THIS week’s episode of Real Housewives of Sydney gets a whole lot more real than we’re used to seeing from the franchise, with Lisa Oldfield breaking down on camera as she reveals that her marriage is in tatters.

And as the show aired last night, her husband David took to social media to defend himself to viewers, claiming that his wife is “not a working mum.”

Before that, though, we’re over at Melissa’s house, where she’s watching a rough cut of her low- budget horror flick Boar.

“Boar is an independent Australian film about an oversized killer pig,” she says proudly, clearly positioning herself as Australia’s answer to Meryl Streep.

Last week’s Real Housewives recap: Girls turn on Lisa over ‘sick’ Instagram post

We see footage of Melissa as a feisty barmaid who, at one point, tells a customer she’ll rip off his arm and beat him to death with it — then punches him right in the face. It’s the sort of fiery passion she’s so far sorely lacking in Real Housewives, if we’re honest.

Matty drops around to visit Melissa after her dramatic exit from the group lunch at the end of last week’s episode. We love Matty more and more each episode, and we think we’ve finally worked out why: With her baritone voice and beautiful yet immovable face, she’s basically the Cher of Double Bay.

Matty’s treated to a sneak preview of Boar, which she seems to think is a long-awaited follow-up to Babe: Pig in the City.

“The fact that it’s a pig in the outback could work. Babe worked, so why couldn’t a big angry pig work?” she asks.

Talk soon turns to last week’s dramatic lunch — and Matty’s big fight with Athena, which saw both women label each other ‘fake’.

“At this stage, the way Athena X is behaving, the letter X in her name is a target,” says Matty, mime-firing a gun: “Bang!” OK, ‘murder’ may be slightly too much passion from a Housewife Matty, let’s dial this back a touch please.

Next we’re at Nicole’s house, where she’s invited Lisa and Athena around for morning tea. Athena has her own version of last week’s events. Frankly, she’s “sick of it”: Sick of the other ladies complaining that she badgers them about her spiritual beliefs. “Really, I haven’t even said anything,” she reasons.

“I, uh … I think you’ve said a lot,” says Nicole, earning her a quick ‘bitch please’ look from Athena:

Lisa suggests Athena try and get to know the other women a bit more, rather than constantly lecturing them about her spiritual superiority.

“I’m sick of it though,” says Athena. “They’re trying to make out that I’m a holy phony.”

“All I wish is that … maybe you wouldn’t speak so much,” says Lisa.

This is the sort of comment that, in any other scene, would bring about World War Three. But strangely — and we don’t claim to be experts, but it may be due to the distinct lack of bitch diesel on the table — Athena responds with a hearty chuckle, agreeing that she does tend to try and get the last word and conceding that it’s a “really bad habit.”

Athena agrees that the best call of action is for her to give Matty a ring and apologise for her behaviour last week.

Before she does, though, she’s got a more pressing issue to attend to: following her true spiritual calling as the greatest artist who ever lived. Gallery director Tim Olsen agrees to meet with her so she can show him what she’s working on. She’s met with Olsen once before, and by her own admission it “didn’t go as planned.”

She has a good feeling about this meeting though: “Hopefully it’ll catapult me into more greatness.” Forget the catapult, she’s dressed like she’s ready to Morris dance her way to fame and fortune:

She sits down with Tim, who already seems wholly unconvinced of her abilities.

“So ... you still see yourself wanting to be an artist?” is his devastating opener.

“I was brought on this earth to be an artist. This is my CALLING,” she tells him.

Athena’s artwork is the product of divine intervention, you see. God quite literally inhabits her body to create her paintings.

“I’d really like Tim to give me a break. I feel like it would be a huge loss for humanity to not be able to see my work,” says the humble woman who, in previous episodes, has compared her struggles both to those of Malcolm X and the entire people of Tibet.

Showing Tim the artworks — an array of colourful shapes with packing gauze inexplicably swaddled over the canvases — Athena explains her process.

“I’ve done a lot of soul searching, I’ve really gone within. Now I astrotravel. I’m seeing things from other dimensions!”

He’s unimpressed. While she’s made progress, he says her art isn’t “evolved” enough for him to exhibit.

Athena reasons that it’s actually too evolved: “My work is at least 100 years ahead of its time.”

Over to Lisa’s house next, where she’s sitting down for a family dinner with husband David, her father and her niece. What these visiting family members don’t realise is they’ve unwittingly bought front row tickets to a slow motion marital car crash.

David, who we noted last week is quickly emerging as the biggest, saltiest bitch on a show full of them, pointedly informs their guests that Lisa doesn’t do any housework.

“That’s not fair though, you know I’ve been working my guts out,” says the working mum.

“Yeah, I had to clean them up off the floor the other day,” he spits back.

David silently dares her to keep the argument going, his mean angry little wombat eyes staring her down:

From there, David reels off a torrent of Lisa’s parental and spousal failings, all delivered in an infuriatingly calm and measured tone. Having catalogued her every perceived personality fault, he smiles at his guests: “But hey, you are who you are.”

It is DEEPLY uncomfortable to watch.

