This week on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, we open with a rare sighting of Angela and her husband Charles, grabbing lunch and catching up. In her confessional, Angela doesn’t miss the chance to remind us of Charles’ credentials: a retired NBA player with a steady pension, the owner of multiple car washes in New York, and a coach in Ice Cube’s Big 3 League. It’s clear Angela wants the world to know—her man isn’t just sitting pretty.
Meanwhile, Cynthia links up with Shamea following the fallout from Porsha’s Pampered by Porsha event. Shamea admits she was blindsided by the whole thing but insists she won’t let the drama impact her long-standing bond with Porsha. But let’s be real—there are cracks in that sisterhood, and they didn’t just appear overnight. Production came through with the receipts, flashing back to moments that show Porsha hasn’t exactly been the model best friend. And while Shamea swears she won’t let the whispers shake their bond, it’s hard to ignore the tension simmering beneath the surface.
Cynthia, points out the parallels between Shamea and Porsha’s friendship and her own history with Nene. But the difference? Shamea and Porsha’s ties go back to childhood—their families even shared a friendship back in the day. When a producer asks Shamea what went down between their moms, she quickly shuts it down: “I don’t want to get into all of that.” A red flag if there ever was one. What exactly is she holding back?
Elsewhere, it’s business as usual. Kelli is running things at her restaurant, Shamea is back in the studio finalizing her single, and Brit is trying on outfits for an upcoming wedding. But it’s Shamea’s conversation with friends and family that cuts the deepest. She opens up about how strained her friendship with Porsha has become. But let’s be honest—venting to everyone except the person you’re hurt by only gets you so far. At some point, the hard conversation has to happen.
Will Shamea finally address the cracks in her friendship with Porsha, or are we in for more passive-aggressive shade and side conversations? One thing’s for sure—those cameras don’t lie, and neither does the playback.
Angela, Cynthia, and Porsha trade shade for strikes during a casual bowling date, and for a fleeting moment, Angela and Cynthia walking in together feel like a nostalgic nod to the Talls era of early RHOA. No championship trophies in sight, but plenty of laughs and light-hearted jabs. When Porsha arrives, she wastes no time opening up about her divorce and how it’s impacting her daughter, Pilar. But the conversation takes a sharp turn back to the Pampered by Porsha event. Porsha admits that with everything she’s dealing with, she’s too fragile for more drama. She also claims that everything brought back to her was just Shamea playing the victim and living in her shadow. Will these two find their way back to solid ground? Only time—and maybe another sister circle—will tell.
While Porsha is juggling friendship fallouts and fragile emotions, Drew remains notably absent. Her ongoing, drawn-out divorce may have something to do with it. We catch a glimpse of her in the car post-lawyer meeting, debriefing her mom on the latest in the saga: Ralph’s legal team is trying to get Drew’s attorney booted from the case, and—get this—he’s going after shares of Drew Sidora LLC, a company she established back in 2005.
Meanwhile, over at Angela’s, we finally get to meet her mom. Angela’s been vocal about buying her mother a home in Atlanta, but now her mom is prepping to move out and regain some independence. True to form, Angela doesn’t waste any time addressing the tension between her sister and her daughter—drama we got hints of earlier in the season. The conversation starts with her mom’s lingering issues with Charles and seems destined to spill over into sisterly conflicts. Angela is ready to lay it all out, no matter how messy.
Kelli, on the other hand, is spending some mother-daughter time with Chloe, who’s getting her driving skills…well, somewhat together. There’s tire screeching, near-misses with parked cars, and dreams of a first car—Chloe’s eyeing a BMW, while Kelli’s thinking more along the lines of a Honda hatchback. Away from the driver’s seat, Kelli is laser-focused on opening the Sandy Springs location of her restaurant. According to the production playback, it’s still a work in progress, but the vision is definitely there.
At Drew’s house, the mood is heavy. She invites her mom over to talk through the chaos of her divorce from Ralph, and the exhaustion is written all over her face. From mounting legal bills to courtroom nastiness, Drew is clearly at her breaking point. Her mother doesn’t hold back, pointing out the toll that the court’s decision has taken on the kids—Drew upstairs, Ralph in the basement. According to her mom, their mental health is slipping through the cracks. “They’re out of control,” she says, bluntly. The weight of it all is too much, and Drew crumbles under the pressure, her mother breaking down alongside her. In her confessional, Drew admits she feels like she’s failing them. It’s raw, unfiltered, and one of the realest moments we’ve seen from her this season.
But the real fireworks come in the last ten minutes of the episode—the long-awaited showdown between Porsha and Shamea. When Shamea finally tries to express herself, Porsha’s exasperated sigh is loud enough to be heard across the Bravo universe. (Honestly? That would’ve been my 13th reason.) It’s becoming painfully obvious that both women lack the emotional intelligence—or even just basic empathy—to hold onto this friendship. Things get tense fast, and Shamea drops a bombshell: apparently, Porsha once told her that if they wanted to keep up their friendship vibes on camera the way they do off, she’d need to be paid more. The confession sends Porsha’s confessional into full spin mode, essentially validating what many have suspected all season: Porsha sees Shamea as a threat now that she’s a full-time Housewife.
And just when you think the conversation might actually go somewhere, Porsha pulls a move straight out of Ralph’s School of Gaslighting: she starts crying and walks away mid-sentence. It’s textbook deflection—never mind Shamea’s feelings, let’s redirect the pity back to Porsha. Sure, she’s going through a divorce, but when is the right time to be honest with your so-called best friend? The timing may be off, but Shamea’s been holding onto this for too long, and Porsha’s exit feels more like avoidance than vulnerability.
Honestly, watching it unfold was cringey. Even as a viewer, it’s hard to get a read on where things actually stand. Are they good now? Will Porsha finally stop brushing Shamea off? And can Shamea learn to stand her ground when it matters most? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Next week on RHOA, Brit announces her new shapewear brand, Charles clocks in and claps back, and Phaedra finally makes her debut.
Watch The Real Housewives of Atlanta on Sundays on Bravo, and catch up with our reviews each week here.
