Amid a tumultuous second season on the Real Housewives of Atlanta, Shamea Morton Mwangi sets the record straight and airs her grievances about some potential #RHOA repercussions.
The #RHOA star recently sat down with her Carlos King for an extensive conversation Reality with the king, where she discussed everything from rumors about Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Falcons players to her fractured friendship with Porsha Williams, viewer criticism and season 9’s accusations that she secretly slept with Kandi and Todd.
Source: Charles Sykes
During the interview, Shamea repeatedly emphasized that some of the season’s biggest storylines have had ramifications far beyond reality television, and she hoped her honesty would dispel the misconceptions.
Shamea says athlete rumors could affect her career
One of the standout moments came when Carlos asked Shamea if holding a peach had been everything she expected.
Source: Charles Sykes/Bravo
“Yes and no,” she replied.
While she acknowledged the opportunities that come with living as a full-time homemaker, she also revealed that the experience comes at a high personal and professional cost.
“As much as I’ve won with Air Wick and Wayfair and all the things I’ve won, I’ve lost some things that I really loved,” Shamea said.
When Carlos asked her for details, she revealed that the losses extended beyond friendships.
“Maybe even a job,” she said. “One job with the latest accusations being made. I have to prove my innocence.”
The comments referenced accusations made this season by Angela Oakley, who suggested Shamea had romantic relationships with players from the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Falcons.
According to Shamea, the rumors have damaged a career she has built for years. Shamea, who has been with the Atlanta Hawks organization for years, says she takes her professional reputation seriously and rejects any suggestion that her success is tied to athletes.
“I’ve been in the NBA for over 10 years,” she told Carlos. “There are only a handful of people who look like me and are in my position, so I don’t take that lightly.”
“I have a contract,” she said. “That’s not why I’m there, and I’m married.”
She continued and ended with a zinger about her husband, Gerald, and his wealth.
“These kids are old enough to be my kids. I take my job very seriously. I’m good at what I do. I enjoy what I do.”
“And if we’re being completely honest, why would I sleep with the players when my husband could own the team?”
Shamea continues to deny ATL athletes’ accusations: “Never. Like ever.”
Later in the conversation, Carlos gave Shamea the opportunity to address the allegations directly.
Source: Charles Sykes/Bravo
“For the record, have you ever had any kind of relationship with a Hawks or Falcons player?” he asked.
“Never,” Shamea replied. “Never. Like always.”
According to Shamea, the only athlete she ever dated was a Kansas City Chiefs player while she was in college.
“I dated an athlete when I was in college, like in 2003,” she said. “And it was short-lived. Maybe six months to a year.”
That relationship ultimately confirmed that professional athletes were not her type.
“That’s when I realized athletes aren’t my thing,” she explained. “I like white-collar, working-class men.”
Shamea also explained why the allegations upset her so deeply.
“That’s why people say Shamea goes for low-hanging fruit,” she says. “Because I don’t want to say things that will permanently harm people.”
“In one statement you attack my marriage and my jobs,” she continued. “And I work hard at my job.”
More on the flip!
Shamea backtracks on ‘fake’ and ‘jealous’ claims
Elsewhere in the interview, Carlos confronted Shamea about some of the criticism she has received from viewers this season.
Source: Charles Sykes/Bravo
“People think you’re fake. They think you’re fake. They think you’re jealous of your best friend,” Carlos told her.
When asked what she would do differently, Shamea candidly discussed the steps she would take to ensure viewers got the full story.
“I probably would have recorded every conversation off camera.”
She specifically pointed to a dinner with Drew Sidora and Angela that later became a major source of conflict in her friendship with Porsha.
According to Shamea, the situation never made sense to her as she spent much of the season publicly defending Porsha.
“If I defend her on camera and give you the assignment, but immediately afterwards, off camera, I talk about her?” she asked. “Make it meaningful.”
Still, she admitted that she regretted attending the dinner in the first place.
“I take responsibility for that,” she said. “I shouldn’t have even gone to that damn dinner.”
