Due to the perfect combination of intense peer pressure, a personal duty to support strong brown female leads on prime time, and a good old-fashioned curiosity to see what all the hype is about, over the last 2 weeks I have caught up on the entire first and second seasons of Scandal. If you are like me and have been living under a rock, let me fill you in. This highly-addictive political thriller series debuted last year and I'm pretty sure 99% one of my female friends - ages 18-65, black, white, and Asian - watch this. The story line revolves around the crisis management firm of former White House Director of Communications, Olivia Pope (and her on again/off again torrid affair with the most powerful man in the Western world). Am I hooked? Why of course. Where else do you get political strategy, a brilliant, powerful woman who kicks ass, and a dash of forbidden romance all rolled up into one? But as much as I've been sucked into, and entertained by the drama, I know that if Olivia's relationship with Mr. President were real, it would sicken me to my stomach. And not because I'm some holier than thou zealot who doesn't condone extra-marital affairs, but because over the course of my lifetime I've witnessed countless fiercely strong and independent women succumb to the charm of the powerful man. You know, real life Olivia Popes. So I humbly offer a few clues on how you may be suffering from the Olivia Pope syndrome. I suffered it once in 2005. I recovered beautifully, you can too.
1. He throws you into electrical closets for quickies.
Even if you enjoyed it, seriously ask yourself this - how come you never throw him in the closet for a quickie? In Olivia's case she'd probably end up with 6 secret service agents on top of her.
2. He bugs your apartment.
Of course if your apartment was bugged, you probably wouldn't know it, but does your Fitz track your comings and goings? Does he know your every move and everything about your day, but has no idea what your favorite ice-cream flavor is?
3. You are the only one who knows that you are soul mates.
President or not, if he repeatedly tells you over the course of 3 years to wait for him, that you are his soul mate, that he's in love with you......and then he goes home to his wife and kids, he probably has a few other soul mates floating around out there.
4. He doesn't take care of his own kids (insert other commitments/responsibilities here).
Kids don't ask for philandering parents. They don't ask for their parents to fall out of love. They don't give a crap if you messed up and discovered your soul mate after you married your wife. So if your Fitz is brilliant and in control of everything else in life, but doesn't have time to raise his own kids, he probably won't have time for you in the future. Just sayin'.
5. You always have to work around his schedule.
If you can't pick up the phone and have regular access to your soul mate. If you have to wait around for your soul mate's schedule to clear so that he can pencil you in. If you can't go to sleep until you get his good-night call after his wife turns in...........he's probably not the one.
6. You feel powerless when you are with him.
So you run your own business. You have two degrees. You don't take crap from anyone. You are changing the world. But you can't seem to say no to your Fitz. You drop everything to be with him. You, my friend, have the Olivia Pope syndrome. Please seek help immediately. We all deserve someone who knows our favorite ice-cream flavor. Mint chocolate chip, the kind with the chunky, broken pieces of chocolate, rather than perfectly sculptured chips.
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