Monique Samuels Announces Surprising Return To 'Real Housewives Of Potomac' Ahead Of Season 10

Bravo is pulling out all the stops to make season 10 of "The Real Housewives of Potomac" a must-watch series, and that includes bringing back Monique Samuels.

In a new statement, a source close to the reality star, who dramatically quit the show in 2020 after her physical altercation with Candiace Dillard Bassett, announced that Monique Samuels is ready to showcase a new side of herself when the show returns in late 2025.

According to PEOPLE, Samuels, 41, has officially signed on to appear as a "friend of the show" in the long-running reality series, which began shooting its tenth season in the summer of 2025.

Samuels' return comes as a major surprise to Bravo viewers, considering the last time fans saw her on the show was during the explosive aftermath of a physical fight with Bassett during season 5.

"Monique's in a totally different place now, and fans will see that," a source told the publication about Samuels' return. "She’s excited to show who she is now — not as a wife, not as just a mom, but as a woman starting over and taking on life on her own terms."

Samuels sparked widespread chaos in the Bravosphere in 2020, among viewers and her castmates, after physically assaulting Bassett amid an explosive conversation about their relationship.

The subsequent reunion was equally contentious, with host Andy Cohen criticizing Samuels for her behavior and what was perceived as a lack of remorse. Her reunion performance led many to believe the network would have fired her; however, she confirmed after the gathering finished airing that she had "received an offer," but decided not to return.

"... when I saw episode three of the reunion, I said, ‘You know what? I can’t do this anymore,’” she recalled.

Samuels also opened up about how challenging filming a reality show like "The Real Housewives of Potomac" can actually be.

“It’s not easy doing reality TV, and to be quite honest, I’m over it,” she told fans, according to a previous report. “I appreciate everything that people have done for me, everybody that’s been Team Monique — I love y’all, I thank y’all — but when you cross certain lines, there’s no going back."

During her initial run on the Bravo show, Samuels showcased her lavish lifestyle behind the gates in Potomac, Maryland, alongside her then-husband, former NFL player Chris Samuels, and their three children. This time around, however, the reality star is returning to the Potomac social circle as a single mother following her divorce from the ex-football player in 2023.

The Samuels spoke briefly about their marital woes during a season of the OWN reality show "Love & Marriage: DC," and in a 2022 YouTube video, they stated that they were "struggling in some areas."

"It was a lot of confusion, it was crazy building up to that 10-year marker of our marriage and when you’ve been married that long and when you have things that you’re like, 'Listen, this is being unmet or I’ve been unheard’ you start to get frustrated and it’s like, ‘Oh, my God, is this what life is going to be? I can’t take it anymore,'" the Bravo alum added. "So what y'all saw on 'Love & Marriage: DC' last season, it was my cry for help."

Besides the return of a Bravo fan-favorite, "Potomac" fans can expect to see additional cast changes, considering Mia Thornton announced her departure from the series in April 2025 after relocating to Atlanta, Georgia.

"With every new season comes a new beginning and I have some news to share. My family and I have made the decision to relocate to Atlanta, and with that, I will not be returning to The Real Housewives of Potomac next season," she posted online.

However, that isn't the only major change. One of the series' OG cast members, Karen Huger, will also sit a season out while she finishes her year-long prison sentence in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility for driving under the influence.

During an earlier interview, fellow "RHOP" cast member Dr. Wendy Osefo shared her thoughts about filming the show without Huger.

"With this group, we have found a way to navigate with her presence and without her presence,” Osefo said. "Looking at the reunion, I think that we maneuvered in a positive way as a collective, as a unit. I wish her the best, but I think that the Potomac brand still is strong.”