Former Real Housewives of Potomac cast member Monique Samuels recently shared an update on life after divorce from her longtime husband, Chris Samuels. The 40-year-old went live on her YouTube channel, Tea With Monique, to share life updates and answer fan questions.
After a decade of marriage, the former couple filed for and finalized their divorce in 2023.
Samuels says she’s happier post-divorce, and one of the biggest changes she’s noticed is in her ability to be a better mother. The exes share three children together–daughter Milani and sons Christopher and Chase.
“I’m able to be the mom I always wanted to be and I’ve always been a great mom. I love my children,” she said. “But now it’s almost like I was able to take the reins off and I was really able to dive in deeper to just being the mom I wanted to be because I had the energy now. I didn’t have the constant weight of the arguments or the expectations not being met or the misunderstandings and all of that other stuff.”
Although the divorce was initially hard for them, Samuel’s kids also noticed the difference in her. She said that during a trip to Mexico last year, her children Milani and Christopher commented on how much happier she seemed and how much more energy she had post-divorce. The mom of three said that moment with her kids made her emotional.
“I got so emotional because I was willing to risk my children hating me and so they got to a point of understanding. I was willing to just bite the bullet knowing that what I was doing would ultimately be best for me and my children because I didn’t want them growing up thinking that that is what a relationship should look like. “
Samuels also recounted that months would pass when she and Chris would say nothing to each other except “hi” and “bye.”
“I didn’t feel like that was a good example for them,” she added. “So while people say, ‘oh, when you get divorced, you’re breaking up the home.’ No, the home was already broken. It was already broken and it was broken for a while.”
Samuels says their co-parenting relationship is on good terms now, and the children have transitioned to their new normal.
“Right now our relationship is amicable and I don’t want any drama. I want to make sure that him and I are on the same page for our children’s sake,” she said.
During their time on reality television, Monique and Chris had some difficult moments on Real Housewives of Potomac and Love & Marriage D.C. The former couple often seemed at odds and bumped heads, with fans wondering whether Monique was still committed to the marriage. During her YouTube Live, Monique revealed that the couple had issues before joining reality television. This was in response to a fan asking whether being on television caused them to split.
“At the point where I joined Real Housewives of Potomac, Chris and I were not in a good space. I was very fed up,” she explained. “So when we started reality TV, I was at a point where I was just like, this is just not cutting it. I had been complaining about the same things. And the same things that I had complained about back then, I was still complaining about which ended up ultimately leading to the divorce.”
She also added that reality TV acted as a distraction from their core issues, and the ultimate cause of their divorce was their growing apart and not being able to meet one another’s needs.
We’re glad they’re successfully co-parenting and that life is moving on peacefully for them.