Eva Marcille Announces Exit From ‘RHOA’

Eva Marcille is leaving The Real Housewives of Atlanta behind after three seasons on the Bravo show. The reality personality announced her big news Tuesday morning on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show, saying that while she appreciates the “bond of friendship” she had with her castmates and “strong personal relationships” with the team at Bravo, she believes “that what I hope to accomplish for the culture and community will be better served by focusing on other opportunities.”

“I look forward to serving the community on Ricky Smiley Morning Show and finding other ways to be a voice during this transformational time during our country for people of color,” she continued, adding she was “thankful” for her time on RHOA. The America’s Next Top Model alum joined the franchise in 2017 as a friend of the Housewives, but was promoted to holding a peach as a full-time Housewife in Season 11.

“The time that I spent on Housewives I enjoyed myself. I cried, I laughed, I obviously fought,” she said, as per PEOPLE. “Most importantly, I made some great friendships with some beautiful women.” Moving forward, Marcille said she wants to focus more on her three children — daughter Marley, 6, whom she shares with ex Kevin McCall, and sons Michael, 1, and Maverick, 8 months, whom she shares with husband Michael Sterling.

Despite disagreements she had with her castmates throughout her time on the show, Marcille assured there was no bad blood behind her exit. “I love every single one of those Black women. They are all queens all in their own right,” she said. “They are stars and I wish them the most successful season and transformational season 13 that the Real Housewives of Atlanta has ever seen.”

Marcille has most recently feuded with original cast member Nene Leakes, who publicly called for the model to lose her peach recently. Things got so tense with them during the virtual season reunion that host Andy Cohen had to mute the women, but Marcille told HollwoodLife.com on May 24 that she was unsure why Leakes was coming at her so hard when the cameras weren’t rolling.

“NeNe has her life, she has her kids, she has her grandkids, she has her man — I don’t understand why she is at all the least bit concerned with what I am doing if it’s in a negative fashion,” she told the outlet, noting that after the end of their friendship, she felt Leakes should just “forget about it.” She added, “Why you mad? It just seems very miserable. You know how they say misery loves company? It’s one of those.”