Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker may be doing their best to navigate the murky waters of divorce and coparenting but the Xscape singer’s eldest daughter, Riley, is getting candid about her relationship with her stepfather.
During a sit-down on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Riley got real about the toll divorce can take on everyone else involved in a relationship. Kandi and Todd’s marriage lasted for over a decade and their relationship predates their nuptials, making Todd a key father figure throughout much of Riley’s young life. Understandably, the split and the circumstances surrounding it, hit her hard.
“You know, the divorce shifted a lot of things in my life,” she explained. “So, it’s not only the divorce — it’s also everything else that comes with that. You know, we’re trying to still be a blended family but there are some things that irk my nerves. You know, you sometimes look at his social media, and I’m like, ‘What is going on here?’ But we’re OK.”
She continued,
“I will say that yes, a divorce happens between two people, but it affects more than just those two people. So it is really hard for me. I had a hard time recently, and during filming I had a hard time as well, ‘cause that’s when I first learned about everything, so it’s just been a year of adapting. It’s tough at times, it’s easy at times, it’s confusing. I’m still learning, honestly.”
Watching Kandi survive a crushing divorce spurred by infidelity, has also had an effect on how Riley sees her mother, especially through more adult eyes.
“I’ve learned from my mom that there are a lot of things that she protects in herself, how strong she is, how courageous, because of all the stuff I didn’t even know,” Riley said. “She wants to protect me the most she can. So being able to do that for your children, I think is just a powerful thing.”
Riley had a lot of her response to the divorce between Kandi and Todd play out in front of Bravo cameras during the filming of season 2 of Next Gen NYC, a show that follows the children of reality TV royalty. During the season, Riley was visibly distraught and dealing with the pressures of an upended family life, tension in her friendships all while being one of the only castmates of color on the show. Viewers have either been solely empathetic towards Riley or aggressively against her.
After an intense falling out with castmate and friend Ariana Biermann, Riley took to Instagram to express her apologies for her behavior throughout the season, with many viewers chiming in and applauding her maturity in the situation.
“i obviously know what i did wrong but hey nieces mess up too,” she said in a post.
Sending Riley some love!
