On Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta, the feud between Cynthia Bailey’s husband, Peter Thomas, and her sister, Malorie Bailey Massie, continues to be a hot button issue for viewers. On the recently aired fourth season and reunion specials, Bailey took Peter’s side and says that he has a right to dismiss her sister’s feelings.
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“I think at this point so much has happened that he’s entitled to that,” Bailey tells The Hollywood Reporter. “He didn’t wake up and start feeling this way, there was a number of things that happened that made him feel this way. I love my sister, but I can’t be mad at him. It is what it is.”
“We are family by marriage, by birth and I feel confident that we’ll get through this,” she continues. “I think he definitely has every right to feel how he feels when it comes to Mal at this point, because lines were definitely crossed.”
THR spoke to Bailey about a few other issues that were rehashed on the reunion, including “black babygate” and NeNe Leakes’ attitude toward the show and her cast mates.
The Hollywood Reporter: What’s the status of your relationship with Malorie?
Bailey: My sister is always going to be my sister, but I’m married now. I’m very grown and very married, and so is my sister. I just think there was a point with Mal where there’s sister love and then there’s just now you’re really crossing the line and now you’re being a problem. So once you are just wrong — sister, brother, cousin, niece or nephew — you’re just wrong. It just became a point where Mal just needed to back down a little bit. This is my life, this is my relationship, this is my marriage and I really don’t need anybody’s approval. And as my family, their job is to support me when I need it and mind your business when I don’t. That’s what I do. That’s how I treat my sister’s relationship.
THR: You and Sheree Whitfield have had a rough season, especially surrounding her interpretation of your comments regarding Kim Zolciak in Africa.
Bailey: Oh, African baby? Well yeah, Sheree never did me any favors as far as that was concerned and I don’t know what else to say other than that. But yeah, secondhand information like that, when you are in a group of six women, by the time things get back, things are usually a way bigger deal than it ever was when it happened. And I think whenever you get secondhand or third-hand information, it’s always fair, to ask the person, “Did you say this?’ or ‘Did you say that?,” because it always gets dramatized before it gets back to the ears of who really said what.
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THR: Viewers have noted that NeNe just seems over the other women and the show. What’s your take on her attitude?
Bailey: As NeNe’s friend, I think she has a lot more things going on at this point in her life. She’s been through a lot personally this year and last year in her life. I think there is a part of NeNe that wants to move on. But at the same time, I think NeNe is kind of in an uncomfortable situation because really the only person she’s friends with on the show is me and Marlo [Hampton]. So, I think she used to be good friends with some of the other girls she started with. I think it’s hard working with people you have a relationship with and now you guys don’t and you still have to be around them all the time. Usually when you stop being friends with someone, the perk is that you don’t have to be around them anymore. So, it’s like breaking up with your man and you still have to see him everyday — it’s uncomfortable.
THR: If and when the show starts shooting a fifth season, what can fans expect from you?
Bailey: I’m super busy with the Bailey Agency School of Fashion. Class is in session. I’ve got a lot going on. The Bailey Agency, for one, is doing extremely well. We’re doing tons of things over there. And then we also have some people on model searches that I’m taking on the road, which is awesome. I think for most of the season, I’m going to try and focus on my business stuff and maybe trying to make some friends on the show. It’s always a problem that I’m always out with NeNe, so maybe I’ll befriend or be befriended by somebody this season. I’m very open to new friendships alongside NeNe.
The third installment of The Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion airs Sunday at 9 p.m. on Bravo.
Email: Jethro.Nededog@thr.com; Twitter: @TheRealJethro
