Bailey says leaving the show wasn’t an easy decision but it was necessary. When asked whether to not she plans to return in later seasons as Nene Leakes and Sheree Whitfield have done several times, Bailey says the future is unknown.

“I can’t say that the door is closed forever, only God knows that. But, I really want to focus on other things right now,” she told us. “I’m good on drama on RHOA. I love everyone over there and I will be watching next season. I will be supporting them but I’ll be enjoying the drama by not being in the drama.”

Before leaving RHOA, Bailey has already signed up for Ultimate Girls Trip, a housewives mashup of all-stars from popular franchises. She participated in the show with fellow RHOA star Kenya Moore, who has also been Bailey’s BFF.

Since Ultimate Girls Trip, many are wondering where Bailey’s friendship with Moore will go. They had tension almost from the beginning of the eight-day trip to Turks and Caicos alongside other housewives from other franchises. Bailey appeared moody and jealous that Moore had developed close bonds with the other housewives, while Moore appeared dismissive of Bailey’s feelings. By the end of the trip, a tearful Bailey said that her friendship with Moore would be forever changed. She says the state of their friendship remains different, hinting they are no longer as close, but remain cordial.

Bailey says while many who viewed the show felt that her issues with Moore were minuscule, she admits that her frustrations with her longtime friend developed over time. RHOA fans are familiar with Moore doing some things that fans felt were shady, such as nearly ruining Bailey’s surprise engagement to Mike Hill. After so many passes, Bailey said she’d simply had enough.

Now, she’s approaching her friendships differently. She’s specifically working on being more vocal when things bother her versus exploding later from buildup. More importantly, she’s focusing on this next phase of her life outside of the show. 

“All I know is that for me reciprocity is a good thing,” she said. “I’m here for you, I want you to win, I want you to be comfortable, I want to help you and I don’t do it to get it back in return but it’s nice to receive the same energy and I just felt that I’ve gone above and beyond and I don’t feel like I was met with that same reciprocity and it hurt my feelings.”

She hasn’t watched more than the first three episodes of the series because she says it was too emotional living through it. Now, she’s setting her sights on what’s happening good personally and professionally.

Bailey’s schedule hasn’t slowed down. She’s hosting, acting and continuing to run her businesses. 

“I was always thinking, ‘What am I going to do after the show?’…The check kept me there,” she joked…adding she considered being in a lesser role on the show but opted to just “cut the cord.” “I’m working more since I left the show then when I was on the show.”

She’s recently worked as a co-host of E! News’ Daily Pop, the FOX daytime talk show The Real, and she has a recurring role on the BET sports drama Games People Play.

She also recently wrapped her first film role for Lifetime and remains active in the modeling world.

Check out the full 20-minute interview where Bailey talks more about all things Housewives, her whether or not she’ll remain friends with her former co-stars, marriage, motherhood, her legacy, and more.