The Real Housewives franchise is known to be explosive and entertaining; the Lagos instalment was not any different. The first season was 12 episodes long and aired on the 8th of April, 2022. The season revolved around 6 housewives – Carolyna Hutchings, Iyabo Ojo, Toyin Lawani (aka Tiannah), Mariam Adeyemi Timmer, Laura Ikeji and Chioma Ikokwu (aka Chiomagoodhair).
Here are seven iconic quotes from Season 1 of the Real Housewives of Lagos:
1. “Spoil me with loyalty and I’ll grace you with my presence” – Carolyna Hutchings
A staple element of the Real Housewives franchise is the housewife tagline. Of all 6 taglines, I’ve deemed Carolyn’s the best. The cadence with which she delivers the line expresses how simple it is for her really. Short, sweet and direct. This was a leading example of her many quotables to come during the season.
2. “If you want to fight, go ghetto” – Iyabo Ojo
Iyabo was probably one of the most peaceful housewives this season, but she was definitely an instigator. In episode 8, she organised an in-person meeting with all the ladies to discuss the major fight that had occurred virtually. The discussion quickly turned heated as Carolyna had made several heavy claims about Laura. Laura, who had been threatening to get physical for a while, had made a great show of attempting to beat Carolyna, but ended up being held back by Mariam and other crew members. Iyabo was NOT having that.
3. “I don’t do stupid friendship” – Toyin Lawani
It’s safe to say that at the start of the show, Toyin was Laura’s closest friend. When all the other housewives were over Laura’s antics, Toyin was the only one who still tried to include her and make her feel welcome. That is, until Laura made it clear she had had enough. During a get-to-know gathering at Mariam’s house, Laura snapped at Toyin, saying she was “doing too much.” Laura claims she was tipsy at the time but regardless, Toyin felt incredibly disrespected. She said then and there that she was done caring about Laura. Apparently, a couple of days later, Laura apologised to Toyin but that was not televised or in the presence of the ladies. During the confrontation in episode 8, the issue was re-hashed. Laura got in her feelings about Toyin seeming to never have her back which Toyin countered by bringing up the apology that happened in private. Toyin also expressed that she would not blindly support Laura because that is only what a terrible friend would do.
4. “What I’ll wear, you can’t wear it. If you wear it you’ll look like a mad person”– Toyin Lawani
The fact that Toyin said this whilst wearing a top made of crayons and sharpeners says more than enough. The CEO of Tiannah’s Empire had a lot of opinions about the fashion moments this season – and there were a lot. She particularly had issues with Chioma’s fashion choices. In Episode 9, while attending a paint & sip with Chioma and Mariam, Toyin made it clear that she thought Chioma arrived to events late to make a grand entrance. She particularly kept harping on the fact that she herself is the fashion god and a star maker, basically marking a territory that Chioma was not trying to drag with her.
5. “I don’t seek the spotlight, the spotlight comes to me” – Chioma Ikokwu
Chioma showed several times this season, that she was not one to back down or let herself be bullied. She made it clear that she was in no competition with Toyin, especially not over fashion. In the same vein of Toyin declaring her fashion goddess status, Chioma also explained that she doesn’t gun for attention – attention just seems to find her.
6. “You’re boujiee, you’re boujiee but you’re using fork and knife to eat sushi” – Chioma Ikokwu
In the 12th and final episode of the season, we saw a huge blowout between Chioma and Carolyn, who had been the best of friends during the show. They went to events together and hung out one-on-one, they just really seemed to share a tight bond. All that came to a halt during Toyin’s birthday trip to Dubai. A physical fight that happened off-camera between Iyabo, Chioma and Carolyn had caused major problems because Chioma got involved only to protect Carolyn. Because the fight happened at late hours when they weren’t being filmed, the details are still a little muddy. However, the viewers saw Chioma angry at Carolyn for handling things the way she had done. It seemed there was some built up frustration on Chioma’s end as she claimed she had defended Carolyn even when she was wrong. Then the fight got weird. Condescending insults were exchanged and low blows were thrown, leading to Chioma’s wild statement during her confessional.
7. “Everybody is taking your man except you” – Carolyna Hutchings
This quote is certifiably the best response to someone who keeps accusing people of snatching their partner.
Shortly after the season finished airing came a 2-part reunion special. The reunion honestly opened up a lot more questions than it answered but it also gave us further insight into some storylines. We learnt sometime mid-season that Carolyn and Toyin had a shared past way before the show. Their friendship started and crashed 12 years prior. Comments made during the show had angered them both in retrospect and they had even taken to twitter to exchange words as the show was airing. During the reunion, they were given the floor to explain their beef but it was rather convoluted and resulted in a yelling match. Carolyn expressed how fed up she was of Toyin claiming women had “snatched” her man and even name dropped BBN’s Nengi as one of the accused.
Season 1 of the Real Housewives of Lagos was drama and fun galore. The entire season is available to binge now on Showmax.
