‘RHOA’: Sanya Richards Ross Talks Criticism of Friendship With Marlo Hampton and Sheree Whitfield
The Real Housewives of Atlanta fans are anticipating an epic Season 15. Luckily, all housewives are returning. Sanya Richards Ross made a splash in her first season, both good and bad. One of the major complaints about the newcomer from fans is that she is naive to think her friendships with Marlo Hampton and Sheree Whitfield are solid. But Richards Ross isn’t paying the criticism much mind.
Fans have accused Sanya Richards Ross of trying to fit in with the OGs
The four-time Olympic gold medalist joined the show as a friend of The Game star Drew Sidora in Season 14. At first, the two had a budding friendship. But as episodes went on, it appeared Richards Ross traded in her friendship with Sidora to align herself with the more established housewives.
It’s no secret to RHOA fans that Sidora was the odd girl out in her first season. Fans accused Sidora of jumping shift because she felt Sidora was the least popular amongst the friend circle and an easy target. Sidora shared similar sentiments. The retired track star began to spend tons of time with Whitfield and Hampton.
Richards Ross went from praising Sidora at the start of the season to even denying they were genuinely friends. As for what caused her to step back from Sidora, Richards Ross says she didn’t like how Sidora interacted with the other women in times of conflict, but the fans weren’t buying it.
Sanya Richards Ross says Marlo Hampton and Sheree Whitfield are good friends to her
Not only did fans criticize Richards Ross for seemingly switching on Sidora, but they also felt it was odd that the two people she developed a close relationship with have a longstanding history of being messy in the group. Both Whitfield and Hampton are viewed as bone collectors with minimal storylines who start beef with co-stars to remain relevant on the show.
Some have cautioned Richards Ross to beware of Whitfield and Hampton, especially Hampton because she’s known to be the most vile amongst the ladies. But Richards Ross isn’t bothered.
“I really don’t read a lot of comments about what people are saying about the show because I think it can be draining. And so I’m just going to trust my own instincts when it comes to the ladies on the show,” she told PopCulture.com “And Marlo and I have really built a really strong friendship. She’s been nothing but amazing to me, authentic, reaches out to me almost every day, we talk on the phone every day. So I’m just going to show on camera what’s happening in real life behind the scenes. I’ve had that experience with both Marlo and Sheree. So we’ll see where the relationship goes. But I’m just going to keep leaning into the people who show me a lot of love.”
What she’s excited for viewers to see in Season 15
While Richards Ross is happy to continue to develop, and hopefully restore relationships with her co-stars, she’s also more settled now that she’s going into her second season. In terms of what she’s the most excited to showcase this time around, she wants viewers to see that she’s a boss.
“I think they’re doing a great job this year of covering a lot of stuff that I’m doing,” she said. “My husband’s business is now coming to Atlanta, and then obviously, all the things that I do with Disney or NBC or Nike, and they do a good job of trying to capture as much of it as they can. But at the end of the day, it’s there are seven of us in the cast. So it’s like trying to squeeze in all of that goodness. But so far, so good.”
