Cynthia Bailey discussed her strained relationship with her father during an episode of “Real Housewives of Atlanta” on Jan. 17. The 53-year-old, who was going through her guest list with her then-fiancé sportscaster Mike Hill, revealed she was unsure whether she should invite her father to the wedding because she had yet to receive her mom’s permission.
The model disclosed that the participation of her mother, Barbara Ford Morris, in Kenya Moore‘s domestic violence public service announcement in 2018 caused a rift in Bailey’s relationship with her father.
“For my first wedding, my brother [Thomas] and father [Elijah] walked me down the aisle. But after my mom did Kenya’s domestic violence PSA it caused a huge rift in my relationship with my dad.”
Although Bailey hasn’t seen her father in years, she admitted she wanted to give him the option to come to the ceremony even though she feared it would upset her mom. As Hill tried to reassure the model that their wedding day is solely about celebrating their love, he also told her she would need to decide soon.
As the episode progressed, Bailey, alongside her 21-year-old daughter Noelle Robinson, and sister, Malorie Bailey-Massie, visited Morris to discuss her father, Elijah Bailey’s, possible attendance.
Morris responded, “I’ll just put my mask over my eyes.”
The matriarch confessed she doesn’t hate her ex, she just didn’t like how he treated her when trying to obtain child support. “Well I didn’t say I hated him, I don’t just don’t like the way that he treated me when I was younger, trying to get child support and everything for you all.”
Morris’ revelation brought on another confession, which included how badly the PSA hurt her. Morris explained during that time, she wasn’t fully aware of what doing a PSA entailed.
“Well another thing that had me upset Cynthia is y’all had me on there talking about this man, crying and bringing up all that stuff in the past. That really hurt me. You shouldn’t have done that. Y’all should’ve told me what that thing was about. … I didn’t know what in the world that meant.”
She added that following her appearance — in which she accused her ex-husband of being physically abusive — many people in her family and those in Mr. Bailey’s hometown in Alabama accused her of lying on her ex. “My family and some people that know me in Alabama they had things to say, ‘Why she lying on Mr. Bailey. He’s this, he’s that, he go to church.’ OK, fine.”
Bailey apologized to Morris and made it clear that she had no idea that her mother felt blindsided by the PSA. “I’m sorry if you didn’t understand and it came on and you feel how you feel.”
As they revisited the invitation discussion, Bailey’s daughter came to her grandmother’s defense. She said the model needs to prioritize Morris’ feelings, although she didn’t care if he came to the wedding.
“She always puts every single one of us first, so why not put her first this one time?”
Bailey ultimately said, “I’m good with it. I have what I need to move forward. And I feel like it’s clear what needs to happen”
Bailey and Hill got married last year on Oct. 10, with close friends, including the majority of the “RHOA” cast and family, minus her father, were in attendance.
