Mending broken bonds: expect mother of all dramas

THE FRACTURED relationships of mothers and daughters of celebville are exposed in Lifetime’s The Mother/Daughter Experiment: Celebrity Edition.

Similar to I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Jersey Shore and Teen Mom, meltdowns, cattiness and drama are at the heart of this reality series.

Some of the faces are recognisable like Shar Jackson, who played Niecy Jackson in the comedy, Moesha. Then there is Courtney Stodden, the controversial reality star, model and actress, who married Doug Hutchison aged 16 when he was 50 years old.

Jackson stars with her daughter Cassie, who is feeling suffocated by her overprotective mom. And Stodden confronts her mother, Krista Keller, about trying to ruin her marriage. They haven’t spoken for a while.

Heidi Montag, ( The Hills), has a strained relationship with her critical mother, Darlene Egelhoff. Kim Richards ( The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills) appears with her daughter, Kimberly Jackson, who feels like the parent in their relationship.

The remaining two mother-daughter couples are Natalie Nunn ( Bad Girls Club, UK) and mum Karen and Jessica Canseco ( Hollywood Exes) and daughter Josie.

Rather than simply have the cameras stalk the celebrities, the narrative is steered towards a psychologically-driven approach. Therapist, Dr Debbie Magids, helps them channel their pent-up anger and misunderstanding in a more productive way – they get to exhale while being taken through helpful exercises as they do in #Blacklove.

The objective is for the mothers and daughters to leave with healthier and happier connections. There are times, though, when that seems impossible, especially with Courtney and Krista.

In the first episode, Courtney, who made the headlines for smooching a woman while on holiday, said: “Now she (her ex-momager) claims to regret it, but I’m not buying it all.”

There are two sides to every story, especially public fallouts like this. It appears that Krista, who is a PR on steroids, was initially asked out by Doug and, after being turned down, struck up a relationship with her 16-year-old daughter.

Then there is Kim, who has graced the covers of tabloids over her rehab stints. Her downward spirals have taken their toll on her daughter.

Heidi, who has beef with Natalie for saying hurtful things about her plastic surgery, is volatile from the moment she enters the house and her dependency on alcohol leaves her prone to angry rants.

In a chat with her mum, whom she hasn’t spoken to for two years, she says: “I felt like you ripped my heart out… you hurt me so badly!”

She felt that her mother speaking to the media about her disapproval of her daughter going under the knife was an act of betrayal.

Jessica’s decision to be a friend to her daughter Josie has caused a lot of friction as she’s forgotten that she needs to also be a mum. Her solution to any disagreement is to ask Josie to take a Xanax.

Natalie feels her mother is always absent from her life, while her mother is still coming to terms with the loss of her own mom.

Although everyone is trying to open up and heal, there is also a lot of back-biting in the house.

In one of her chats, Heidi says: “I may be the one with the plastic surgery, but I’m not the one being fake.”

Then there is Natalie, who delights at the first sign of a showdown.

Ultimately, judgement is passed by the know-it-alls in the house, cliques are formed and emotions run high.

The camera exposes all the vanity in the oestrogen-charged ambience. And, boy, do the claws come out.

The Mother/Daughter Experiment: Celebrity Edition airs on Lifetime (DStv channel 131) on Wednesdays at 8.45pm.