This was posted on Wednesday, September 13, 2017 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
The "Real Housewives of Atlanta" are nearly halfway through production of season 10. The series returns next month on Bravo.
NeNe Leakes returns, as feisty as ever. Kim Zolciak will make occasional appearances. Phaedra Parks is gone. Bravo has released very little information, which is typical, but gossip sites have been fishing around for dirt all summer. Here's a summary of topics that have been the hottest:
Is Kenya Moore's marriage for real?
Kenya surprised the world by "secretly" getting married in June in St. Lucia without Bravo cameras along for the ride.
Her husband Marc Daly is a bit publicity shy. She told People magazine that she met the New York businessman a year earlier and started dating in December, just as season 9 was wrapping up.
But this is Kenya so there has to be controversy. The other women quickly began questioning the legitimacy of the marriage, given that one of her past "boyfriends" told V-103 that he pretended to be with her as a favor.
It's also unclear if Marc will even show up on camera.
Kenya has expressed anger over such skepticism, which will likely be a story line this season. On Instagram, she recently wrote: "It never ceases to amaze me the lengths people will go to discredit you, spread propaganda, boldface lies and publish entire articles based on an 'anonymous' or unknown source. My marriage and my life will not be made a mockery of."kWithMyFamily."
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Is Phaedra Parks coming back?
Despite some stories hinting of her return, given what happened last season when she spread false rumors about Kandi Burruss and used Porsha Williams as a human shield, Phaedra is toast. There has been no evidence she has been on any set with the other housewives this season.
Without the massive RHOA paycheck, she is trying to lease and/or sell her pricey homes. RadarOnline said she's begging to come back on in some capacity but it's clear none of the other women want to work with her anymore.
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Is Cynthia Bailey dating?
She finally officially ended her marriage to Peter Thomas in the spring. Last month, she posted a photo on Instagram with her new boo, motivational speaker Will Jones. Presumably, we'll be seeing them pop up together on the show this season.
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Is there tension between Nene Leakes and Porsha Williams?
Porsha and Nene have never been buddies so it's not surprising Porsha, on her show "Dish Nation," gave rather cautious, mildly shady comments about Nene's return on the show:
"She has been waiting," Porsha said. "I am glad she got her job back."
Referencing NeNe's fancy photo shoot, she added, "Yeah, you gotta be pretty excited to go do a full photo shoot — all this, that. I'm glad. I'm happy for you. I am glad you are happy."
Nene, hardly a shrinking violet, hit back hard: "We like to keep 'em talking... #eatmypeachb***h."
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Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
So how are things going with Kandi's restaurant?
After a long delay opening, the Old Lady Gang restaurant in Castleberry Hill has been super busy. It received"C" rating at a recent restaurant inspection for minor infractions but improved to an "A" a few days later after correcting them.
Kandi recently told Love B. Scott: "We love our customers. We do whatever we can to make sure they have an amazing experience. When it comes to cleanliness, we're more than on top of things. The only complaint I've ever received from customers about OLG is the fact there's a long a** wait!"
