Garcelle Beauvais announced her departure from “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” after five seasons on Tuesday. She broke the news via an Instagram video.
“Hey guys,” she said. “So I have some news. I’ve decided to leave ‘Beverly Hills.’ It’s been a wild ride. I mean, some amazing things have happened, and some hard things have also happened, but it’s been a ride nevertheless. One of the reasons why I’m leaving is my family, my boys, their last year of high school is next year and I want to be a part of that. And Jade is starting a new career and I want to be a part of that too. And secondly, I have the most exciting projects that I am developing, producing and acting in. I can’t tell you anything right now, but you’ll know soon.“I just want to say thank you to Andy Cohen, to Bravo, NBCUniversal, Evolution, 32 Flavors, the producers, the crew, and of course, the ladies,” she continued. “Andy Cohen says I can come back anytime. The door will always be open, so you never know, I might pop back in sometime. To the fans: I want to say thank you so much. You guys have cheered me on, supported me, and sometimes even fought for me or on my behalf. It means a lot and I hope you guys will continue on this journey with me. It’s not goodbye, it’s see you later — so see you later.”
A source close to production confirms the departure was Beauvais’ idea, in one of the rare “Real Housewives” instances of a cast member actually quitting, and not being fired.
After Beauvais announced her departure, Bravo released a trailer for the reunion episodes of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” the first of which premieres on April 1. In it, she appeared to be getting into it with Kyle Richards (about whether she’s seeing Morgan Wade), Dorit Kemsley (about the 2021 break-in of her house) and Erika Girardi (about her accusations Beauvais isn’t interesting) over various matters that have come up during the season. The trailer shows Beauvais walking off the set, saying, “I am just so fucking sick of it.” And then, after having changed into civilian clothes, she says: “I can’t be friends with people like that. I don’t trust them. They’re all fucking assholes.”
Beauvais joined “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” in 2020 and became its first Black cast member. This past December, Variety selected Beauvais for its annual list of powerful women on reality television, noting that she had leveraged her time on the show to make a deal with Lifetime Television for movies she’s both starred in and produced. “If being on the ‘Housewives’ can cause cast members to occasionally lose their dignity, Beauvais defies that axiom,” the entry read. “Now in her fifth season on the show, Beauvais manages to both stir the pot and rise above it — a rare skill.”
Beauvais was subjected to racism during her time on “Real Housewives,” though. In 2022, one of her twin sons, Jax, then 14, was attacked by racist bots online. He opted not to appear at all during the current 14th season of the show as a result, a decision Beauvais endorsed. The Season 14 finale of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” airs this week.
Before “Real Housewives,” Beauvais starred in series such as “The Jamie Foxx Show” and “NYPD Blue,” and has had roles in films like “Coming to America,” “White House Down” and “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”
Kate Aurthur contributed to this report. This story was updated later on March 25 after the trailer for “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” was released.
