Starting Over Blog

The show begins with Sommer receiving a phone call from Rhonda. Rhonda tells her that she wants her to gather the pieces of her bicycle and meet her at the park. In the confessional, Sommer says she is very excited and thinks she will be earning the rest of the parts of her bike today.

Iyanla arrives to meet with Antonia. In the confessional, Iyanla says Antonia is "knee-deep" in debt and she thinks it is time to get to the core of Antonia's issue. Iyanla has set up a board with Antonia's creditors listed. She tells Antonia to get together how much she owes each company and says that they may settle the accounts for less money than she owes if she calls and negotiates with them. Her assignment is to list how much she owes each creditor and then call them. Then Iyanla tells Antonia that she understands her (Antonia's) un-readiness to deal with her father issues. She says, however, that an opportunity has come up that would be of benefit to Antonia. SO graduate Jennifer is in town, and she has similar father issues. Jennifer's dad is also in prison and she wants Antonia to go have coffee with her today. In the confessional, Iyanla says Jennifer has things to say that Antonia needs to hear.

Sommer arrives at the park and meets with Rhonda. Rhonda tells her she has earned all six pieces of her bicycle and congratulates her. Sommer puts the bike together and Rhonda asks her if she ever believed she could do it. Sommer says she hoped she could, but didn't have complete faith. Then Rhonda tells her to close her eyes. When Rhonda tells her to open her eyes, there is a bike covered with a blanket. Rhonda takes off the blanket, and on the bike is a sign that reads, "Congratulations Sommer, you're graduating!!!" Sommer is very excited and she and Rhonda hug. In the confessional, Sommer says she has worked very hard and feels joy, but also sadness about the person she used to be. Rhonda then tells Sommer that she will be graduating tonight and then asks her if she would like to stay at the house after she graduates to help Christie with her upcoming 5k run. Sommer says she would like to stay and help.

Sommer returns to the house wearing the graduation sign backwards. She asks Niambi to turn the sign around. Niambi does so, reads the sign, and sees that Sommer is graduating. Antonia also sees it and the two women congratulate Sommer and are very excited for her.

Rhonda arrives and the women meet for group. Niambi has made her own "graduation" sign and is wearing it around her neck (It reads, "Niambi, you're graduating.") In the confessional, Rhonda says Niambi has to realize that graduation is about a lot of hard work. She says it took Sommer two years to graduate.

Sommer sits next to Rhonda and Rhonda talks about the humility and courage it took for Sommer to come back to the house after being asked to leave. Then Rhonda opens the plasma and reveals Sommer's completed steps. Sommer says she is very proud and she can't believe she is graduating. Rhonda says that Sommer has never had a makeover in the house, and then she brings in Andy Paige to take Sommer out for her graduation makeover. Andy comes in and tells Sommer she is thrilled for her. Andy and Sommer leave and group is adjourned.

Jodi and Christie go have a workout at Curves. In the confessional, Christie says she has a lot to do in regard to the 5k run, and she is feeling overwhelmed. She also says she has to see this as part of life; sometimes things get tough and she has to deal with that.

Sommer and Andy arrive at a clothing store called Billy's. Sommer tries on many different outfits, and finally finds the perfect one for tonight's graduation.

Antonia arrives at a restaurant called Marie Callender's and meets with SO graduate, Jennifer. She and Jennifer get a table and Jennifer tells her that her dad is in prison as well. In the confessional, Antonia says she feels immediately defensive and she doesn't want to talk about her dad to "strangers." Jennifer tells Antonia that her dad has a life sentence. Antonia says her dad isn't in prison for life, but she doesn't know how long he will be in prison. Jennifer tells her she had no intention of having a relationship with her dad, but Iyanla and Dr. Stan helped her to see that it would benefit her. Antonia says she does not want to have a relationship with her father, and she is not going to go visit him.

Jennifer asks Antonia whether she can see that her dad is human and that he made a mistake. Antonia says she can see that he is human, but she will not have a relationship with him. Jennifer asks Antonia whether she would want a relationship with her dad if she didn't have her mom in her life. Antonia says she doesn't even want to talk about that possibility. Jennifer says that Antonia's dad must feel very hurt not to know where Antonia is, or how she is doing in her life. Antonia says that is his problem. Then Antonia takes a bite of her food, and a piece of her tooth breaks off. She takes the piece of tooth out of her mouth and says she has to leave now and go call her mom. She says she has no dental insurance. She and Jennifer leave.

Sommer and Andy arrive at Blue Velvet Salon to get Sommer a new hairstyle. Sommer says she is excited about her new look and hopes her housemates like it, but what is really important is that she herself likes it.

