Cynthia Bailey On 'Real Housewives' Cast Shake-Up & Kenya Moore's Exit

After nine seasons, Real Housewives of Atlanta star Cynthia Bailey is as busy as ever, finding new love with Fox Sports anchor Mike Hill and continuing to spread her wings in the business world.

The model chats with EBONY about Season 11 of the hit Bravo series, missing Kenya Moore, and how Kim Zolciak and Sheree Whitfield’s exit from the series may have been the best move for everyone involved.

Before we get into Real Housewives, I want to talk about your recent experience on Iyanla: Fix my Life with your mom and your sister. They both had to face some major personal issues that we got to see, but what did you take away from those sessions with Iyanla?

A lot of the things that I addressed weren’t shown, which was fine because it wasn’t about me, but I was definitely a part of our family problems. Ultimately, we didn’t want to make the show about me because it was about my sister.

With that said, outside of what you guys saw, being a part of that show was incredibly insightful and helpful, especially with the relationship between me and my mom. It helped open up the lines of communication with us again.

Real Housewives of Atlanta is back! How was it shooting without your good friend, Kenya Moore, this season?

I did miss having Kenya there. Fortunately for me, we actually have a relationship outside of filming as well, so she’s still very much in my life, but I did miss shooting with her. I had such a soft spot for Kenya throughout her pregnancy journey because I know, and a lot of the world knows, her history with her own mother. Her grandmother took care of her, so I know she has a lot of love to give, and I think baby Daly will be a very happy, loved baby. Kenya becoming a mom is really going to change her life, and I could not be happier. I’m super excited to be Auntie 51 Cynt!

This season welcomed a few new ladies as well. How was it getting to know Shamari DeVoe and Tanya Smith?

It was pretty cool! We’re in Season 11, my ninth season on the show, and I love when new girls come around. It keeps the show fresh. We all have our issues and can have the same arguments over and over again, and after a while, it can get redundant. At some point, it’s good to throw some different logs on the fire. They were both very unexpected choices to me. At first, I wasn’t sure if either one of them were a good fit for this group, not to say they’re not great women. As time went on, they definitely brought something fun to the table, something different.

Has the chemistry among the ladies changed at all since Sheree Whitfield and Kim Zolciak’s departure? How so?

I think this season has been more of a sisterhood. We definitely get into it over different things, but nothing that’s toxic or super negative. Last season, some of the things that were coming from Kim and Sheree just seemed so unwarranted. It felt like negativity just to be negative.

This season, people are in pretty good places. Eva got married, Porsha met a guy and is in love, she’s having a baby, I’m in a new relationship, an exclusive one this time. We’re all doing pretty well.

I believe you are also working on a new cocktail, correct?

I am! I just had my huge Seagram’s launch. I have a signature flavor with them called The Peach Bellini and it is delicious. It will be dropping in stores February 2019. As a girl who loves a cocktail, honey, I love even more that I have my own that I can share with the world. We’re going to pop a lot of Peach Bellini bottles together!

Check out photos from Bailey’s Peach Bellini launch below!