Southern Decadence

Mom: Lisa (Age: 27)

Daughter: Lauren (Age: 53)

Laissez les bons temps rouler! Lisa and Lauren are just about as Southern Louisiana as two gals could be: crawfish boils, big-hat brunches in the Quarter and of course matching sundresses! Daughter Lauren, lives in Robert, Louisiana and “mama,” lives in Kenner, Louisiana, roughly 35 minutes apart from each other. Lauren is having a difficult time being 35 minutes away from her mama, so she’s calling her every chance she gets. When she gets in the car in the morning. During her lunch break. When she gets in the bathtub, and again before bed. To bridge the gap, they have mom and daughter sleep overs where Lauren will show up unannounced at mama’s house. They’ll wear matching pajamas and spend the night crafting and cuddling, eventually falling asleep together on the couch. Lauren and Lisa are known as the family gossips and they tell each other secrets at every chance they get. In fact, they’ve also been known to do drive by spying sessions on family members to get the latest gossip. The two are an inseparable, fun, funny and fabulous pair!

Lisa and Lauren explain that their super-close relationship began when they decided to do a weight loss journey together while Lauren was in college. They worked out and planned every single meal together. Even though they gained some of the weight back, they’re still just as close. They still work out together, shop together, plan over-the-top Sunday suppers together…and of course go to their shared manicurist, Jimmy together. Mr. Jimmy is a big part of their lives as he helped both mom and daughter come to terms with Lauren’s sexuality. Lauren knew that she was gay since was in her early teens. She came out to her parents as a teenager, and seeing as they come from a conservative family, mom wasn’t readily able to accept her daughter’s sexuality. However, after Lisa and Lauren began to speak openly and honestly with one another Lisa really did come around. Jimmy explained to Lisa that he was isolated and ostracized from his family when he came out and Lisa vowed to never make her daughter feel that way.

Kayla, Lauren’s older sister, isn’t a big fan of Lauren and her mother’s tight-knit relationship. She often feels left out and looked over. Kayla feels that Lauren gets more attention, more time and more energy from their mother. And mom agrees. When Lauren and Lisa tell secrets, and have private conversations (in the bathroom with the door shut) it makes Kayla feel left-out.

Dad thinks that although she may not get as much attention that Kayla also isn’t making as much of an effort. Plus, mom thinks that Kayla is more of the tom-boy of the girls and isn’t as interested in the girly-girl things that she and Lauren do together. Kayla is engaged to her fiancé Thomas and the two are in the midst of planning a wedding. The wedding isn’t until 2022 but this family doesn’t do anything small so they’re taking all of 2021 to plan the special day. Well, Thomas and Kayla THOUGHT that they would get to plan their own wedding. Lauren and Lisa have other ideas for the big day and are doing what they can to take over the wedding planning themselves much to Kayla and Thomas’ dismay.  

Lauren met the love of her life, Laura-Leigh, through Tinder (yes it does work!). Lauren admits that they’re polar opposites; she’s a high-maintenance girly-girl who loves shopping on Magazine street and Laura-Leigh is a gun-shooting, pick-up driving, country girl at heart. Lauren and Laura-Leigh had a whirlwind romance that had them engaged at only nine months of knowing one another. Kenny and Lisa were livid. Although mom has somewhat come around, she still thinks that Laura-Leigh took her daughter away from her. Even to this day there is drama between Laura-Leigh, Lisa and Lauren. Recently, Mama thought Laura-Leigh wasn’t taking good enough care of her daughter. Lisa confronted Laura-Leigh which made Laura-Leigh mad at Lauren which then made Lauren mad at Lisa. It ended with Lauren crying herself to sleep. Laura-Leigh apologized by purchasing everything in Lauren’s Amazon, “wish-list” which did the trick as mom and daughter got the light-fixtures they had been wanting… 

Lisa and her husband Kenny have been together since they were fifteen years old! They all live near the family in the same neighborhood they grew up in. They live near Kenny’s father (who he calls Pepaw), Kayla and Thomas, as well as Lisa’s mom. Surprisingly, Kenny is also extremely close with his dad who will show up to work unannounced which drives Lisa nuts! Oh, yes…they also all work together. Kenny and Lisa own a telecommunications cable installation company. Kenny has worked there since he was 15 and now they own the place and Lisa is the vice-president! They also employ Laura-Leigh which doesn’t make it any easier on Lisa and Laura-Leigh’s rocky relationship. 

In order to be closer to the country Lisa and her husband Kenny built Lauren and Laura-Leigh their own home in Robert, Louisiana. It was incredibly difficult for Lauren to move away from her mama, so now Lauren and Lisa have been considering purchasing a home on Lauren’s street so they can be back together! Mom would prefer Lauren to move back home but this is the next best solution. Lisa and Lauren live on a country cul-de-sac with three other lesbian couples who they are friends with. Lisa has gone as far to ask Lauren’s neighbor/friends how much they would want for their home so that she could move in…

Lauren and Laura-Leigh have always wanted to be parents. Although Laura-Leigh was leaning towards adoption Lauren really wanted to experience pregnancy so she started a journey of artificial insemination. Of course, mama Lisa has been there for every step of the way! From picking out the sperm donor to holding her daughter’s hand while she was inseminated at the doctor’s office, there hasn’t been a moment that Lisa has missed. Unfortunately, Lauren still hasn’t been able to get pregnant. Laura-Leigh and Lauren are going to try one last time to get pregnant via a sperm donor but if this doesn’t take Lauren is considering having mom carrying the baby. Naturally mom and daughter love the idea but Laura-Leigh and dad are not on board at all!!!

Lisa and Lauren have an exciting and unexpected life together, but underneath the gossip, drama and hurricane-punch filled Mardi-Gras parties their relationship is unbreakable. Only time will tell how Laura-Leigh will take to their close relationship, if mom can stand having her daughter so far away or if Lauren can truly become a mom herself.