Fans of the Bravo reality show “The Real Housewives of Potomac” are still trying to process the chaos that took place during season five, and the even bigger showdown that happened during the three-part reunion special. Verbal jabs that were thrown later turned into a back and forth on social media. Monique Samuels‘ binder of “receipts” had its 15 minutes of fame, and the mommy of three ultimately revealed that she was leaving the show.
Shortly afterward, reports surfaced claiming Monique was leaving the show because she was demoted to a friend of the show for season six. However, during an interview with blog site All About The Tea, the reality star claimed that that simply wasn’t the case. Instead, Monique said she asked to be released from her contract following the last episode of the reunion. “It doesn’t really happen like that,” Monique began. “A lot of the time when people do get demoted to a friend, sometimes that happens while you’re already filming the season. So what happens is you have an exercise in your contract that says that I can move forward with what was stated previously and it’s called an offer and I definitely received an offer along with a phone call, and I was actually excited to be back. Ok, this time I’m gonna redeem myself. I’m going to show my growth. But when I saw episode three of the reunion, I was like, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ The type of person I am, if I were to be fired, I’d have no problem with saying, ‘Hey, I was let go.’ But that’s not what happened. I had to make the choice.”
Monique noted that had she actually been fired, perhaps the whole situation would’ve been easier to accept. She added, “But I had to sit down, be real with myself, and say, ‘Hey, I have to walk away.’ “
Still, the 37-year-old admitted that her choice to leave the show removed a great deal of pressure she was experiencing. “I feel like a ton of bricks have been lifted from me,” she said. “I’m very with my decision, and I’m just excited about the future.”
She added, “I’m over the fakery. I’m over the real hate that’s been happening behind the scenes and just being treated unfairly. Why is it that every season, I’m looked at to be the one who has to be accountable, but when I’m looking for some accountability to be shown in my direction for things that have been done to me, it’s like crickets? Nobody cares. Nobody is enforcing anything. I’m getting phone call after phone call like I have to be the person that brings the whole group together and makes it as if I’m the one causing so much when I’m just responding to whatever was brought at me.”
On Dec. 27, Monique revealed during an Instagram Live session that she was leaving “RHOP” following the reunion’s final installment. The star thanked her fans for their love and support over the years, but explained that certain boundaries were crossed that influenced her decision to exit the show. Those boundaries are her infamous fight with co-star Candiace Dillard and the spreading of rumors by women on the show that she had an affair with her personal trainer and that the trainer was the father of her youngest child.
“It’s not easy doing reality TV, and to be quite honest, I’m over it,” Monique said. “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.”
Check out the full interview with All About The Tea below.
