Todd Tucker isn’t shying away from the tough topics. During a candid conversation on Ryan Cameron Uncensored, the longtime Real Housewives of Atlanta figure opened up about the end of his marriage to Kandi Burruss, the “scheme Todd set up” catchphrase, and THAT shocking smithereens scene he recently shared featuring Shamea Morton and Bolo.
Source: Unique Nicole / Getty
The filmmaker also addressed criticism from his stepdaughter Riley Burruss over his social media activity, explained why he’s publicly documenting his post-divorce life, and revealed how faith is helping him heal after the end of his marriage.
Todd Tucker Pushes Back On The ‘Schemer’ Label
Long before their divorce, #RHOA viewers watched the Old Lady Gang helmed by Kandi’s mom, Mama Joyce, repeatedly question Todd’s intentions.
During Ryan Cameron Uncensored, Todd reflected on how quickly his behind-the-scenes role seemingly became part of the narrative surrounding him.
“So, I dealt with the budgets, logistics,” he said of his production responsibilities. “Dealing with the producers, they have asks. You know, I give them options. I don’t like to say no, but I would give them options. And, you know, I guard the budget.”
“So I went from that to a schemer somehow,” he added.
As for Mama Joyce and her sisters’ longtime skepticism, including allegations that he was scheming, Todd said he understands their instinct to protect Kandi, but believes it could have been done without disrespecting him.
“My ex, her mom and, you know, her people, I guess they were trying to protect her,” he said.
When a Ryan Cameron Uncensoredhost pointed out that family members sometimes feel compelled to pick a side, Tucker agreed—but only to an extent.
“Yeah, but you don’t have to be disrespectful,” he said. “I understand. I mean, it’s cool. You’re going to protect your people.”
Source: Paras Griffin / Getty
Todd Says He Tolerated ‘A Lot Of Disrespect’ To Keep His Marriage Together
Tucker was equally candid when the conversation turned to his marriage and the well-documented history of relationships unraveling amid the pressures of reality television.
When asked whether he believed his marriage would survive despite the so-called reality TV marriage curse, Todd said he thought he and Kandi had made it, particularly after she left #RHOA.
Looking back, however, he acknowledged that keeping his family together meant tolerating behavior he wouldn’t accept today.
“I was willing to deal with a lot that now I would not deal with,” Todd said. “It was a lot of disrespect. It was a lot of stuff that I’d let just kind of roll off my shoulders, ’cause I was like, ‘I’m trying to keep my family together, and I’m gonna do whatever I have to.’”
That included, he said, enduring a contentious relationship with his mother-in-law.
“If that means that my mama is going to disrespect me, whatever, long as we stay together, we keep that check coming in together, we good,” he said of his mindset at the time.
He also alleged that Mama Joyce’s issues with him extended far beyond what viewers saw on Bravo.
“Her mom was disrespectful off camera,” he said. “It wasn’t like she only do this when the camera [was around]. She didn’t like me.”
Asked why he thinks she never warmed up to him, Todd joked that the problem may not have been him specifically.
“I don’t think she liked anybody,” he said.
Till Divorce Do Us PartPredated Todd And Kandi’s Split By Years
Todd also clarified that the reality show he’s promoting about divorced RHOA husbands was written roughly four years before becoming one himself.
Source: Kandi Burruss and Todd | Paras Griffin / Paras Griffin
“Let me tell you the real: I wrote this show probably four years ago for them [the divorced husbands of The Real Housewives of Atlanta],” he told Ryan Cameron Uncensored.
According to Todd, the original concept included former RHOA husbands Bob Whitfield and Kroy Biermann, among others.
He pitched it to Bravo, but the network ultimately passed.
“They turned it down because they gotta protect their brand, right?” he said. “I pitched it a couple other places. Nobody picked it up. I always thought it was a good show.”
Years later, Todd unexpectedly found himself eligible for his own concept and noted an eerie pattern in some of his other creative projects, which have seemingly preceded real-life relationship drama involving people connected to them.
“The stuff that I write kind of comes true,” Todd said.
After pointing to previous projects, includingDon’t Bring Your Man to Atlanta, Tucker joked that he might need to start examining his scripts a little more closely.
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