The Big Picture
- Sara Al Madani is seen as the mediator and offering advice, but her intentions are questioned by her castmates.
- Sara’s well-intended actions are sometimes misunderstood or misinterpreted by others in the group.
- Despite her good intentions, Sara’s articulate delivery can come off as belittling or condescending to some of the other women.
During Season 1 of The Real Housewives of Dubai, Sara Al Madani was very much playing the middle of everyone else’s drama on the reality series. Viewers saw she had a close connection to her Season 1 bestie Nina Ali. She was branching out to form bonds with many of the other women, building fresh friendships. And now she’s even convincing some of the women to do spiritual therapy with her. But in the premiere of Season 2, some things have come to light and have illuminated the truth behind Sara and her intentions. She has always tried to be the one to mediate and offer advice, but her advice sometimes comes at a cost. She’s insulted her castmate’s parenting skills. She’s questioned the validity of certain couples relationships. And yet she still thinks she’s the innocent mediator. Dr. Sara Al Madani is brilliant. She’s so brilliant she might be the ultimate manipulator. As Chanel Ayan says, maybe she needs a soul surgery!
The Real Housewives of Dubai is back for a spicy second season on Bravo. Following the lavish lives of some of the most fabulous women in the City of Gold, the series stars Caroline Brooks, Caroline Stanbury, Chanel Ayan, Lesa Milan, Sara Al Madani, and Taleen Marie. Showcasing what it’s like to live in the UAE, like any good Real Housewives franchise, there are extraordinary parties and constant drama. Not all the drama is manufactured from malice. Sometimes good intent gets lost in translation, and it causes things to fly off the rails. Insert Sara Al Madani here.
‘RHOD’ Sara Al Madani Means Well
As an Emarati local, Sara Al Madani is the cool, calm, and collected one of the bunch. She’s the type of woman who tries to practice what she preaches. Not only brilliant, Sara Al Madani is beautiful. She is the co-founder and CEO of HalaHi, a product similar to Cameo, where consumers can purchase personal messages from celebrities and other high-profile personalities. It’s just one of the many brands, products, and boards Sara is a part of. As an award-winning entrepreneur and renowned public speaker, Sara has had quite a prolific life. From a personal perspective, she has been divorced twice and is a single mother to a wonderful son, Maktoum. With love on her mind, the teaser trailer for Season 2 has given fans an insight into the future of Sara’s love life. Perhaps Maktoum might get a new step-daddy like he joked with his mom!
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As a public speaker, Sara is used to offering advice and helping others. She knows how to inspire and encourage, offering her insight and experience into whatever topic she’s speaking about. Fans even saw her in action last season as she was given a keynote speech. As seen throughout the first season of The Real Housewives of Dubai, Sara was quite level-headed and rarely found herself in the middle of a confrontation. She was often the ear some of the women would turn to in hopes of venting. And instead, Sara would sometimes share her thoughts which had gotten her in trouble. Not every vent session needs a resolution. One of the most monumental moments of Season 1 occurred at Caroline Brooks’ intimate dinner party where Sara offered her unsolicited parenting advice. Brooks did not take too fondly of the words, but speaking to Collider, she knew she meant well, and her frustration was that the pair just didn’t know each other well enough yet. From one single mother to another, sometimes keeping those thoughts to yourself is important. There’s no one way to be a mother. While the pair did move past it, this should have been a teaching moment for Sara. It was not.
Friendships Are Shifting in the City of Gold
Chanel Ayan was the breakout star of The Real Housewives of Dubai Season 1. She was a fun, quirky character who expressed her life in a manner no one else could. There is only one Ayan. Through her time on the season, she revealed a vulnerable side by revealing her childhood traumas. During a groundbreaking episode in Season 1, Ayan opened up to Sara and a therapist about undergoing forced genital mutilation. It was a harrowing experience, with Ayan breaking down as she recounted the ordeal. She revealed that she suppressed much of the trauma, but her ability to speak about it allowed her to bring awareness of what happens to some women in Africa. Chanel Ayan is a survivor, and she was brave to share it with her friend, and in turn, the world. This moment brought the two women closer. Until some headlines took Ayan by surprise.
During the first group brunch of Season 2, the conversation that did not pertain to Beyoncé and where everyone was sitting, was seemingly positive. Until Sara discussed her spiritual therapy. Ayan could not handle the perceived false positivity. Ayan revealed to the group that Sara was the one to encourage her to open up about her incredibly personal traumas only to run to the media and claim that she was using those traumas to play the victim. With Sara stating that Ayan’s story was no excuse for bad behavior, she claimed Ayan had the words twisted.
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To be fair, Ayan has had many instances where a conversation went off the rails because it was literally lost in translation to her. When the pair went off on their own to talk, Sara once again tried to claim that her well-intended actions were misconstrued. She told her she didn’t call her a victim, but claimed that she can’t let her trauma as a victim be an excuse to be mean to others. It was a very rich statement, but it did not reach Ayan in the manner it had been intended. The women were talking in circles. Ayan took it literally and Sara was backtracking. Sara was taking the situation personally because in her heart, her intent was to help Ayan through a very personal moment. Ayan knew the same, but felt betrayed that Sara used her status to speak ill of her to the media. The exchange was mild compared to other Housewives fights, but like her argument with Brooks a season earlier, Sara’s intent was called into question.
Sara Al Madani is a kind person. She only wants what’s best for the people in her life. But she knows how to use her words in a manner that others cannot. She is extremely articulate. She is good at what she does, but her delivery is not quite connecting with this group of women. Her tone can be perceived as belittling or condescending, but, unless she’s pulled the wool over our eyes, she is not malicious. With men entering the picture this season, Sara is bound to be hearing a plethora of unsolicited advice from her friend group. It will be interesting to see how she handles the feedback. She doesn’t need to take it, but as she tells others, she needs to at least receive it.
The Real Housewives of Dubai airs new episodes every Tuesday on Bravo at 9:00pm. All episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.
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