Why Monique Samuels Will Never Return To The Real Housewives Of Potomac - Exclusive
After four seasons of drama, Monique Samuels announced in 2020 that she was saying goodbye to "The Real Housewives of Potomac." Her decision to leave shouldn't have come as a surprise to viewers who watched her feud with Candiace Dillard explode into a full-on brawl that led to Dillard filing assault charges, with Samuels filing charges of her own (which were all subsequently dropped).
Samuels hasn't totally cut ties with "RHOP." In fact, she's got a bit more tea to spill, and she's doing it in her new three-part YouTube series titled "Bindertime Stories." Inspired by the binder full of receipts she brought to the "RHOP" Season 5 reunion, Samuels offers cryptic clues for fans, who get to play amateur detectives to match the Housewives to the characters referencing in her stories.
But if fans are expecting Monique to make a wholesale return to the "RHOP" scene, they're bound to be disappointed, as the "Bindertime Stories" star revealed in an exclusive interview with Nicki Swift. Here's what she said.
Monique Samuels is done with The Real Housewives of Potomac
Asked if she thinks she might return for another season of "The Real Housewives of Potomac," Monique Samuels offered a definitive answer. "Not at all," she declared.
"I'm done. And obviously, just being gone for so long, these few months of not filming. I mean the last time I filmed outside of the reunion was in 2019 when you really think about the dates. It aired in 2020. I'm so far removed from that whole process," Monique continued. "You really don't realize how stressful it is until you've removed yourself from it. Then you start to see, and you're like, 'Whoa, I was dealing with all of that? For what?' I don't need it. I don't want it. I'm done."
"I mean, I feel good about my decision. I'm very happy with it. I don't mind talking about it. It's four years of my life that I dedicated to that show. So I'm fine talking about it, but I do not want to be a part of it in any respect anymore."
Being a Real Housewife is more demanding than viewers may realize
Beyond the interpersonal drama she experienced on "RHOP," Monique Samuels revealed another key reason behind her decision to leave the show. "I think the biggest shock factor to me was how much time is actually involved. I thought that it was just going to be, 'OK, we're filming for four months and then we're free. We're off. I can travel. I can do what I've been doing.' No, it's the furthest from the truth," she explained. "I didn't realize how much of a job it is to do reality TV. ... I mean, you have to be darn on call."
"And even when we're done filming, then you have to do press. You have to maintain your social media. You have to promote the show. ... And then no sooner than you're finished filming, now it's time to air," Monique continued. "Then you have to relive everything that you went through for all of those months. Now we're filming the reunion and then we're back to filming the next season. It is never-ending."
"I had no idea that it was a 365-day-of-the-year job, and it really is," Samuels added. "It's a lot of work. So I think that really shocked me because I've watched reality TV for years, and I never knew how much was really involved to make a show happen."
Monique Samuels' "Bindertime Stories" can be seen on her "Tea with Monique" YouTube channel.