The Big Picture
- Ashley Darby and Mia Thornton both leveraged their beauty to secure wealthy husbands and a luxurious lifestyle. However, Ashley handled her marriage breakdown with grace and loyalty, while Mia’s emotional outbursts and blame game led to a bitter divorce.
- Ashley followed the gold-digger’s etiquette guide by staying in good graces with her estranged husband, Michael. Despite his infidelity, she never publicly ridiculed him and still has access to his restored finances.
- Unlike Mia, Ashley never brought the third parties from her open marriage onto the show, maintaining the respect for her marriage. Mia’s admission of marrying Gordon for his money is a major infraction in the realm of gold-digging and may cost her future financial support.
The Real Housewives of Potomac was built on a foundation of beautiful women who are unapologetic in leveraging their beauty in exchange for a luxurious lifestyle. OG cast members like Karen Huger and Charisse Jordan are both women who enjoy the lifestyles their husband’s wealth has provided, but 30-something Ashley Darby could teach a class or two on using her beauty pageant looks to secure a lifestyle of privilege. Former exotic dancer Mia Thornton could learn a thing or two from Ashley as Mia’s hypergamy-based union has fallen apart.
Ashley Darby and Mia Thornton’s May-December Relationships With Wealthy Men
Season 8 opens with proof that Mia’s marriage to business owner Gordon Thornton has come to an end. Gordan spoke with TMZ on October 8th and shared his belief that Mia only tied the knot with him because she saw the resources he could provide her but now that his funds are inaccessible, she’s left him in search of an upgrade. In a trailer scene from this season’s trailer, Mia is accused of marrying Gordon for his money to which she replies nonchalantly, “Maybe I did,” and shrugs her shoulders. It’s hard not to compare Mia’s amateur antics to the way Ashley has handled her relationship with her estranged husband, Michael.
Ashley and Michael are living separately, but he is currently listed on her $2 million mortgage, and she made it clear in a recent conversation with Gizelle Bryant in the upcoming season that it’s nice to know that Michael is always there to help her financially if she needs it. The same cannot be said for Mia.
Ashley Darby Follows the Gold Digger’s Etiquette Guide to Staying In Good Graces With Michael
The differences in the way Ashley handled her May-December relationship with Michael compared to how Mia is lashing out against Gordon is like night and day. Both women quickly had two children during their marriages, securing their connection beyond the possible dissolution of their marriage. Ashley and Mia have both shared they indulged in their husband’s fantasies and allowed other women to join them in the bedroom. Michael was accused of hitting on RHOP crew members and even co-star Robyn’s husband, Juan. Gordon was accused of being inappropriately suggestive Karen. Both husbands have acknowledged they enjoy having a hot young wife on their arm and have at one time hit a financial setback that threatened their cash flow. There are numerous similarities between both relationships but the thing that stands out is each woman handled the marital breakdowns differently which resulted in very different outcomes for their ability to access their husband’s cash after the love is dead and gone.
When Michael was experiencing financial trouble, Ashley stood beside him and defended their family as a united front to her inquiring cast mates. When Mia was confronted in the season 7 finale about their family’s obvious financial struggles, she tried to blame her husband’s family. Later when her explanation unraveled she switched positions and threw Gordon under the bus. Throughout season 8, Mia is blaming Gordon for the financial state and having to downsize.
When sharing new glamour shots of herself on Instagram, her friend Jacqueline left a comment on the page stating, “Good D does a body good.” Mia liked the comment and audiences were shocked to see a public admission that Mia has moved on from Gordon.
Ed Gordon Went on TMZ to Blast Mia for Being a Gold Digger
In very different approach, Ashley still has not separated herself from Michael completely. She never publicly ridiculed him during his lean times, so it’s not surprising that Ashley has access to his restored finances. Ashley did share Michael’s infidelity with the ladies, but only after blogs were running stories with pictures and timelines in tow, so there was no alternative but to admit that Michael was unfaithful. Ashley’s choice not to publicly bash Michael worked to her benefit as she still has access to his money and lifestyle.
Ashley Darby Admitted to Having an Open Marriage
Unlike Mia, Ashley also didn’t bring any of the women she and Michael brought into their bedroom onto the show. The triangle between Mia, Jacqueline, and Gordon was uncomfortable, to say the least, and also worked to lessen the respect shown to their marriage by the show’s fans. It’s one thing to hear that Ashley and Michael have enjoyed threesomes and alternative activity in their bedroom, but it’s quite another to see that third member brought onto the show’s stage and ultimately Mia and Jacqueline’s friendship implode in front of the other cast members.
Ashley remained tight-lipped about having an open marriage until it was painfully obvious and even after it was public knowledge, she never went into detail on camera about their extracurricular fun. As a result, the rest of the cast can speculate and give her their opinion, but Michael appreciates Ashley’s loyalty which provides her a lifeline to his bank account.
Mia’s blatant admission of marrying Gordon for his money has to be the biggest infraction in the proverbial girl’s guide to landing a rich man handbook. Anyone could look at Ashley and Michael and realize the attraction to him was his wealth and his attraction to her is her obvious beauty, but admitting that fact would be viewed as classless.
Ashley may come from humble beginnings, but she has learned the tricks of the trade and knows how to present herself in an affluent society. When asked about her future, Ashley refers to her sons and tearfully laments being a single mother and not being able to provide for her sons. Mia on the other hand complains about not having enough space for her clothes and accuses Gordon of being fraudulent to absolve herself of any responsibility in his complicated financial struggles. If Gordon gets back on his feet, which wealthy men usually do, it’s safe to assume he will not be volunteering to help Mia out or paying her mortgage.
Karen Huger and Charisse Jordan Set Great Examples for Marrying Wealthy Men and Maintaining the Bag
Ashley is a classic case study of a young beautiful woman snagging an older wealthy man and allowing his money and access to change her life. Mia’s inability to see the bigger picture has quite possibly cost her time and money as a bitter divorce battle is inevitable. She should’ve taken a note from Ashley’s manual and kept her personal life private in relation to her bedroom. If you are hedging your bets on a wealthy man providing you with a life of leisure, then there are certain rules a woman must follow to ensure she always focuses on why she is in the relationship, which is continued access to his pockets.
Mia’s emotional outbursts are not good for business because they often burn bridges as is evident with Gordon going to TMZ to blast her for being a gold-digger. There is nothing worse for a woman looking to find a man of wealth than that man calling her out on her intent. Being exposed as a gold-digger is the worst possible fate for a woman looking for gold.
Hopefully, Mia will take a few lessons from her castmate Ashley or even Karen and/or Charisse before she starts looking for a replacement wallet for Gordon. Judging by Jacqueline’s comment on Mia’s recent IG post, she’s already heading down the wrong road with the new “D” on deck.
Denial of responsibility! TechCodex is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
Khushi Patel is a science fiction author who lives in Austin, Texas. She has published three novels, and her work has been praised for its originality and imagination. Khushi is a graduate of Rice University, and she has worked as a software engineer. She is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and her books have been nominated for several awards.
