Monique Samuels announced on Dec. 27 that she is leaving “Real Housewives of Potomac” during an Instagram Live chat following the final episode of the season 5 reunion. Samuels titled the recording with a peace sign emoji.
The former reality star thanked her fans on mark 3:30 for the love and support, they have shown her and her family over the years and admitted certain boundaries that were crossed during season 5 influenced her decision to walk away from the franchise.
“It’s not easy doing reality TV, and to be quite honest, I’m over it. I appreciate everything that people have done for me, everybody that’s been Team Monique — I love y’all, I thank y’all — but when you cross certain lines there’s no going back.”
Samuels’ “lines” included the drama following the physical altercation with cast mate Candiace Dillard and a rumor that Samuels’ alleged affair with her trainer produced her youngest child. The 37-year-old addressed all of this during Sunday’s final reunion episode.
Samuels apologized to Dillard for her actions and claimed that Dillard’s fingering gesture before the dispute toward her face triggered her and brought back old memories of when her father would “check” her using the same motions.
“I take full responsibility for my part and my actions in the altercation. That fight wasn’t about you. Nothing that you said or did in that moment warranted the response that you received. I offer you my apologies. I’m sorry for the pain that you are still going through and the fact you still haven’t healed from it. I hope you are able to heal and move forward.”
Dillard understood the rationale but didn’t accept the apology. She felt it came a year too late and insinuated that the former “RHOP” star was bragging about the fight on her new single called “Drag Queens,” something Samuels denied. Reunion host Andy Cohen sided with Dillard and asked Samuels, “What part of you thinks that it will be received well by her?”
When Samuels tried to explain that her song was an outlet to discuss many things, Cohen poked fun at her lackluster singing career. Many fans expressed that Samuels’ departure was based on how Cohen was treating her and her family during the reunion special.
“Don’ blame her and Andy behavior is proving NeNe right.”
“Honestly. I don’t blame her. The way Andy treated her at the reunion was TRASH.”
“Feel like she would have returned if trashy Andy didn’t treat her and Chris the way he did. He was incredibly biased 🥴”
“Andy was picking sides so bad! The show is going to be so lame without her!”
An Instagram user said that following the show’s backlash Cohen turned off his comment notifications. ” Andy Cohen must be guilty cause he turned his comments off. I can’t stand him🤬🤬🤬”
A “Housewives” fan pinpointed how Samuels’ departure echoed that of former “Real Housewives of Atlanta“ star Nene Leakes, who announced she wasn’t returning to the Atlanta franchise in October. Leakes similarly claimed she got unfair treatment from Cohen and Bravo and recently told fans to boycott the company after accusing it of racial discrimination.
Leakes further elaborated during a discussion with prominent civil rights lawyer Ben Crump that she felt she was demoted instead of elevated within the company as an original cast member.
“When you work at any company, you want elevation. You know? It’s about leveling up. Whether I was an actress or an executive, everyone wants to level up in their opportunities on their jobs. As an original housewife, a lot of these girls were being elevated. I was being demoted. And the way I was being demoted is I was getting less and less episodes, and these girls were getting more and more episodes. I was given less.”
Samuels joined the “RHOP” cast back in 2017 after former cast mate Katie Rost was let go, allegedly for having a boring storyline. The “Drag Queen” singer bid a final farewell by sharing a tweet to her fans thanking them for a wild ride.
“Thank y’all for riding with us for a crazy 5th season! I hear all of you, I respect your opinions and I thank you for allowing me and my family in your homes every week! Peace & Blessings #rhop.”
This announcement comes days after Samuels denied being fired from the franchise.
