It was certainly the end of an era when Kandi Burruss left Real Housewives of Atlanta after 13 years. She was, after all, the show’s longest-serving cast member, appearing in all but one season. While she described her exit as a way of taking a break from the show, Kandi’s multifaceted career outside of RHOA hasn’t slowed down one bit.
While Kandi left RHOA, she still weighs in on the controversies around her old stomping grounds. Staying loyal to Team Twirl, she fiercely defended Kenya Moore. She was also one of many Housewives to take Andy Cohen’s side amidst the lawsuit drama with Leah McSweeney. Unlike some former Housewives, Kandi doesn’t have bad blood with Bravo. In fact, her daughter Riley Burruss is set to appear on the network’s new show Making It In Manhattan.
That being said, don’t expect Kandi to return to RHOA anytime soon. One, because she is clearly so busy, she might not have the time! And two, because she’s devoting that time to exploring some very exciting opportunities. Read on below to catch up with Kandi!
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Kandi Burruss is a Queen of R&B
Before she joined RHOA Season 2, Kandi was already a huge force in the music industry, with a Grammy Award (for TLC’s classic “No Scrubs”) to boot. In her years on the show, she continued to rack up songwriting credits, including some major hits for Ariana Grande and Ed Sheeran. So, it was never really a question that she’d continue to thrive beyond Housewives.
Over the summer, Kandi embarked on the Queens of R&B tour with her Xscape bandmates. The tour covered 30 cities throughout the United States. It was during this tour that Kandi said she had no plans to return to Housewives. At least not in the immediate future.
She explained why in an interview with The Morning Hustle. Since RHOA Season 15 was filmed in the summer, she wouldn’t have been able to do the tour if she was still on the show. She added that, throughout Season 14, her cast mates complained because she was always off doing something else. By leaving the show, she was able to truly focus on her many career pursuits.
Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker are taking on Broadway
Kandi is still shooting for the T in that EGOT! Along with her husband Todd Tucker, Kandi continues to produce shows on Broadway. Like several other Housewives, Kandi made her Broadway debut in Chicago. Kandi played the role of Mama Morton on stage back in 2018.
The first show she worked on as a producer was 2021’s Thoughts of a Colored Man, written by Keenan Scott II. In 2023, Kandi was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play, for producing August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson. That revival starred Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington. She and Todd also produced the revival of The Wiz, collaborating with Amber Ruffin. Up next, Kandi and Todd are producing a highly anticipated production of Othello, starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal. In only a few short years, Kandi and Todd have already racked up an incredibly impressive portfolio, with iconic Black stories, and collaborations with the most exciting and renowned Black artists.
While Kandi works on that Tony, she already won a Drama Desk Award. This year, Kandi received the Drama League’s Gratitude Award.
Watch Kandi on Season 2 of Reasonable Doubt
Kandi is the definition of multi-talented! In addition to conquering the world of music, theater, and reality TV, she’s also built a successful acting career in scripted television. In her latest role, Kandi stars alongside Morris Chestnut in Season 2 of the Hulu series Reasonable Doubt. The legal drama stars Emayatzy Corinealdi as Jax Stewart, a Los Angeles defense lawyer.
Back in June, Kandi announced her new role on Good Morning America. She plays Eboni Phillips, a character who she describes as “a recovering addict.” Teasing her recurring role, Kandi continued, “So you get to see a lot of emotions play out throughout the season.” Season 2 premiered on Hulu on August 22nd. New episodes come out every Thursday.
In addition to her new TV gig, Kandi is also a cast member on Showtime’s The Chi. She first joined that series in its third season. Her other recent acting credits include the BET+ original movie Whatever It Takes. This year, she also starred along with Snoop Dogg in the Amazon Prime Video original movie The Underdoggs.
Kandi’s expanding her entrepreneurial empire
Kandi’s always had several side hustles, and that hasn’t slowed down now that she’s off of RHOA. You’ll often see Kandi advising on success to other aspiring moguls. Her Instagram bio alone is full of just a few of her many endeavors! For instance, it highlights her two Atlanta restaurants, The Old Lady Gang, and Blaze Steak and Seafood. Old Lady Gang, which is Mama Joyce’s award-winning restaurant, recently went through quite a legal journey.
In addition to her restaurants, some of the businesses Kandi’s started include the Tag Boutique, and her makeup line, Kandi Koated Cosmetics. She also has a lifestyle brand, Bedroom Kandi. The award-winning brand is all about empowering couples to explore their sexual pleasure and wellness. In addition to the brand itself, the Bedroom Kandi founder recently announced a podcast, The Business of Pleasure. Kandi will co-host the podcast with Kasha Vanessa Johnson, aka yoursextologistbestie.
Kandi and Todd’s Facebook show
Kandi won’t be returning to RHOA, but she still chose to give fans some insights into her day-to-day life with Todd on social media. One of those avenues is a recent series on Kandi’s Facebook page, titled A Scheme That Todd Set Up. Kandi first announced the sketch series in late August, and new episodes are posted on her Facebook page daily.
Despite being off of Real Housewives, and a formative producing team, Kandi and Todd are still occasionally hit with divorce rumors. A few months back, Kandi mentioned that her daughter Riley brought the rumors to her attention. While shutting the speculation down, Todd pointed out how active they are on social media. “I was like, ‘We are with each other every day.’ It’s not like, ‘I haven’t seen him together. His ring isn’t on or something.’”In addition to the new Facebook sketch show, the couple also openly discuss their relationship on YouTube.
After so many years, both parties can tune out the rumors at this point, and instead focus on their many fruitful endeavors. So, in other words, fear not- Kandi and Todd are still one of the hottest Bravo couples.
