While the producers of Bravo show “Real Housewives of Atlanta” debate a major overhaul after a lackluster season, those overseeing sister show “Married to Medicine” have found fresh angles courtesy of two new cast members.
There’s Lateasha “Sweet Tea” Mayo, a 32-year-old former D.C. resident who is now married to Dr. Gregory Lunceford. He divorced “Married to Medicine” cast member Quad Webb in 2019.
And attorney Phaedra Parks a former long-time cast member of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” has found her way back onto reality TV as well, since starting to date a doctor.
Lateasha, who changed her last name to Lunceford, married Gregory in April after hitting him up on social media after his divorce. The wedding was chronicled by the Bravo cameras this past spring and aired on Nov. 26.
Doing the reality show, she admitted to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a recent interview, has been “intimidating,” in part because all the other cast members are veterans of the game.
“I’ve never been in this realm of work of filming anything,” said Lateasha, a program coordinator for the federal government in D.C. who found a comparable job after moving to Atlanta. She said it took time to get used to the cameras.
“Sometimes, I was conscious they were there,” she said. “At times, lord, I didn’t know what was coming out of my mouth!”
Dr. Heavenly Kimes, an original “Married to Medicine” cast member, made waves in the second episode by questioning Lateasha’s readiness for marriage at her bachelorette party after Lateasha threw a fit regarding a surprise increase in the cost of her wedding. Heavenly didn’t say it to Lateasha’s face but did so in front of the other ladies.
“It was inappropriate and wrong,” said Lateasha, who had considered Heavenly a friend.
When Lateasha found out, she “disinvited” Heavenly to her wedding without telling her, though Heavenly and her husband snuck in anyway.
Lateasha felt disinviting Heavenly was justified but chose not to make a fuss about it at the wedding itself, which otherwise went wonderfully, she said.
Parks is hungry for a comeback. She was a popular figure on “Real Housewives of Atlanta” for several seasons until she spread rumors about fellow cast member Kandi Burruss. Phaedra got booted in 2017. And though Parks is theoretically on the show because of a doctor boyfriend, he has yet to be seen on camera over the first six episodes.
But Parks knows how to stir the pot for the cameras.
During the second episode, she purposely brought Quad to Lateasha’s bachelorette party. Quad, of course, had not been invited. Lateasha quickly kicked her out.
“I don’t think it registered at first,” Lateasha said. “But once I sobered up, I thought, ‘What was the point of that?’ That was a party to celebrate me. It was disrespectful to bring the ex there.”
She was especially surprised since her husband Gregory and Phaedra were old friends. “Why bring back his old mess?” she said.
When Lateasha signed on for “Married to Medicine,” she had no clue Quad was still in the cast: “But I had an idea she’d make an appearance. I’m confident in myself. I didn’t have an issue with Quad.”
Phaedra, hoping to re-integrate Quad back into the group, then held a special party on the Dec. 3 episode. Parks ― both an attorney and mortician ― played up the theatrics by holding the event for the ladies at Willie Watkins Funeral Home. Dressed in black, she had Quad rise out of a casket.
Quad then asked everyone to bury the hatchet without apologizing for her own past behavior that upset many of the ladies in past seasons.
In the meantime, Heavenly and Lateasha ended up exchanging words. Lateasha accused Heavenly of abusing her husband, and Heavenly told Lateasha she has “daddy issues” for marrying a man a quarter century older than she is.
Lateasha said the age difference doesn’t matter, noting that she and Gregory are a lot alike. They are both twins. They have similar values. She said he accepts her without judgment. “I feel comfortable with him,” she said. “We don’t have long-winded conversations.”
Credit: BRAVO
Credit: BRAVO
Dr. Simone Whitmore, another original member of the show, thinks Lateasha has been a good addition to the cast, and Lateasha likes her as well.
“I call her Mama Simone,” she said. “She really does look out for me. I look up to Simone. She’s very warm and very fun to be around.”
Dr. Simone, in a separate interview, said it was “fantastic to see Gregory fall in love again. I wasn’t shocked Lateasha decided to join us and film. But I was surprised she did it in the middle of moving to Atlanta, getting married and starting a new job. That’s stressful!”
“Married to Medicine” has shown extraordinary stability for a show of its age. Five out of six original members remain from the first season more than a decade ago.
Dr. Simone said she is not bored yet. It helps that the show only shoots 14 weeks out of the year. “Each year is a new journey,” she said. “You don’t know once we’re all together in close proximity who will get along, who will need to shut up. We’re all so aggressive with sharing our opinions. You wish we weren’t so aggressive. But I really enjoy most of the ladies most of the time.”
Quad’s continued presence is a curiosity to Dr. Simone. “I don’t think Quad is an outsider because of Lateasha. She is an outsider by choice,” she said. “She’s had her friends in real life on ice. We see that year after year with Quad. That is one of her problems.”
But she understands that Quad is popular with fans and hey, it’s a paycheck. “A lot of people just want to see her dating,” Dr. Simone said.
She and her husband Cecil are in a good place now. They are merely trying to nudge their two sons, both in their early 20s, out of the door and into some semblance of independence. Cecil doesn’t care but she is more adamant that they grow up.
“They want to be grown but without the financial responsibilities,” she said. “They stay for the free food and air conditioning.”
IF YOU WATCH
“Married to Medicine,” 8 p.m. Sundays on Bravo, available the next day on Peacock
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