Why Were Fans Convinced Bravo Had Fired Ashley Darby From ‘The Real Housewives of Potomac’?

Despite what you might have heard in recent months, The Real Housewives of Potomac OG Ashley Darby has not been fired from the show.

After rumors surfaced online of Bravo not renewing the mother of one’s contract, she seemingly confirmed that she’s still part of the Real Housewives family after replying to an Instagram account denying her rumored firing.

So, exactly caused people to believe Darby had been booted from the show? Keep on reading to find out.

Darby’s husband was accused of sexual assault

Darby may be an OG Housewive of Potomac, but fans were preparing to say goodbye to her after rumors surfaced of her alleged firing.

According to Media Take Out, Darby and her husband, Michael Darby, were not asked to return to RHOP for the series’ fifth season. The report states that this was mainly due to the sexual assault allegations against Michael after he was accused of groping a Bravo cameraman during the filming of season four.

Though the charges against Darby were eventually dropped, it was speculated that the whole situation didn’t sit well with Bravo executives, and they ultimately decided to cut ties with the couple.

While the online report claimed that Darby’s sexual assault accusations played a key part in his and Ashley’s firing, the platform added that that wasn’t the only thing that factored into Bravo not renewing the pair’s contracts.

“Ashley made a lot of comments, that suggested she didn’t want to be here,” a source told MTO. “So we cut her loose.” The source further noted that Bravo was actively looking for Darby’s replacement for the fifth season.

Following the report, fans began weighing in on Darby’s alleged firing on social media, sharing their disappointment over the reality star’s departure from the show.

Darby and her RHOP co-star claimed the rumors were false

Though many people were convinced that Darby was no longer a Real Housewive, the reality star and a few of her castmates spoke out about these rumors on social media.

Following MTO’s report, RHOP star Candiace Dillard-Bassett denied the rumor by tweeting, “Don’t believe everything you read, folks. Lol.”

Around the time Dillard-Bassett posted her tweet, the Instagram account The Black Socialites slammed the claim that Darby had been fired from the show by captioning an Instagram post, “That is a LIE! Ashley is FILMING right now and still has her flute in hand. Nice try.”

After the post was shared, Darby seemingly confirmed that the report of her getting fired was indeed fake news by commenting, “You’re a real one.” 

While no one was really sure who was telling the truth, it was recently revealed that Darby’s alleged firing was nothing but a rumor as she returned for Season 5 just like all the other housewives from last season — with the addition of newcomer, Dr. Wendy Osefo.

It seems like it’ll be a while before we see the last of Darby.

Real Housewives of Potomac airs Sundays at 8 p.m. EST on Bravo.