For seven seasons on theReal Housewives of Atlanta, viewers heardKenya Moorelament about her desire to start a family of her own.
Moore had a high-risk pregnancy that included multiple health scares and a three-hour emergency C-section to deliver her daughter weeks prematurely. (Ironically, she gave birth on Nov. 4 — the same dayRHOAseason 11 premiered).
Charles Sykes/Bravo
As PEOPLE reported back in June, talks for Moore’s role onRHOAweresaid to have fallen apart during a lengthy contract negotiationthat left her and the network on opposite sides of uncrossable battle lines.
Multiple insiders said both production and Moore agreed she should return as a full-time Housewife, but Moore wanted more than her bosses were offering and they wanted her to film all parts of her life — includingpersonal time with husband Marc Daly— that she had dictated were previously off-limits.
“They were at a standstill for so long,” one source said. “Everyone was rooting for her and wanted to see her back, even women likeNene [Leakes]andPorsha [Williams]who haven’t always been on ‘Team Kenya.’ The cast, producers, Bravo… they all know she’s good for the show. But it got messy. She just refused to compromise.”
Another source close to the reality star put it differently, explaining that Moore “knew her worth,” “had her priorities set” and wasn’t interested in bending to producers’ “insulting” offers.
Neither Bravo nor Moore responded to PEOPLE’s report in June, but in October, Moore released a statement to Bravo’sThe Daily Dishabout her absence.
“I have decided to take this season off to focus on my high risk pregnancy in a healthy and drama free environment,” she said. “I thank Bravo for this amazing platform that has allowed me to grow, flourish and appreciate the value of what is truly important in life.”
Porsha Williams, NeNe Leakes, Kenya Moore, Malorie Bailey Massie, and Cynthia Bailey onReal Housewives of Atlanta.Wilford Harewood/Bravo/Getty
Despite missing out on the fun, the former Miss USA remains close with her fellow Atlanta Housewives and is open to joining them in front of the cameras again. “Never say never,” she says. “Hopefully things will be able to work out and viewers will be able to see me come full circle.”
“Everything has to align for me to,” she adds.
Housewives likeKandi BurrussandCynthia Baileyhave already made the trip to meet Brooklyn Doris since her birth, with Moore sharing a gallery of photos of their visit to Instagram on Friday. Williams, who ispregnant with her first child, and friend Shamea Morton, who is pregnant with her second, have both reached out via phone with messages of love, too.
“Everyone has pretty much gotten in touch to congratulate me and our family,” Moore says.
That even includes former HousewifeShereé Whitfield, who famously feuded with Moore onRHOA.“Shereé gave me a ring to say congratulations,” Moore says. “I thought that was very big of her.”
But no support has meant as much to Moore as the support she gets from her fans.
“I have really amazing, loyal fans. They’re just so pro-all-things-Kenya-and-Team Twirl,” she says. “I’ve seen all of the postings and everything they’ve been doing.”
Talking about them, Moore gets sentimental. She’s content with her decision not to film this season ofRHOA, but she still wishes things could have been different.
“I wish I could have been able to give them what they’ve waited seven years to see,” Moore admits. “All the hell I’ve been through and all of the disappointments — all of the frogs I’ve kissed — I finally just have everything I’ve dreamed of. So it’s been a journey, and to be able to see me as a mother and a wife, I know it was important to them.”
This week’s cover.Peggy Sirota
Moore joinedRHOAin season 5 and has given the show some of its most iconic scenes, from her “Gone with the Windfabulous” battle with Williams in her first season to her feuds withKim Zolciak-Biermann.
Season 11 currently stars returning Housewives Leakes, Burruss, Bailey and Williams, as well as two new Housewives:Shamari Devoe, a former alum of the R&B group Blaque and wife of New Edition’s Ronnie DeVoe; andEva Marcille, theAmerica’s Next Top Modelalum (and new mom) who appeared as a friend of the Housewives last season and has now been promoted to full-time status.
TheReal Housewives of Atlantaairs Sundays (9 p.m. ET) on Bravo.
source: people.com
