Riley Burruss is finally ready to speak on her 2020 rhinoplasty, and she’s not exactly running from the conversation. The Next Gen NYC star recently opened up to her mom, Kandi Burruss, on the Sept. 20 episode of Speak On It, revealing that she still thought she was beautiful before going under the knife. Kandi also dropped some “behind-the-scenes tea,” revealing that the procedure was nearly discussed on The Real Housewives of Atlanta before producers ultimately decided to keep it off camera.
Riley admitted that, looking back, she probably could have waited until she had fully “grown into her features,” but at the time, she simply wasn’t happy with what she saw in the mirror.
Kandi & Riley Burruss defend the nose job, shake off critics
During Speak On It, Kandi said what continues to bother her is how much attention Riley’s nose job receives years later.
“What annoys me about that situation is that— it’s like a million people that have done their nose,” she said. “And it just seems like they keep bringing yours up.”
Kandi also dropped some “behind-the-scenes tea,” revealing that Riley’s procedure could have been addressed on The Real Housewives of Atlanta when it happened.
“We were open to talking about it when we were on Housewives the season that you did it,” Kandi said, explaining that producers ultimately decided not to include the storyline because Riley was still a minor. “They felt like, you know, you were my child,” she continued, adding that producers “didn’t really want to subject you to people saying negative things.”
Riley also cleared up a longstanding assumption that criticism from viewers pushed her to change her appearance.
“I know a lot of people have speculated, they’re like, ‘Oh, people were making comments about my nose, and that’s why I did it,’ because of the public perception or whatever,” Riley said. “I actually had never heard anything about my nose before I did it.”
Instead, Riley said the decision came from her own feelings about her appearance.
“I just felt like my nose was a little bit too big for my face,” she explained. “Looking back, yes, I still think I was beautiful at the time.”
Ultimately, she said it was something that had personally bothered her, particularly when getting ready.
“It’s just something that irritated me, and I think I was a little tired of having to contour my nose so much all the time,” Riley said.
Read more after the flip!
But Riley wasn’t particularly bothered by the backlash. After all, she explained, it was her body and her decision.
Riley also said she felt “embarrassed” by how she was portrayed on Next Gen NYC.
Of course, the nose job isn’t the only thing Riley has had to explain since becoming one of the faces of Peacock’s Next Gen NYC. When the show premiered in June 2025, Riley quickly found herself at the center of drama involving co-star Georgia McCann.
Their friendship got off to a rocky start after Riley declined a goodbye hug when she realized Georgia hadn’t washed her hands. Then came Season 2 — and the infamous pizza fight.
While dealing with the stress of her parents’ real-life separation, Riley became heavily intoxicated, and tensions exploded after Georgia reportedly brought up her drinking and she almost slapped her co-star with a slice.
Giving fans an update on her relationship with Georgia, Riley said she was in a good place with the native New Yorker, well, for now.
“So honestly, you know, we’re good now, but if I am here to explain that, um, really, I think she’s just a little bit calculative, you know, like she will wait until you’re in a vulnerable space or whatever to bring up something she’s known for like a year,” Riley told her mom.
Riley later said she and Georgia reconnected during a Jersey trip for the season. She opened up about her anxiety and everything she had been dealing with, although she said much of that conversation didn’t make it into the show.
Still, watching herself unravel on television wasn’t easy.
“I was honestly really embarrassed watching that back and I feel like, you know, drinking all that, it’s not [easy].”
Riley admitted she was going through “a really rough time” while her family was dealing with major changes, particularly Kandi and Todd Tucker’s divorce.
“I am embarrassed, but I was just going through so much,” she explained. “I fully take accountability for everything that happened, but there was just a lot going on at home. You know, a lot of things changing, me trying to figure out my life with school and work.”
She was also being teased about her mother’s divorce with one text in particular that read:
“All of you Black people always do things like this. I would call you the other word, but I can’t.”
She also opened up about the stress of moving back to Atlanta while coming to terms with the fact that she’ll likely always be recognized as “Kandi’s daughter.”
And these days, Riley can see why viewers had questions about her behavior.
“I do think I was acting a little entitled and obnoxious and a fool, but I really don’t want that to be the perception that people have about me.”
She later added:
“I acted a fool and I see where people are coming from with that. I get that.”
But Riley wants viewers to remember there’s more to her than the mess they saw on TV.
“I really don’t want that to be the perception that people have about me cuz I really don’t think like I’m this mean girl who like makes terrible comments. Sometimes I do make terrible comments, but that’s really not me,” she added.
What do you think of Riley Burruss finally SPEAKING ON IT with Kandi Burruss? Thoughts?
