RECAP: The ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ Season 16 Reunion Part 1

The Real Housewives of Atlanta are back on the couch—and ready to talk. Well, most of them. Brit Eady is noticeably absent from the Part 1 reunion, after previously announcing legal action against Bravo. Her decision to skip the taping caught nearly everyone off guard, especially since several castmates—namely Kelli, Shamea and Drew—had unfinished business with her. 

The other women are getting glammed, gathering their energy (and prayer circles), and fashionably running late for their 9 a.m. call time—which apparently means 11:30 in ATL.

Kelli hits the stage first, followed by Angela, Shamea, Porsha (cue a not-so-subtle side-eye from Shamea), then Phaedra, and finally, Drew. Brit’s no-show becomes topic one: Andy raises the issue, and the women, especially Phaedra, feign surprise. Phaedra calls it a “sisterhood”—interesting, coming from the woman who ditched the Married to Medicine reunion with the same dramatic flair.

Drew, never one to hold back, drops a bomb: Brit isn’t just skipping the taping—she’s suing her. And while it was Kenya who aired Brit’s personal business on-camera, Drew’s the one getting the legal smoke.

Before the claws come out, Shamea leads a prayer honoring Porsha’s late cousin Londie and Angela’s recently deceased mother. It’s a rare quiet moment—followed by a request for “intentions.” Porsha wants to “honor where everyone is.” Andy dubs Cynthia Bailey “the best ‘Friend of’ this show has ever had.” The peace, of course, is short-lived.

We dive into the Porsha-Drew-Dennis love triangle rumors, Porsha’s divorce from Simon, and that ICE detainment. Porsha says the split came down to “a lot of untruths” and that she felt “endangered,” though not physically. Meanwhile, Kelli tries to draw a messy parallel between Porsha’s marriage and her own (11 months vs. 11 years), and it backfires.

Then it’s onto Porsha’s offhand (but on-mic) joke about “f***ing Charles”—Angela’s husband. She apologizes. Again. They hug it out. Again. And somehow, Shamea gets pulled into it via rumors she introduced Porsha to Simon. Roll the tape—Shamea didn’t. But the damage is already done.

Speaking of damage: Drew and Porsha go head-to-head after Drew says in a podcast that Porsha was brought back to give “lifestyle” but didn’t deliver. “Simon says: You have no storyline.” Ouch. Drew also shuts down rumors that she hooked up with Dennis for studio time—Porsha admits she never believed it, and somehow still doesn’t have the receipts she claimed to have.

Next up: the mess that is Kelli and Brit’s fallout. According to Kelli, she generously extended her glam team to Brit—who, in her words, “wanted [her] life.” Porsha adds fuel, suggesting Brit was part of a secret alliance (with Kelli and Shamea) to take her down. Brit supposedly got kicked out when she didn’t donate enough in Grenada. Most of the ladies had never heard about this alliance until now—but it tracks.

Kelli also shares that her divorce cost her $200,000. Andy starts to connect the dots: the unpaid bills, lawsuits, bodyguards, the glam squad, dog facials—it’s a whole lifestyle, and maybe not a sustainable one.

But the final scene belongs to Angela Oakley, who steps into her MVP era. In the finale, she accused Phaedra of sending a man to sabotage her relationship on-camera. And at the reunion, she shows up Monique Samuels-style—no binder, but a full folder of receipts, ready to confront the queen of Southern shade.

Looks like Round 2 next week will be even messier.

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