Candiace Dillard Bassett Tried to Have a Fresh Start With Gizelle Bryant on 'RHUGT' (Exclusive)
Candiace Dillard Bassett initially tried to "move forward" with Real Housewives of Potomac co-star Gizelle Bryant following their clash over Candiace's husband in Season 7 as the two Bravo stars packed their bags for Thailand on Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip Season 3. However, that's not a decision Dillard Basset would make knowing what she knows now, she told PopCulture.com ahead of the March 23 premiere of the Peacock series.
Dillard Bassett and Bryant went toe-to-toe throughout Season 7 of RHOP after Bryant said Chris Bassett made her uncomfortable during an alleged private conversation in her dressing room, even going as so far as to accuse him of trying to suss out interest in having an affair – an allegation she walked back at the reunion. Going into RHUGT, Dillard Bassett told PopCulture the RHOP cast had wrapped their regular season two weeks prior, but had not seen any of the footage and had not filmed the reunion.
"So everything that Gizelle said behind mine and my husband's back, I was not yet privy to," the "Drive Back" artist explained. "Everything about him being a sneaky link and trying to get with her and painting him as this predator – who is someone who is a far cry from who he is. There was a concerted effort to tear him down."
"If I had been aware of that, I think I would've been less open to trying to have peace on the trip," Dillard Bassett continued, noting that she initially tried to get to a "ground zero" with Bryant ahead of Thailand despite not being "completely comfortable" around her for the sake of the cast of others Housewives, which includes Heather Gay, Leah McSweeney, Alexia Nepola, Marysol Patton, Whitney Rose and Porsha Williams.
"I think we were both just trying to move forward," she said of her and her RHOP co-star's mindset heading into RHUGT. "And obviously, she wants to move forward 'cause then she doesn't have to answer for anything she's done. And then I want to move forward because I don't want to be the negative Nancy to harp on things and bring down a new experience."
As for where Dillard Bassett stands with the rest of her RHOP Housewives after the reunion, she told PopCulture, "I see a path forward with some [of the women]. I think that anytime you're dealing with a dynamic group like ours, there has to be room for grace – for some – and understanding. And I'm always one to consider grace and consider moving forward, especially if it's what's best for the group as a whole."
Other relationships, she continued are "irreparable," as there's no path forward "when there is an immense dedication to misunderstanding and destroying." She continued, "There has to be a line, and people crossed lines and then they sat there – they sat on that line. ...I'm at the line and you have to come and meet me and that requires humility, and that requires honesty and authenticity. And these are adjectives that I have never seen from some of these girls. So can they do that? I dunno." Season 3 of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip premieres Thursday, March 23 with the first three episodes available to stream on Peacock and additional episodes streaming weekly each Thursday.