Warning! The following contains spoilers for The Family Chantel episode "Ugly Sweaters And Painted Beards." Read at your own risk!
The Family Chantel took a trip to New York City, as Pedro and Chantel Jimeno traveled to see his sister Nicole Jimeno's new boyfriend, Alejandro Padron. The meeting was more or less for Pedro to give his blessing to the relationship, as rumor had it Pedro's mother was already not a fan of Nicole's beau. Knowing what was on the line I expected Pedro to be a little aggressive, but I didn't expect Alejandro to return the aggression.
The latest episode made it clear Alejandro was going to face an uphill battle regardless of how much he impressed Pedro in their meeting, but I can't say there was a shining moment for Nicole's boyfriend when the big meeting went down. Alejandro was standoffish from the time he walked in the diner to meet them and was not at all forthcoming with his answers. Don't get me wrong -- Pedro can definitely be erratic when he's speaking, but when someone asks you where you bartend and your response is "a bar," it's clear you're trying to push some buttons.
Pedro Jimeno didn't exactly help the situation. The Family Chantel showed that he kicked off the conversation by criticizing that Alejandro Padron painted in part of his beard. That would be rude to do in any situation, let alone when you're appearing for the first time on a TLC reality show with two people you haven't met before.
It's possible the situation put Alejandro more on guard about making sure he didn't look like a fool on television rather than putting his best foot forward for his girlfriend's brother. It's also possible this scene was edited to look a lot tenser than what it was, though Pedro's swearing and dissing of Alejandro to his face doesn't leave much room for me to interpret it any other way.
In truth, it's not like Alejandro needed Pedro's blessing to be with Nicole Jimeno, but causing unnecessary friction with her brother feels like a situation that could jeopardize the couple's relationship. With that said, it seems like his no-nonsense attitude has kept Alejandro free from keeping any major secrets from Nicole. Alejandro told Pedro he was still married towards the end of their conversation, though as the preview footage for next week showed, Nicole already knows and described the union as nothing more than a "piece of paper."
During all this drama Chantel Jimeno maintained that, ultimately, Pedro's opinion of Alejandro is not a big deal. Never afraid to share her opinion, Chantel seemed to think Nicole's relationship with this Dominican-born New York citizen is a way for her to come to America from the Dominican Republic and get a green card. Season 2 will hopefully tell the tale if that's truly the case, and if there's a chance that Pedro and Alejandro can't find some more common ground as his relationship with Nicole continues.
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