Kim Zolciak 'Needed Time Away' from Home When She Went on Surreal Life amid Divorce: It Was 'Therapeutic' (Exclusive)

For Kim Zolciak, a reality show was just what she needed to take time for herself amid her divorce from Kroy Biermann.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta alum, 46, spoke with PEOPLE about her part in the upcoming show Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets, ahead of its premiere on July 23. She says that the timing was perfect, as she was in the middle of her divorce and needed to clear her head.

“The Surreal Life was one of the most incredible experiences in my life,” she explains. “My goal going on the show — which I've never watched an episode of in real life, and I intentionally didn't watch any when I decided to join the show because I didn't want to have any inhibitions — [was that I] needed some time away from the actual house to gain some clarity going through this divorce and focus more back on Kim.”

The show is set in a house in Medellín, Colombia, where celebrity participants spend two weeks unleashing their secrets and emotions before returning home. For Zolciak, the process taught her a lot.

“It definitely was therapeutic,” she says. “A lot of the experiences, including the breath work, was a big one for me. I'm always on and I mask some of the pain and stuff with being funny, and so that was a really big moment for me. That was pretty life-changing. Just having that release was great and that's kind of how we started off the show. So I was like, ‘Okay, I'm in. This is going to be incredible, the next two weeks.’”

Her daughters — particularly 27-year-old Brielle Biermann – were her biggest support system, Zolciak says. After encouraging her to go on the show, she said she would call them for advice and they were always there for her.

“They wanted me to get away from the house and kind of the dark and negative stuff that was going on here and do something different and new,” she explains. 

Noting that the cast was “perfect” together, Zolciak admits she did not know what to expect going into the show. She was used to cameras following her for her family's reality show Don’t Be Tardy, but says this was a whole different experience with cameras following her every move.

“Having cameras there live 24/7 watching you go to sleep, as soon as I wake up and I sit up, the camera goes right to my face,” she recalls. “I'm like, ‘Oh, for God's sake, can I have five minutes?’ But it was cool. I honestly kind of forgot they were there.”

Not afraid to be herself, Zolciak says she made the most out of her time with the others in the house. One special (and potentially romantic) connection, which fans can see in the trailer, is between the mom of six and Chet Hanks, the son of Hollywood icon Tom Hanks.

“Chet's a great guy,” Zolciak says. “I mean, he's adorable. We've had a lot of incredible moments throughout the season that you'll see. We've had some deep conversations and he's great.”

As for what the future holds for the pair, Zolciak says fans will have to “see what happens,” but reveals she is still in contact with Hanks.

“I just talked to Chet yesterday,” she says.

The pair and the rest of the cast also have a group chat where Zolciak says they keep up with one another’s lives. She adds that they all feel bonded after going through what she feels was an emotionally transformative experience.

“Surreal Life was like a breath of fresh air for me, and I actually had tears in my eyes when I left everybody,” she confesses. “It was pretty unbelievable the family we became in just those two weeks and the connections that we made. I was excited to get home now, to be honest. I was excited to be in my own bed and get home and see my kids.”

Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets premieres Tuesday, July 23 at 9 p.m. ET on MTV.