If there’s one thing the Real Housewives of Atlanta know, it’s when there’s smoke, there’s fire … lots and lots of fire. The spark started near the end of Kandi Burruss‘ music-video release party, when her coworker DonJuan Clark overheard Phaedra Parks, Porsha Williams and Porsha’s friend Shamea “gossiping” about Phaedra’s financial disagreement with Kandi’s husband, Todd Tucker. ICYMI, DonJuan didn’t like what he heard.
Predictably, this confrontation not only served to fan the flames between Phaedra and Todd, but also ignited a whole new firestorm between Kandi and Porsha. As the Sunday, January 3, episode opened, Shamea dropped by the Kandi Factory to chat with Kandi and DonJuan. All she managed to do was annoy both of them, however — not that this should be surprising, based on her track record.
What’s $8,500 Between Friends?
Phaedra, meanwhile, did make good on her promise to sit down with Todd and review alleged monies owed for her pregnancy workout video (which may or may not exist, depending on who you ask). Though Phaedra was polite to Todd’s face, to the camera she quipped that perhaps he was going after her money because “his weekly allowance from Ms. Kandi isn’t keeping him afloat anymore.”
When Todd presented Phaedra with documents that indicated that she still owed him just under $8,500 for his work, she argued that at the time he asked for the final payment her (now) ex-husband, Apollo Nida, was going to jail and she had to focus on her family and her health (i.e. and not paying her bills).
“Phaedra can’t pay me because she’s a single mother? Come on! Get out of here!” Todd laughed to the camera. “Cut the check and stop playing.”
Despite their snappy side comments, they did seem to reach some understanding of what still needed to be done for the project to be complete. Todd reportedly felt better, even though Phaedra didn’t actually pay him anything yet — though his feelings may change if he realizes that it’s not clear she ever intends to do so. “It’s my name on this video, so I’ll be the one to say when it’s done and then Todd can get his check,” she cooed to the camera with a smile.
The New Man in Kenya’s Life
Meanwhile, Kenya Moore turned her attentions away from potential boyfriends and toward her father, Ronald Grant, with whom she’s had an “on-again/off-again” relationship. Still, dating wasn’t completely off her mind. “Some of the issues that I have with men stem from the dysfunctional relationship I have with my family,” she revealed to camera. (When she told her dad she was jumping back in the dating game, he replied with a tired sigh.)
It turned out that her father’s lack of enthusiasm for the updates on her life extended beyond her romantic endeavors. When she showed him her house — or what exists of it so far — and asked him what he thought, he quipped, “You don’t want me to tell you what I think.” He followed this up by announcing he needed to pee. Later, when she expressed her desire to have children in that house, her father changed the subject … to a tree.
Increasingly frustrated by his refusal to open up, Kenya provided some insight into their history. “It’s kind of hard to have a heart-to-heart with my dad because when I was 12 I ran away from home,” she said to the camera. “My dad didn’t speak to me for five years.” (That’s a long time when you’re in the midst of growing up.)
Finally, Kenya got her dad somewhat cornered and said, “The fact that we didn’t talk for years really hurt me because I needed you because I was a teenager.” To her surprise, he then told her that she could not possibly imagine the pain that he felt when she’d run away, thereby making him feel that she thought he wasn’t good enough to be her father, and ruining his vision of all his kids living under one roof.
An unusually sober Kenya reflected, “I never realized that running away crushed my dad’s dream of having his children together.” She then announced to him that she wanted to organize a family reunion in Detroit, complete with her mother (with whom Kenya also has had limited, if any, communication over the years). Her dad was not so keen on that idea but ultimately agreed.
Double Trouble
As Cynthia Bailey and Peter Thomas continued to work on their marriage, the pair joined Kandi and Todd for a double date. After Kandi filled in Cynthia about how annoyed she was with Porsha, Cynthia tried to give Kandi some friendly advice about her plans to open a restaurant with Todd. In a nutshell, her advice was “don’t.”
“I’m not a huge fan of the restaurant business because I feel it only works well when [Peter] is really actively there,” Cynthia stated, prompting Peter to snap, “That’s not true!” A tired-sounding Cynthia added, “Well, that’s how I feel.” For her part, Kandi said hearing the bickering between Cynthia and Peter made her think this business venture with Todd might be a “bad idea,” which, to be fair, is exactly what Cynthia was saying.
Porsha and Kandi Make Peace … Kind Of
Next it was Cynthia’s turn to host a party. This time it was a customer appreciation event for her eyewear collection. Kim Fields, Kenya, Kandi, Porsha, Shamea and, yes, DonJuan, all turned out to support Cynthia’s venture. When Porsha said hi to DonJuan she got some serious side-eye from Kandi, prompting Porsha to tell the expectant mom, “I want to make sure we’re good.” They decided to talk it out — but Porsha was annoyed when DonJuan injected himself into the conversation. Again.
“I know Kandi is rolling with a crew,” Kenya mused to the camera. “But we all know who we’re dealing with. I hope they have their health insurance paid up.” It turned out that Porsha (mostly) kept her cool, until the end, when she stormed out declaring, “Y’all are ratchet as hell!”
There was still hope, however, as Porsha and Kandi later met up for lunch. Though they started out a bit off-topic, arguing about whether Phaedra was even sad that Apollo went to jail, ultimately Kandi admitted that she understood why Porsha stood up for Phaedra. “That was me too,” Kandi shrugged. “I’m really trying to move past the negativity, and I don’t need to keep bringing up old s‑‑t.” They agreed that their friendship may never be what it once was, but it could move forward from here. For this group, for now, we can declare that a victory.
Tell Us: Do you think Porsha and Kandi’s friendship will last?
The Real Housewives of Atlanta airs on Bravo Sundays at 8 p.m. EST.
