If you were to look at the packaging Shamea Morton came to Real Housewives of Atlanta wrapped in last season, you would surely see the words RHOA accessories included, on the box. Shamea has all the pomp and circumstance required to qualify to carry the peach. Still, unfortunately for her, sometimes reality TV success is less about the qualifications and more about that “je ne sais quoi” that motivates fans to either embrace or deny new cast members. The upcoming season of RHOA is going to be a challenging one for everyone, mainly because the show has lost so much of its OG star power, with Kandi Burruss’ resignation and Kenya Moore being mysteriously released from the show earlier this summer.

Kandi and Kenya’s consistency was an anchor for the show, but the newbies may give RHOA’s loyal fans a run for their money. Shamea is riding the line between the newbies and the returning cast because, although she’s never held that precious peach in her palm during the intro, she’s been a friend of the show for many years. Viewers of RHOA are familiar with Shamea’s BFF friendship with Porsha Williams and have seen her face on various girls’ trips over the years. The friends both share an affinity for twerking and turning up, but most importantly, always have each other’s backs…well, Shamea has had Porsha’s back. With Porsha’s highly anticipated return, fans weren’t shocked to see Shamea be promoted, but there is no guarantee they will embrace her with the same energy they show her bestie.

Shamea Morton and Porsha Williams’ Friendship Has Been Non-Reciprocal at Times

Shamea and her husband Gerald Mwangi have been married since 2017 after meeting at a popular nightclub in Atlanta, GA in 2014. The two later connected after one of Gerald’s friends invited Shamea to his home for a barbecue. Shamea later revealed Gerald had orchestrated the BBQ at his home as an opportunity to reconnect with her and his plan worked. The two were inseparable after they met and the engagement and wedding were the talk of Atlanta’s social scene. Ironically, Porsha and Shamea fell out because Porsha was suspiciously unable to attend her bestie’s wedding. The two later reconnected, but most RHOA fans haven’t forgotten about the brief riff.

Like Porsha, Shamea has a wealthy African husband and all the high-dollar accouterments that give women relevance on Bravo’s best-selling franchise. Shamea’s husband, doesn’t have the sketchy past that follows Porsha’s soon-to-be ex-husband, Simon Guobadia. Gerald is originally from Kenya and has several advanced degrees from East Carolina University Greenville, N.C. He worked as a project manager for CompUSA and has worked with a number of high-profile non-profits. While Gerald did gift Shamea with the expected RHOA birthday gift of a Rolls-Royce, no one questioned the car’s payment schedule, bill of sale, or if it would be repossessed due to bad business deals. For all practical purposes, Shamea appears to have lucked up and found a generous, wealthy, and completely legal man, one of the few things that sets her apart from the other housewives.

Shamea Joins a Long List of Housewives With a Singing Career

Driving her Rolls-Royce and hanging out with the other housewives, Shamea fits right in with the other ladies, but there are even more things about her that fit the Bravo housewife blueprint. She has a picture-worthy lifestyle complete with a wealthy husband and a somewhat mysterious ex-husband. She is mother to two beautiful daughters, and she even used the RHOA/BRAVO factory surrogate of Shadina Blunt to bring her baby into the world. If anyone needed more proof that Shamea fit the housewife mold, hearing she has a new single impacting radio soon could convince them she belongs.

Like so many housewives before her Shamea is currently working on a new album and has a new single she is focused on promoting. She recently chatted with From Christal XO on the red carpet for newbie Brit Eady’s new shapewear launch. Shamea was gracious, spending the first few minutes shouting out Brit for her new fashion endeavor. After running down all the designers she was wearing, including a Balenciaga and Gucci collaboration jacket, Yves St. Laurent boots, and Chanel earrings, Shamea shared that she’d been a dancer and entertainer since she was a child and fans would be wrong to assume she was just jumping on a bandwagon by releasing a new single.

“People have always known me to be a part of entertainment, a dancer, a host for our NBA/NFL team, but now I’m excited that they are going to see me for the artist that I’ve always been and that’s a singer,” she said. “I’ve always sung, and I started dancing, so my set would be entertaining. I did ballet, tap, and jazz all through college and then started dancing professionally for NBA and NFL teams. Then I got an opportunity to do it in the movie, Drumline, so I see the money coming in, but I’ve always been very passionate about singing.”

Shamea will join Candiace Dillard, Kim Zolciak, Drew Sidora, Ashley Darby, Erica Jane, Melissa Gorga, Danielle Staub, Jo De La Rosa, Kenya Moore and even Luan de Lesseps aka the Countess as housewives with a single on iTunes. It doesn’t take a music critic to tell most of these women had no business wasting time and or money in a music studio. When questioned on her favorite single by a Houswife, she was quick to name the one who is a part of music history and currently still touring, Kandi Burruss. “When you asked, the first person I thought was Kandi, but they’ve all contributed something musically and I love them all,” Shamea said.

The Upcoming Season Of ‘RHOA’ Is Certain to Be Unpredictable For Fans

With the Bravo housewives starter pack in full effect, it’s hard to see how Shamea could fail this initial season as a certified Atlanta housewife. Porsha is guaranteed to be the new OG on the block with Kandi and Kenya gone, so that sets Shamea up for BFF sidekick privileges. Aside from her friendship with Porsha, Shamea will be promoting her new single, parenting her two girls, and loving her wealthy husband. With a dutiful spouse, good girlfriends, and two loving daughters, Shamea’s life currently resembles a “just add water” to make her one of the most envied women on Peachtree Street.

Other friends of the show have tried to make this drastic leap and failed. Marlo waited over a decade to get her formal peach and lost it the following season. Actress Kim Fields carried a peach for one season, as did singer Shomari DeVoe. And friend to the show, Tanya Sam, never made it to full peach status before she was quit following a bachelorette party scandal.

There are many intangible reasons RHOA fans may reject a new personality on the show. Only time will tell with so many changes and restarts for the upcoming season. Who will make it out of that first season with their peach? The first season usually consists of a lot of hoops to jump through and derrières to kiss. With her formal dancer’s background, jumping through hoops shouldn’t be a problem for Shamea. The bigger issue is, will she rub any of the other cast members wrong because of her built-in allegiance to Porsha? As with most questions Bravo fans have about the new season of RHOA, only time will tell.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta can be streamed on Peacock.

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