After four years on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Potomac, cast member Monique Samuels says she won’t be returning for the show’s sixth season.
Following the RHOP season 5 reunion special on Sunday night, Samuels posted an Instagram Live video addressing why she decided to step away from the cameras for the upcoming season.
“It’s not easy doing reality TV, and to be quite honest, I’m over it,” she started off in the video. “I appreciate everything people have done for me, everybody that has been Team Monique, I love y’all, I thank y’all. But when you cross certain lines, there’s no going back. For me, my family is that line. The opinion of my family and my kids and what they think about anything that I do is more valuable to me than anybody’s opinion, so I’m over it.”
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During her time on the show, rumors swirled around Samuels and her husband Chris Samuels, a former NFL player. The paternity of her son Chase was also questioned.
“I wanted to represent real Black love and show people something outside what the stereotype has been on TV. Unfortunately, this season I played right into that stereotype… I was working overtime to really check myself because that’s the exact opposite of what I want to display on a TV show, and in real life, most importantly. I’m always going to be a great example and role model for my kids, and you have to know when enough is enough. And enough is enough,” Samuels continued.
She joined the show in the second season, but said she’s looking forward to moving on.
“I am very much at peace,” she concluded. “It’s been a rough year, but this is the happiest I’ve been in my entire life.”
The remaining cast members of RHOP include Gizelle Bryant, Ashley Darby, Robyn Dixon, Karen Huger, Candiace Dillard Bassett, and newest cast member Wendy Osefo.
During the most recent season, Samuels and Dillard got into a physical altercation at a winery.
No official announcement has been made by the network announcing when a sixth season will premiere.
