The ladies of the Real Housewives of Atlanta close out season eight and per usual, they hold back nothing.
Fan favorite NeNe Leakes joins the ladies and Andy Cohen on stage and let me say, you can really see a change in her. It seems like she has dealt with whatever she needed to deal with and she is better for it. Of course, we will more than likely see her on the next season as she says RHOA is her baby, and she can’t leave it to “these girls.” We will probably see Sheree back next season too. I’m just speculating but if so, that should be fun.
During the last part of the reunion, Kenya Moore and NeNe are cordial, which is a pleasant surprise. In the face of Cynthia saying that she will never have a friendship with anyone like she had/has with NeNe, Kenya says she was hurt that Cyn said, “We’re still getting to know each other.” And yes, NeNe being back had a lot to do with her feelings about the situation. Cyn says that she loves Kenya (even though they are not best friends or BFF’s) and should have made it clear how much she means to her when she said what she said in Jamaica. Okay, cool, that situation is closed, on to the next one.
Andy asks NeNe about her thoughts on Kim Fields being a housewife, and she says that she didn’t get her behavior during the season. In particular, how she continued to dismiss herself from every gathering. She also says that she doesn’t believe that Kim is a fit when “these girls.”
Then there are Sheree and Kenya’s houses, and as of the reunion, neither one of them are finished. The two ladies are in a better place friendship wise and canceled out their bet about whose house will be finished first. Of course, Andy asks Kenya if Matt will move in when her house is completed, (which was supposed to be March 5th). She stays mum on the question, which everyone takes as a yes.
Kim Fields is quiet pretty much the entire show (nothing new right), aside from giving crazy faces when people say things she deems off the wall. But when the husbands join the cast on stage, she bulks up against Kenya. Even saying, “Please play the fucking tape” when Ms. Moore denies saying something about Chris. Speaking of Chris, when he questions her about which mutual acquaintances call him Chrissy, all Kenya says is “Google yourself.” He presses her for an answer and things almost pop off between him and Matt, who tells Chris, “She answered your question.” I will say that it is endearing to see the youngin take up for Kenya, but he’s taking up for her when she’s dead wrong. Things get a little out of hand when the subject of Chris’ sexually continues to rage, and Andy puts the ladies on blast and in check when he tells them,
“It came off as you all jumping in and accusing him of being this way making a big joke about it and it was just not a good look.”
During the husbands’ segment too, Todd and Phaedra Parks have a back and forth about their situation, and he says something to her that I and many others have wondered- How the hell did she not know what Apollo was doing? I find it hard to believe that as a lawyer, she had no clue as to his “activities”, but that’s my two cents. They argue over when payment for her DVD was due and when it was paid, which only rehashes what we thought had been laid to rest during the season. Also, we finally find out how the Feds knew to visit Kandi and Cynthia’s houses for Todd’s stuff. They were made known where to look because Kandi spilled the beats on Watch What Happens Live. This revelation, thanks to Peter who says that’s what a Federal agent told him, still doesn’t take away the sting Phaedra feels from Kandi thinking she called the Feds on her. Kandi reasons that because of the state of their relationship, she didn’t know what to think, which clearly hurts Phaedra. In her view, her friend assuming she made the phone call reveals what she really thinks of her.
In the end, we see the video of Porsha Williams beating up her assistant Jami, who is/was actually a friend of hers. A lot of things happened before Phaedra’s party between these two, so at the event, Porsha was tired of Jami’s continued disrespect. Thus, she beat her ass. The video clip brings up the conversation that everyone is in on, about Porsha’s fighting history on the show and her need to get help. She says that she has been in anger management and doesn’t feel like what the ladies have to say about her behavior is fair or totally accurate.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta leave on a positive note, with Phaedra giving some words of wisdom that ring true for everyone,
“All of us on this stage have these huge opportunities to be great… at the end of the day, no matter what happens we influence people and we have to use that power wisely.”
Amen and amen. That’s a wrap.