Total Bellas: September 20, 2017

Who's Your Momma?

Lauren and J.J. embark on counseling to fix their marriage; Bryan is skeptical with his and Brie's registry that comes to a dis-invite from the baby shower, and Nicole tries to fulfill her loneliness by gaining custody over her dog, Winston.

## Recap

As you may have heard, Nikki Bella is not expecting to get married or have children anytime soon on E!’s Total Bellas. Brie Bella, as you also may know, isn’t the biggest fan of her sister’s compromise. That's doubly true this week, since she realizes she’ll never get to repay Nikki for the incredible bachelorette and baby showers she’s put together. So, Brie decides to throw a “Women’s Empowerment Party” to celebrate Nikki’s status as a career working woman, and it goes … terribly.

For one, the idea is barely out of her mouth before JJ spills the beans, and the general consensus among the family, John Cena included, is that it sounds like a pity party. So, Nikki kiboshes it, but we do get a glimpse into how she has compartmentalized her feelings about family when she reunites with Winston, the dog from Season 1 whom she had to give to Brie and Daniel Bryan once she got back on the road.

Nikki, who splits time with Brie caring for the pup, sees Winston as the only child she’ll ever have, but Brie and Bryan call her out on her parenting skills when she leaves the dog with her mom while accompanying Cena to the Kids’ Choice Awards without telling them. Nikki admits that she feels lonely without Winston and Cena around, and the dog helps alleviate that, so the sisters decide their joint custody arrangement can proceed, as long as everyone communicates a little better. Things perk up, however, when Nikki gets involved with Cena's SmackDown LIVE rivalry with The Miz, leading to an exciting new chapter in her career.

Brie and Daniel Bryan’s baby shower is coming up, and they’re registered at Babies ‘R’ Us … only Bryan (who’s resolved to miss WrestleMania if it looks like the baby will come early) is putting his foot down when it comes to some of the more extravagant gifts, like a $400 baby monitor. His point is that they shouldn’t ask their friends to drop hundreds of dollars on their behalf, and plus, he’s worried his daughter will take luxury for granted.

Brie counters that they might end up needing the monitor and that the baby shower is supposed to be fun, adding that Bryan’s anxiety tends to suck the joy out of these experiences. She floats the idea that maybe he shouldn’t come to the baby shower if he’s going to be in a bad mood, but he rallies by showing up with Josie, Winston and the baby monitor, which he purchased himself after a talk with Mama Bella. And, as a bonus, they’ve finally landed on a name: Birdie.

JJ and Lauren’s separation continues with two major developments. One, Lauren finds out that the family is aware of their situation after sitting down with Brie, which makes her feel more than a little foolish for putting on the happy face. She confides in Brie that she feels like JJ is pulling away (seemingly a consequence of his decision to give each other as much space as possible — perhaps too much), so Brie tells her to push hard for marriage counseling. Lauren does just that, which leads to the second big development: The couple goes to their first appointment, and JJ realizes he’s going to have to work at this whole marriage thing until the day he dies.