One of The Real Housewives Of Dallas‘ most controversial stars, LeeAnne Locken, is leaving the show. The 52-year-old reality TV star revealed on Feb. 25 that she won’t be returning for Season 5 of the Bravo hit. “The last four years have been a trolley-slapping good time but after much consideration, I have made the personal decision to step away from RHOD,” LeeAnne, 52, said in a statement to PEOPLE. “Getting to share my wedding with the viewers last year brought me tremendous joy, however, the season was very personally challenging for me,” she continued. “I am looking forward to stepping away from the cameras and spending quality time with my husband and friends, traveling, but most importantly, getting back to philanthropy, which was my main reason for joining the show.”
She continued, “Thank you to everyone who has laughed and cried with me along the way. It’s been an amazing journey, and yes my pantyliner is still exhausted. There are so many exciting things on my horizon that I can’t wait to share with you.” While fans of LeeAnne’s will be sad to see her go, her exit doesn’t come as a huge surprise.
This past season of RHOD featured LeeAnne making racially insensitive comments toward her co-star Kary Brittingham during the cast’s trip to Thailand. At the RHOD reunion, LeeAnne apologized for what she had said, which included calling Kary a “chirpy Mexican”, and promised to never say hurtful things again. “I know every bone in my body, and I know I don’t have a single bone that believes in discrimination,” LeeAnne said in a statement at the time. “I believe in inclusion. I am deeply sorry to those that I have hurt or offended with some of my comments. It was never my intention to hurt anyone and I will use this as a learning experience to be more aware of my comments in the future. My commitment moving forward is to continue my work fighting for equality and acceptance of all humans.”
Season 5 of RHOD is expected to start filming soon. It’s not yet clear who will be returning, but LeeAnne was a full-time cast member on the show since its premiere in April 2016.