RHOA S15E1: Turning Harlem Nights into Harlem Fights, Who Slid in Kenya’s DMs & Ralph minus Drew
- Corinne Johnson
- May 12, 2023
The Real Housewives of Atlanta made their glamorous return to Bravo on Sunday night! Viewers welcomed back the queens of shade Kandi, Kenya, Sheree, Marlo, Drew, and Sanya. Immediately we are introduced to Sheree’s banging body and her new beau Martell Holt who some may know from the reality tv show Love & Marriage: Huntsville. Martell doesn’t have the best reputation as viewers learned that he had a 7-year relationship with his mistress during the 14 years of his marriage. Martell’s ex-wife Melody filed for divorce followed by the confirmation of his infidelity with his mistress Arionne Curry who was pregnant with his 5th child. Despite all of this, Sheree says, “Despite what you see on tv, he’s never shown me anything but respect and I’m really happy that I didn’t give up on love and that I left the door open.” Sheree surprises Martell with a female chef coming to her home and Martell says that he thought the surprise was a threesome. It seems his taste for multiple women at once remains. Sheree reminds Martell that Sanya’s husband (Ross) birthday party is coming up. When informed of who the guest would be it was clear that Martell is not a fan of Kandi because she called him an “opportunist”. Martell says, “I guess she forgot what opportunist was…it’s her husband” and he precedes to throw shade at Kandi and Todd’s height.
A blast from the past occurs as we see Kandi catching up with Carmon and DonJuan when Kenya and Monyetta who’s a friend of the show arrive to catch up with Kandi at her office. Kenya mentions that she dislikes the tension between Kandi and Sheree. Kandi says, “I was definitely being a petty betty when it came to spoofing Sheree. Apparently, Sheree never remembers the things that she says about other people. Girl, I’m gonna do a you on you and be like, What? What you mean?” The ladies discuss the rumor that Martell is dating other women in Atlanta. Kandi and Monyetta both admit that they had heard this rumor and Kenya adds that Martell “lightweight” slide into her DMs via Instagram. However, when Kenya goes to show Kandi and Monyetta the message it shows that Martell sent a message but later deleted it. In her confessional, producers ask Kenya why she didn’t talk to Martell. Kenya says, “Why didn’t I talk to Martell? Are you serious? Every time Martell looks at a woman, she comes back pregnant. Luckily for Sheree, she doesn’t have any more “periods”, so she doesn’t have to worry about that.”
Kenya shifts the topic by telling Kandi that she heard her argument with Todd the other day over the phone. Kandi sums it up by saying that Todd has written movies that he wants her to produce but she says that she doesn’t have time. She also says that Todd feels like he helps her but that she doesn’t return the favor. In discussing her marital issues Kandi becomes emotional and feels like Todd is trying to make her out to be the bad guy. Kandi says, “Listen, I understand that I am doing a lot and I understand that can be frustrating for him but don’t do things to make me the problem.” Kenya’s sisterly advice is to find time for her husband.
The scene shifts over to Sanya and her family that all live under one roof. Sanya says, “My house is more packed than a New York City subway station. There’s my mom, dad, me, my husband, her son Deuce, her sister Shari, her husband Tyrell and their kids Slade and Shiloh.” Sanya is planning an epic 40th birthday party for her husband and admits to being nervous due to the other ladies calling her past event “party city”. Over at Kandi’s home, Kandi is getting the kids ready for dinner during what she calls “family time” but Todd is busy going over the script with his peers. Kandi begins to show frustration because she doesn’t want Todd’s work to interfere with family time.
Over at Marlo’s, it’s Taco Tuesday and the boys prepare the food buffet style for Marlo, and she loves it. In her confessional, Marlo says, “Even though I haven’t heard from my sister in a few months, my sister has not been in contact with the boys since she got out of jail. Michael and William, those are my boys and they’re not going anywhere.” Marlo hired a life coach to help her, and the boys navigate their “new normal” and Marlo admits that after “hiccups” she needed to properly learn how to parent because she is very new to this life. Flashback scenes of Marlo telling everyone that she kicked the boys out begin to play. It truly appears that Marlo is trying to “right her wrongs” because she wants to give the boys the best and become a better parent to the boys.
