'Housewives' son lashes out at his mom
FRANK MICKADEIT
In this new season of "The Real Housewives of Orange County," Lauri Waring likens the merging of her family and that of new beau George Peters onto "The Brady Bunch."
I guess I missed the episode in which Carol kicks Greg out of the house and he's forced to borrow clothes from Sam the Butcher. Or the one where Greg, with nowhere else to turn, moves in with Mike's ex-wife. Not only is the truth of the Waring-Peterson merger far more twisted than "The Brady Bunch," it's far more twisted than even what is portrayed on the "Housewives."
I've always said it was the Housewives' kids I felt sorry for.
Last year, I soberly advised them to run away, live on roadkill for awhile and ultimately stow away on an outbound O.C. Fair truck because they stood a better chance of being raised properly by carnies than by their parents. In particular, I wrote, it was Lauri's troubled teenage son, Josh, for whom I felt the worst. His mom bared his problems with pot and truancy for the world to see. Even newspapers protect delinquent minors by not naming them in most cases. What mother would give her son less protection than a degenerate newspaper editor would?
Anyway, about a month ago, Josh turned 18 and he called me. We arranged to meet at the Starbucks at PCH and Crown Valley Parkway, not far from where he's staying with Peterson's ex-wife, Gina. (Imagine what Angelina Jolie would look like if Angelina Jolie had been a little more blessed in the looks department.) Josh has grown into a good-looking, fairly well-spoken young man. He is also a very angry young man – angry at his mom for, in his opinion, exploiting him and then abandoning him in favor of the millionaire developer George and the lifestyle he can provide.
Lauri tells a much different story, and we'll get to it. But what follows today is Josh's version: About this time last year, he and some underage friends – including George's and Gina's son – were out late one night in Lauri's car and got pulled over for a curfew violation. Lauri was in New York City with George, so Gina took in Josh. The curfew bust was a violation of his probation for his earlier drug problems. When Lauri returned, she signed him over to the state, which put him in a treatment center in Apple Valley. He remained there until December, when he turned 18 and was released. He was clean when he left, Josh says, and remains clean.
Lauri, who had moved into George's Newport Beach house by then, allowed Josh to stay in her Ladera Ranch townhouse and use her car. One of the rules was: no parties. She came by one night to discover about five of his friends in the home, which Josh says didn't constitute a "party," and kicked him out. No clothes, he says, and no car. He had earned his high school diploma and was to start at Saddleback College. Without a car, he had to drop out. He now lives with Gina, whom his mother reviles and who is locked in a prolonged custody battle with George.
"She has changed," Josh says of his mom. "She's a different person. I don't know if the show went to her head, or what. At one point, she went off to Europe (with George) and left me with the home and the car. I don't think she wanted to parent me."
He said he called her from Apple Valley, told her he was getting into fights constantly because "I was the only white kid" and was "looking for some empathy in her voice – anything – but there was none. All I heard was, 'I'm going to Europe with George,' and she was gone."
"Since I've known George, I can count up a million dollars he's dropped on my mom." (Lauri says this figure is greatly exaggerated.)
Of his participation on the TV show, Josh says, "My mom was willing to expose (my problems) but not willing to handle it. It was public entertainment, which pretty much disgusts me. ... If turning your son into a disposable item was necessary for success, she was willing to do it. If you watch this season, it's disgusting the lies I put on for my mom. I don't know why I put that face on for her. Maybe I was hoping she'd spend time with me."
Josh says he wants to get a job, re-enroll in college and get a business degree. The day we met, he had just scheduled a job interview at a south county restaurant. When our interview was over, we went to my car and I gave him an old sports coat, a pair of slacks and a half-dozen dress shirts.
"She has changed," Josh says of his mom. "She's a different person. I don't know if the show went to her head, or what. At one point, she went off to Europe (with George) and left me with the home and the car. I don't think she wanted to parent me."
He said he called her from Apple Valley, told her he was getting into fights constantly because "I was the only white kid" and was "looking for some empathy in her voice – anything – but there was none. All I heard was, 'I'm going to Europe with George,' and she was gone."
"Since I've known George, I can count up a million dollars he's dropped on my mom." (Lauri says this figure is greatly exaggerated.)
Of his participation on the TV show, Josh says, "My mom was willing to expose (my problems) but not willing to handle it. It was public entertainment, which pretty much disgusts me. ... If turning your son into a disposable item was necessary for success, she was willing to do it. If you watch this season, it's disgusting the lies I put on for my mom. I don't know why I put that face on for her. Maybe I was hoping she'd spend time with me."
Josh says he wants to get a job, re-enroll in college and get a business degree. The day we met, he had just scheduled a job interview at a south county restaurant. When our interview was over, we went to my car and I gave him an old sports coat, a pair of slacks and a half-dozen dress shirts.
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