Dina Lohan Receives Some ‘Family Therapy’
Dina Lohan, the mother of troubled former child star Lindsay Lohan, is in the spotlight again for her appearances on the new VH1 reality show Family Therapy.
According to The Huffington Post, the reality show hosted by Dr. Jenn Mann feature Dina and her ex-husband Michael Lohan, along with a group of other B-list celebrities attempting to resolve their issues and save their relationships. The two are publicly talking through their problems for the sake of their four children.
The show also features reality star Tiffany Pollard and her mother, skateboarder Bam Margera and his mother, hip-hop mogul Damon Dash and his brothers, along with Brianna and Brittany DeJesus, stars of the show 16 and Pregnant.
In a sneak peek of the show’s debut episode published by Fashion & Style, the Lohans revealed the “traumatizing details” of their marriage which ended in 2007. Dina Lohan reportedly said she wished not to sit next to her husband with fears that he would physically abuse her, as the conversation became more intense.
“This is what she does. She puts on an act for everybody, where she’s the victim,” said Michael Lohan, who claims he “can see right through” his wife, and has also branded her as a “pathological liar.”
Dina Lohan appeared on the WNYW show Good Day New York to promote the show, where the explosive conversation was played. The Long Island native admitted that while hashing out problems on TV may not be the best way to seek help, she said that she is doing much better. She also feels she’s bringing awareness to the issue of physical abuse.
“It was actually a very cathartic experience for me,” said Lohan. “I have been a victim of abuse by my ex-husband. I was hesitant at first because it was a deep, dark secret.”
According to Xpose, an Irish entertainment news show, the Lohans have been on “good terms” in the past few years, and Dina Lohan claimed that her four children, including Lindsay Lohan, supported her decision to appear on the program.
“My relationship with the kids has improved tremendously,” said Michael Lohan, who claims to have let go of the bitterness caused by the couple’s divorce.
Lohan continued, “We started to really become a family again.”
However, critics like Robert Rorke, of The New York Post, aren’t convinced. He has gone as far to say that if VH1 cannot get anyone better than the Lohans to appear, they should then fold.
“Under the pretext of somehow having a healthy relationship with their four children after making them prisoners in a war zone of their own creation, Dina and Michael enter Dr. Jenn’s sanctuary,” said Rorke. “They obviously still despise each other.”
Rorke has described Dina Lohan as trapped in a “toxic prison” and feels she’s not only a danger to herself, but to the viewers watching at home.
“Is bad reality TV the only career path open to an over-the-hill celebrity mother who’s run out of gas and ideas?” questions Rorke.
Entertainment Weekly‘s Sundi Rose-Holt has described Family Therapy as another VH1 show to make her feel superior to the people starring in it, but described the Lohans’ relationship as “a cesspool.”
“There’s so much toxic sludge in between these two that I (almost) can’t even enjoy it,” said Holt.
However, Holt wants to see how the couple’s relationship will turn out, after sitting through their bickering. Holt and others can watch the madness unfold on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. (EST).
“After watching the first episode I can say that the dynamic between the two of them hasn’t changed,” said Kelsey Minor, a journalist, who filmed an interview with Dina Lohan for his YouTube channel Kelsey Konversations.
Minor continued, “Dina has things that she needs to work out with Michael and Michael has his own set of issues with Dina.”
[Photo by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images]
