Expect anger at 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' reunion

The phenomenon that is Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" keeps getting bigger.

The finale last week drew 2.2 million viewers, the most in the franchise's history and more than triple its debut seven weeks ago.

The reunion show at 9 Tuesday night (Nov. 25) promises even more fireworks. Bravo has been teasing to run-ins between NeNe Leakes and Kim Zolciak and the seemingly inflappable Lisa Wu Hartell and (again) Zolciak.

Wu Hartwell said late last week that she was upset when she heard through friends that Zolciak was bad-mouthing her, saying she had to relinquish custody of her two children from her first marriage to Keith Sweat because of drug problems. (Although Wu Hartwell admits losing custody in a very bitter divorce case, she says she still sees her two older children "all the time.")

"I just lost it," Wu Hartwell says. "A lot happened off camera. I've never done drugs. You can't go around saying things like that."

Zolciak denies spreading such rumors and was surprised by Wu Hartwell's angry voice mails to her as well as her outburst in tonight's reunion show, taped two weeks ago. "It was bizarre," Zolciak says. "I was mortified. Her children are her business. I'm a mother, too. I never said that."

And despite Leakes' mockery of Zolciak's singing in that infamous drunken limo scene, Zolciak insists things are OK between her and Leakes.

"She made a public statement with People apologizing," Zolciak says. And she heard through mutual friends how bad Leakes felt. (Oddly, she says Leakes has never given her a direct apology.)

Still, Zolciak admits that watching the actual video of Leakes making fun of her "reopened some wounds." At the same time, she thought "it was pretty funny. My [oldest] daughter had a hard time with it, though."

But why didn't Zolciak meet with Leakes to discuss it? "I didn't confront her because I was hurt," she said. "I didn't want to entertain the negative energy. In hindsight, I should have called her, but I don't know if she would have been completely honest. I shut her out and moved on."

For the sake of a likely second season, she can't really move on. "We'll sit down and talk when things calm down," Zolciak said.

Then there's "Big Papa," the mysterious boyfriend. Zolciak acknowledges the end of their relationship of three years — not seven months as noted on the TV program. She also says they were engaged for a time and that she recently broke it off.