IYanla arrives and meets with Antonia. Antonia shows Iyanla where her tooth broke. Then she and Iyanla go sit down to talk about the progress Antonia has made with her assignment. Antonia has not filled out the board with how much she owes her creditors. In the confessional, Iyanla says she knows Antonia is distracted by her tooth breaking, but not doing the assignment is unacceptable. Iyanla asks Antonia when her tooth broke, and Antonia tells her it was during lunch when she was talking to Jennifer about her dad. Iyanla thinks it is interesting that her tooth broke at that particular time. Antonia says she is going to call her mom to help her pay for to go to the dentist. Iyanla tells Antonia that she is a "grown ass woman" and that she needs to learn to handle things herself. Iyanla then asks her about her discussion with Jennifer. Antonia says she didn't want to talk about some of the things Jennifer brought up (about if her mom wasn't in the picture). In the confessional, Iyanla says Antonia worships her mom, who raised Antonia all by herself. She says that Antonia feels that even the thought of having a relationship with her father would be a betrayal to her mother. Iyanla tells Antonia she will help her find a dentist tomorrow.

Staring Over graduates Jennifer and Renee arrive for Sommer's graduation. In the confessional, Renee says she is doing well and is still attending the Art Institute of Phoenix. She says she and her father have remained close since her time at the house and she is very thankful to SO for bringing her and her father together.

Dr. Stan, Rhonda, and Iyanla arrive and greet Renee and Jennifer. In the confessional, Jennifer says she is engaged now, and her relationship with her dad and her sister continue to grow.

Andy applies Sommer's make-up and everybody gathers to wait for Sommer's entrance. In the confessional, Sommer says she knows now that she can choose to feel fear, but not let it rule her. She says she still feel insecure at times, but she can choose not to accept those feelings and continue on.

Sommer enters the room and everybody stands and claps for her. She is wearing a nice dress and has a new, shorter haircut that fits her face. Everybody takes a seat and Rhonda goes to the podium to begin the ceremony.

Rhonda says Sommer's original goal upon entering the SO house for the first time was to Lose Weight and Gain Self. They flashback to Sommer arriving at the house and telling her story for the first time. Rhonda says when Sommer entered the house she was a beautiful woman who had no idea who she was. She says Sommer's sense of self was a victim of every extra pound. They flashback to a wheelbarrow exercise Sommer did the first time she was in the house. Rhonda then says that Sommer faced her food issues and had started exercising, but then got distracted. She says Sommer desperately wanted attention and was interacting with the production crew. She says her brave housemates came forward and told her what Sommer was doing. Rhonda says she and Iyanla had to make a difficult decision to ask Sommer to leave the house. They flashback to the board of review when Sommer was asked to leave.

Rhonda says that when Sommer came back she had to apologize to everyone; even people she didn't know. They flashback to Sommer's second arrival at the house. Rhonda says after talking with Sommer she realized that Sommer was ready to achieve her goal this time. Rhonda talks about Sommer's exercise of putting the bicycle together and they flashback to it. Rhonda says Sommer is a different person this time around. She says she danced and opened up to her housemates. Rhonda then congratulates Sommer and they hug.

Stan goes to the podium next. He tells her he was very sad when she was asked to leave the house, but it turned out to be the best thing for her. He says she has now had a transformation and he is proud to have been a part of it. He says she not only looks like a different person, but she is a different person. He congratulates her and they hug.

Renee is next to the podium. She says she was blessed to have Sommer as her roommate when she was in the house. She says she could confide in Sommer, when she even though she was having trouble opening up to others. She says after Sommer was asked to leave the house, she came and visited her, and they watched Renee's graduation together and cried. She says Sommer had an emptiness in her eyes then because she didn't get to graduate. Renee says when Sommer told her she was going to go back to the SO house and try again, she was initially hesitant, but supported Sommer's brave decision and she is happy she did. She says her hope for Sommer is that she continues to dream big. Renee is crying and she and Sommer hug.

Jennifer goes to the podium next. She says she was also hesitant when Sommer told her she was going back into the house. She says she knows now, however, that it's the best decision Sommer ever made. She and Sommer hug each other.

Iyanla then goes up and presents Sommer with her graduation gifts. Iyanla announces that Sommer is getting a shopping spree in New York City with Andy Paige. They are also giving her a series of hip-hop dance lessons and the bicycle she put together. Then Sommer is presented with her SO trophy.

Sommer is at the podium and first addresses Stan, Rhonda, and Iyanla. She says they all embraced her and she realizes now that the first time she was in the house she "threw their love" back in their face. She says Iyanla talks in "spiritually flowery" language, and Sommer didn't "get it." She says, however, that it was Iyanla's words that echoed in her mind after she left the house. She says Stan called her after she left the house, and it meant so much to her. She tells Rhonda that she knows Rhonda made it possible for her to come back to the house. She says it means so much to her that Rhonda did that for her because she had felt very abandoned. She says to Jennifer and Renee that they also helped her get back to the house (by supporting her). She then thanks her housemates for their willingness to forgive her and let her back into the house.

Everyone hugs Sommer and then Rhonda brings Sommer out by the pool to light a candle. Sommer lights her candle, and in the confessional she says she has started over and finally closed a chapter in her life. She says it is exciting that she now gets to open a new chapter.

Preview: Antonia gets a wake-up call. The clock is ticking down to Christie's big day. Niambi tries to overcome a growing problem.