Hang onto your hats because it’s going to be a bumpy ride! Almost from the first minute, the season premiere of The Real Housewives of Atlanta was packed with drama. There was drama about Sheree Whitfield‘s not-yet-completed house, drama about Kenya Moore‘s almost-completed house and drama about almost every woman’s relationship status. (Kandi Burruss was the sole Housewife who kicked off the season happily married — a fact that did not escape her.) For all of the other ladies, however, love was proving to be a battlefield, to say the least.
Kenya and Matt Broke Up
While discussing her home renovation, Kenya revealed that part of her motivation to get the house done “right” was due to her recent split from Matt Jordan, who she had been dating for just under a year. “I broke up with him,” she reported, explaining that while they were in Mexico, Matt had “checked her phone” and didn’t know who Kenya was texting. He did not like that so much and went crazy, kicking in the door and hurling her things around the room.
“I am not going to be in the presence of someone who cannot control their anger,” she noted. She then went back to managing the construction crew at her house and complaining about how everyone kept messing things up.
For some reason, Kenya had decided to have a housewarming party in two weeks, so she was starting to feel the pressure as she saw how much more needed to be done before she could host an event. That didn’t stop her from sending a dramatic housewarming invitation to Phaedra Park‘s house, however.
Phaedra Works to Finalize Her Divorce
Porsha Williams just so happened to be at Phaedra’s house when the invite arrived, courtesy of a footman in a Cinderella-style carriage. The invite itself included a rhinestone tiara on a pillow. To be clear, Porsha was not invited, which meant of course Phaedra decided she had to take Porsha as her date. (Sigh.)
As they hung out and chatted further, the two were busy making plans to “rock their booties” at a club in the near future. Phaedra insisted that she wanted her divorce (from Apollo Nida) to be final before she jumped back into the dating pool, but Porsha didn’t seem to hear that. (To her credit, however, she was in therapy for anger management, which is a positive development since last season.)
Cynthia Moves Forward With a Divorce
Meanwhile, things were also crumbling between Cynthia Bailey and Peter Thomas — to the point where she decided it was time to end their marriage. Reporting that she and Peter had been living apart for “about five months,” the model-management mogul met with a lawyer for advice on getting the legal process started for a divorce. Cynthia explained her desire to get through it “with as much love and integrity as possible,” though it was clear she felt terribly about the situation. “I just want to move on,” she said with a sigh — though she also added that she did really want the house.
While she and Peter did have a prenuptial agreement, Cynthia couldn’t seem to find it, so she called her soon-to-be-ex to ask if he knew where it was. “Why are you FaceTiming me?” Peter asked. “You know I haven’t seen you in three months.” When she explained she was trying to track down their prenup, he told her to ask her mother. “It was probably the same place the marriage license is,” he added. Then he turned the conversation to what had gone wrong between them, but Cynthia didn’t seem like she wanted to discuss it.
“The only thing I wanted from you was you,” Peter said. “This is f‑‑ked up.” Cynthia, looking tired and conflicted, told him she would let him know if she found the prenup and ended the call.
Kenya’s Housewarming Party Turns Chilly
The big night finally arrived and everyone gathered at Kenya’s home to celebrate its recent (near) completion. Cynthia arrived before the other guests to debrief with Kenya, who seemed sad to think of the house finished without Matt in it. “He loved it,” she said as the footage flashed back to happier times when Matt was helping with the construction. “I saw us as being here together,” she added as tears welled in her eyes. Before the party, he had sent Kenya an apology reading “I love you and I’m sorry.”
Cynthia clearly felt for her friend. “He doesn’t always do well, but I think he always means well,” Cynthia said. “Except for kicking down the door.” (Hmm, yeah, except for that.)
Kandi and Sheree arrived and, naturally, Sheree didn’t waste any time before starting to pick apart the place, saying the invite should have “come with a hard hat, dust mask and a fan.” Kenya told Sheree that completing the house had been “a long journey” and she couldn’t imagine having something like this drag out for five years. Sheree corrected Kenya, saying she had not been working on “Chateau Sheree” for five years, either. (In other Sheree news, she and her ex-husband Bob were still just friends and not romantically involved again.)
Later that night, however, two uninvited guests showed up. The first was Porsha, who came as Phaedra’s date. The second was Matt.
Tell Us: What do you think is going to happen with Matt and Porsha at the party?
The Real Housewives of Atlanta airs on Bravo Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.
