New hair, new woman! One of The Real Housewives Of Dallas‘ most controversial stars, LeeAnne Locken, debuted her hair makeover just days after announcing she was leaving the show. The 52-year-old reality TV star chopped five inches off her hair, and showed off the shorter ‘do on the red carpet at an event in New York on Feb. 28. You can see the pics here! “I chopped off 5 inches!” she told PEOPLE. “It was time for changes all around. I’m all about fresh starts, and this felt like the right way to be kicking off this next chapter. A true shedding of the past. New weave, new LeeAnne!” The reality star, who wore a hot pink wrap dress and knee-high black boots, was joined by her husband Rich Emberlin, 57 as she showed off the new look which totally suits her. When asked how she felt about the cut, LeeAnne said, “I just feel lighter all around. It’s especially good cause now I won’t sit on my hair all the time.”
LeeAnne 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,” she said.