Cary Deuber (photo from Facebook)
Cary, Cary is quite contrary as a castmate on the “Real Housewives of Dallas.” Hired on to the cattiest reality show since “Bad Girls Club,” this Preston Hollow surgical nurse has largely stayed out of the wine-glass-throwing fray this season. But that’s about to change.
“You’ll see me a little more in (the show’s drama) in episode nine and 10, which are about the air,” she tells me during a phone call with the castmate while she and her Roberto Cavalli-loving husband, Mark, stole a few nights away in Turks and Caicos this week. In general, she says she’s strived to stay away from the friction but there were a few issues she had to speak out about.
“I’m a ‘say it to your face’ kind of person,” she says of the last two episodes (haters rejoice, it’s almost over). Expect more spice from her and all the castmates at the show’s reunion as well.
“We just got back from filming that in New York last week,” she says. “It was good, I got some stuff off my chest.”
In all, Deuber describes the “Real Housewives” experience as “not as torturous” as she initially imagined. As “Housewife” by proxy Marie Reyes also told us, the ladies were originally pitched on a show about Dallas’ elite charity scene, which is why it seems to be every other word out of the women’s mouths.
“It wasn’t until we were almost done filming that we learned it was going to be ‘Real Houswives,’” Deuber says.
But they certainly went full-force with the “Housewife” level drama out of the gate, largely centered between fellow Preston Hollow resident (and Advocate cover girl) LeeAnne Locken and everyone else on the show.
“It’s kind of embarrassing, a little bit,” Deuber says of being on the sidelines to some of the season’s juiciest fights. “I’m just too good for that, not to be an uppity whatever, but that’s just not me… I don’t want to make people look bad to make myself look better.”
When asked why she agreed to put her life under a microscope, for haters and internet comment boards to tear to shreds, Deuber gave possibly the most relatable answer one could: “I felt like I would always question if I didn’t do it.”
She adds, “I don’t feel like Bravo comes knocking on your door every day. We really wanted to see where this could take us.”
It has to be a boon for the Deubers plastic surgery and medical spa businesses, but she artfully dodged questions about how the show has impacted their medical practices. Overall, she feels comfortable about her portrayal on the show, saying she made a promise to “be 100 percent myself” before filming started, and stuck to her guns.
“Everything is who I am [on the show],” she says. “I haven’t seen anything that wasn’t me.”
She’s not sure if she’d sign on for another season, first she’d need the OK from her husband and children, who are regularly featured on the show. Whether or not the ladies of Dallas (and beyond, because at least a couple live in Plano) will be invited back for another season remains to be seen.
Viewers might be showing signs of burn out in the over-saturated “Housewives” market. The Dallas franchise has seen a steady drop in viewers each week as fewer and fewer people seem to care about the show and its frequent fecal themes. We experienced that here at the Advocate, with strong numbers for our early live tweeting of the show that eventually fizzled, causing me to drop the project and reclaim my Monday nights (watching the show sans commercials is way more palatable on this already demeaning assignment). But it’s not just Dallas, the New York franchise premiered to its lowest ratings to date; and even Atlanta, the crown jewel of “Housewives” ratings, saw a dip this year with 2.96 million viewers compared to a high of 3.5 million in 2014.
Here in Dallas, there has been plenty of negative press on the show. Residents have taken to the message boards questioning the castemates’ character and saying none are “representative of Dallas.” But Deuber is like a duck, all that negativity rolls right off her back.
“I didn’t do this to represent all women in Dallas. I mean, who does represent women in Dallas?” she questions. “I went on to represent myself.”
And she’s happy with what’s come out, overall. Although she seems equally eager to get back to her business and Preston Hollow life, where she and her family are regulars at Meso Maya, True Food Kitchen and The GEM.
“We have our own businesses, we don’t need the show to keep us busy,” she says. “When I’m not working on the show I’m working for myself, my husband and taking care of my kids.”
