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When Real Housewives of Atlanta star Shamea Morton came onto the scene, she was very close with Porsha Williams.
After becoming a full-time housewife during season 16, Shamea and Porsha’s friendship unfortunately fell apart.
In a new interview with Bossip, Shamea opened up about what she went through during her first season as a full-time cast member and how she has learned to put herself first.
“You can’t walk on eggshells, and you can’t protect everyone else’s feelings,” Shamea claimed. “You’ve got to care about yourself more than everyone else, and that’s what I’m doing this season.”
“I’m speaking up about the things that I like and don’t like,” she continued. “I’m standing on my own two feet, and I’m not brushing things under the rug anymore.”
While she noted she held back to an extent in order to keep certain relationships, she explained she’s past doing that.
“Last season I was trying to protect certain people and not really even being me,” she noted, adding that on the upcoming season 17 she is “unapologetically” herself.
“And if you want the smoke, then hi,” she insisted. “I’m not a smoker, but I got a fire extinguisher.”
Shamea had previously taken to YouTube to share a video entitled “Dear Sweet 16” where she named all of her castmates and apologized for any hurt she had caused them. She also shared that she was ready to move forward.
“My mom and dad always taught me, don’t go to bed with things heavy on your heart,” she said, explaining why she shared what she did on YouTube. “Don’t carry that negativity because it will weigh on you. The apology is not necessarily for the other person. It’s for you. It’s you giving yourself grace to move on.”
The video ended up being met with varied reactions, with cast member Drew Sidora questioning how sincere it was.
“She wouldn’t know what performative sounds like because that’s what she does all the time,” Shamea said. “We have yet to meet the real Drew.”
While she did cop to losing her friendship with Porsha, she called her friendship with Kelli Ferrell her “biggest blessing.”
“Kelli is really a breath of fresh air,” she shared. “We hang out when the cameras aren’t even present. If I’ve got something going on, she’s there. We are family at this point. That friendship is so organic for me. We rarely even talk about the show. We’re just living life.”
In her conversation, Shamea also talked about the two new RHOA cast members for season 17, Pinky Cole and K. Michelle. Specifically, Shamea addressed who has the best singing skills, as Drew, K. Michelle, and Shamea all sing.
“There’s room for everyone,” Shamea stated. “Everybody’s talented in their own way.”
“I don’t really care whose feelings I hurt at this point,” Shamea concluded, telling Bossip. “I used to always care about people’s feelings before my own, but like T.I. said, ‘Let ’em know!'”
In another interview with The Grio, Shamea also shared an update on her daughters Shya, 7, and Shiloh, 3, who has special needs and receives therapies as she is non-verbal.
“She’s walking now… she’s still nonverbal, but that’s temporary,” Shamea said about Shiloh. “She’s still doing all of her therapies, from speech to OT to PT. My girl is kicking tail.”
According to the RHOA star, Shiloh recently reached a big milestone while transitioning from purees to table food. Despite having a G-tube (gastronomy tube) in case of emergency needs, Shiloh is making good progress.
“She ate some of my spaghetti,” said a smiling proud mom Shamea. “And some Chick-fil-A macaroni and cheese. We chopped it really small, but I want to celebrate all of those things.”
Shamea also praised Shya for being a great big sister.
“Shya is amazing. She’s the best big sister ever,” she said. “She has handled having a little sister with special needs with such grace and kindness.”
RHOA season 17 premieres tonight at 8 PM ET on Bravo.