When I spoke with Garcelle Beauvais at the top of 2025 about The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, I asked the actress, the first Black woman to be a main cast member on the show, how she was feeling about the new season so far. Something she made clear was that despite the shouting matches and meltdowns, in between it all, she was, at that time, enjoying herself. “Although there’s drama, and although there’s some heavy topics that we talk about, we’ve also been able to have fun,” she told me confidently. Beauvais, a perfect casting choice for the lily white lineup, had always walked such a line during her time on the series. While she wasn’t going to avoid telling you the truth, calling out microaggressions, not shying away from sharing a controversial opinion, and always ready to unapologetically stand up for a friend, she still knew how to be light. She could apologize. She could laugh. She still wanted to have a good time. She worked in a way that others on platforms like hers couldn’t (think Eboni K. Williams’s effort to make the resistant ladies of RHONY confront racism). She was going to call a thing a thing, but she could still let her hair down.
Well, a few months have passed since that conversation, and Beauvais has since announced that she will no longer appear on the hit franchise. It was no longer fun. Granted, she didn’t say that. She, instead, conveyed that she wanted to focus on quality time with her twin boys, who were soon going to be graduating, and big projects she is currently developing. Still, people speculated about what went down at the reunion, gossip stories coming out that she was the one in the hot seat and took a tongue-lashing that left her reeling, running out of the taping early. But as the three-part reunion showed, it wasn’t bad in the way we’re used to watching women get verbally tore up at these end-of-season gatherings. But it certainly wasn’t fun.
When Beauvais was accused of possibly hiding aspects of her life by co-star Erika Jayne, which she flatly denied, she was insulted. She declared that she was showing everything she had going on, admitting her dating life didn’t have the color worth capturing. In response, Jayne told her, “I wish you were more interesting, I guess.” Ouch.
She was called a “mean girl” by Kyle Richards as they recounted discussions, private and public, that she had with Sutton Stracke, her perceived good girlfriend, about Richards’ friendship/flirtationship with country singer Morgan Wade.
And now that Dorit Kemsley has a battery in her back thanks to new “friend for life” and newest cast addition Bozoma Saint John, she reamed Beauvais over her opinions concerning the 2021 home invasion and robbery Kemsley was left in distress over, even affecting her marriage. Beauvais stood by her comments that she felt the break-in was staged (she never pointed a finger, though), but apologized if it hurt her co-star. Saint John called those opinions “terrible” and “dangerous.” She also, in a later moment, called Beauvais out for not “picking up” on when Stracke allegedly implied that she was an angry Black woman during the after-show tapings because of the way the businesswoman confronted the ladies for congregating at the front door during Dorit’s party. (She actually said Saint John appeared “almost angry” with her by the way…)
Worst of all was Stracke’s behavior. She did not have Beauvais’s back. Examples include when she tried to feign as though she respected Richard’s wishes not to discuss her complicated relationship with Morgan Wade, and at the end of the reunion, when she spoke about her surprise that she and Jayne got along so well and her hope that they would continue to. And when Beauvais left, Stracke took her time to check on her, this despite the Jamie Foxx Show alum leaving the reunion last season with Stracke when the Southern belle had what appeared to have been a medical malfunction.
That’s why, by part two, her facial expressions were very clear: She thought her castmates were full of it, and sis was ready to go. When asked why she was pissed, she made it clear that despite offering apologies left and right while not taking back her comments and not running from them, she was feeling unexpectedly piled upon.
“I don’t think I ever get any grace in this group. I didn’t feel it today,” she told Andy Cohen. “We talk about accountability. I stand by the things that I say. And even though I’m taking accountability for them, it’s not accepted.”
She stayed until the end, did the toast, took a sip of the nasty watermelon concoction passed around, and then quickly said “I’m out” at the mention of a cast photo. While the ladies expressed their confusion over her exit, calling what she endured during the reunion “child’s play,” she cared not. Beauvais made it clear that she was annoyed that people who she thought she was fine with, all of a sudden, worked together to put her on blast. “I felt like I was on an island by myself,” she told her team in her dressing room when the reunion concluded. “I can’t be friends with people like that. I don’t trust them! And they obviously don’t like me. I’m done.”
While it might be easy to say that Beauvais just couldn’t take the heat and was overdramatic, I get it. I think she believed she knew all of the women, and even though they weren’t all the best of friends at every moment, she felt like, with the exception of Kemsley, there was no real issue. Most cast members who’ve had a controversial season know they’re in for hell come reunion time. But when you really haven’t been at odds with people, it can’t feel good to think things are cool only to come together and they’re calling you boring, mean, dangerous, all while your closest friend in the group says nothing. She has does nothing but defend Stracke, and the socialite literally paid her dust in return, instead, looking to protect the relationships that have been on thin ice.
I think Beauvais made the move she needed to. Unlike some of her castmates (no shade, honestly), RHOBH wasn’t all she had to rely on. She’s seen a resurgence in her career now that she’s in her 50s (including her role on Netflix’s hit Survival of the Thickest and producing films on Lifetime). She’d already forgiven enough foolishness from her cast mates, including what I deemed the unthinkable when it occurred – an inebriated Jayne cursing at her son, who shortly after, dealt with racist trolls online and decided he would no longer film. Not to mention, a few of her castmates found that incident funny, but she moved forward with them then. No more.
This time, she chose to protect her peace. I respect that. Instead of sticking around for a check, she opted to remove herself from the lion’s den. The choice is in stride with the approach many Black women are currently taking in the Trump era. After showing up, fighting for others, we were betrayed at the polls. In response, many of us have decided to fight differently. We’re not watching depressing news coverage. We’re not marching for everybody and their mothers. We’re pouring into ourselves. The same can be said for Beauvais.
She realized she was in a place that no longer served her, confronting a friend who didn’t really support her, and dealing with people who were jealous that she didn’t live a life in shambles (or better yet, jealous she’d healed and moved forward from past struggles) and decided to exit stage left. She saw another Black woman come in and comfortably side with everyone but her while also trying to pretend Beauvais, as skinfolk, didn’t have her back. She noticed that she was being villainized for addressing people about their hypocrisy, the holes in their stories, and realized, there was no healthy way to move forward. There was no one to trust, and it would be a chaotic environment for one to return to. So she quit.
More of us, for our mental health, need to get out of things when the red flags start flapping and not when we’re so far gone in them that we’re waving the white one. That includes toxic romantic relationships, unbalanced friendships and familial bonds, unhealthy work environments, and more.
And extra kudos to Beauvais for leaving on her terms, but doing so with dignity. I know so many people wanted her to tear folks up verbally on the stage, but she opted to keep it cute, finish her job, and then head out. It very much gave, I’m not going to act out. I’ll get out. She has since left her castmates dumbfounded, sending texts that she hasn’t replied to, posting wish-you-well messages she didn’t need, and making comments in interviews she won’t likely care about. Instead, she’s basked in the support of people who know she’s been that girl looong before RHOBH was even a thought, and she’ll be fine in this next chapter. How can you go wrong when you pursue joy instead of playing with miserable folk? Hence the reason she took to threads and posted “thanks guys” this week. She’s surrounding herself with love and good energy, particularly from other Black women, the greatest of hype men, instead of giving her time, energy, and friendship to a group of people who don’t deserve another minute of it. Love to see it.
