Monique Samuels returns to The Real Housewives of Potomac on her own terms, opening up about the end of her marriage, her exit from radio, and the personal work that led her back to television. In a conversation on Angela Yee’s Lip Service, Samuels reflects on years spent trying to hold together a relationship that, behind the scenes, was defined by emotional distance and a constant need to prove her worth.
Early in the marriage, Samuels noticed a disconnect between the partnership she expected and the one she experienced. What looked like a stable home life publicly was, privately, a cycle of feeling unseen, overextended, and financially controlled. She describes managing the household and planning their lifestyle while feeling the absence of emotional intimacy and shared effort. Tension escalated into manipulation and, at times, physical aggression, including an incident in front of witnesses that she now recognizes as part of a larger trauma pattern.
The turning point came when she realized her children were watching her compromise the values she tried to teach them. Even after separating within the same home and attending therapy for years, the relationship remained unchanged, eventually leading her to file for divorce.
Complicating the separation was the recent leak of an old video showing Samuels with her former radio co-host, Jason. She says the footage, recorded during a period when both were separated from their spouses, was circulated by her ex-husband to derail her return to reality TV and undermine her upcoming memoir. Samuels is most troubled by the fact that details about the video were shared with their young children, shaping a narrative that avoided his role in the marriage’s decline.
Her decision to leave her morning radio show at WPGC was similarly fraught. While homeschooling three children, she was waking at 3 a.m. for work and crashing by early evening, leaving little room for stability at home. Though stepping away was painful, she prioritized her family’s needs and left without significant financial support due to an existing prenup, only to face rumors that she’d been fired.
The memoir she has spent four years writing grew from journal entries and letters written during the divorce. Therapy forced her to confront childhood trauma she had normalized, including moments of violence she grew up witnessing, and to recognize the patterns she recreated in adulthood. She later traveled to Costa Rica for an ayahuasca ceremony, a decision she researched extensively and credits with helping her process long-buried memories and redefine her boundaries.
After repeatedly declining offers to return to RHOP, Samuels finally agreed, realizing she was acting out of fear rather than intention. This season marks her first time participating without the pressure of maintaining an image or protecting a partner. She says she enjoys connecting with her castmates, especially Ashley Darby, and feels unaffected by conflict that does not involve her.
The leaked video ultimately did not stop her comeback, though she acknowledges co-parenting has become more complicated post-divorce. Still, she considers herself fortunate. She has traveled with her children, maintained financial independence, and built a life that feels grounded rather than performative.
Samuels remains open to love but questions whether legal marriage is necessary after experiencing how drawn-out divorce can be. For now, she’s focused on her children, the release of her memoir, and living without the need to justify her choices. Her message to women in similar situations is rooted in self-trust: boundaries matter, intuition matters, and trying to persuade people who are invested in a negative version of your story is energy better spent on building a new one.