Sanya heads over to Sheree’s to exercise together. Sheree is modeling one of her fitness sets from the infamous “She by Sheree” clothing line which is priced at $274. Make do with that what you will but we all can agree that her body is bodying this fitness wear. Viewers were introduced to a friend of Sheree’s that stops by whose name is Courtney. Sheree mentions that she invited Courtney to Sanya’s party and when Sanya asked which of the ladies Courtney met, she responds, “I’ve hung out with Marlo briefly”. Courtney continues to say, “Kandi is cool. We’ve been in similar circles, but did I forget to tell you that she was asking some people about me? I heard that she said we were friends.” It’s not lost on viewers that Courtney had the look of bewilderment on her face as she says this. She claims Kandi looked her up on Instagram and Sheree adds that Kandi has a lot of free time. In her confessional, Sheree says, “I’m kind of feeling a certain type of way about Kandi. I thought we were good, but she still continued to talk about me with her spoofs. The only time Kandi is not talking about people or me is when she’s eating or sucking **** but not in a locker room.”
Before the party, Sanya goes over to the venue to make sure the party is being set up properly. She admits she started with a budget of $40,000 but ended up spending $100,000! Sanya most definitely went all out for her man spending that kind of money. The party night has arrived as everyone comes together to celebrate Ralph’s 40th birthday party. All the guests begin to arrive dressed in their “Harlem Nights” theme. As Kenya arrives, she admits her expectations of Sanya’s party are low based from what Sanya put together last year. However, the party looks fabulous with casino décor, casino tables, big bright lights, and entertainment. As Ralph (Drew’s husband) enters the party he greets a few guests and Kenya brings up Drew’s absence. Ralph says that Drew couldn’t make it because she was dealing with serious family issues. In her confessional, Kenya says, “Ralph is saying there was a crisis in the family. He forgot he was married to the crisis. Like you got to be there Ralph, that’s part of your family too.” With all we have learned about Ralph over the years are we really surprised? I’m not.
Sanya and Ross make their grand entrance to his 40th birthday party and it appears that everyone is having a blast while being in good spirits. As Sheree and Martell enters the party, some of the ladies had interesting commentary in their confessionals about the duo. Kenya says, “Why is he here? And on your arm?” Kandi says, “Last year Sheree was with Mr. Community Service, okay? This year she’s with community property.” Sanya says, “He ain’t got no ankle bracelet on so I think it’s an upgrade.” Kenya asks Martell and Sheree if they are official, and Sheree can tell that Kenya isn’t simply asking about that. In her confessional, Sheree says, “Kenya is so damn nosy. Stop worrying about my relationship and worry about if Marc is going to take Moore Manor in the divorce settlement. Hopefully he adds baseboards.”
As the episode begins to wrap up, Marlo and Courtney discuss the rumors about Kandi taking the time to look up Courtney. Marlo admits that she’s happy this drama does not involve her but says, “Baby, if there’s tea you know I’m gonna sip it.” Courtney and Kandi begin to have a conversation while Sheree is pulled to the side by Kenya and Monyetta to discuss Martell. Courtney tells Kandi that someone asked if the two of them were friends and Courtney implies that Kandi could be thirsty for her friendship. Kandi admits to only knowing the mutual (Dina) and has no idea who Courtney is. Kandi addresses Courtney’s energy which is giving attitude. Meanwhile, across the room Sheree is defending her new beau as Monyetta tells her about the rumors that have circulated about Martell. At the same time, Kandi and Courtney’s exchange is becoming increasingly heated with Courtney getting in Kandi’s face. As Marlo eavesdrop from behind, Kandi tells Courtney to give her space and stop coming at her with this aggressive energy. The episode ends with Kandi saying, “I’m about to headbutt this b***h” and Sheree wanting to see this DM Martell sent Kenya as she calls him over.
This premiere episode got the ladies going because on Twitter the RHOA cast has been tweeting serious shade at each other. Be sure to stay updated on all things RHOA right here on The Reality Rundown. I think we all better stay tuned to the drama on Twitter and Bravo as it airs each week, Sundays at 8pm ET.