Sat just inches from this domestic dispute, Lisa’s family members glance at each other, desperately attempting to tap out ‘Let’s split an Uber’ in Morse code under the table:

“He’s gone from being my biggest supporter to my biggest critic,” Lisa says in a piece to camera. “I don’t think he respects me as a wife.”

When we interviewed Lisa before the season started airing, she said that her biggest regret about her time so far on RHOS was using the show as a confessional about her marriage problems. BOY was she right.

As these scenes aired last night, David spoke out on social media, enthusiastically agreeing with viewers who’d labelled his wife everything from a bad mother to a “c***,” and elsewhere claiming that she’s “not a working mum” who uses her career “to fund her expensive tastes.”

@JazzPineapple Hey, finally, someone who actually gets it - congratulations! — David Oldfield (@DavidOldfieldAU) March 12, 2017

@MikeCullen73 One doesn't have to hear it from someone else when they're witnessing it for themselves. More complicated than just @RHOSydney — David Oldfield (@DavidOldfieldAU) March 12, 2017

@CayAlyce @neilk1 @Gina_Liano I'm not denouncing her, she loves her sons, but she is not a 'working mum'. Go be inaccurate elsewhere. — David Oldfield (@DavidOldfieldAU) March 12, 2017

This week’s episode finishes at Athena’s 41st birthday, and she’s invited “all the bitches” (her words).

The Housewives arrive, looking various degrees of rich Sydney glam. We feel bad for pointing this out given she’s not having the best time this episode, but attention must be paid to Lisa’s ‘Bridesmaid circa 1987’ party frock:

And then there’s her to-camera ensemble, which makes her look like the result of some sick human / lampshade crossbreeding program:

Enough fashion snark — there’s a party to be had, and shady presents to be given. In a wonderful nod to the fact Matty dubbed her a “fake Buddha” last week, Victoria’s birthday gift to Athena is ... a Buddha’s head. Athena must really be 100 years ahead of her time because she doesn’t seem to get the reference to last episode’s fight: She’s delighted at the gift.

“I bought her a Buddha’s head to help her with her path to enlightenment and spirituality,” says Victoria, giving yet another of her knowing smirks.

Lisa’s gift: She’ll host Athena and her husband Panos at a resort in Fiji for a week. This sounds lovely but, um, will David Oldfield be there? Oh, he will? Could we just have the equivalent in cash?

Krissy, who didn’t even bring a present and likely just came to this shindig for the promise of an open bar (respect), stares daggers at Lisa for this OTT display:

Matty’s the only no-show at the party. Athena insists she had called and texted her to apologise after last week’s tiff as promised, but got no response.

Krissy and Melissa, suspecting this may be #fakenews, slip to a quiet corner and get Matty on the phone. Matty confirms that no, Athena never called her to say sorry — all she received was a last minute text asking if she’d be coming to her birthday.

Back at the party, Melissa passes the message on: Athena didn’t call Matty to apologise; she texted her to chase up an RSVP. There’s a big difference.

Athena’s not happy that she’s been caught out in a lie and takes it out on Melissa.

“All of a sudden Melissa’s the big lawyer at the table? Melissa, Read My Lips: Mind your own business.”

This is a solid burn (she used her OWN SONG AGAINST HER!) but even better is Athena’s deliriously proud face immediately after she’s said it:

In the midst of the party, Lisa asks Victoria if they can ‘have a moment’. The pair head to the bar, where Lisa almost immediately tells a shocked Victoria that her marriage is in tatters.

“He belittles me. I love where we’re living, I love my children, I love all my animals, I love my beautiful home … I just hate the mongrel that I’m living with.”

Victoria quickly realises that this is a bold, personal statement to make on a TV show usually confected from cape-based girl-on-girl conflict:

Lisa says the tension is even starting to show in her two young children.

“My boys don’t seem to respect women, and that horrifies me. They have no respect for me,” she confesses, breaking down in tears.

Victoria grabs Lisa by the hand, looks her dead in the eye and gives her one hell of a pep talk: “What you need to do is get out of that toxic relationship and move on, because you will destroy those boys staying there,” she says, insisting Lisa take the details of her divorce lawyer.

“I think you’re right,” says Lisa, hugging the woman she barely knew and didn’t seem to like at all last episode (things move quick on this show). “I KNOW you’re right.”

With that, Lisa up and joins a passing line of Greek dancers, because this is Real Housewives and mood enhancers can kick in at any moment I guess?

The party kicks up a notch, with Athena the birthday girl dragging a chair into the middle of the dance floor, standing on it to make sure she’s the centre of attention. Krissy, always happy to upstage the host at a social gathering (particularly if it draws attention from male wait staff), hauls herself up onto a higher table.

As the party wears on, Victoria drops a surprise: they’re all going on a girl’s trip to the Whitsundays next episode.

Next week: Lisa nearly drowns — and reveals even more details about her bitter marriage rift.

The Real Housewives of Sydney airs Sundays 8:30pm on Foxtel’s Arena channel — and check back here after the show each week for our full recap. In the meantime, chat all things Housewives with recapper and human / lampshade hybrid Nick Bond on Twitter at @bondnickbond.