Already have an account?
Get back to the

Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 7 Premiere Recap: Apollo Nida Asks Phaedra Parks for a Divorce After Prison Sentence

Phaedra Parks and Apollo Nida
Apollo Nida asked Phaedra Parks for a divorce in the premiere of The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the realest of them all? The Real Housewives of Atlanta, of course! The southern belles are back in business, and everybody knows that they grab the most attention —that is, when they’re not grabbing megaphones out of each other’s hands (#neverforget). But we’re sure that’ll come later. Us Weekly recaps the drama-drenched season 7 premiere. Here we go!

Our favorite rich girl, NeNe Leakes, takes her talents to Las Vegas — at Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity, to be exact. NeNe, who’s no stranger to getting dirrrty, plays coy about showing skin onstage. “I’m just not that girl!” she promises. Luckily, no job’s too big or small for NeNe. “I’m a performer. I act, I sing, I dance. I run businesses. I’m a mogul…I’m everything,” she assures us. Make that money, honey.

Related: PHOTOS: Real Housewives weddings

Back down south, newlyweds Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker prepare for the arrival of Todd’s daughter, Kaela, who’s moving in with the couple and Kandi’s daughter, Riley. Todd has a more traditional stance as man of the house. Kandi’s prepared to begin her stepmotherly spoiling, but Todd wants his 18-year-old to learn the value of a dollar (you know, even though they have millions). “I may give Riley extra,” Kandi admitted. “But what’s wrong with your children being happy?” Todd suggests that they have a family meeting upon Kaela’s arriva, and Kandi assures Todd that Riley’s “gonna be pissed.” Happily ever after!

Forget standing by her man. A few miles away in Augusta, Phaedra Parks seeks refuge in a hotel room on the morning of husband Apollo Nida‘s sentencing for wire, bank, and mail fraud. Apollo takes full responsibility for his actions. “I understand what I’ve done is illegal. It’s wrong. But it’s fixable,” he says. His marriage? Not so much. Apollo has a huge chip on his shoulder because of Phaedra’s absence but she shows no sympathy for him. “Apollo’s a big boy…he will have to deal with his choices, today, alone,” she says with finality. Ice cold, baby.

Related: PHOTOS: Former Real Housewives stars

Kenya Moore, fresh from a three-month trek around the world, is still licking her wounds from her explosive season 6 reunion fight with Porsha Williams, relegated to “friend” status this season. The most combative Housewife “felt like everybody ganged up on me,” she tearfully tells Cynthia Bailey. Cynthia — whose inner thighs must be super-duper sore from constantly straddling the fence — sides with Kenya. “If that happened to Kandi, I think everyone would’ve run to Kandi…if it happened to NeNe, people would’ve ran towards NeNe,” she says. “Anybody but you.”

Porsha, who had to turn herself in after Kenya filed charges, remains unapologetic. “I know that Kenya wants some sort of apology. Will an apology come out of Porsha’s mouth?” she questions. “No.”

RHOA
The Real Housewives of Atlanta premiered on Sunday, Nov. 9.

Cynthia delves into her own self-pity party and tells Kenya that she still hasn’t talked to NeNe since the reunion. And to her, that’s perfectly fine. “Everything is better because she’s not in my life,” she rejoices. So much for that ironclad friendship contract!

Related: PHOTOS: Real Housewives' bikini bodies

On his judgment day, Apollo pleads guilty and is sentenced to eight years in prison. Over lunch with his mom and brother, he reflects on how everything will affect his family — especially his two sons, Ayden and Dylan. “My addiction to fast life, fast money could potentially cause me to not be there for my kids,” he says.

Though saddened, Phaedra’s committed to saving face for her boys. “At the end of the day, I will do it alone and do it very well.”

Kandi and Todd get caught up in the web of Phaedra and Apollo’s drama. He wants to support his pal Apollo while Kandi’s loyalty is to Phaedra. Kandi still manages to appear gracious when Apollo, alone and disgruntled, stops by her recording studio, The Kandi Factory, to chat with Todd.

“Maybe it’s ran its course,” he concedes to Todd of his marriage. Oh hey, Captain Obvious.

Peter proposes to Cynthia — but not with a diamond ring! He wants his wife of three years to be a partner in his new business venture, a sports bar in Charlotte, NC. The couple’s seen their fair share of hard times, so naturally, Cynthia’s a little hesitant…but still game. “If I do invest and become a silent partner, best believe I won’t be so silent,” she promises.

Related: PHOTOS: Biggest Real Housewives fights ever

Phaedra returns home two days after Apollo’s sentencing, where she gets a less-than-warm welcome from him. As expected, he lashes out at her for deserting him in his time of need — and even blames her for some of his illegal actions. “Some of the decisions I made were based on how you act,” he tells Phaedra. “Every time you get paid, you run off with the check.” It’s no secret that multitasker extraordinaire Phaedra brought home most of the bacon, but Apollo expresses that he’s entitled to it. “That paycheck that you’ve earned? I’ve helped you earn that paycheck,” he says.

Phaedra, who maintains that she’s been a good wife, doesn’t want her good name to be muddied with Apollo’s worse-than-ever rep. Apollo wants a separation as well — of the legal kind. He tells Phaedra that he’s going to get a divorce counselor to go his own way.

“If that is what he truly wants, bon voyage,” she says.

Tell Us: Who’s in the wrong — Apollo or Phaedra? What are you looking forward to the most about this season?

In this article

Got a Tip form close button
Got a tip for US?
We're All Ears for Celebrity Buzz!