After a seven-year absence, Phaedra Parks is returning to “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” on Bravo, the show that made her a reality star.
Parks left the show in a cloud of controversy in 2017 after spreading rumors about fellow cast member Kandi Burruss and alienating the rest of the cast.
“You called. I answered,” Parks posted Monday on Instagram, with a photo and video of her holding a peach. “Feeling real peachy today.”
A lawyer by trade, Parks was largely off reality TV until 2022 when Bravo brought her back for a limited series called “Ultimate Girls Trip: Ex-Wives Club” with cast members of other “Housewives” franchises. Then last year, she joined sister Bravo show “Married to Medicine” because she was dating someone in the medical profession. But her breakout role in season two of “The Traitors” earlier this year helped lift her profile significantly.
The 16th season of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” was delayed in part because the 15th season saw the show hit record lows in ratings. It also led Bravo to ditch most of the season 15 cast including original cast member Shereé Whitfield and longtime presence Marlo Hampton. Kandi Burruss, who had been on the show since 2009, voluntarily left earlier this year as well.
Longtime cast member Kenya Moore was set to return but early in taping this summer, she showed lewd photos of a new cast member at a party, which caused such a kerfuffle, she was suspended and ultimately let go.
This left an opening for Parks to return. It’s likely Bravo will not use any Moore footage and bring Parks back clean. It also helps that Burruss is no longer around.
Another longtime cast member Porsha Williams is now back in the cast after two years away in what is the biggest cast shake up in the show’s history going back to 2008.
