Monique Samuels Returning to “Real Housewives of Potomac ”for Season 10 (Exclusive)

Monique Samuels is fresh for her Bravo 2nd act!

The erstwhile Real Housewives of Potomac star — who famously exited nan deed reality bid successful 2020 — is officially returning for Season 10, PEOPLE tin exclusively reveal.

Production for nan show is presently underway successful Maryland, pinch past season's stars Gizelle Bryant, Ashley Darby, Dr. Wendy Osefo, Keiarna Stewart and Stacey Rusch each filming again. Samuels will beryllium joining nan formed successful a Friend capacity.

Her comeback to nan bid that first made her a instrumentality favourite (and later sparked 1 of nan astir talked-about departures successful Housewives history) comes astatine a pivotal clip successful Samuels' life.

The 41-year-old Mila Eve Essentials proprietor finalized her divorcement from erstwhile NFL violative tackle Chris Samuels, 48, successful September 2023. She and Chris were joined for 11 years, and are parents to girl Milani, 9, and sons Christopher, 12, and Chase, 6.

"Monique's successful a wholly different spot now, and fans will spot that," a root tells PEOPLE. "She’s excited to show who she is now — not arsenic a wife, not arsenic conscionable a mom, but arsenic a female starting complete and taking connected life connected her ain terms."

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Bravo viewers first met Monique erstwhile she joined RHOP successful play 2 backmost successful 2017. It didn't return agelong for nan entrepreneur to make her people connected nan show, pinch her speedy wit, luxury manner and no-nonsense attitude.

But by play 5, tensions among nan formed (particularly pinch erstwhile costar Candiace Dillard Bassett) boiled complete into an explosive on-camera altercation that dominated headlines and divided fans.

After nan play aired, Monique announced she wouldn’t return. “I’m complete it,” she said astatine nan time, citing really nan incident — and nan measurement it was portrayed — took a toll connected her family and intelligence health.

"It was a crazy ride. It’s not easy doing reality TV," Monique wrote connected Instagram. “I admit everything that group person done for me, everybody that's been Team Monique — I emotion y'all, I convey y'all — but erstwhile you transverse definite lines there's nary going back. And for me, my family is that line."

"The sentiment of my family and my kids and what they deliberation astir thing that I do is much valuable than anybody’s opinion," she added.

Since stepping away, Monique shifted her attraction to her children and business ventures.

She made a little return to reality TV successful 2022 connected OWN’s Love & Marriage: DC alongside her then-husband — though their romance unraveled soon thereafter, Monique filing for divorcement successful April 2023.

"I conscionable sewage to nan constituent wherever I was successful a spot wherever I was truthful miserable," she later shared. "I americium nary longer nan personification that I was erstwhile I walked down that aisle 11 years ago. ... If we support going down this roadworthy and we're bickering astatine each different and we're not capable to pass — sometimes not moreover talking to each different — past really is this going to impact our children? Because I was thinking, for illustration astir people, 'Okay, we're going to enactment together for nan kids.' But that ne'er useful because staying together for nan kids intends that you're giving them a unspeakable illustration of what a narration should beryllium like." 

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Season 10 of RHOP is expected to aerial later this year.

Two Housewives from play 9 won't beryllium returning: Mia Thornton and Karen Huger. Thornton announced her departure from nan bid successful April, amid a move to Atlanta. Huger, meanwhile, is down bars aft being sentenced to 2 years successful prison, pinch 1 twelvemonth suspended, for her 4th DUI conviction.

The Real Housewives of Potomac tin beryllium streamed connected Peacock.