Monique Samuels Returning to Real Housewives of Potomac for Season 10 (Exclusive)

Monique Samuels is ready for her Bravo second act!

The former Real Housewives of Potomac star — who famously exited the hit reality series in 2020 — is officially returning for Season 10, PEOPLE can exclusively reveal.

Production for the show is currently underway in Maryland, with last season’s stars Gizelle Bryant, Ashley Darby, Dr. Wendy Osefo, Keiarna Stewart and Stacey Rusch all filming again. Samuels will be joining the cast in a Friend capacity.

Her comeback to the series that first made her a fan favorite (and later sparked one of the most talked-about departures in Housewives history) comes at a pivotal time in Samuels’ life.

The 41-year-old Mila Eve Essentials owner finalized her divorce from former NFL offensive tackle Chris Samuels, 48, in September 2023. She and Chris were married for 11 years, and are parents to daughter Milani, 9, and sons Christopher, 12, and Chase, 6.

“Monique’s in a totally different place now, and fans will see that,” a source tells PEOPLE. “She’s excited to show who she is now — not as a wife, not as just a mom, but as a woman starting over and taking on life on her own terms.”

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Bravo viewers first met Monique when she joined RHOP in season 2 back in 2017. It didn’t take long for the entrepreneur to make her mark on the show, with her quick wit, luxury lifestyle and no-nonsense attitude.

But by season 5, tensions among the cast (particularly with former costar Candiace Dillard Bassett) boiled over into an explosive on-camera altercation that dominated headlines and divided fans.

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After the season aired, Monique announced she wouldn’t return. “I’m over it,” she said at the time, citing how the incident — and the way it was portrayed — took a toll on her family and mental health.

“It was a crazy ride. It’s not easy doing reality TV,” Monique wrote on Instagram. “I appreciate everything that people have done for me, everybody that’s been Team Monique — I love y’all, I thank y’all — but when you cross certain lines there’s no going back. And for me, my family is that line.”

“The opinion of my family and my kids and what they think about anything that I do is more valuable than anybody’s opinion,” she added.

Since stepping away, Monique shifted her focus to her children and business ventures.

She made a brief return to reality TV in 2022 on OWN’s Love & Marriage: DC alongside her then-husband — though their romance unraveled soon thereafter, Monique filing for divorce in April 2023.

“I just got to the point where I was in a place where I was so miserable,” she later shared. “I am no longer the person that I was when I walked down that aisle 11 years ago. … If we keep going down this road and we’re bickering at each other and we’re not able to communicate — sometimes not even talking to each other — then how is this going to affect our children? Because I was thinking, like most people, ‘Okay, we’re going to stay together for the kids.’ But that never works because staying together for the kids means that you’re giving them a terrible example of what a relationship should be like.” 

Season 10 of RHOP is expected to air later this year.

Two Housewives from season 9 won’t be returning: Mia Thornton and Karen Huger. Thornton announced her departure from the series in April, amid a move to Atlanta. Huger, meanwhile, is behind bars after being sentenced to two years in prison, with one year suspended, for her fourth DUI conviction.

The Real Housewives of Potomac can be streamed on Peacock.