Porsha Williams Guobadia CONFIRMS ‘RHOA’ Return for Season 16 and Inks Scripted Deal With NBCUniversal
Porsha Williams Guobadia CONFIRMS ‘RHOA’ Return for Season 16 and Inks Scripted Deal With NBCUniversal
Attention all The Real Housewives of Atlanta fans — Porsha Williams Guobadia is making a comeback!
Bravo revealed on Tuesday that the beloved fan favorite, who left the show in 2021, will be returning for season 16. Additionally, Porsha, 42, has inked an overall scripted talent deal with NBCUniversal.
This partnership will involve collaborating on “scripted project opportunities across the company’s broadcast and streaming properties.”
“I’m incredibly thankful for the vision and faith NBCUniversal has put in me to be a larger part of their family,” she said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to being back on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, and showing the world my new world!”
“Porsha Williams Guobadia is a multi-hyphenate and we are fortunate to collaborate and tap into her creativity and passion through this partnership,” Rachel Smith, Executive Vice President of Unscripted Content, Lifestyle and Documentaries, NBCUniversal Entertainment, shared in a statement. “Our audience has supported and admired Porsha as she so authentically, hilariously and vulnerably shared her life over the years and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome her back to the NBCU family.”
On Tuesday, Porsha took to Instagram to make her own announcement. “Who said that?” she asked, echoing her former costar Kandi Burruss’ famous saying. “Porsha Williams coming back to Real Housewives of Atlanta? That’s false. But Porsha Guobadia is in the building. Haha, see ya, mwah!”
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Porsha’s exit from The Real Housewives of Atlanta occurred several months after news surfaced of her engagement to now-husband Simon Guobadia. They initially met while filming season 13 of the franchise through his then-wife, Falynn Pina, who was introduced to viewers as Porsha’s “friend.”
Simon and Falynn Pina were already separated by the time he and Porsha began dating, although this information was not public knowledge when they made their relationship public shortly after the conclusion of season 13. Rumors circulated, and Porsha’s announcement of her departure from RHOA prompted some to speculate about her reasons for leaving the show.
“I wasn’t running away,” Porsha previously told People in March 2023. “And I don’t think any of my followers who truly knew me would believe that I would run away from the show for that.”
In May 2021, Porsha ignited the internet with a lengthy Instagram post declaring her love for Simon, who was still married at the time. Fans were stunned by her revelation, she wrote:
“Our relationship began a month ago — yes we are crazy in love. I know it’s fast but we are living life each day to its fullest. I choose happiness every morning and every night. Tuning out all negative energy and only focused on positive wishes. He makes me so happy and to me, that is what matters most.”
She continued, “For all of you that need facts, I get the optics but Simon filed for divorce from a previous marriage in January. I had nothing to do with their divorce filing. That’s between the two of them.”
Porsha made it clear that she did not betray her former RHOA co-star — she wrote: “Falynn and I are not friends, and Simon’s divorce has been settled. Our relationship is a positive, loving step forward in everybody’s lives.”
She concluded, “Simon and Dennis are committed to being respectful and supportive of my happiness in this situation, as well as being the best co-parents they can be to baby PJ. Two black men stepping up and being amazing people-let’s praise them!!!! It’s truly a beautiful moment in my life & we cannot wait to spend the rest of our lives together. xoxo P #LoveWins”
Real Housewives of Atlanta cameras have chronicled Porsha’s journey through numerous highs and lows in her personal life. When she initially joined the show in season 5, she was married to former football star Kordell Stewart. However, shortly after, she discovered via a social media post that he was divorcing her. Her engagement to ex-fiancé Dennis McKinley ended due to his infidelity, and despite having a child together — their 4-year-old daughter, Pilar Jhena McKinley — the birth led to Williams Guobadia’s battle with postpartum depression.
“I’ve dealt with a lot of harsh things on the show,” Williams Guobadia told PEOPLE. “And I’ve been there at the beginning of every season to film, with the camera on. So no, this had nothing to do with that.”
At the time, Porsha revealed that she had made the decision to depart from RHOA for season 14 several months earlier.
“I had already decided that it was time for me to step away at least six months before I told any of the executives what I was going to do — and long before I even met my now-husband,” she says. “I was turning 40, I was hitting my 10-year mark on the show, and I really just had to reassess where I was and what I wanted totally out of my life. So that’s where that decision came from.”
The Real Housewives of Atlanta can be streamed in full on Peacock.
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Avigail is an Entertainment blogger at All About The Tea, who specializes in The Real Housewives of Atlanta and The Real Housewives of Potomac. Avigail has a background in marketing. She’s a Brooklynite living in the Bahamas, with a passion for travel, writing, reality TV watching, pop culture and spoken word.