Mom: Jean Marie (65)

Daughter: Lauren (35)

Location: Oviedo, Florida

Mom Occupation: Vocal Coach

Daughter Occupation: Make-Up Artist & Stay At Home Mom

Under One Roof

It’s only natural for first-time moms to want their mother’s help as they navigate the emotional process of becoming mom official. After living in Las Vegas with her fiancée for two years, Lauren decided to pack up and move back to Florida, excited to experience the joys of raising her son alongside her mom, Jean Marie. However, Lauren didn’t just move to the same state as her mom, or the same town, or even the same block. Lauren, her fiancée, and baby boy Mikey are now living under one roof with Lauren’s parents. Though the house itself is plenty large, (6 bedrooms) big personalities and clashing opinions inevitably lead to bickering, storming out, fights and backlash. Tensions can get high, and even though Lauren is loving getting to live with her best friend, her fiancée Angel feels like he’s been manipulated to move in with his future mother in law. To him it’s a “nightmare.”

This mom and daughter is nothing but glamour, 100% of the time. They are always decked out, head to toe in ostentatious and gaudy outfits. It’s big hair, lashes, leopard print, designer shoes and purses, if it’s bedazzled and extra - they want it! Even if it’s just getting dressed for the grocery store, they wouldn’t be caught dead without a full face of make-up. Jean Marie worked as a cruise ship singer for many years and is now a vocal coach. Even though she is a full time stay at home mom and make-up artist Lauren likes to write music and sing as well, recording her own tracks. In addition to music as their love language, they are also physically connected. They will kiss each other on the mouth, despite being grown adults. They pick each other’s wedgies. And they dress each other, shopping in one another’s closets.   

Jean Marie believes that she has a form of clairvoyance that comes through via prophetic dreams. Jean Marie believes that she's had many dreams in her life that are premonitions to what will happen in reality. Lauren is intuitive herself, so she does believe her mom has some sort of gift, though the constant warnings are not always welcome. Lauren believes in speaking things into existence and visualization, so she can get frustrated when her mom tells her about bad things coming her way. Still, Lauren knows she’s just doing it out of love.

 Angel is desperate to build roots, and sincerely wants his own house and his own space. The deal was always that moving in with Lauren’s mom would be temporary. Fast forward a year and a half later, they’re still there under mom’s roof and rules with no end in sight. He’s been a rule follower so far, but even he has a breaking point. Angel was asked to not wear as many chains as he would like. Angel isn’t allowed to invite friends over. He’s not allowed to wear shoes on the carpet. He’s not able to buy the food that he wants to buy. He feels like an outsider in his own house, and instead wants to move back to Las Vegas so that he can once again be a king in his own castle. The problem is that Lauren wants to be close to mom. Oh, and having free child support and living rent free doesn’t hurt! The issue for Angel is that mom and daughter are addicted to shopping to keep up their glamourous lifestyle. Every cent that Lauren spends is another step backward in their plan to move back to Las Vegas.

What about marriage? Jean Marie finds it unacceptable that the two have been together for 15 years and Angel has yet to put a ring on Lauren’s finger. Jean Marie thinks that Angel has been wasting everyone’s time, he’s been meandering from one job to the next, spending frivolously. Her daughter deserves a man and a provider. He needs to step up and be the man that he says he is if she’ll ever take him seriously. Even Lauren’s brother agrees that Angel is in the wrong. When Michael, Lauren’s brother who lives just down the street, gets together with Angel for some guy time, Angel just complains about his living situation. Michael has no sympathy for him, believing Angel to be immature and all talk and no action. If Angel wants to be taken seriously, he needs to prove it!

To his credit, Angel has been making payments on a ring, and he’s about half way there. A proposal is in the future. But is it really about the ring? Or is there more that Angel needs to do in order to win over mom’s approval and have her blessing before they move out and back to Las Vegas?