Credit: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/MEGA
Kandi Burruss was worried about how The Real Housewives of Atlanta would be without Porsha Williams and Cynthia Bailey. But during a new interview, she assured fans that season 14 didn’t “skip a beat.”
Before teasing drama with Marlo Hampton and confirming Sheree Whitfield did her part, Kandi said that while she was concerned after both Porsha and Cynthia announced they would not be filming the new episodes, she was happy to see that the season went quite well.
“This season is good. Hands down good!” Kandi proclaimed on the March 3 episode of Access Hollywood’s Housewives Nightcap. “I know for myself, [and] I’m sure a lot of [other] people, [we] questioned it, like, ‘How are things going to be?’ We lost two major peaches [Porsha & Cynthia] going into this season. And I was kind of worried about it. I was like, ‘I don’t know about this y’all?’ But when I tell you, we did not skip up a beat!”
Although there was a bit of a delay on the start of production on RHOA season 14, Kandi said there was “a lot happening” when filming began and noted that she and Marlo went through hard times.
“My girl Marlo, who at one point she wasn’t my girl, because we bumped heads so hard this year. It was bad,” she admitted. “We bumped heads like really, really bad.”
As for Sheree, who was brought back to the show last summer amid a cast shakeup, Kandi said she dove right back into the Bravo reality series.
“Shereé, I don’t know why they be playing with Shereé, she brings it every time,” Kandi noted. “This year she had a lot going on in her personal life. She shared, she shared.”
In a separate interview with Hollywood Life, members from Kandi’s spinoff, Kandi & the Gang, including Dom’Unique Variety and Shawndreca Robinson, react to claims of being similar to Vanderpump Rules, saying there’s “no comparison.”
“For one, I think that we are spicy, we’re funny. We have a lot of different people that are part of the cast and these different personalities all brought together,” Dom explained. “I think that the energy is crazy, us trying to get through the hardships and just the things that come along with restaurant life and still be ourselves alone is just something that the world has to see!”
Shawndreca also reacted to the comparison, saying her cast is more of a “family” and have “built a bond” outside of the show.
“We actually really hang out in real life, we go through our ups and downs together like a real family,” she stated.
The ladies also shared their thoughts on Kandi as a boss, with Dom describing her as “inspiring” and “realistic” and Shawndreca saying she’s not “demanding” or “controlling.”
“She pretty much paved the way for us to balance having a successful future and still currently working and pursuing our dreams to get to the next level,” Dom shared. “She shows us how to do all of that. She’s everything to me as a boss. She is a boss that I would wanna be!”
While some of the cast has been at Old Lady Gang since it opened, Dom said others have come and gone.
“We understand the integrity of the brand and I don’t think everybody comes there and actually understands that,” she revealed. “Like some people come and they try to make it what they think it should be but it’s like actually, no, you’re new, you should just follow along with the way this is, you know?”
Kandi & The Gang premieres Sunday, March 6, at 9/8c on Bravo.