The Real Housewives of Atlanta Kandi Burruss confirms she won't be returning to
Published on January 15, 2026 EDT "They allowed us to sit around for a little too long."

The Real Housewives of Atlanta has lost one of its finest peaches.

Kandi Burruss, the enterprising R&B diva who joined RHOA in season 2 in 2009, confirmed on the red carpet of the 2024 Grammy Awards that she's jumped the Bravo flagship.

AB+DM/Bravo via Getty

"I decided I'm not coming back this year," Burruss told Variety. When asked why, Burruss referred to Bravo's hesitance around officially renewing the series for a 16th season. An underwhelming 15th season, with some of the lowest ratings in the franchise's still pretty solid history, led to rumors about a cast "shake-up" or potential reboot.

"Well, It's been 14 seasons and they allowed us to sit around for a little too long because they were making a decision," Burruss said, "but during that time I had started working on a lot of other things and I got some nice, big projects coming soon."

That Burruss got busy AF should come as no surprise to fans of RHOA, since Kandi is one of the most successful Housewives across the franchises. Not only did she co-write a handful of classics ("No Scrubs," "Bug a Boo," "Bills, Bills, Bills") but she's started a number of business ventures and scored multiple spin-offs of her own.

Her financial independence (and the fact that she doesn't drink) made Burruss one of the more consistently calm voices of reason in Atlanta, though she was always good for a turn-up or a catchphrase.

But Burruss admitted that after so many years on The Real Housewives, she didn't know why she was still on it — something all of us have been kind of wondering for a while.

"A friend of mine was like, 'Why do you keep doing it? And I was like, 'Well, I think I've been doing it so long it just feels weird to think not to do it,'" Burruss said. "So I said, 'You know what, take a break, I'm gonna take a moment.'"

Burruss, however, didn't rule out ever coming back to the series, noting that "we're still going to do things together." Because Kandi Burruss might leave a show, but she'll never leave money on the table.

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