Kandi Burruss Says She Has No Regrets About RHOA Exit, Talks Phaedra Parks’ Rumored Return

The Grammy-winning musician spoke to Access Hollywood while on the red carpet at the People’s Choice Awards Sunday, where she was nominated in the Reality TV Star of the Year category, and discussed her recently announced departure from The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Burruss, who appeared on the long-running Bravo series for 14 seasons, said she has no regrets about taking a step back from RHOA, and told Access she’s excited about the opportunities she has coming down the pipeline.

“Actually, it feels good that the year I decided to leave, I’m leaving on a high note,” Burruss said when asked if her PCAs nom feels bittersweet amid her exit from the series. “Being nominated as Best Reality Star, like what better way to walk out.”

As for whether she has any regrets about stepping away, Burruss said “no,” telling the outlet that she believes she made the right decision after being on the show for so long.

“I’m excited for the show and what they have going next, but I’m excited for myself too,” she gushed. “I got a lot of great things that’s happening in the pipeline, but you know, they’re always gonna be my family, so it’s all good.”

She continued, “I’ve been having some really awesome meetings. And I think at one second, I was like, ‘Am I crazy?’ Because after I said bye to RHOA, it was like another one I had to say bye to — knowing I’m not gonna do that as well. And so I was like, ‘Am I stupid or something? How am I turning down all this opportunity?'”

“But then, some other things came up, and I was like, ‘If I were to have did that, then I wouldn’t have been able to do this,” Burruss added.

While Burruss is exiting the series, some other fan favorites are returning, like Porsha Williams, with the RHOA OG telling the outlet she was aware Williams was making a comeback.

“I already knew Porsha was coming back. She and I had already talked. We had both discussed that we both were trying to figure out what to do,” Burruss said before shutting down rumors that her exit was connected to Williams’ return. “A lot of people were acting like I had to leave for her to come back, and that wasn’t the case.”

She continued, “Bravo, or production, were trying to get us both to come back. So, it wasn’t an either/or situation. I’m happy for Porsha, and I’m excited for what she has coming next. I’m excited for all the girls.”

When it comes to reconfiguring the RHOA lineup for the show’s 16th season, Burruss said Bravo has to have Kenya Moore back, telling Access she’s feeling pretty confident that the Kenya Moore Hair Care founder will be returning.

Phaedra Parks, however, is another story, with Burruss, who has long had issues with Parks adding that “as long as” she’s not there, she doesn’t care what the network does.

“I’m staying out of it,” she added.

Burruss first revealed her departure from the long-running reality series earlier this month while at the 2024 Grammys.

“I decided I’m not coming back this year,” she told Variety‘s Marc Malkin on the red carpet.

Since joining RHOA in 2009 for its second season, she’s been a fixture on the series. Throughout her time on the show, she met husband Todd Tucker and welcomed two children: son Ace, 7, and daughter Blaze, 3 (the couple each have one other daughter from their previous relationships.)

Why she decided to leave ultimately came down to Burruss wanting to pursue other opportunities, a feeling that was spurred on further during the show’s extended hiatus, telling Malkin, “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.”

The show is rumored to be re-tooling its cast a bit, similar to what the Real Housewives of New York did ahead of its 14th season.

As for what the final lineup for RHOA‘s 16th season will look like, that remains to be seen.