Kandi Burruss revealed the real reason she left the Real Housewives of Atlanta. Meanwhile, Andy Cohen addressed fans’ uncertainty about her exit, claimed the new casting is “superb,” and hinted at what Kandi’s departure “allows” the show to do.
Kandi, the longest-running castmate in the Real Housewives franchise, revealed last week that she won’t return next season. The singer initially claimed she was given too long to think about it between seasons, and hinted at other projects on the horizon.
But speaking with Hollywood Unlocked, Kandi revealed more to the story.
“They did ask me to come back,” she said. “When you talk about negotiations, we [weren’t] necessarily … on the same page.”
“And so I just was like, ‘You know what? I’m just gonna take my move, my break,’” she added, but claimed she’s “still gonna be working together [with Bravo] … We got some other things coming. I’m still part of the Bravo family … It was only like one thing that we didn’t necessarily agree upon.”
Around the same time, Andy reacted to Kandi’s departure.
“I think Kandi’s leaving Housewives of Atlanta is now having everyone saying, ‘Well what is happening with the Housewives? Why aren’t we getting an update? What’s going on?’” said Andy on his SiriusXM show Andy Cohen Live.
When Andy’s co-host asked if Phaedra Parks would return, Andy said, “Well, no– I do want to say, I’m not announcing anything, but we’re on it, and the casting is superb.”
“It’s funny because I saw casting last week and last week I was thinking, ‘Okay, this is going to be great,’” he continued. “And by the way, now that we know Kandi is leaving, that also allows us to put other puzzle pieces together and figure out … where do we go here?”
Though he called Kandi’s exit a “big loss,” he said it also “allows” them to “figure out the future.”
“I guess this is me just saying I’m very excited about the casting that we have,” he explained.
According to one report, Porsha Williams is returning to the show. Fans are also calling for the return of Phaedra, who was fired amid her past drama with Kandi.