We had the pleasure of talking with the always beautiful, booked, and busy Cynthia Bailey! 

Cynthia made it clear that this next chapter in her life is the final chapter, so she is doing many things to make sure this final chapter is closed right! BravoCon was just a few weeks ago and Cynthia mentions that BravoCon came at such a wonderful time. Cynthia says, “First of all, the timing of it was just perfect for me. I was able to have a fun, healthy, amazing, loving distraction from my personal life right now.” 

When asked were there any Bravolebs that she met for the first time at BravoCon, Cynthia stated, “You know I’ve met so many of them because I was on RHOA for so many years, but I had never actually met Robyn from RHOP in person, even though we follow each other on Instagram. I got to meet some of the newer RHOM girls, and it was just so good to see everyone. I was really excited that I could be included in BravoCon as a legacy housewife. 

Welington validated how much the Bravo community love and adore Cynthia and he could attest to that love being shown at BravoCon. Welington says, “I was there to witness how people cheered for you and how people clapped for you whenever you were introduced on other shows and panels.” He asked Cynthia, “It’s been almost two years since you were on RHOA, how does it feel to still be one of the fan favorites? Cynthia responded, “You know, it feels really good. It was important to me that when I transitioned out to maintain an important relationship with the network, stay connected with my fans. For 11 years, housewives were my life. Although moving into being an actress now, my heart will always be with housewives. That platform has always been amazing for me, and I will always want to be included with the Bravo family because they really did change my life.”

The discussion took a bit of a somber tone when Cynthia was asked about her recent joint announcement of her divorce from her husband Mike Hill. Cynthia states, “I’m doing fine, and Mike is doing fine. This was not an overnight decision and we have been thinking about this for a while now. It actually feels good to go ahead and put it out there and just to move forward. I believe friendship is the nucleus of any marriage. Mike and I were friends before we got married and I’m really glad that we’re able to be friends as we go our separate ways. When asked if she plans to stay in Los Angeles or return to Lake Bailey (Atlanta), Cynthia responded that Lake Bailey will be active and that it has always been active but that she did spend more time in LA to be with her husband but she expects to visit LA often for her acting career and her daughter that lives in LA. Cynthia says that she will remain bi-coastal because she goes where her work takes her.

Cynthia’s acting career is excelling and she remembers how much she enjoyed watching lifetime network with her mother and credits her first leading role in a lifetime film to being as exciting as when she first graced the cover of Essence magazine. Cynthia says she loves comedy and would love to do something in that genre. She feels like she’s learning and growing as an actress and she’s very excited that it feels like she’s on the right path! Cynthia says, “I really want this to be my last chapter. You guys have had some Cynthia Bailey the model, Cynthia Bailey the reality star and now I want to humbly give you guys’ Cynthia Bailey the actress.”

Although Cynthia admits being at BravoCon plus many fans asking her return to RHOA made her miss the show, Cynthia really wants this next chapter to be focused on her acting career that she is working really hard at and taking very seriously. 

As for what’s to come, Cynthia says that she is excited that she has two films that will premiere on BET in 2023! She also mentions that she’s excited that her mother’s battle with breast cancer is coming to an end and that her mother is going to be okay. She credits her mother’s recovery to having caught the cancer early. Cynthia says, “To all the queens out there. Do not play around with mammograms. I’m getting mine on Nov. 1 st in Atlanta. I’m looking forward to my mother’s recovery because mentally this really took a toll on her, and it really scared her. She’s an older lady and she has other underlying health issues but I’m glad that I went to Atlanta to go through this journey and process with her.” 

When asked how she feels about the cameos that her ex-husband Peter Thomas has been making on RHOP and other shows, Cynthia credits Peter for being able to take the heat that comes with being on reality television. She credits him as being amongst the first of “house-husbands” to get involved with the other women on the show Cynthia said, “If he’s going to be on tv, he’s going to be on tv. I applaud him for that. There are a lot of great seasons that we’ve done together even though he kept me in trouble quite a bit. You can’t take away what he’s brought to the show.” She goes on to mention that her and Peter keep in touch and that he did reach out to her when she announced her upcoming divorce. Cynthia says, “We don’t talk often but we talk when we need to talk. It’s always love and positive.” 

When it came to the once circulating rumor of Gizelle from RHOP and Peter possibly being an item Cynthia had this to say. “Out of respect, Gizelle called me to tell me the rumors are not true. It’s nice that Gizelle came to me as “woman to woman” and even if she were dating him, I thought her calling me spoke volumes on how much she respects me and her character.” 

We wanted to get Cynthia’s opinion on why the recent RHOA season has been downhill in terms of ratings. Welington asks, “You were on RHOA for years and you were a part of the highest rated seasons. When you and Porsha walked away, what do you think may have been the reason why fans were not tuning into RHOA? Cynthia replies, “I honestly don’t really know. I would see clips on my Instagram feed, and it definitely seemed like there was much drama. I think the housewives’ fans get invested into the OGs and women that have been on the show consistently. Bravo fans love keeping up with our lives even after the show. So, I think there is something to be said about keeping “staple girls” around. It just takes the fans a little time to adjust to the new ladies.” Cynthia also says if RHOA was getting a legacy show like RHONY she would be honored to be invited. 

Cynthia wraps our talk by giving us insight into her Seagram’s Escape Spooky Sangria which is an easy cocktail to make! The recipe can be found on their site and Cynthia says, “The best thing about recipes is that they are customizable. The start of this cocktail is the Seagram’s Escape Strawberry Daiquiri. The fruit that I added was oranges, blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries. You can add almost any fruit you want but just make sure not to leave out Seagram’s Escapes Strawberry Daiquiri. It really tastes like a Sangria but with a more strawberry flavor. This is just a wonderful drink for Halloween and super easy!” For the recipes go to seagramsescapes.com

As always, The Reality Rundown enjoyed talking with Cynthia Bailey and will be on the lookout for what’s to come!