Tia Glover is opening up about the dating app bombshell that kicked off the new season of The Real Housewives of Potomac.
In the premiere, Stacey Rusch reveals the news that Tia’s husband, Rob, is on a dating app. Tia spoke exclusively with BLKCinema.com about how she processed the news on camera, stepping away from filming to regroup, where things stand with Gizelle Bryant and Stacey and the season’s explosive fight between Gizelle and Karen Huger.
How Tia Glover processed the news about Rob
Tia said viewers are seeing a compressed version of a moment she was still piecing together.
“One thing that you have to keep in mind is that whole period of time has been edited down to a very small period of time,” Tia said. “I hadn’t seen what Stacey was referring to, what Ashley was referring to, so until I physically laid eyes on it myself, I couldn’t decipher what was what. So I was somewhat guarded in my response. Also, I’m in shock, because I literally went out there to support Wendy, and I really didn’t think that going into that meetup, I would be walking away with shocking news. So you’re seeing me connect the dots in real time.”
“Stacey did give me the option of, do you want me to send it to you, do you want to see it now, and I’m like, I’m not gonna give you that. Let me look at it when I’m ready,” she continued. “I wanted to do that in my own privacy, because I wasn’t going to award her with the shock value.”
She credited her upbringing for her measured response.
“In England, it’s very much speak when spoken to. In Nigeria, it’s very much, you always have to be put together. If your hair is in disarray, your shoes are dirty, it’s a poor reflection on your family,” Tia said. “So neither one of those cultures is such that we are outwardly expressive, good or bad. You’re not going to see somebody roll on the floor crying, but you’re also not going to see somebody jump out their seat elated. We’re very measured, and I appreciated that Wendy stepped in to connect that gap for me.”
Why Tia Glover took a break from filming
Tia said her first season on the show didn’t prepare her for this one.
“Last year, my first year, I feel like I just kind of skated through, because there was so much focus on poor Angel. I feel like Angel bore the brunt of it all,” Tia said. “I think it was a little bit naive for me to think that that would be my housewife career. When I got that information, it was very difficult, because I’m still growing my housewife wings, and this is something that’s very personal, that hurts, it affects my family.”
“I’m gonna be completely honest with you. The next day, I did not film,” she continued. “The other ladies won’t know this, but they put me on a break, because it’s a lot of pressure.”
She said the time away helped her decide what she would share on camera.
“From the time they gave me off, I thought about what I will and won’t do. There are some people who will bare it all for reality TV and for fame. My family’s very precious to me. My children are very precious to me. Rob is very precious to me. And they didn’t sign up for this,” Tia said. “I can do the rat-a-tat-tat and it would be great TV, but would it be good for my family? Would it be good for my children? And that to me matters more than fame, attention, likes or positive comments.”
Where Tia Glover stands with Gizelle and Stacey
Asked about Gizelle already knowing the information, Tia didn’t hold back.
“You’re gonna have to watch, and I think you’ll all be very interested, but I wasn’t happy with Gizelle. I wasn’t,” Tia said. “I’m not quick to take offense. I don’t necessarily assume malintent automatically. So it takes a while for the penny to drop, but oh boy, when it drops, it drops.”
As for Stacey, she said she tried this season, including inviting her on the group’s trip to London.
“I didn’t want anybody to feel isolated. I’m not gonna have you on a trip and treat you badly,” Tia said. “I really tried. I think overall, that ship has sailed. I don’t think it’s ever to return.”
She said her biggest frustration is how differently they approach the show.
“We signed up for a reality show, and we are showing up good, bad, ugly. Some of us are going through very difficult things in front of the world. We’ve got Wendy’s court case, we’ve got Karen’s recovery, we’ve got my marriage. Those aren’t fabricated stories. Those are real,” Tia said. “And then you have somebody that comes in each year, fabricates a story, and I’m like, so is this a reality show or is this a sitcom? We are in a reality show. She’s very much in a sitcom.”
“It’s worked for her, and I think it’s quirky, and if that’s her marketing strategy, I don’t want to knock it at all,” she continued. “But she’s not really letting us into her real situation, and we’re all having to do the hard work. After a while, it gets really old.”
Tia Glover on Karen, Robyn and the season’s ‘synergy’
With Karen and Robyn Dixon back in the mix, Tia said she was especially protective of Karen.
“I was excited to have so many of the OGs back, because they were all gone last year. I was really nervous about Karen. I was excited to work with her, but I felt very protective over her,” she said. “She’s starting a new season in her life, and I was really protective over what her past triggers were, her coming back into this group so soon and whether or not she’d be triggered.”
She called Robyn a strong addition as a friend of the show.
“Robyn works fantastically as a friend of the show,” she said. “She does apply reason. She thinks things through critically. She definitely loves to ask questions, so we had to have some conversations about that.”
Despite everything, Tia said the group clicked.
“Regardless of what I had to go through and how difficult it is, everybody’s difficulties, there was really good synergy amongst us all,” she said. “A synergy that I’ve only experienced in this season.”
Inside the Gizelle and Karen fight
The season’s trailer builds to a heated clash between Gizelle and Karen, with Tia trying to separate them. She said it caught her off guard.
“I’ve heard about the Karen and Gizelle dynamic. I remember some of it from watching them. But I hadn’t seen Gizelle in this rare form, and obviously I was filming with Gizelle last season,” she said. “So it was overwhelming to watch, and difficult to watch, because we never want it to get to how bad it got that day.”
RHOP airs Sundays on Bravo.
Featured image photo credit: NBCU/Bravo
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