Garcelle Beauvais (Photo by Michael Tran / AFP) (Photo by MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images)
*Garcelle Beauvais is reflecting on her departure from “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” — and while she says leaving felt right, she is not completely shutting the door on a possible return.
During an appearance on SiriusXM’s “Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa,” Beauvais discussed the emotional shift that led to her decision to walk away from the franchise. Speaking candidly about her final days on the show, she explained that the environment no longer felt supportive.
“I felt good about walking out the door,” Beauvais said. “When I looked around, when I looked at the couches, the chairs where we were sitting, I didn’t have a friend. I didn’t have an ally.”
Garcelle Beauvais (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images)
Although host Kelly Ripa noted that Andy Cohen has said the door remains open, Beauvais admitted she has not seriously considered returning “just yet.” She added that the experience stopped feeling enjoyable, saying, “It didn’t feel good anymore. It didn’t feel fun anymore.”
Beauvais also addressed her strained relationship with former close friend Sutton Stracke. According to Beauvais, the two have barely spoken since she announced her exit from the show on Instagram. Their most recent interaction happened at an event premiere where they unexpectedly crossed paths on the red carpet.
“Before we would be, like, tied to the hip if we were together at an event,” Beauvais said. “And it was just it’s just odd when things like that happen.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Beauvais reflected on becoming the first Black woman to join the Beverly Hills franchise and the pressure that came with it. She explained that her biggest concern was remaining authentic while navigating expectations placed on her identity as a Black woman, Haitian woman, immigrant, and single mother.
“The pressure came from being the first. Whenever you’re the first of anything, there’s pressure, right? And then add the pressure of being the first Black woman on a franchise that’s well-known, that’s, that people love, and … So the pressure was not changing who I am. That was the pressure for me,” she said.
“The pressure was also people are watching, how is she gonna show up? Is she gonna be, the stereotypical of what we think a Black woman is? That was pressure for me because- … i’m not just a Black woman. I’m a Haitian woman. I’m also an immigrant woman. I’m also a single woman,” Beauvais added. “There’s just so many different things. So for me it wasn’t about being measured, but I had to come in a way that was comfortable for me.”
She also shared her perspective on the changing landscape for women of color in Hollywood, pointing to stars like Viola Davis and Kerry Washington as examples of progress. Beauvais said increased representation has helped create more opportunities for diverse storytelling and leadership both on-screen and behind the scenes.
“Now it’s different because they realize that our storytelling is important,” she said. “We consume just like everybody else with our dollars, with our with everything. So why not have our narratives out there? Why not have our point of views out there? So for me, I mean listen, when I first started in this industry and I was a model, they didn’t think I could walk and talk at the same time, right? And so now to see that I can have a production company, I can be in my 50s and working more than ever, I think that’s the difference for women, and yet another caveat is for Black women.”
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Garcelle Beauvais Explains Why She Rejects Being Called ‘Auntie’
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