Phaedra Parks’ Return to ‘RHOA’ Months After Kandi Burruss’ Departure from Bravo Series Raises Surprises

Phaedra Parks is returning to The Real Housewives of Atlanta seven years after being exiled from the franchise. News of her return for Season 16 was announced by the entrepreneur on July 29.

The network has not yet confirmed her status as a full forged member, but photos of her holding a symbolic peach suggest so.

In a carousel of photos shared on Instagram, Parks poses in front of Louis Vuitton luggage and a small jet. Dressed in a tweed skirt and crop top, she made sure the juicy Southern fruit was on full display, leaving no room for uncertainty in regards to the shocking news.

In the caption, she made it even clearer that she would once more be a co-writer on Atlanta Housewives stories. “You called. I answered. #RHOA #S16,” she wrote. Comments there was little room in that position, leaving room for supporters whose goal was to warmly welcome the businesswoman to the show that catapulted her to fame in every household when she debuted in Season 3.

“I had to come back to this post because I’m still in shock… our one and only SOUTHERN BELLE is back for more!!! Let the games begin,” one fan wrote. Other fans excitedly chimed in, “Frick & Frack back on my screen?! Oh yeah, we won.”

Before Parks and Porsha Williams were fired from the show at the top of Season 9 in 2017, they were a fan-favorite duo generally known as Frick and Frack. However, she lost her spot on the forged when it was discovered that the lawyer was behind a defamatory rumor that Kandi Burruss and her husband, Todd Tucker, planned to take a drunk Williams back to their alleged “sex dungeon.”

The lie destroyed what little friendship the Xscape singer had with Parks. Since her controversial departure, viewers have been begging creator Andy Cohen to reach out to Parks.

During a Q&A with the “Watch What Happens Live with Andy” audience in 2022, he revealed that Parks is one in every of the housewives he’d love to bring back. “I love Phaedra,” he said, but didn’t comment on any plans to make the return a reality.

The owner of the Old Lady Gang restaurant doesn’t care about fans or their desire to see her speak about her differences together with her former friend.

“I don’t owe her anything, and I would tell anyone that. Not a f***. I don’t owe her anything; she’ll never get anything from me,” Burruss said in a 2023 episode of “Speak On It With Jay.”

She added: “You cannot defend yourself against shameless liars or people who are so malicious that they will think of anything to destroy you and then hide.”

The “No Scrubs” songstress’ once-close bond with Parks continued to deteriorate during Seasons 8 and 9 of “RHOA,” because the funeral home owner grappled with the fallout from her divorce from Apollo Nida. In February, after completing 14 seasons, Burruss announced her departure to pursue other endeavors.

Many social media users who’ve concerns in regards to the forged changes for the brand new season consider that Burruss’ decision to take a brief break from the show created a possibility for Parks to return.

“The only reason she went back there is because Kandi went and disappeared, there’s no one there anymore” he wrote one user. Another person said that the show’s producers “might as well bring back Nene, Kenya, Kandi, Sheree, Cynthia, Kim, and Marlo if they want their viewership to go up again.”

Parks previously said she had no real interest in getting her peach back, referring to the show because the Titanic because it struggled to turn out to be a rankings powerhouse for Bravo. Instead, she appeared on “Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Dubai” and in addition wrapped up two seasons of guest starring on “Married to Medicine.”

Another major shakeup for the upcoming season was the suspension of Kenya Moore. She and Parks had been enemies because the model joined the fact show in 2012 during Season 5.

Moore reportedly lost her peach after she was punished for allegedly showing revenge porn photos of newcomer Brittany Eady throughout the filming of her hair salon opening. Moore has vehemently denied the accusations, in addition to rumors that she isn’t any longer a component of the Housewives family.

Viewers can expect to see the return of Williams and Parks, in addition to Shamea Morton Mwangi, Drew Sidora, Eady, Kelli Ferrell, Angela Oakley and friends of the show like former Peach nanny Cynthia Bailey.