"If I was to ever return to reality TV in an ensemble cast, I would not do it any other way other than 'Real Housewives of Atlanta,'" the 'Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta' alum tells PEOPLE
Credit: Gizelle Hernandez/Bravo
NEED TO KNOW
- K. Michelle opens up about becoming a part of The Real Housewives of Atlanta
- The reality star, who previously appeared on Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, tells PEOPLE she always wanted to be on RHOA if she were to return to reality TV
- K. Michelle talks about what surprised her the most about joining the show
K. Michelle manifested being a part of The Real Housewives of Atlanta.
The reality star, 44, entered the world of the Housewives when she became a core cast member in season 17 of the hit Bravo series, which premiered on April 5. It marked K. Michelle's return to reality TV, after the singer previously starred on Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta and her own series, K. Michelle: My Life.
“I have said from day one, even when I was on Love & Hip Hop years ago, I said when I got at a certain point in my career, a certain age or whatever, if I [were] to ever return to reality TV in an ensemble cast, I would not do it any other way other than Real Housewives of Atlanta," K. Michelle tells PEOPLE.
Credit: Michael Serine/Bravo
The reason she had her sights set on RHOA was for the culture and the authenticity she saw among the women.
“When it came to me being on Love & Hip Hop, that was about culture,” K. Michelle explains. “I watched how the ladies of Real Housewives of Atlanta were able to expand their brands and do endorsements and things, and they weren't judged for it, and they were just them[selves].”
Being a part of the franchise was always a dream of hers, and K. Michelle says she manifested her casting. Five years ago, she messaged executive producer Andy Cohen saying, “I will be on Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
“He didn't say nothing [sic] back to me,” K. Michelle says. “It didn't even say 'read', if he even saw it. But I put it out there, and for me and my career, everything I said I was going to do, I do.”
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After filming the first season, K. Michelle says she was most surprised to discover that there are people “crazier” than her. “Like the Morgan Wallen song, ‘I'm a little crazy, but the world's insane,' that's how Real Housewives of Atlanta is.”
As a newcomer on the show, the TV personality says she came into this new season with a lot of nerves. “I knew that I was entering a space that there were a lot of big personalities,” she explains. “And I knew that when you have big personalities, everybody's not going to get along.”
“So I was prepared for that,” K. Michelle adds. “I just didn't know how it would turn, how it would sway, but I knew it was going to happen.”
Giving voice to her truth and standing up for herself, K. Michelle says, has helped her navigate conflicts. “I understand in this show we got to get our ratings and we have to do all of that, but reality stays real,” she notes. “And for me, I've done this for years, I'm not a rookie, and the one thing that has always worked for me is, even in my wrong, I stand in my wrong. Even in my right, I stand in my right.”
Credit: Terry Wyatt/Getty
K. Michelle adds, “I'm not perfect, but I'm honest. I'm real.”
“You're not going to yo-yo me, and you're not going to produce me,” she continues. “I'm going to act out when I want to. I'm going to have way too many drinks sometimes and sometimes I'm not going to have enough.”
The singer, along with fellow newcomer Pinky Cole, joined RHOA stars Porsha Williams, Phaedra Parks, Drew Sidora, Shamea Morton Mwangi, Angela Oakley, Kelli Ferrell and "friend" Cynthia Bailey for season 17.
K. Michelle says the women “shook up” her life. “I never thought that I would love them as people or love all of their bulls—, love all of their issues,” K. Michelle explains. “I don't think people would expect what they're going to see.”
Phaedra and Kelli, she reveals, are her closest friends on the show. K. Michelle says she loves her late-night calls with Phaedra, because they always “crack a joke and have a good time.”
And Kelli is the Housewife she trusts the most. “Her personality and her belief in who she is and how she acts is something I enjoy to watch,” K. Michelle says. “I know [out of] anybody on that cast, if I can tell them a secret, it's going to be Kelly.”
New episodes of RHOA air every Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo and stream the next day on Peacock.
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