Monique Samuels revealed behind-the-scenes secrets about the production team’s role in cast trips, in a fourth wall-breaking moment on The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 10.
At the time, host Angel Massie’s Colorado trip had already gotten off to a rocky start, when things went from bad to worse on Episode 14.
Already miffed after finding out that only two of them (Tia Glover and Keiarna Stewart) would be staying in Angel’s home, the remaining ladies — Monique, Gizelle Bryant, Ashley Darby, Wendy Osefo, Stacey Rusch, and Jassi Rideaux — faced nonstop issues at their rental property, which was more than an hour away. The ladies encountered everything from intermittent running water and thermostat problems to some foul “sewage” odors.
RELATED: Gizelle, Monique & More Reveal Surprising Details on Angel’s Colorado Accommodations (EXCLUSIVE)
In a confessional, Monique recalled her experience of hosting two RHOP cast trips (to Cannes, France in 2018 and to her Maryland lake house in 2020), while wondering how Angel had somehow dropped the ball with their lackluster accommodations.
“While the network covers certain expenses, it is our job as a host to be in line with production every step of the way,” Monique explained. “I gave a list of activities, because why? My name’s on it.”
Monique Samuels details her issues with Angel Massie’s Colorado accommodations
Monique and her castmates’ critiques of Angel’s planning started with the fact that their separation would infringe upon their bonding time. “So, we’re gonna sit at her house and talk until late night and then we gotta drive an hour back here?” Monique asked the ladies during RHOP‘s Jan. 11 episode. “I brought cute pajamas because I thought we were gonna have jammy jams.”
As she further declared to a producer, “We’re just off to a terrible start, y’all. I just hate to say it, but this is not good.”
RELATED: Why Is Angel Massie Moving to Colorado? (EXCLUSIVE)
Then, when what began as water pressure issues devolved into them not having any running water at all, Monique noted Angel’s absence, despite her being the one who rented the house for them.
“We’re not being hosted right now,” she vented to the other ladies about the “weird” setup. “Nobody’s checking on us. Nobody cares.”
After Monique woke up and her “whole face was swollen” due to her bedroom being “so hot” the previous night, Gizelle finally announced that she was taking it upon herself to move them all “to a different accommodation.”
How Angel Massie defended her cast trip planning
Angel explained on Episode 14 that she’d contacted the homeowners to deal with the water pressure issue, which they had done, but none of the women even informed her that they’d lost water completely afterward. As for the home’s distance from where she and husband Bobby Massie actually lived with their family, she cited a lack of options, given that it was the “high season” in Colorado.
On a previous installment of The Real Housewives of Potomac After Show, Angel further revealed that the getaway had initially been planned as a couple’s trip for her, Tia, Keiarna, and their husbands, hence the need for last-minute accommodations when she eventually extended the invitation to the entire group.
“Planning was changing based off of who could come and who couldn’t,” Angel elaborated. “And houses were being taken up. This is Colorado’s high season in the summer. We have tons of tourists that come here to recreate. And so, the bigger houses for bigger groups are gone after that.”
She admitted, however, “Of course, I decided who was gonna stay at my home based off of my comfortability.”
As the trip continues, don’t miss what else the RHOP cast spilled about their unexpected Colorado accommodations.
