Parade caught up with the reality TV newbie, who discussed her experience joining 'The Real Housewives' and what to expect from the cast trip.
Kelli Ferrell is getting the hang of this reality TV thing. The Real Housewives of Atlanta is back, and we caught up with one of the show’s newbies, breaking down her experience filming the series, what surprised her the most about filming reality TV and her thoughts on the Kenya Moore and Brit Eady of it all.
As we reported, RHOA is in its renaissance era. The once beloved series had two or three seasons with mixed results, with many fans calling for a shakeup and a return to the glory days of the series. With Season 16, it seems Bravo finally cracked the code, bringing RHOA back to its former glory with a cast mixed with old titans and stellar newbies. Ferrell joins the series alongside Angela Oakley and Brit Eady as the show’s freshmen, with Porsha Williams, Drew Sidora, Shamea Morton,Kenya Moore and Cynthia Bailey returning in various capacities.
The biggest surprise for Ferrell when joining reality TV for the first time? Those cameras really don't stop rolling. “The cameras don’t turn off,” she explained through chuckles. “You don’t get to pick and choose what’s shown. Some good moments, some bad moments, I think that’s probably the biggest surprise. As soon as you wake up they’re there, as soon as you go to sleep, they’re pretty much still there.” She promised that, “what you see is what you get,” with these ladies.
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One of the biggest storylines of this season is Moore vs. Eady. Six episodes into Season 16, Moore officially exits the season after she revealed explicit photos of Eady at her Kenya Moore Hair Spa event. Ahead of that event, Eady had brought up having a “pistol” in her car multiple times in front of Moore, who interpreted those comments as a threat.
As for Ferrell’s take on the entire dramatic situation? "Two wrongs don’t make a right," she explained, “Some go a little bit ‘wronger’ than others, and it’s unfortunate. It is what it is, but I can say that after that dynamic transpires, I think you get to see the dynamic of the group.”
One housewife Ferrell remains very close with to this day, is Morton. “She’s such a beautiful woman, she’s a great friend, she’s an amazing wife, an excellent mom and she’s just crushing it,” she gushed to us. “We’ve been able to connect on such a deeper level outside the show,” she explained, referring to Morton as, “her girl.”
As for what she’s most excited for fans to see this year? Their trip to Grenada. “The trip was definitely amazing,” she teased. “We did so much…we had the best time in Grenada.”
Looking back on her entire experience, she has some advice she’d give herself about a year ago, right before she started filming this season. “Get some rest,” she quipped. She’d tell herself to focus on “having fun, being my authentic self and not taking anything too serious … have fun with it.” She added that she would remind herself not to take anything too personally. “Stand on how you feel, no matter what,” she added. “No matter if you have seven women that agree or seven women that disagree.”
The Real Housewives of Atlanta airs Sunday nights on Bravo.
