Cynthia Bailey Reveals She and Kenya Moore “Have Not Spoken” Since Her ‘RHOA' Exit (EXCLUSIVE)

Whether she's serving looks on the runway or fun shade on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, there doesn't seem to be anything Cynthia Bailey can't do. And, as it turns out, Cynthia can also slay in the kitchen. In her collaboration with Rao's Homemade sauce, she competed with fellow Bravolebrity Dorit Kemsley as Top Chef All-Stars L.A.'s Nini Nguyen judged who makes the better pasta.

"What people don't know about me is that I am a really good cook," Cynthia told us, crediting her aunts and her mom for making her the "top chef" she is today.

Although she can cook anything you throw at her, including a mean seafood pasta using Rao's homemade sauce, and seems to have been drinking from the fountain of youth, the Bravolebrity's skillset doesn't include time travel. If it did, she'd probably make it so her close friend, Kenya Moore, could've stayed on RHOA Season 16 for the entire season.

Ahead of Season 16 airing on Bravo in March 2025, Kenya was suspended from the show after sharing an explicit photo of her co-star Brittany "Brit" Eady at her Kenya Moore Hair Spa launch. She ultimately decided to exit the show.

Kenya's firing has been debated among RHOA's fandom, as some felt she took things too far, while others feel her actions didn't warrant her losing her job. Cynthia shared her thoughts on her exit with Distractify and why she remains #TeamTwirl.

Several months after it was confirmed Kenya would be leaving RHOA at some point during Season 16, the wound of her departure was re-opened when the season's promotional photos and trailers dropped ahead of the season's March 9, 2025 premiere.

The promos included Cynthia and the rest of the Season 16 cast — Porsha Williams, Shamea Morton, Drew Sidora, Brit, Kelli Ferrell, Angela Oakley, and Phaedra Parks. Kenya, however, was noticeably missing.

The "Gone With the Wind Fabulous" singer's absence from the show's promo despite being involved at the beginning of the season sparked her fans and friends, including former RHOA star Kandi Burruss, to jump to her defense. Cynthia shared with Distractify that, while she hasn't spoken about her being left out of the show's promotions, she wishes the "unfortunate situation" could've resulted in her staying on for Season 16, noting she's been "great TV" since she joined the show in Season 5.

"I have not spoken to her since the promotions came out and the show has dropped," Cynthia told Distractify. "We have not spoken. And I love Kenya. I'm always going to have love for Kenya. I want whatever's going to be great for her. It was just an unfortunate situation that she ended up stepping away when she did. Sweet 16 was what I thought was going to be sweet for everyone."

To fans watching, Sweet 16 feels more like bittersweet 16, since we know Kenya's final RHOA scene is on the horizon. Cynthia agreed the timing of Kenya's exit was bittersweet, but confirmed that, despite the season having a few sour moments, the season will prove to skeptics that Atlanta is back with a bang.

"We obviously started the season with all of us together, and Kenya was very much included in in the season," Cynthia said. "I still think it's going to be a great season, and I'm excited for you guys to watch it."

"For me, I felt like Atlanta was on top for so many years," she added. "I feel like that this is a season where this is like a comeback season. I think it's going to be very different from the last couple seasons that you guys have seen for different reasons."