Shamea Says She and Porsha Were Never Like ‘Beyoncé and Kelly’
The interview also shed new light on Shamea’s complicated history with Porsha.
Source: Paras Griffin / Getty
While many viewers have long assumed the women were best friends their entire lives, Shamea said the story doesn’t quite add up.
Their mothers were friends, and their families often spent time together, but she insisted they were not attached at the hip growing up.
“We were cool,” she said. “We couldn’t keep it up in high school.”
Carlos compared the pair’s friendship to Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland, prompting an immediate response from Shamea.
“Oh no, no.”
According to Shamea, the two drifted apart for years and only became close much later.
“It wasn’t until after her divorce from Kordell (Stewart) that we became best friends,” she explained.
Shamea reveals past #RHOA history and test tapings attended by Porsha
Elsewhere in the interview, Shamea revealed that her path to becoming a housewife began years before season 16.
Source: Charles Sykes/Bravo
According to the reality star, Bravo first tested her for the franchise around season 10 or 11 alongside Kiara Douglas and her husband, former Atlanta Falcons player Harry Douglas. She also mentioned that Porsha was present at her test shoot.
At the time, Shamea and Gerald were recently engaged, and she says she eventually stepped back after talking to Porsha.
“The way that show is getting messy, I don’t want it to ruin our friendship,” Shamea recalled Porsha telling her.
According to Shamea, Porsha watched RHOA as her job, while Shamea had already built her own platform during her career with the Atlanta Hawks.
“She said, ‘This is really my thing,’” Shamea recalls.
Instead of moving on, she says she chose to prioritize the friendship.
“I respected that. I thought it was very sweet.”
Shamea revisits the Kandi, Todd, and same-sex rumors
Shamea also revisited one of the most painful moments in her friendship with Porsha: the season 9 accusations that she had a sexual relationship with Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker.
According to Shamea, it was one thing to see Phaedra make the accusation, but to see Porsha seemingly validate the conversation was another. Porsha famously only said that Shamea was “close” to the couple, rather than denying the rumor entirely.
“I was hurt, okay? Are you serious?” Shamea said. “My best friend is a co-signer of bulls***.”
The reality star said she was especially blindsided because she and Porsha had no disagreements at the time.
“I’ve always tried to be a loyal friend to Porsha,” she said. “So, of course, that s*** was painful.”
She also adamantly denied ever having a romantic or sexual relationship with Kandi or Todd.
“No, not once.”
What made the rumors particularly disturbing, according to Shamea, was the timing.
“Right now, I’m engaged. You could have ruined my whole business. It was reckless to put a piece of shit like that out there.”
She also pushed back on Porsha’s recent reunion claim that she once kissed Kandi at a nightclub.
“No, I didn’t kiss Kandi. That’s not true. You can ask Kandi. Did I kiss her at the club? That didn’t happen.”
Shamea also addressed years of speculation about her sexuality.
“I’ve never been with a woman before,” she said. “I’ve kissed a girl, but I’ve never been with a woman.”
When Carlos asked if she was a lesbian, she shut down the idea.
“I’m not a lesbian. I have no desire to be with a woman. I’m in a happy marriage.”
Shamea talks about the current status of the Porsche friendship
Source: Michael Serine/Bravo
According to Shamea, she and Porsha entered season 17 barely speaking, after a series of disagreements and tense text exchanges, including their major outburst that was seen on social media.
So when Porsha invited her to her home during the season premiere, Shamea wasn’t convinced the gesture was authentic.
“That was definitely for the camera.”
The reality star added that it was difficult to film with someone she once considered one of her best friends, and she admitted that she purposely showed up late to the event with all the casts, seemingly to reduce the awkwardness.
According to the #RHOA midseason trailer, viewers will now soon see the tension boil over as the former best friends take aim at each other’s mothers.
“Actually, your mother did something to my mother first,” says Shamea.
“You and your mother are filthy snakes,” Porsha replies.
Do YOU think Porsha and Shamea can ever repair their friendship?
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