Monique Samuels is getting candid about her decision to walk away from The Real Housewives of Potomac following the dramatic Season 5 reunion.
"I'm a woman of my word. I've always said that if the show ever interfered with my family or my marriage that I would definitely get to packing," she told Insider. "It feels good to be able to speak out loud what your intentions are and then follow those intentions with actions and not have to be dependent upon fame."
Samuels said she "felt very free" making the decision to quit the series after appearing on the show for four seasons, adding: "I felt like a whole load was lifted off of me."
Samuels also sounds off on the backlash Andy Cohen faced on social media over his hosting duties during the RHOP Season 5 reunion. Many fans of the series felt like Cohen was treating Samuels unfairly compared to the other ladies, and she seemingly appears to agree with the viewers.
So how does Monique feel about the situation? "I was definitely held to a different standard," Samuels said of Cohen's treatment of her. "At some points, I was being looked to show the emotion that they wanted me to show versus what I was giving to them, which was true for me."
"I believe that his responsibility should be to get down to the bottom of whatever questions may have been unanswered during the season," she continued about the "Watch What Happens Live" host. "It's his responsibility to treat everyone equally. If you're going to hold one person accountable, everyone knows needs to be held accountable as well."
Samuels added that if RHOP had a more diverse production staff, they wouldn't have gotten so much backlash for the show's treatment of her while the season aired, especially her portrayal after the physical altercation between her and Candiace Dillard Bassett.
"You need to have that representation behind the scenes because not everybody understands other cultures that are outside [of] themselves," Samuels told Insider. "If they did that then you wouldn't get so much heat once it airs. It becomes obvious that the diversity is lacking in that area."
Despite her experience on RHOP, Samuels admits she would return to reality television, but in one condition: "If I ever returned to reality TV, I would definitely need to be on the executive producing staff and it would have to be a different type of show," she added. "I would want to be a part of something that focuses on a beautiful Black family and how we are just like everybody else. We get along. We argue, we have fun. We have ups and downs, just like everybody else."
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