Monique Samuels Returning to ‘Real Housewives of Potomac’ for Season 10 (Exclusive)

Monique Samuels is in a position for her Bravo 2d act!

The former Real Housewives of Potomac big name — who famously exited the hit fact sequence in 2020 — is formally returning for Season 10, PEOPLE can solely expose.

Production for the display is lately underway in Maryland, with ultimate season’s stars Gizelle Bryant, Ashley Darby, Dr. Wendy Osefo, Keiarna Stewart and Stacey Rusch all filming once more. Samuels can be becoming a member of the solid in a Friend capability.

Her comeback to the sequence that first made her a fan favourite (and later sparked one of the crucial talked-about departures in Housewives historical past) comes at a pivotal time in Samuels’ lifestyles.

The 41-year-old Mila Eve Essentials proprietor finalized her divorce from former NFL offensive take on Chris Samuels, 48, in September 2023. She and Chris had been married for 11 years, and are oldsters to daughter Milani, 9, and sons Christopher, 12, and Chase, 6.

“Monique’s in a totally different place now, and fans will see that,” a supply tells PEOPLE. “She’s excited to show who she is now — not as a wife, not as just a mom, but as a woman starting over and taking on life on her own terms.”

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Bravo audience first met Monique when she joined RHOP in season 2 again in 2017. It did not take lengthy for the entrepreneur to make her mark at the display, along with her fast wit, luxurious way of life and no-nonsense angle.

But by way of season 5, tensions a few of the forged (specifically with former costar Candiace Dillard Bassett) boiled over into an explosive on-camera altercation that ruled headlines and divided enthusiasts.

After the season aired, Monique introduced she wouldn’t go back. “I’m over it,” she mentioned on the time, bringing up how the incident — and how it was once portrayed — took a toll on her circle of relatives and psychological well being.

“It was a crazy ride. It’s not easy doing reality TV,” Monique wrote on Instagram. “I recognize the whole thing that individuals have carried out for me, everyone that is been Team Monique — I like y’all, I thank y’all — however while you move positive traces there is no going again. And for me, my circle of relatives is that line.”

“The opinion of my family and my kids and what they think about anything that I do is more valuable than anybody’s opinion,” she added.

Since stepping away, Monique shifted her focal point to her youngsters and trade ventures.

She made a short lived go back to fact TV in 2022 on OWN’s Love & Marriage: DC along her then-husband — although their romance unraveled quickly thereafter, Monique submitting for divorce in April 2023.

“I simply were given to the purpose the place I used to be in a spot the place I used to be so depressing,” she later shared. “I am no longer the person that I was when I walked down that aisle 11 years ago. … If we keep going down this road and we’re bickering at each other and we’re not able to communicate — sometimes not even talking to each other — then how is this going to affect our children? Because I was thinking, like most people, ‘Okay, we’re going to stay together for the kids.’ But that never works because staying together for the kids means that you’re giving them a terrible example of what a relationship should be like.” 

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Season 10 of RHOP is predicted to air later this yr.

Two Housewives from season 9 may not be returning: Mia Thornton and Karen Huger. Thornton introduced her departure from the sequence in April, amid a transfer to Atlanta. Huger, in the meantime, is in the back of bars after being sentenced to 2 years in jail, with 12 months suspended, for her fourth DUI conviction.

The Real Housewives of Potomac can also be streamed on Peacock.