‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’ Stars Break Down That Parents Weekend Dinner Nightmare

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Sex Lives of College Girls, Season 3, Episode 5, “Parents Weekend 2.”]

The Sex Lives of College Girls hosted its second parents weekend at Essex, bringing the families of Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet), Bela (Amrit Kaur), and Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott) together again with some fresh faces in the mix.

While Whitney’s mom Carol (Nicole Sullivan) was able to make it, her dad was missing this time around, whereas LeRoy McClain entered the scene as Whitney’s dad with her mom bowing out of this parents’ weekend dinner. Bela’s parents were present as they were for the last gathering, and newbies Kacey (Gracie Lawrence) and Taylor (Mia Rodgers) tagged along with Kacey’s mom (played by guest star Missi Pyle).

The night was filled with obstacles, though, as Bela lied to Arvind (Nabeel Muscatwalla) about her parents being in town, making for an awkward run-in at the restaurant. Meanwhile, Whitney discovered that her dad is on a dating app that she happens to be on, sending her into a bit of a spiral that went from bad to worse when Kimberly accidentally swiped right while holding Whitney’s phone.

Meanwhile, viewers got a peek into Kacey’s dynamic with her mom, who can be quite critical and wasn’t aware of her recent breakup with longtime boyfriend Calvin (Tyler Barnhardt). Ultimately, Kacey came clean, and the girls defended the breakup, noting that Calvin was a horrible guy for having cheated on her.

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Kimberly, on the other hand, went through a breakup in real time after her mother invited Eli (Michael Provost) for dinner, despite her wanting to end things. As the evening went on, Kimberly couldn’t handle the situation and admitted she’d been wanting to break up. Overall, it was a hilarious occasion that mostly worked out for all involved.

While Taylor didn’t have any parents on site, star Rodgers couldn’t help but gush about being part of the scenes, “That episode meant so much to me because that was just like a pure week of all of us girls and their parents.” She raved about getting to work alongside the “veterans, who’ve been on the show much longer all being together and just playing and riffing off each other and improvising.”

Much of that comedy stemmed from Whitney’s predicament, which she was forced to face at the end of dinner when her dad saw his phone notifications. They ended up having a discussion about dating, and he revealed that he was in search of a serious long-term relationship, reassuring her he wasn’t playing the field like a college student might.

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“When you meet him, he’s just a guy, which is kind of the best and most disappointing part of it all,” Scott says of the introduction of Whitney’s dad. “He’s just a guy, he’s just a person. And as you go through college and get older, you have to re-meet your parents every time you see them again and you re-meet them as the newer version of yourself who’s just had these experiences and coming into themselves. And with her dad, I think the reality that he is someone who dates is so bizarre and so crazy. But it’s also a silly way to represent that there’s growth on both sides and acceptance to be had on both sides.”

When it came to Bela’s storyline, she eventually fessed up to her parents about Arvind and apologized to him for lying about her parents visiting because she really cared about him. Bela admitted her feelings and shared a cute kiss with Arvind while her parents watched from the car. Whether that will force Bela to be a little more honest with her parents in the future remains to be seen as Kaur tells TV Insider, “I’m not sure if Bela is going to be more truthful to her parents, but that’s an interesting conversation. Can my parents really love me for who I am? Maybe we’ll see that in the future.”

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As for Kacey, Lawrence loved working with onscreen mom Pyle. “She is just iconic and one of the funniest people… In that episode where you meet Kacey’s mom, Kacey has modeled her own personality after her mothers and thinks of them as best friends and much of her identity and self-worth is wrapped up in this idea of her being just like her mom,” Lawrence points out.

Since being at Essex, Kacey has gained some new perspective, and because of that, “I think it makes her question some of the things that she’s sort of been taught by her mom, which is largely about appearance and the importance of appearance and how much you should invest your whole self-worth in beauty,” Lawrence adds. By the end of the episode, Kacey confronted her mother about the Calvin breakup and stood her ground regarding her appearance, appearing to turn a new leaf in their relationship.

What will happen next for the girls of Essex? Tune in as The Sex Lives of College Girls continues on Max, and let us know what you thought about the latest parents weekend in the comments section, below.

The Sex Lives of College Girls, Season 3, Thursdays, Max