Ugh, these shows.  I’m so conflicted because, you see, I actually watch them. And I admittedly am thoroughly entertained by them. And then, like a night of a sleazy affair in a cheap motel, I feel equally ashamed afterwards because it is such bad TV and surely I could be doing something more worthwhile with my time than watching this silly drivel. But whatever; I’m not even going to get into the banality and pettiness that is at the root of all of these shows. I don’t watch them for how-to instruction (how not to, maybe) on behaving at a grand opening or charity dinner or basically any event where there are handy wine bottles nearby to hurl at someone’s head. It’s entertainment, pure and simple. We all have our guilty pleasures and I guess this is mine. But that doesn’t make me any less thoroughly annoyed each and every single time that I watch, and for the very same reason each time: The titles. Hollywood Exes, Atlanta Exes, even the Love & Hip Hop series;  for most (not all) of the featured women, each time their name is displayed on the screen, it is followed by “ex-wife of” or “ex-girlfriend of” or “ex-fiance of.”

That’s what aggravates me. Because for one, since when is a failed marriage/relationship something to base a TV show on?  But beyond that, why would you call on this man’s name as a way of identifying yourself ?  The women describe themselves as entrepreneurs and their own person and “not just so & so’s ex-wife”, but yet every week they remind us every time they are on-screen that they are so & so’s ex-wife! They prattle on and on about their product and clothing lines, their deals and developments, and you have to wonder wasn’t this all technically financed by him?  Did they get on this show because they are a great moms and businesswomen, or did they  get on this show because of who they were married to? Can they honestly, honestly, say that they would have had the same opportunities had they not been linked to said famous person? Really?

And that’s not even to say that it’s something they should be ashamed of. Well, maybe it is a little bit for the ones that dated (i.e. slept with?) numerous celebs for all of a blink of an eye and then somehow wound up being featured on a show. I mean, I guess. If that’s how you choose to be famous then by all means do you. But its understandable for the ones that were actually wives and/or the mother of his children, that were by his side from the very beginning and are half the reason he is who he is today, and that stuck by his side for many of the downs as well as the ups. Then yeah, all of that makes it her money too and no one can be mad at all that she’s used that money for whatever ventures her heart desires.  All I’m saying is, it just makes it harder for viewers (and maybe its just me) to buy the whole “I’m bad by myself”  thing while blazing the ex’s name every time she’s on-screen. I just wish they could stop introducing themselves by saying “Most of you know me as John’s ex-wife” or meeting up with other women and having your first question be “Oh, and who were you married to/who did you date?”  It’d be so much easier to stomach if the names of the shows were, I don’t know, something like, “Hollywood Socialites” or “The Women of Hollywood”, something, anything that didn’t imply that you are only relevant and worthwhile enough to be on this show because of him. If you wouldn’t want to be defined by your ex then it bears reason that you wouldn’t exploit your relationship with your ex, either. Leave the past, and his name, where it belongs.