Reality Star Phaedra Parks Reveals How She’s Going to Win ‘Dancing with the Stars’

Phaedra Parks hopes to reclaim her “Housewives” moniker on Season 33 of “Dancing with the Stars.”

After making a stunning dance debut to Whitney Houston’s “I’m Every Woman” on the season premiere, the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star admitted that her approach to the competition didn’t take into consideration the input of her Bravo castmates who were on the show.

“I didn’t ask them. Because I want to go into it fresh,” Parks told People magazine. “We talked and they told me what they thought, but I didn’t really want their advice because I have to win. They haven’t won yet.”

As theGrio previously reported, Parks is one in all a handful of Black stars competing for the coveted Len Goodman Mirrorball trophy on “Dancing with the Stars.” Paired with skilled dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Parks describes her experience on the show as “a ton of fun,” despite the “intense” training.

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“I’ve heard it’s incredibly fun, but it’s also hard work,” she added. “But I’m a super focused person, so I’m not afraid of hard work, but definitely no less than four hours a day.”

Parks isn’t the first “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star to join the ballroom dancing competition. In 2021, former “RHOA” forged member Kenya Moore finished tenth on “DWTS” Season 30. Similarly, Kim Zolciak-Biermann, who competed on Season 21, and Nene Leakes, who competed on Season 18, finished eleventh and seventh, respectively.

Beyond her hopes of winning, Parks says her decision to join the show was largely inspired by her children. As a mother to sons Ayden, 14, and Dylan, 11, the Bravo veteran strives not only to be a positive role model but in addition to earn cool points with her boys.

“I’m just giving it my all,” she said, noting that her sons will eventually join the live audience for the show. “They miss me a lot because I’m a very active mom, but I want to show them that I can actually dance and be super cool.”