Kim Zolciak was once one of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” stirring up drama with everyone from Kandi Burruss to NeNe Leakes. But over the past year, she’s slowly begun detaching herself from the show and the drama of the other ladies and focusing more on her newfound family with her husband, Kroy Biermann. And while the “RHOA” veteran tried to hold onto the show for the show’s fifth season, she abruptly walked off midway during filming. Now, Zolciak is explaining why she quit the show that ultimately made her a star.
“I was eight months pregnant and there was so much drama; I just had to walk,” said Zolciak in a new interview with InTouch Weekly. “I’ve taken on so much in the past five years, but this was the final straw. My priority was the child inside me.”
Zolciak says that final straw came during an argument over a trip to the Caribbean island of Anguilla, where castmate Cynthia Bailey planned to renew her vows with her husband, Peter Thomas.
While the other ladies agreed to travel for the vow renewal, Zolciak, who was 36 weeks pregnant at the time and under strict doctor’s orders not to travel, declined to tag along with the ladies, causing a major fight between her and her co-stars.
“They couldn’t understand why I couldn’t go,” said Zolciak, who gave birth to son Kash a few weeks later, in August. “Fighting is what we’re known for, but I’ve never disagreed with a pregnant woman. It’s not one life you’re dealing with, it’s two.”
The fight, which will air on the Dec. 2 episode of the series, will mark Zolciak’s final appearance as cast member on the show. But, Zolciak says it wasn’t such an easy decision to walk away from “RHOA.”
“I can’t say it was easy to end that chapter,” Zolciak explained. “After all, I met my husband through this show.”
Zolciak isn’t the only star to depart from a star-making show. Check out some other shocking TV departures below. – nicholas robinson
