‘RHOA:’ Sanya Richards-Ross Confirms Friendship With Drew Sidora Following Feud (EXCLUSIVE)

Throughout Season 14 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, social media users have praised the cast for their dedication to building and maintaining a solid sisterhood. So far, we’ve witnessed the ladies stand up for Drew Sidora throughout her marriage troubles with Ralph Pittman Jr., and we’ve seen the crew support Marlo Hampton’s latest venture, L’Archive. However, drama is never not too far away and Drew and newbie Sanya Richards-Ross have some tension.

The news of Drew and Sanya’s feud may come as a shock since it appears that the ladies were great friends. However, RHOA has shown us that just because women can appear to be besties or good friends, doesn’t mean that’s the case. So, why are Sanya Richard-Ross and Drew Sidora feuding?

In an exclusive interview with Distractify, Sanya opened up about their feud and where the two stand today.

Drew and Sanya’s issues came to a head at the RHOA Season 14 reunion when Andy Cohen asked them where their friendship stood after filming together. For her part, Sanya said she and Drew had “no relationship” outside of the show, even though the then-newbie had developed connections with the rest of the cast.

Once Drew caught wind of Sanya’s comments, all hell broke loose. Drew got her Twitter fingers working to call out Sanya for being a “flip-flopping a– b–h” and shared that she’s taken notes.

Sanya also clapped back by calling Drew an “actor” and proceeded to ask Drew personal questions that Sanya felt she should know if they were actually friends. Whew, chile!

Although there was some back and forth between the frenemies at Drew’s show, they eventually hugged it out and planned on moving forward. The refreshing development is one that Sanya teased to Distractify before the RHOA Season 15 premiere.

“Drew and I have a much-needed conversation about everything that happened,” Sanya exclusively told Distractify in April 2023. “And I feel like Drew owned up to some of it. At the reunion, and prior to that, she was acting like, ‘I don't know what you're talking about,’ and that was not true. So, you know, it was good for us to have a good conversation and kind of just start over, like to see what our friendship could really be like.”

The Mommi Nation CEO further shared that although she and Drew’s relationship “went awry” in Season 14, fans will see them support one another through their highs and lows. Before Season 15 dropped, Drew and Ralph filed for divorce after nine years of marriage. Sanya said she was “heartbroken” and “shocked” by the news, primarily since she and her husband, Aaron Ross, celebrated Ralph’s 40th birthday with him and Drew in the weeks leading up to their split.

"They literally looked very happy,” Sanya noted of Drew and Ralph. “We were singing, dancing, having a ball. So I was shocked that it had come to that. And you know, especially for the kids, it's really sad when there are little ones involved."

She added: “So, I felt really bad, and I'm really here for them, here for Drew and for Ralph in any way that I can be. And I guess deep down in my heart, I'm hoping they'll figure it out.”

On a June 5, 2022, episode of Kandi’s Speak On It podcast, Sanya made it a point to set the record straight about her “friendship” with Drew and how the ladies first met.

“I was introduced to Drew by a stylist we had in common,” Sanya told Kandi. And we hung out maybe two or three times before we officially started filming. So I feel like saying the word friends is loose, we were friendly. We were friendly. Because friendships are built over time.”

However, Kandi made it a point to bring up that Sanya called Drew after she got into a car accident. So, Sanya saying that she’s not friends with Drew doesn’t quite make sense. Sanya quickly countered Kandi’s argument by saying that she had spoken to Drew before getting into the accident and simply called her back to let her know what happened.

“And she offered, so I said ‘Sure, that would be cool if you’d like to come,’” Sanya told Kandi. “Because we’re bonding. It was another opportunity for us to get to know each other. But we still weren't like besties. It was just friendly.”

The messiness worsened when Drew pulled a Kenya Moore Seasons 5 and 6 by taunting Sanya with a prop, i.e., her hair. In one scene from the reunion, Drew repeatedly flipped her deep wave tresses in Sanya’s direction, prompting her to tell Andy, “I’m gonna have to move in a second!”

By the end of the three-part special, Sanya and Drew declared that their budding friendship needed more than a reunion to improve. But when Bravo announced that Sanya and Drew were returning for Season 15 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, fans were eager to see how these two would interact in future episodes.

And, it seems like time made the heart grow fonder and these frenemies have become friends, at least, for now.

Catch new episodes of The Real Housewives of Atlanta Sundays at 8 p.m. EST on Bravo.