*When Monique Samuels stepped back into “The Real Housewives of Potomac” arena, she wasn’t returning to reclaim a moment — she says she came back to make peace with one.
In an exclusive conversation with EUR, Samuels described her return as less about headlines and more about evolution. “I was very excited to make peace with the past that I was once bitter and angry and resentful towards,” she said, explaining that the real test wasn’t the women — it was her growth.
And yes, she knows the audience remembers.
“A lot of times, I have people that will say, ‘I can’t believe what you did to that girl,’” she shared, referencing the altercation that defined her final season. “That was so many years ago… I’ve already apologized and made amends. And you still want to keep me in that box.”
Samuels argues that reality television doesn’t always leave room for evolution. “People freeze you in a moment,” she said bluntly. “It feels more comfortable for them to keep you there.”
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But this time around, she insists there was no “vintage Monique” waiting to resurface. “That desire to slip back isn’t even there anymore,” she said. “I just don’t have that need to go from zero to 100.”
Instead, she describes herself as someone who changes the energy of a room rather than being changed by it — something she says production noticed during filming. “I’m not going to allow my environment to change who I am. I’m going to change the environment.”
Still, not everything translates on camera.
Samuels addressed her controversial conversation with castmate Angel, explaining that what aired felt more salacious than sincere. “It was less about her marriage. It was more about her as a woman,” she said, revealing she saw reflections of her former self in Angel’s behavior. “I simply just wanted her to know — I’ve been down this road before.”
Whether that message was received remains unclear. “When you’re hell-bent on misunderstanding a person, you’re going to misunderstand them,” she said.
Off camera, her growth story runs deeper.
Her memoir, Love Letters from Versions of Myself: A Memoir of Self-Discovery, Transformation, & Healing, unpacks trauma Bravo cameras never captured — including childhood wounds, sexual abuse, boundary struggles, and what she calls “a war within.”
Chapter five, titled “A War Within,” was the hardest to write. “We think we have to kill off old versions of ourselves,” she said. “Really those versions just want love too.”
She credits a solo birthday trip to Arizona in 2021 as her turning point — a moment of forced solitude where she realized she had no boundaries. “A horse had more boundaries than I did,” she recalled. “That broke me down.”
As Reunion Part 3 airs Sunday, February 22, viewers will decide whether they’re ready to meet this version of Monique — or whether they’re more comfortable with the headline.
One thing is clear: she’s no longer negotiating her growth for good TV.
Jill Munroe is a Los Angeles-bred entertainment journalist, producer, and host. Follow her socials @StilettoJill or visit JillMunroe.com. Catch her live M-Thu on KBLA Talk 1580 from 6PM to 7PM.
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