Kandi Burruss’ departure announcement from The Real Housewives of Atlanta took us all by surprise — including Andy Cohen!
In case you missed it, Kandi shared breaking news from Sunday’s 66th Annual Grammy Awards, letting the Bravosphere know she would not return for the series 16th season. “I decided I’m not coming back this year. It’s been 14 seasons, and they allowed us to sit around for a little too long, but during that time, I had started working on a lot of other things, and I got some nice big projects coming soon, so I’m super excited about those things,” she said.
Since being the franchise’s longest-running cast member in history, it’s hard to believe Andy and Co. were happy about the news that Miss “I will drag you in this bitch” would finally say goodbye to their beloved program. But according to the Grammy winner, everything is all good between her and the network.
Andy says Kandi’s door is always open
During a red-carpet interview with Ricky Cornish from Pride, Kandi revealed the conversation she had with Andy after deciding to step away from the series that she loves so much.
“Andy called me, and he was like, ‘What the F? I don’t know how I feel about this,’ [and] I was like, ‘Well, I don’t know how I feel about it either.'”
Kandi joined RHOA during Season 2 of the series. Since then, she’s lasted longer than any other Housewife, all while creating profitable businesses, writing No. 1 hits, and producing TV and film projects. Even though Andy is “sad” Kandi is choosing to take a break this season, she promised there’s more to come between her and Bravo.
“[Andy] was like, ‘You know you can always come back. We’re always your Bravo family.’ And there are other things that I’m going to be doing with the Bravo family, so I’m okay. … I’m good with my decision.”
Other than Kandi, no official announcements have been made regarding the Season 16 cast; however, in a recent interview, Kenya Moore teased more information would be coming soon.
TELL US — ARE YOU SAD KANDI IS LEAVING TOO, OR DO YOU THINK IT WAS TIME?
