Mercedeh Javid and Tommy Feight were already dealing with some major marital issues at the outset of The Valley: Persian Style.
By the time the inaugural season’s second episode rolled around, Mercedeh’s mom, Vida, aka “Darth Vida” as Tommy dubbed her, caught wind of their problems and decided to intervene. Following a heart-to-heart with her daughter (more on that below), Vida arranged a sit-down with Tommy.
“[Mercedeh] told me she’s not [happy], because she doesn’t feel safe in this marriage,” Vida debriefed her son-in-law during their meeting. “And you should spend more quality time together. …Â You have to do something to improve your relationship.”
Tommy, for his part, responded by pointing out that she’d only heard “crazy” Mercedeh’s “interpretation” of what had been going wrong between them.
RELATED:Â Mercedeh Javid Expresses Doubts About Marriage to Tommy: “Is Love Enough?” (VIDEO)
“What can we do?” he asked Vida. “We’ve been together for 10 years. What are we gonna improve upon? …Â I’m not gonna have someone tell me that I need to change.”
While Tommy insisted that he was “very happy” in his marriage, as the conversation grew increasingly tense, Mercedeh’s mom said, “But she doesn’t feel that way. She’s not happy.”
That’s when Tommy fired back, “Then she should get divorced.” (Indeed, he and Mercedeh eventually filed to legally end their seven-year marriage in October 2025.)
Inside Tommy Feight’s relationship with Mercedeh Javid’s mom, Vida
In a confessional, Tommy explained why the heated chat with his mother-in-law was not necessarily out of the ordinary for them: “I have a good relationship with Vida. Could be better, for sure. I mean, Vida’s super critical about everything. So, with Vida, sometimes it can be a little bit of a head-butt.”
Reflecting on their one-on-one to a producer a bit later, he declared, however, “Darth Vida’s on another level,” before unpacking why they are “very different” people.
“We come from different places,” Tommy noted. “I grew up in Queens. Real-deal gangsters came from my neighborhood. I was 13 when my mother died. No dad in the picture. I used to sleep in the park on a park bench.”
RELATED:Â Tommy Feight Speaks Out on Mercedeh Javid Divorce: “Maybe One Day We’ll Come Back to Each Other”
He went on to tearfully describe himself as a good husband, good dad, and loyal guy, who didn’t deserve all the criticism that was coming his way. In fact, Tommy even attributed some of the problems in his marriage to Mercedeh’s relationship with her mom.
“I get triggered because the faults in my wife, I see coming from you, coming from the disagreements and the way you guys will talk to each other,” he told Vida. “And then she’ll get mad at me, or then you’re snippy and you’re leaving. It’s not healthy, for one.”
Referencing his and Mercedeh’s 6-year-old son, Shams, he concluded, “Now I got a little guy. And he sees us. Does he think that that’s now OK for him?”
What Mercedeh Javid told her mom about problems in her marriage
Earlier in Episode 2, Mercedeh was driving with Vida, when she similarly referenced how her and Tommy’s son was starting to “crack jokes” about her. “I think that you notice that Shams is really starting to mirror Tommy’s behavior,” she told her mom.
Vida replied, “He’s not gonna change the way of his talking because Shams is around. You can teach your 6-year-old son, but you cannot teach an old monkey a new trick.”
After laughing about the error in her mom’s monkey analogy, Mercedeh continued, “With Tommy, I just don’t feel relaxed and at ease and safe. … I mean, I don’t think he’s gonna cheat on me or anything like that.”Â
Her mom’s no-nonsense response? “But that is insane. After being seven years in this marriage, you don’t know where you are? And you blame it on Tommy, and then you say, ‘I don’t feel comfortable in this marriage. I don’t feel safe.’ Come on, Mercedeh, cut the BS.”
As the drama continues, go inside Mercedeh and Tommy’s tense anniversary date night on The Valley: Persian Style.
