‘It will feel like a whole season by itself,’ the ‘RHOM’ star reveals.
Kiki Barth is still reeling from Season 7 of The Real Housewives of Miami. The latest season of the Miami-set iteration of Bravo’s beloved reality TV franchise is winding down, with a highly anticipated reunion set to premiere soon. While Kiki is no stranger to the drama (she has appeared as a “Friend Of” on the series since it returned in Season 4), this season seems to be her most intense yet, an aspect that the Haitian model reflects on when chatting with Parade about her time filming.
“I’m always just the fun, exciting one who is friends with everyone, but I feel like this season was challenging for me because there was a lot going on,” Kiki explains to us. For years now, Kiki has had a sturdy place within this friend group that includes big personalities like Larsa Pippen, Alexia Nepola, Lisa Hochstein and others. Not specifically tied down to one side or the other, Kiki is able to sit down and film with anyone, usually appearing as the voice of reason and often comedic relief on the show.
This season, Kiki was able to share more of her life, though she still remains a friend of (despite fans’ demands to ‘give her a mojito’). She tells us, “I opened up a bit more, and you guys got to see more of my personal life and my struggle.” Through the episodes that have already aired, we’ve spent more time as viewers with Kiki’s family than we have in the years she has been on the series. “I’m happy that I was able to share a bit more of myself,” she adds.
Of course, this season is not just fun personal scenes, as it has shaped up to be one of the most dramatic yet, with various fractures affecting the group. “One minute we’re all good, and the next minute our entire friendship dynamic changes,” she say, while reiterating that she still tries her best to be a good friend to the ladies. Going down the list, Kiki offers her two cents on the various feuds, starting with Lisa vs. Larsa.
“I have to agree with Larsa,” Kiki explains, referring to how Lisa did not unfollow Larsa’s ex, Marcus Jordan, which naturally upset her. “If I had a friend, who I introduced to a boyfriend…for me, as a friend, I would want my friend to unfollow whoever that is, especially the person going around bashing me. That’s just my own preference; that doesn’t mean I have any issues with Lisa.”
As for the rift between former besties Guerdy Abraira and Julia Lemigova, Kiki also gives us her candid thoughts, especially as she faces some response from fans who wish she stood by Guerdy a bit more. She maintains that Julia’s drink throw at Guerdy was “horrible,” and that she was just as shocked as Guerdy was in that moment, as she also got water thrown at her.
In regard to some of the fan backlash to her telling Guerdy to “calm down” after the incident, she explains that she was not coming from a bad place. “It’s what I would want my friend to do for me,” she explains. “People think I didn’t do enough? In that moment … you don’t really know what’s going to happen next. This can go left or right real quick.”
She adds that her instinct was to “calm everybody down.” She adds, “For some people, I was too calm … I would want somebody to calm my a– down, not because I’m scared,” but that its her instinct to de-escalate the moment.
“It’s unfortunate that these are two best friends,” she adds when discussing Guerdy and Julia’s rift. “It’s sad and I would be anything to try to bring them back, but sometimes when you reach a certain level, I don’t think there is any going back.”
Kiki also teases the upcoming reunion, which she tells us will be one to watch. “It was a long reunion. It was tough, it was funny, it was comical, it was dramatic,” she says, while hinting that “bombs” were dropped. “I keep telling everyone, it will feel like a whole season by itself.”
The Real Housewives of Miami airs Thursday nights on Bravo, with episodes streaming next day on Peacock.
