A lot of drama went down on last night’s episode of Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Kenya Moore was triggered by Marlo Hampton’s treatment of her nephews. When Kenya arrived at the cabin bright and early, she barely even acknowledged her.
Sanya Richards-Ross, the newbie on the show, played the part of the peacekeeper.
The Olympic gold medalist sat with Kenya to try to convince her to go talk to Marlo and get the gift the host had left for her.
Kenya then threw some shade by saying she didn’t have any sage with her.
She then insisted on saying, “Marlo is walking around with a lot of demons.”
The episode picked up the morning after Marlo gave Kenya an ultimatum while on the trip to the mountains. She said the former Miss USA could either stay at the house with all the ladies, or she would not be welcomed to participate in the group activities.
Sanya explained to Kenya that Marlo was hurt by her dismissive behavior.
The owner of the hair care line responded, “I don’t buy it. She did it to her own nephews. Literally, she kicked them out of the house because she was having a hard time.” She insisted, getting more and more frustrated, “You can’t give a child back. That’s for life.”
Kenya said she has lived through the same pain as Marlo’s nephews
Kenya decided to get vulnerable enough with Sanja to drive her to speak about Marlo. She explained that when she was a teenager, she wanted to know about her mom’s family. They agreed to let her stay with them until she finished high school.
Kenya recounted the story, stating that at one point raising her got too tough for her grandmother and they sent her back to her dad’s. On the way there, she jumped out of the moving vehicle and ran away to an ex-boyfriend’s house. Her family couldn’t find her for weeks.
The whole experience really marked and bruised her emotionally. She said to the Jamaican native, “I know what that feels like. It adds to a child’s trauma and abandonment issues. Because it’s like, ‘What’s wrong with me? Why do you give up on me?’”
A visibly upset Kenya further explained her emotional ordeal in her confessional. Having a hard time looking into the camera, she confessed, “It’s the worst thing to feel displaced and not feel wanted. And to hear about that it’s just kind of heartbreaking. Because it just kind of hit home with me.”
Kenya said she was ‘offended as a mom’ by Marlo
Back on the couch, Kenya continued her heart-to-heart with Sanja saying, “When you love a kid, that’s for life. That offends me as a mom.”
The 4 times Olympic gold medalist tried to defend Marlo by saying her nephews were with another one of Marlo’s sisters.
Kenya was not buying it and said matter-of-factly, “It doesn’t matter. They’re not in her care because it’s too tough for her, right? She doesn’t give a f**k about me if she’s treating her own nephews like that. Girl, get out of here.”
Kenya’s experience would explain why she is so dismissive and mean to Marlo. They both have similar issues of abandonment and trigger each other, which is a recipe for disaster in friendship but some great TV for the viewers.
Kenya also recently shamed Marlo after her home invasion — seeming to keep the drama going even off camera.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta airs on Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo.