It’s curtain call! Season 7 of the Real Housewives of Atlanta is drawing to a close, and so is the drama…for now. In the April 19 episode, NeNe Leakes begins her role as Cinderella’s Wicked Stepmother on Broadway as Kenya Moore dives head-on into a new passion project — her pilot, Life Twirls On. The other girls may not be on stage or in front of the camera, but they still manage to deal with their very own plot twists.
Re-Joyce!
Todd Tucker and Kandi Burruss’ marriage is back on track as they contemplate a temporary move to Los Angeles for Todd’s job. Ice queen Mama Joyce finally thaws and invites the couple to her housewarming party. Over a meal of good ol’ fashioned soul food, Mama Joyce does some soul searching. She expresses her wish for the family to have a better year, and caps things off by apologizing to Todd. Mama Joyce never supported Kandi and Todd’s union and even lashed out against Todd’s mother, Miss Sharon, claiming that she was a prostitute.
“Anything that I’ve said against your mother, it was something that someone told me,” Mama Joyce tells Todd. “It was nothing that I have never made up. My biggest problem has been repeating…what someone has told me.”
Todd appreciates the apology, but doesn’t believe it just yet.
“I definitely feel that this apology is not genuine,” Todd gripes in his confessional. “Repeating what people told [her] in the streets? We have a lot of work to do.”
Hey, progress makes perfect!
Apollo Speaks
On the other side of town, Peter Thomas and Cynthia Bailey close the doors of BarOne and prepare to christen new locations for their lounge and a coffee shop. In the middle of packing their boxes, they take on some extra baggage — Apollo Nida’s. Phaedra Parks’ husband (and convicted felon) calls from prison to catch up and complain about his baby mama drama. Apollo reveals that he’s aware of Phaedra’s wish to divorce him (“S–t, what can I do?” he says). He also complains that Phaedra hasn’t allowed their two sons to visit him in Kentucky where he’s serving his eight-year sentence for fraud.
Apollo shouldn’t hold his breath. In her confessional, Phaedra admits that she’s not in a rush to take that trip up to Kentucky because of the unsafe and unsanitary conditions.
“Whether I take the children to see their father in prison, or if I don’t take them — someone’s going to be unhappy,” Phaedra muses. “Ayden might resent the fact that he has to go to a prison to visit his father, or he could resent the fact that I don’t allow him to…it’s a no-win situation.”
Apollo asks his friends to convince Phaedra to change her mind. While Peter and Cynthia feel for him, Cynthia opts to hold her tongue on this one.
“Although I feel bad for him…last time Apollo’s name came up, I ended up being in a big Chocolate mess,” Cynthia says in her confessional.
For now, Phaedra’s perfectly fine with playing the role of single mom-slash-superwoman.
“I’m moving on with my life, and my sons are moving on with their lives,” Phaedra proclaims in her confessional. “We are survivors!”
The Last Scene
NeNe invited the girls to see her play, but no one took her up on the offer. In fact, Phaedra was the only Housewife to send NeNe a congratulatory text before she took the stage.
“The invite…was definitely a legit invitation, but I didn’t hear from anybody about coming to the debut,” NeNe gripes in her confessional. “Quite frankly, I don’t think they should come.”
Despite those six empty seats, NeNe manages to nail her very first performance on the Great White Way. A show the girls did manage to catch? Kenya’s Life Twirls On. She hosts a screening of her show at a private mansion, where all of the Housewives and Friends show up. The show is about a jilted bride, and Kenya, true to her role, ascends down the steps in a wedding dress and veil!
“I love a grand entrance, but one that makes sense,” Phaedra jokes in her confessional.
Surprisingly, the Housewives enjoy the pilot — and each other’s company.
“Girls who…would never be in the same room together are laughing and having fun,” Kenya reflects in her confessional. “It’s just a testament to forgiveness.”
Tune in to Bravo April 26 at 8 p.m. for part one of the finale!
