Elizabeth Chambers appeared rather disillusioned with the concept of reality TV — while in the middle of filming her reality series Grand Cayman: Secrets in Paradise.
During a Tuesday, April 23, episode, Elizabeth, 41, was preparing for a party to celebrate the upcoming opening of BIRD Bakery in Grand Cayman’s Mykonos Steak Club & Bakery. The event, which was planned by Cass Lacelle, featured Elizabeth’s costars on the guest list: Selita Ebanks, Courtney McTaggart, Chelsea Flynn, Craig Jervis, Connor Bunney, Julian Foster, Aaron Bernardo, Teri Bilewitch, Dillon Claassens, Victoria Coleman and Trevor Coleman.
The reunion, however, didn’t play out as expected. After walking in two hours late, Elizabeth greeted Julian and Craig but avoided several others, including Courtney, who wasn’t happy with the situation.
“I truly don’t think it is special to Caribbean culture to walk into a room and know to greet people. You acknowledge people to show you have manners,” Courtney said in a confessional. “I have never been to Hollywood but if that is the way they act then I definitely don’t want to go. I am going to have everyone in Hollywood hating me.”
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In his own interview, Craig questioned Elizabeth’s snub of Courtney, as well, adding, “I would say hi to me too but what about everyone else? Who raised you? That is the perfect example of what Cayman kind is not.”
Victoria, who watched the drama play out, said the situation helped her form an opinion of Elizabeth. “Now I know why it is called BIRD Bakery,” she quipped. “Because Elizabeth is good at ruffling everyone’s feathers.”
The lunch only got more awkward when the cast noticed how removed Elizabeth was from the rest of them. After previously promising to show up with BIRD treats, Elizabeth told Cass she decided not to in an effort to make the night about Mykonos. She also opted out of dancing on the tables alongside her cast members.
“I’m not feeling dancing on the tables at the moment,” Elizabeth noted. “Don’t get me wrong, I definitely can in the right environment. And this isn’t it.”
Elizabeth was also heard telling her friend she wasn’t thrilled by the setup. “This is why I can never do reality TV. Like, I can’t,” she added as cameras continued to film her for the Freeform reality series.
Later in the episode, Courtney chose to confront Elizabeth.
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“I can tell Elizabeth is being shady. She’s standing in the corner throwing looks,” Courtney explained. “I have no idea what Elizabeth is even here for at this point because she’s not talking to people about her business. All she’s doing is whispering in her friend’s ear and ignoring everybody.”
She continued: “I’ve really been trying to play nice because this is Cass’ event and I want to be respectful. But watching the way she’s behaved today, she can’t get away with her s—t anymore. Really, she’s just playing games. If that is what she wants, game on bitch.”
Elizabeth agreed to sit down for a conversation with Courtney. Their conversation got off to a rough start when Courtney claimed Elizabeth accused her of being her ex-husband Armie Hammer‘s mistress via messages from a fake Instagram account.
“I just want to start this conversation by saying I know everything and I have an issue with you,” Courtney shared. “We are from a very peaceful island. I don’t know if you are used to getting away with this where you guys are from.”
When Elizabeth clarified that she thrived on honesty, Courtney replied, “No you don’t. You thrive on bulls—t and a facade.”
Elizabeth subsequently said she wasn’t the person anonymously sending Courtney messages about Armie, 37. (Elizabeth, who shares daughter Harper, 9, and son Ford, 7, with Armie, finalized their divorce in 2023. After their 2020 split, Armie was accused of sending several women graphic text messages about his sexual fantasies, including rape, mutilation and cannibalism, which he denied.)
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In the trailer for next week’s episodes, viewers got a larger glimpse at Elizabeth’s side of the story. “I am not messaging you,” Elizabeth fired back. “I don’t know what the f—k you are talking about.”
Elizabeth refused to talk about the drama in a confessional, saying, “End of discussion.” She was also seen getting emotional on the phone with a friend who told her to return to Los Angeles instead of staying in Grand Cayman amid the “high school drama.”
The distance between the costars has been evident since Grand Cayman: Secrets in Paradise premiered earlier this month. While most of the cast filmed together from the beginning, Elizabeth made it clear that her focus was her bakery, which is what majority of her scenes are centered around.
“I would say certainly this is not my reality. This show is not my reality that exists for me on my day-to-day basis. My day-to-day is flying in and out doing my other show with my kids. But it was fun,” Elizabeth exclusively told Us Weekly about filming the series. “I think the lesson is, ‘Be true to yourself and don’t do anything or say anything that you will regret.’ Of course, that’s not necessarily what’s always shown on screen, but ultimately it’s just knowing yourself and having those boundaries and being authentic in the process.”
Grand Cayman: Secrets in Paradise airs on Freeform Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET and is available to stream on Hulu the next day.
