Katie Gray 
The Real Housewives of Dallas are back and better than ever! As we all know Brandi Redmond adopted a beautiful baby boy, Bruin Charles, and the journey was shared on the show. The whole process may have looked like a walk in the park on the RHOD, however; it is actually a lengthy process. It’s not quite as easy breezy as the producers made it look on the RHOD. Bravo doesn’t have time to show everything because they have to squeeze all of the storylines into an hour long show, and without commercials that is about 45 minutes long. In the end it’s definitely worth the tedious process, though. This is evident on the RHOD, just as it is depicted in fiction like the romantic comedy film “Juno.” Brandi spent a long time going through the motions to be able to have a closed adoption and take her baby boy home!
on the show, Dr. James Mercer, was the one who helped the adoption become a reality. Brandi was introduced to him through close friend, and fellow RHOD co-star, Stephanie Hollman. He appeared briefly on the last episode. According to Shira’s Got The Scoop, James and his colleagues, “spent a ton of time with the Redmonds ensuring that the family was 100 percent ready and on-board to adopt a child when one became available.”
James revealed that there were months of scheduled home visits, as well as surprise visits when Brandi and her family were not expecting it. According to James, “There was psychological vetting, drug testing, reference checking and many other evaluations.” Yes, being on reality TV may add an interesting dynamic. However; James said that Brandi was fully qualified to adopt. James said Brandi, “completely has her shit together as a parent” and “has an immense amount of love to give and is an excellent mother.”
James explained that as a social worker, Stephanie had become familiar with his work with Lonestar Social Services, a foster and adoption agency serving the state of Texas. James said, “Stephanie is the kind of person I could call up and say ‘This child really wants a Batman bed. What can we do?’ and before you know it, she has donated a bed, bedding and her husband is making himself available to play softball with another child. The Hollman’s are the most giving people with huge hearts. When Brandi was having her fertility struggles, Stephanie said to me, ‘What about Brandi?'”
James opened up about the entire adoption process. He explained, “This is not an easy process. It can be a year of totally consuming you and testing your patience and commitment. Then there are times things come up unexpectedly and the process can take longer. Or, there are certain highly specialized requests so things don’t happen as fast as you’d like them to.'” However; he said that Brandi was “incredible” during this journey. He also added that she did NOT get any special treatment during this process. From start to finish, the least amount of time it could have taken is seven months.
Congrats to Brandi! It’s not an easy road to parenthood, but in the end it is totally worth it – and is incredible rewarding. I’m not surprised that Stephanie introduced Brandi and James. I’ve interviewed Brandi before and she’s a total sweetheart, totally down-to-earth and selfless. I’m glad that we got to see some of this whole journey on the RHOD.
Are you surprised to learn that the process was a lot more difficult than the show made it look? Thoughts on Brandi’s adoption journey? What do you think of the new season of the RHOD so far? Share below!
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