Sanya Richards Ros
ATLANTA — Sanya Richards-Ross, the first-ever Olympian in a Real Housewives series, survived a full season of the Atlanta version last year and was invited back for a second.
The 15th season of the Bravo series returned earlier this month, and Richards-Ross threw the season’s first big party, her husband Aaron’s 40th birthday party, for which she spent $100,000 — over $60,000 planned. (She wasn’t the focus of controversy at that party. Kandi Burruss got angry at young newcomer Courtney Rhodes, who arrived at Burruss with too much attitude.)
“This season is a lot of fun but very explosive,” Richards-Ross promised in a recent interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Last season we reset a lot. There were changes in the cast. This season it feels like we’ve really settled in. I feel like I fit into the group. And I have a lot to do with my family.”
Before joining the show, she moved from Austin, Texas with her parents, sister and family. They are all housed under one roof, which brings with it typical tensions. Also, her husband Aaron Ross still works part-time in Austin, running a chauffeur service there, and she is considering having a second child with him.
The good news is that her marriage appears to be going well and she expects her extended family to move out soon. “I enjoy sharing my life and my family with everyone,” she said.
As for most women who join the show, the first season was a big transition, Richards-Ross said.
“You have all these expectations in your head,” she said. “Then it’s very different in the end. It was a lot of fun. But I feel so much better about season two, mostly because I’ve really been able to form real, meaningful relationships with the girls. I had real skin in the game. I can show more of my personality.”
She learned how “Real Housewives” forces a cast member to experience a potentially traumatizing event three times: first in real time, then when it airs on Bravo months later, while she learns what the other ladies behind her back are about her actions say, and third, during the reunion shows, when they’re forced to rehash it in person with Andy Cohen and the other ladies.
Richards-Ross found that edifying at times. “You learn something about yourself,” she said. “You see how you treat other people and how other people see it. I like that part of the experience.”
She felt like season one, she tended to think too much. “I’ve learned to just say it now,” she said. “I don’t have to sound perfect. I say that I feel a lot more this year. And it’s easier to express yourself when you know people better.”
learning personalities
According to Richards-Ross, Kenya Moore was the biggest challenge in getting to know each other. “She can be intimidating when you don’t agree with her,” she said. “She’s a real wordsmith. Of all the girls, she will really understand you.”
But Richards-Ross said that behind her rumble, Moore has “a big heart deep down.”
She said she became particularly close to Burruss, noting that they vacationed at Disney World together with their kids off-season.
“Kandi is the goat when it comes to being smart and strategic,” said Richards-Ross. “Everything she does fits her brand. I try to do the same.”
Off season, Richards-Ross focuses on her Mommi Nation online community and providing sports analysis for NBC for Athletics and the Kentucky Derby.
Here’s a quick synopsis of the other main cast:
Kandi Burruss has some tensions with her husband, Todd Tucker, who is focused on building up his restaurants in town and producing his own films while she works on her music and acting career. The restaurants have faced some challenges, including the pandemic and a shooting at Blaze Steak and Seafood.
Drew Sidora opened season 15 out of town by visiting her ailing father and didn’t appear until the second episode. She and Ralph Pittman were doing well last fall when recording began, and they had released a musical single, which she sang and her husband produced. However, a few months later, they filed for divorce. The last cracks will probably appear over the course of the season.
Sherée Whitfield had split from Tyrone Gilliams, who was released from prison in season 14. Instead, she was dating Martell Holt, a member of Love & Marriage: Huntsville. It’s a long distance relationship and we’ll see how it blossoms or fades.
Marlo Hampton still raises her two nephews as her own. There really wasn’t much going on in the first two episodes, but that could change.
Kenya Moore. At the beginning of the season, she is still trying to divorce Marc Daly and they are already together. Otherwise, she uses the first two episodes to get into Sheree’s dating business because Sheree’s new boyfriend had DMed her two years earlier.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on Bravo and streams the next day on Peacock.
