Kenya Moore Addresses Kandi Burruss’ Exit From ‘Real Housewives Of Atlanta’ And Whether Nene Leakes Will Ever Return: “That Door Is Closed”

Kenya Moore has addressed the future of Real Housewives of Atlanta, which is experiencing a delay that has now led to the exit of longtime star Kandi Burruss.

During a recent appearance on the Tamron Hall Show, Moore explained the reason behind the Season 16 delay, saying it has forced the cast to look for other projects.

“They were thinking about, after last season, recasting the show, figuring it out, and it’s just taken forever,” Moore said. “And so, we started making moves. She started doing other projects, I started doing this project. I’m working on Kenya Moore Hair Care… I opened a hair salon in Atlanta [and] I started focusing on other things.”

But Moore claimed she wasn’t worried about Burruss, saying, “She’s that girl.”

As for Moore, the RHOA star added that she’s not sure if she’ll be returning for Season 16 as Bravo hasn’t “made any final decisions.”

But news could be coming soon . And whether that includes a totally new cast remains to be seen.

“I think they will be announcing that shortly,” Moore said. “For me, I am just focusing on the new for Kenya Moore.”

The actress also addressed whether a RHOA shake-up could mean that audience favorite Nene Leakes will be returning to the show.

“I don’t know, I can’t answer that,” Moore said. “That question has been asked a lot of times but according to our boss, that door is closed. But you know, you never know.”

Rumors have been swirling that previous cast members could be making a comeback in the new season. Even Burruss recently admitted there may be some “truth to all of that.”

Before she announced her departure from the show, Burruss confirmed the producers are “definitely” planning to make some changes before the new season. “They haven’t said who they are bringing back from the current cast. There are so many rumors [about] a couple of previous cast [members] coming back as well as newbies. I believe there’s truth to all of that,” she said.

She added that she “would like to see Nene come back,” adding, “We don’t necessarily get along all the time but I think she’s good TV.”

Leakes left the show after Season 12 because she allegedly felt like she was being phased out of RHOA, despite being an original cast member.

She filed a lawsuit against the network and Andy Cohen, accusing them of creating a toxic work environment, which she later dropped in 2022. She has since said that she would be open to returning to the show.