Marlo Hampton is handing in her peach, confirming her The Real Housewives of Atlanta departure ahead of season 16.
“My contract with Real Housewives of Atlanta ended when season 15 wrapped,” Hampton, 48, told Us Weekly in a statement on Saturday, February 24. “This break from RHOA is a fresh start, allowing me the space to participate in new creative entertainment projects focused on my future, and not reliving my past.”
She continued: “My nephews are transitioning into pivotal stages of their academic adolescence, and I am focused on my representation in their eyes and getting back to showing my multifaceted lifestyle of philanthropy, fashion, and fabulosity.”
Hampton joined RHOA as a friend in season 4, becoming a full-fledged Housewife in season 14. She last appeared on season 15, which aired in 2023. During her Bravo tenure, Hampton has given viewers into her home life with nephews Michael and William and her professional endeavors as the founder of fashion brand Le’Archive.
“I am thankful for this amazing platform of Housewives, which has allowed me to bring awareness to foster care, my nonprofit Glam It Up, Inc. and showcase my fashion showroom, Le’Archive,” Hampton added to Us. “I look forward to my continued relationship with Bravo and NBC Universal. I wish Truly Original and the RHOA cast all the best.”
Bravo also confirmed Hampton’s RHOA exit, resharing her statement.
Hampton is not the first RHOA star to walk away from the show ahead of season 16. Longtime favorite Kandi Burruss also confirmed her departure.
“I’m not really keeping up right now. I’m not keeping up. I already said it, so I’ll tell you. I decided I’m not coming back this year,” Burruss, 47, told Variety earlier this month.“It’s been 14 seasons, and they allowed us to sit around for a little too long, but during that time I had started working on a lot of other things, and I got some nice big projects coming soon, so I’m super excited about those things.”
Season 15 also starred Shereé Whitfield, Kenya Moore, Drew Sidora and Sanya Richards-Ross, but it is not known if they will return for the new episodes. There are also rumors that Bravo might “reboot” the RHOA cast as they did for The Real Housewives of New York City.
“I guess there could be [a shakeup], but every time they decide they want to change people, it’s like, sometimes I’m sad when the people leave that they switched out,” Burress previously speculated to Us Weekly exclusively in November 2023. “Sometimes they’ll get someone new and I’m like, ‘OK, well …’ I try to stay open-minded. I could have kept the same crew as when I first started.”
Bravo has not formally revealed the season 16 cast of RHOA or if there will be a “shakeup” to the lineup.
