving down her body, and she has photos she’s threatening to share with everyone. Recovery continues to be a journey of surprises.

Brandi's giving the real update — where she actually is with recovery, what the bills look like, and the part nobody asks about: what it feels like to owe that many people and mean it when you say you'll pay every one of them back. She and James get into when she's getting back to work, and what "back to work" even looks like right now.

Brandi finally has an answer. After three years of being told it was anxiety, stress, or all in her head, an ultrasound showed fluid on her brain — and suddenly every doctor who brushed her off had some explaining to do. She and James get into what those three years actually cost her: the appointments that went nowhere, the $7,000-a-week treatment her insurance barely dents, the creditors calling, and the GoFundMe her friend Gina set up because Brandi was too proud to ask.

Brandi is flying solo and honestly thriving — James called out last minute claiming his phone got "hacked," and Brandi is not entirely convinced. No cohost means no interruptions, and she's making the most of it, starting with the Kim Zolciak headlines about her 15-year-old son and why everyone needs to wait for actual evidence before piling on a kid.