Kandi Burruss on whether she'd return to 'RHOA' in the future after announcing exit

Kandi Burruss, Bravo’s longest-running housewife, is opening up about her future at the network.

After announcing she was exiting the show at the 2024 Grammys, Burruss appeared at the 2024 People's Choice Awards and discussed whether or not she would ever return to the show.

“I have a lot of love for my Bravo family ... you never say never right, but right now I have a lot of things that I’m going after that I don’t see it in my near future," she said.

Burruss, who is nominated for reality TV star of the year, added, “It’s crazy but cool that in my last year, I’m a real housewife. I’m nominated for 'Real Housewives.'"

For the past 14 seasons, Burruss has starred on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." At the 66th Grammy Awards, she told Variety’s Marc Malkin that she was exiting the hit series.

“I decided I’m not coming back this year," she said in the interview.

Back on the Grammys red carpet Feb. 4, Burruss explained some of the reasoning behind her departure. Since "RHOA" Season 15 premiered in May 2023, Burruss said the network "allowed us to sit a little too long."

"During that time I had started working on a lot of other things, and I got some nice, big projects coming soon," she told Variety.

The Xscape member has been on “RHOA” since the show’s second season in 2009, making her the housewife with the longest tenure on Bravo to date.

"A friend of mine asked, 'Why do you keep doing it?' And I was like, 'I think because I've been doing it so long. It feels weird not to do it. I was like, I'm going to take a break. I'm going to take a moment," she said.

Burruss didn't indicate if her departure was permanent, but definitely would last at least for the next year. "I don't want to say never, because we're still going to do things together," she said.

"Real Housewives of Atlanta" fans reacted to the news online.

"I literally can’t imagine the show without Kandi!" one X user wrote.

"RHOA is about to feel different whew," another said.

The following day, Bravo executive producer Andy Cohen reacted to Burruss' exit on Instagram.

"What can I say about @kandi !? One of the greats! A superstar! What a run!" he wrote, along with the hashtags #Worldwide and #RHOA.

Plenty of housewives left comments on Cohen's post about Burruss.

"Love you, @kandi!" "RHONY: Legacy" star Luann de Lesseps wrote.

"Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" OG Kyle Richards tagged Burruss and left a heart and star emoji.

"@kandi a straight shooter!" "Real Housewives of Potomac" star Gizelle Bryant commented.

"the people’s champ!" former "RHOA" star Cynthia Bailey wrote.

Burress left a comment on Cohen's post, writing, "I love you Andy!"

She also spoke to "ET" about a phone call she had with Cohen about her exit.

"He was like, ‘Well, you do realize this is your family like if you just wanna come back next year, that’s fine. And I’m like, ‘I mean, I love you guys and I appreciate (it). Like, it’s my family.’ You know what I mean?" she said. "So yeah I’m always a part of them you know they’re always a part of me."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com