Shamea Morton Mwangi says she is done trying to keep the peace at her own expense. In her sophomore season as a peach holder on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, she says she is living in her truth, setting boundaries and not worrying about whose feathers she ruffles.
Morton Mwangi said the shift comes after a rocky stretch with her longtime friend Porsha Williams last season, when viewers questioned whether loyalty mattered more to her than standing on her own. This time, she said, the answer is no. “I’m OK with that, to be honest,” she said of the fallout, adding that she is not working on anyone else’s clock or timetable and that a childhood friendship does not untangle overnight.
That matters now because Morton Mwangi is stepping into a more visible role on the Bravo series just as the cast is changing around her. She said she has been on the show for over a decade, but this season gives viewers a fuller look at who she is, along with the new friendships she has made and the new cast members she is excited to meet. “Just to live in my truth and just be who I am unapologetically,” she said, and added that she has done a great job of being forthcoming and honest even if it ruffled a few feathers.
The tension in her story is that the same openness that helps her move past the backlash also leaves little room for old habits. Morton Mwangi said Cynthia gave her advice at the reunion to stop sweeping things under the rug and to say what she feels when she does not like something. She said she listened, and that zero regrets came with it. She also said the cast includes Williams and that everyone brings something amazing to the show, a sign that the friendship fallout has not turned into a total break.
Morton Mwangi is also trying to build something off-camera. She said her rum company was inspired by a Grenadian rum from Clark’s Court that she tried in Grenada during Season 16, when she and Kelli hosted the cast trip. She said the people there were kind and the food was great, even if rum is not really her drink of choice; she said she prefers rosé, champagne and tequila. Her husband questioned whether she was sure about starting the business, she said, and she wanted to prove him wrong. “It’s working,” she said, a plain answer that fits a season built on saying what she means and backing it up.
