EXCLUSIVE: Cynthia Bailey Talks Upcoming Divorce, Her Acting Career and the Gizelle and Peter Thomas Rumors

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!

EXCLUSIVE: Cynthia Bailey Hill On New Chapter Of Life, And Where She Stands With Her Former RHOA Castmates

RHOA Alum Cynthia Bailey Hill joins TRR’s Chase Brown during an episode of Reality Right After to dish on all the new things happening in her life. Cynthia starts the interview off by letting fans know that this next chapter of her life has been very busy. Cynthia stated, “this is the busiest I think I have ever been in a long time. Honestly for me, I have an incredible work ethic and I understand that this industry has a lot of options. I’m a woman of a certain age and there are a lot of talented women out here in this lane so for me I’ve always been that girl that if you let me in the room, I’m showing up every single time.” Cynthia noted that remaining humble in this industry is very important to her spiritually. 

 

Chase dived right into Cynthia’s time on Celebrity Big Brother (CBB). He wanted to know what her time was like in the CBB house. Cynthia enthusiastically said, “this was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I thought having a background in reality tv would help me be prepared but it did not help me at all. This is a situation where you have no phones, no tv, no yard, no sun, you can’t even walk out the front door because it’s locked! There is no way to decompress and you’re in a house with 11 strangers for 30 days. With that said, it was so amazing because I got to see how patient I was.”

 

Cynthia mentioned having had such a good time with fellow RHOBH alum Teddi Mellencamp during their time on Celebrity Big Brother. “I have never laughed so much in my life. Teddi is wonderful, she is hilarious, and we had a great time together. I was sad to see her go but somebody had to be the first to go but I’m looking forward to hanging out with her outside of the house.” Chase proceeded to ask the burning question on everyone’s mind and that is “what happened in the fight between Cynthia and Todd Bridges?” Cynthia explained, “let me start by stating that I was the biggest Todd Bridges fan. Todd Bridges has been around a long time, and I think I may have even had a poster of him back in the day. I was very excited to see but of course he was the very first one that I fell out with. We got into an argument because I didn’t vote for him to get off the block when it was between him and Teddi. He ended up getting on the block at the last minute and Teddi, who I knew was on the block, was a part of my alliance. We did end up exchanging words that I didn’t like but I apologized for my part in it. Now that’s my boy! We’re friends for life at this point.”

 

At the halfway mark in the interview, Chase brought up the show many viewers have come to love and that is Real Housewives Ultimate Girl Trip (RHUGT) and wanted to know what Cynthia’s experience was like on the show. “I was excited to be a part of the first one because we kicked it off. Fans have wanted this for a long time. It was good until it wasn’t for me. I got a little bit in my feelings. When it came to my Bailey-Que and people not wanting to play my games. I changed the games 50 different times to try and make everyone comfortable. I’m a team player and it’s not like the other ladies had exciting events, but I participated anyway. I just wished I had been met with that same reciprocity. So, it was a great show, but it didn’t end up being the best for me. In the end, Kenya and I had a moment. You know Kenya is like my friend and our rift really hurt my feelings, but it is what it is.”

 

Chase asked, “Is there any chance of a reconciliation for you and Kenya and why was it so important for you to express how you felt after the Bailey-Que?” Cynthia responded, “I just wanted her to know why I was feeling some kind of way, my feelings were hurt, and I have not always expressed my feelings. It’s important to set boundaries in a friendship and be able to express when you have an issue with that person. At the end of that day, I don’t have any friends that if they make it known that they’re bothered by something its important to discuss. I felt like after that the energy didn’t really change and that hurt my feelings again. It’s hard maintaining friendships on our platform, and I had to put some space between it, but the love is there, I love me some Kenya Moore. At this moment we are not where we use to be and that’s ok because that’s just how life works sometimes. When the time is right maybe we’ll be able to get back to a better place.”

 

Chase asked about Cynthia’s upcoming Lifetime film Cruel Instruction. Cynthia dished on how this role came to be and everything she wanted us to know about the upcoming film. “First and foremost, I love the Lifetime network! So, I couldn’t be happier than to kick off my acting debut and to have this opportunity with them! I was offered this role and resonated with it because I am a mother, and the biggest priority of a mother is to protect her children. In the movie, my husband and I send our daughter away to a teen treatment facility for troubled teens. She’s getting bullied at school, she gets expelled, and we’re told of this academy that’s supposed to be great and help her, but it ends up being a place where they abuse kids. She gets put through a lot in the film. This is an intense film.”

 

In talking about her real life, Cynthia states, “I didn’t know much about these types of institutions because I never sent Noelle to anything like this, but we have people like Paris Hilton that are speaking out against these types of places that exist. It’s a conversation we need to have more because this is something that is really happening. So, I’m glad to be a part of a movie that is shining a light on this because it is inspired by true life events.” I’m looking forward to this next chapter in my life which is acting. I’m excited about it and passionate about it.”

 

Cynthia credits having learned a lot through watching her daughter’s father, the actor Leon Robinson. She talks about how he stayed in character the entire time he filmed his iconic role of David Ruffin in The Temptations. She said, “I learned a lot about the process and the business through him. The man played the hell out of David Ruffin. So just being around his acting process I was able to use a lot of things that I hadn’t realized I picked up.” Cynthia and Chase wrapped up the interview by reminding everyone to stay tuned to all things Cynthia Bailey.