When Dr. Jackie Walters sits you down and shares the news that Married to Medicine Season 11 is the “best season yet,” you have no choice but to believe her. Would the beloved Bravo OG lie to us? Absolutely not.
Of course, Married to Medicine delivers the goods season after season, but in a conversation with Reality Tea, Dr. Jackie explained why she’s extra excited about this one. There’s a new cast member, the controversial return of Dr. Contessa Metcalfe, and a whole lot of lingering drama left over from Season 10. Once again, Jackie is stuck trying to keep the peace, and this time, she said she might need “therapy” to recover.
Like many of us, Dr. Jackie might also need therapy to recover from the 2024 United States presidential election. She opened up with us about how she processed the news of Kamala Harris’ loss, and why she’s “more invested than ever” in the fight for women’s rights.
Dr. Jackie is an OG of Married to Medicine, with 11 seasons and counting
Although Married to Medicine has become one of Bravo’s most beloved shows, Dr. Jackie admitted that she wasn’t sure they’d last this long. After all, the series kicked off with a shocking poolside throwdown. However, she is proud of the platform that they’ve grown over the last decade, even though it does occasionally get messy.
“This has been an amazing journey in so many ways because I’ve met so many wonderful people and honestly, not bragging, I think I’ve been able to impact the lives of so many women that I may not have. So, it’s been a godsend.”
For many shows in the Bravoverse, navigating the double-digit seasons can become tricky. Toxic breakups and warring in-laws have pushed some longstanding Bravo shows into hiatus. However, the women of Married to Medicine have always pushed forward. Dr. Jackie explained why she thinks her group has been able to continuously rebound.
“We’re real friends. We don’t just pick up when the season starts,” Dr Jackie explained. “We’re going on trips together. We’re hanging out at each other’s houses. I see Dr. Simone [Whitmore] every Tuesday night at the hospital. It just is original. We don’t have to fake it and try to make it work. It’s real.”
Friendship prevails on Married to Medicine
With 11 seasons under her belt, Dr. Jackie confessed that she does sometimes need to “take a break” from the drama when the cameras go down. However, those natural bonds among the Married to Medicine cast make it easy for them to keep coming back, even when the drama is rough.
“We ended [Season 10] on an explosive note, but a lot of us have been able to come back together,” Dr. Jackie confessed. “We have people who resurface, come back. The friends will keep the friends in the circle.”
For example, Dr. Jackie said that if she’s with Dr. Simone, then that means she’s probably going to see Toya Bush-Harris. If she hangs out with Dr. Heavenly Kimes, then she’ll probably see Quad Webb. They rebound naturally, so when Quad ended up on the outs with the group in Season 10, Jackie said it wasn’t hard for them to find peace.
“Quad isn’t a hard person to love. She’s hard ’cause she’s going to be late, but for the most part, she’s not hard to love,” Jackie said with a laugh.
“She’s fun. She keeps the room going when we’re on trips. We need forgiveness, and we were able to have a clear, concise conversation on ‘Let me own my part,’ and that helped a lot.”
Keeping the peace between Dr. Contessa and Dr. Heavenly
In Season 11 of M2M, we’re going to see the return of Dr. Contessa. In the trailer, you can see that she isn’t completely welcomed with open arms. That’s probably an understatement.
Thanks to lingering tension with Dr. Heavenly, Contessa’s return is set to be fraught with drama. Naturally. Dr. Jackie tried to smooth things over, but she said it wasn’t easy.
“I need therapy. The therapist needs therapy,” Dr. Jackie said with a sigh. “The way it ended when Contessa left is how it starts.”
Although Dr. Jackie is used to playing the peacemaker in the group, she has work cut out for her with Contessa and Heavenly. At one point in the Season 11 trailer, things almost get physical when Dr. Contessa tells Heavenly to “square up.” What in the world is Jackie going to do about that?
“How we navigate through the peaks and valleys this season, you gotta tune in because oh, honey, we’ve got some high peaks and some low, low valleys,” Dr. Jackie teased. “And you know with Heavenly when you go low, she goes lower.”
With that in mind, Dr. Jackie is hopeful that any progress Heavenly has made with Contessa doesn’t get undone once the season starts to air. Married to Medicine fans know that America’s favorite dentist is notorious for using her YouTube channel to offer up shady commentary about the season when it airs.
“History is going to always repeat itself in some shape, form, or fashion,” Dr. Jackie quipped. “Heavenly never fails to deliver in that area.”
The fight Jackie won’t give up
Outside of Married to Medicine’s shady fun, Dr. Jackie recognizes the importance of her platform — especially in a political climate that threatens women’s healthcare.
Earlier this year, Dr. Jackie traveled to Washington D.C. to participate in a women’s health forum with Vice President Harris. Then, throughout the 2024 election cycle, she was a vocal supporter of the Harris campaign. Obviously, that didn’t turn out the way she had hoped.
“Everybody knew that I felt we needed a change, and I really was on-call [on election day] hoping and praying between every delivery and every surgery that I would get some good news, and we didn’t get that,” she recalled.
Although Dr. Jackie admitted to feeling “heartbroken” over the election results, she said she felt “more invested than ever” to continue fighting for women’s healthcare.
“Obviously, we do have to stay within the law,” she continued. “Women need to find great doctors they trust. They need to have great relationships with their doctors. I’m not giving up. Find a physician that you have a great relationship with.”
While it’s easy to feel uneasy in the current political climate, Dr. Jackie feels confident that women will come together for some forward-thinking change. She predicted that we’ll see a movement from all of the momentum that has already been built.
“You just watch because something’s coming. We’re going to come together. It’s too many women who wanted the same thing to just let it die,” Dr. Jackie said.
“You give a woman anything, and she’ll turn it around. You give her a sperm, she’ll make it a baby. We’re not just going to let this die. We’re licking our wounds right now, but we’re good.”
She continued, “Pain has a purpose, misery gives us a ministry, and struggles make us strong.”
Season 11 of Married to Medicine premieres on Bravo on Sunday, November 24 at 9/8c. Each episode streams the next day on Peacock.
TELL US – ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING DR. JACKIE ON MARRIED TO MEDICINE SEASON 11? DO YOU THINK SHE CAN BROKER PEACE BETWEEN CONTESSA AND HEAVENLY?
