Bravo Block Spinning Monique Samuels Talks #RHOP Return, Her Highly-Discussed Reunion Dress And Healing-Inspired New Book [Exclusive]
Five years after exiting in a flurry of headlines, Monique Samuels returned to The Real Housewives of Potomac, and the Bravo block-spinning baddie spoke to BOSSIP about her buzzed-about reunion dress, healing-inspired new book, reconciliation with Gizelle, and why not every relationship is meant to be rekindled.
Looking back, she says the experience was better than she expected.
“It was great. I really enjoyed it,” Samuels shared with Managing Editor Dani Canada of her comeback season after admittedly vowing never to return to #RHOP.
“I was so bitter. I was so hurt, I was so resentful of the platform,” she said. “And once I was able to let that part of me go, I realized like, okay, a lot of what I was upset with was me. I was upset with that I wasn’t looking the way I wanted to look. And you can’t edit a person’s reactions, how I reacted was how I reacted. So once I took accountability, I was like, okay, let’s just put my little toe in this pool and see what happens.”
That toe-dipping turned into a reset that started with a DC Pride pop-up and included a post-binder-bashing reconciliation with Gizelle Bryant. After years of friction that culminated with that headline-making reunion showdown, the two women resolved during an hours-long sit-down.
Gizelle spoke highly of Monique in a December episode of the #RHOP aftershow, noting that she had a newfound respect for her and their relationship, and Monique echoed that sentiment to BOSSIP.
“It was definitely healing. It was growth. It was evolution for sure,” she said. “We were both in different spaces. It was nice that we were able to sit down and comb through everything that we had gone through, and we made peace with a lot of things.
There were a lot of outside parties that were aiding her and I in the way we saw each other,” she added.
The friend of the show also noted to BOSSIP that they’re not “besties,” who’ll be ki’ki’ng on the phone any time soon, but have committed to coexistence without chaos.
Her stance on Candiace Dillard Bassett, however, remains firm.
During a Dec. 7 appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Samuels addressed their tension that culminated in their infamous winery altercation, a clash that led to both women filing second-degree assault charges before the cases were ultimately dismissed.
When asked whether reconciliation was possible, Samuels was unequivocal.
“There was no relationship, and sometimes moving on doesn’t mean that you have to reconcile,” she said on #WWHL. “Sometimes you just see people for who they are, and you know your place, and you set your boundaries, and it’s okay not to rekindle something that isn’t meant to be rekindled.”
She doubled down on that sentiment to BOSSIP, making it clear that while fans may fantasize about a full-fledged friendship revival, reconciliation is not part of her personal plan.
“I can be in the same space with her, but I don’t look forward to having any type of friendship,” said Monique. “Like I said, even with me and Gizelle, we’re cordial. It doesn’t mean we’re besties. I know me so well now that I know the type of people that I like to have in my inner circle.
She continued,
“And I feel like there are certain personality traits for me that just don’t mesh with what I enjoy being around. I’m fine with being cordial. I’m fine with making peace and moving on, which is what I’ve been doing.”
More on the flip!
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