Eight years ago, Bravo fired Phaedra Parks after she started a rumor claiming that Kandi Burruss conspired to drug and sexually assault another castmate. On The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 16 Episode 12, “Frack Is Back,” she’s welcomed back to the franchise with open arms.
Phaedra’s comeback marks an ironic turning point for Season 16, considering how much time we spent in the first half of the season condemning Kenya for the NSFW stunt she pulled at the opening of her hair spa. Perhaps desperate times call for desperate measures.
Keep on reading for all of the tea on Phaedra’s return to RHOA. Here’s what went down during RHOA Season 16 Episode 12…
What happened in The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 16 Episode 12?
Last week, we learned that Porsha and Shamea’s drama is actually rooted in a long-running beef between their moms. This week, we put that storyline on the back burner so Brit could debut her athleisure line. She threw an event that was so poorly planned, it actually made us yearn for another Pampered by Porsha meditation/photoshoot/luncheon. Elsewhere in Atlanta, Kelli and Shamea started planning a trip to the Caribbean, and Porsha tapped a special guest to add to the invite list.
Shamea found a new bestie
Season 16 has caused the downfall of Porsha and Shamea’s friendship, but that’s okay! In Episode 12, we learned that Shamea has found a new bestie in Kelli. It’s a good pairing, mainly because their moms don’t hate each other. This week’s episode kicked off with them hanging out in Shamea’s backyard, which looks like something out of a resort.
The two busted open some champagne, and Kelli started to open up about how she’s coming up on her divorce date. After over two years, she can finally see the finish line, but there’s a new obstacle every day. The most recent obstacle was a six-figure attorney bill she got from her estranged husband.
With all of the drama from the divorce, Kelli said she wanted to take a trip to Grenada. That’s the country in the Caribbean, not to be confused with Granada, the city in Spain. She asked Shamea to help plan the trip, and they’re hoping to use the getaway to help wash off some of the stress they’ve been dealing with. They could probably achieve the same thing by sitting in Shamea’s backyard, but obviously, a cast trip is more fun.
“You’re going to get through this,” Shamea encouraged her new bestie. “We’re doing it in Grenada, because we deserve this.”
Brit’s Country Club Classic went off with a hitch
This week, Brit was so excited to host her first event as a Real Housewife, but honestly, it flopped so hard that we almost felt bad for her. She can’t catch a break.
According to Brit, she had been focusing on developing a shapewear line called Bare and Naked while her insurance license remains “on hold.” So, we’re supposed to believe that she conceptualized this entire thing between the time of the Kenya Moore Hair Spa incident and Episode 12. That’s strike one.
Brit planned a day at her neighborhood country club to help introduce the world to her brand. In the invite, she told the ladies to dress like they were going to the Kentucky Derby, but they were showing up for a day at a golf course to hear her talk about shapewear. It doesn’t make sense, but we’ll give her a pass on that one.
The second strike was the food situation. Brit had everyone gathered at this country club, but she only paid for enough food to cover the Housewives. Dozens of other people who showed up for the event just had to sit there and watch Porsha scarf down her salmon.
Finally, it came time to unveil the product Brit put so much effort into promoting. It turned out to be a plain, black piece of shapewear that anyone could buy off Amazon. They suffered through this event to get a girdle, which is strike three for Brit. Suddenly, She by Shereé is starting to look like a luxury brand.
Charles got caught in the shade at the Country Club Classic
Brit, the shapewear expert, wanted the ladies to bring their husbands to her Country Club Classic. That’s easier said than done. Porsha, Drew, and Kelli are all going through divorces. Shamea’s husband is too busy installing HVAC to participate in the show. That meant that, aside from Brit’s husband, Charles was the only guy to show up to this event. You could see in his face that he regretted it.
Things were going smoothly for Charles until Brit asked him if he was enjoying the event. That’s when Angela jumped in with an unexpected comment. She said, “I’m just happy to be here, and Charles does not have a side baby.”
“And I’m not one of Charles’ whores either,” Brit replied. With that, Charles gave her a look and said, “I don’t mess with whores.”
You couldn’t help but feel for Charles in this moment. He thought he would be spending his day golfing with the Househusbands. Instead, he found himself facing off with Brit, who previously claimed to keep a pistol on her.
Luckily for Charles, the spotlight didn’t stay on him for too long because Drew and Shamea wound up getting into a weird back-and-forth. Shamea said she still felt mad about being called a “lapdog,” but Brit told them to stop fighting. She didn’t want them to take the focus away from her fajas, and there’s an entire cast trip coming up where they can fight about the lapdog accusations.
Frick and Frack: Reunited
If you wanted to see Phaedra in Episode 12, you had to stick around to the very end of the episode. They tucked her RHOA return into the last 10 minutes of the episode to tee up her reintroduction to the group.
The cameras rolled as Porsha showed up at Phaedra’s house and got her up to speed on Season 16. She got an invite to the Grenada trip, a cast photo, and a peach all in one swoop. However, the real tea came in Phaedra’s confessional, where she talked about her messy exit from the show.
“Unfortunately, the last time you saw me wasn’t my best moment,” Phaedra said as a flashback from Season 9 played.
She continued, “I regret how I left the group, but he who is without fault cast the first stone.”
Although Phaedra said she had regret about where she left off in this group, that doesn’t mean she’s coming into Season 16 holding her tongue. In just one scene, she managed to talk about her “fetish” for little people and take shots at everyone in the group. Let’s run through it.
Phaedra compared Kelli to a gnome, she called out Brit’s questionable past, and she referred to Angela as Charles’ “secret wife.” Surely, this isn’t the same Phaedra who just ran away from Married to Medicine because she thought they were a group of “mean girls?” Either way, Porsha looks thrilled to have the Frack back to her Frick. Stay tuned to see how the rest of the cast feels about it.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta continues on Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo. The show streams on Hayu in the UK and Ireland.
TELL US – WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ON REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA SEASON 16 EPISODE 12? DO YOU THINK BRIT’S COUNTRY CLUB CLASSIC LIVED UP TO ITS EXPECTATIONS? ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING PHAEDRA BACK IN THE MIX?
