Eva Marcille won’t return to Bravo’s Real Housewives of Atlanta for season 13, she revealed in a statement obtained by HollywoodLife on Tuesday. The model, 35, also announced her exit — after three seasons on the show — Tuesday morning on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show. And, she revealed where she stands with her former cast-mates, NeNe Leakes, Kandi Burruss, Cynthia Bailey, Porsha Williams and Kenya Moore, following the explosive season 12 reunion.
“I appreciate the bond of friendship that I’ve made with my cast mates and the strong personal relationships I have cultivated with numerous executives and producers from Bravo and Truly Original,” she said in a statement. “I am thankful for the opportunity I was provided. However, after speaking with my family and representatives, I believe that what I hope to accomplish for the culture and community will be better served by focusing on other opportunities.”
Eva Marcille (center) on ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta.’ (Photo credit: Bravo)
As for what’s next in her career? “I look forward to serving the community on Rickey Smiley Morning Show and finding other ways to be a voice during this transformational time during our country for people of color,” she continued. On the morning she announced her RHOA exit, Eva promoted her new gig on her Instagram Story. She shared a flyer by the Ricky Smiley Morning Show that noted she will appear on the show every weekday.
Eva joined RHOA as a friend of NeNe Leakes in 2017, during Season 10. She outspoke attitude and fearless nature secured her an offer to be a full-time housewife in season 11. “The time that I spent on Housewives I enjoyed myself. I cried, I laughed, I obviously fought,” she explained on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show. “Most importantly, I made some great friendships with some beautiful women.”
Along with her activism and businesses, Eva plans to focus on her family and three children — daughter Marley Rae, 6, (with ex Kevin McCall) and sons Michael Todd, 1, and Maverick, 8 months, with husband Michael Sterling.
“I believe my time is up,” she admitted about being on RHOA. “I have a 6-year-old daughter and two young boys still in diapers. They are 24 hours a day and there is a lot of work to be done. I decided to spend my time and energy focusing on my kids and my community,” she explained. “And not so much reality show business.”
Despite the dramatics during RHOA‘s season 12 reunion, Eva admitted she has no bad blood with her former cast-mates.
“I love every single one of those black women. They are all queens all in their own right,” she said. “They are stars and I wish them the most successful season and transformational season 13 that the Real Housewives of Atlanta has ever seen.”
