Eileen O’Neal has had a pretty ideal post-divorce life. Though she’s still not comfortable with the idea of other people knowing that she’s divorced, Eileen has emerged on the other side of a trying time with a job that bolsters her sense of independence, a solid relationship with her ex-husband, and a new romance that taps into a part of herself that had been ignored for a long time. Rather than let the stigma around the end of her relationship with Pat ruin her, Eileen managed to build herself back up very quickly and make the steps necessary toward not letting the divorce define her self-worth. But for as well as Eileen has been doing with the recent events in her life, is there a limit to the amount of change she’ll be able to deal with at one time?
On the season finale of The Real O’Neals, VP Murray approaches Pat with the news that he wants to propose to Eileen. Not only does he do this because Eileen is still close with her ex-husband, meaning that he could be inviting a whole lot of drama if he proposed without giving a heads up, he does this because he’s great friends with Pat and wants the okay before making such a grand gesture. Clive would rather die than lose his friendship with Pat, but Pat and Eileen have been over one another romantically for years and since he knows how good of a guy Clive is and how happy Eileen is in her new relationship, Pat of course gives the okay. What remains to be seen, though, is whether Eileen would be willing to say yes just yet; while she’s come around to embracing her feelings for Clive and how it’s okay to want love again after divorce, the two haven’t been together for very long and it’s a giant leap from being in your first relationship post-divorce and focusing on getting back out in the dating world to thinking about being married again. Eileen knows the emotional consequences that come with divorce and considering her attitude toward the institution itself, she very clearly wouldn’t want to become a two-time divorcee, so she has to be positive that Clive is The One before she could confidently say yes. But would her relationship with Clive be able to survive if her response to his proposal was more “Maybe later” than “Yes”?
Elsewhere on The Real O’Neals, Shannon and Jimmy discover a positive pregnancy test and begin preparing for life with another sibling, while Eileen and Kenny realize just how far they’ve come after they begin helping Allison come out to her close-minded parents.
The season finale of The Real O’Neals airs Tuesday at 9:30 on ABC.
How would Eileen getting married so quickly after her divorce change her relationship with Pat? Do you think the pregnancy test Shannon and Jimmy find could belong to someone other than Eileen? Will seeing the trouble Allison’s parents have with her coming out make Kenny more thankful that his coming out went as well as it did?
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THE REAL O'NEALS - "The Real Secrets" - VP Murray is nervous to tell Pat about his plans to ask Eileen to marry him and is relieved to receive Pat's blessing to do so. Meanwhile, Eileen and Kenny realize how far they've come when they help Allison deal with her close-minded parents. Shannon and Jimmy discover a pregnancy test and prepare for life with another sibling, on ABC's "The Real O'Neals," airing on TUESDAY, MARCH 14 (9:30-10:00 p.m. EST). (ABC/John Fleenor)MARTHA PLIMPTON, NOAH GALVIN, RAMONA YOUNG
