Todd Tucker isn’t shying away from the tough topics. During a candid conversation on Ryan Cameron Uncensored, the longtime Real Housewives of Atlanta figure opened up about the end of his marriage to Kandi Burruss, the “scheme Todd set up” catchphrase, and THAT shocking smithereens scene he recently shared featuring Shamea Morton and Bolo.
Source: Unique Nicole / Getty
The filmmaker also addressed criticism from his stepdaughter Riley Burruss over his social media activity, explained why he’s publicly documenting his post-divorce life, and revealed how faith is helping him heal after the end of his marriage.
Todd Tucker Pushes Back On The ‘Schemer’ Label
Long before their divorce, #RHOA viewers watched the Old Lady Gang helmed by Kandi’s mom, Mama Joyce, repeatedly question Todd’s intentions.
During Ryan Cameron Uncensored, Todd reflected on how quickly his behind-the-scenes role seemingly became part of the narrative surrounding him.
“So, I dealt with the budgets, logistics,” he said of his production responsibilities. “Dealing with the producers, they have asks. You know, I give them options. I don’t like to say no, but I would give them options. And, you know, I guard the budget.”
“So I went from that to a schemer somehow,” he added.
As for Mama Joyce and her sisters’ longtime skepticism, including allegations that he was scheming, Todd said he understands their instinct to protect Kandi, but believes it could have been done without disrespecting him.
“My ex, her mom and, you know, her people, I guess they were trying to protect her,” he said.
When a Ryan Cameron Uncensored host pointed out that family members sometimes feel compelled to pick a side, Tucker agreed—but only to an extent.
“Yeah, but you don’t have to be disrespectful,” he said. “I understand. I mean, it’s cool. You’re going to protect your people.”
Source: Paras Griffin / Getty
Todd Says He Tolerated ‘A Lot Of Disrespect’ To Keep His Marriage Together
Tucker was equally candid when the conversation turned to his marriage and the well-documented history of relationships unraveling amid the pressures of reality television.
When asked whether he believed his marriage would survive despite the so-called reality TV marriage curse, Todd said he thought he and Kandi had made it, particularly after she left #RHOA.
Looking back, however, he acknowledged that keeping his family together meant tolerating behavior he wouldn’t accept today.
“I was willing to deal with a lot that now I would not deal with,” Todd said. “It was a lot of disrespect. It was a lot of stuff that I’d let just kind of roll off my shoulders, ’cause I was like, ‘I’m trying to keep my family together, and I’m gonna do whatever I have to.’”
That included, he said, enduring a contentious relationship with his mother-in-law.
“If that means that my mama is going to disrespect me, whatever, long as we stay together, we keep that check coming in together, we good,” he said of his mindset at the time.
He also alleged that Mama Joyce’s issues with him extended far beyond what viewers saw on Bravo.
“Her mom was disrespectful off camera,” he said. “It wasn’t like she only do this when the camera [was around]. She didn’t like me.”
Asked why he thinks she never warmed up to him, Todd joked that the problem may not have been him specifically.
“I don’t think she liked anybody,” he said.
Till Divorce Do Us Part Predated Todd And Kandi’s Split By Years
Todd also clarified that the reality show he’s promoting about divorced RHOA husbands was written roughly four years before becoming one himself.
Source: Kandi Burruss and Todd | Paras Griffin / Paras Griffin
“Let me tell you the real: I wrote this show probably four years ago for them [the divorced husbands of The Real Housewives of Atlanta],” he told Ryan Cameron Uncensored.
According to Todd, the original concept included former RHOA husbands Bob Whitfield and Kroy Biermann, among others.
He pitched it to Bravo, but the network ultimately passed.
“They turned it down because they gotta protect their brand, right?” he said. “I pitched it a couple other places. Nobody picked it up. I always thought it was a good show.”
Years later, Todd unexpectedly found himself eligible for his own concept and noted an eerie pattern in some of his other creative projects, which have seemingly preceded real-life relationship drama involving people connected to them.
“The stuff that I write kind of comes true,” Todd said.
After pointing to previous projects, includingDon’t Bring Your Man to Atlanta, Tucker joked that he might need to start examining his scripts a little more closely.
More on the flip!
Todd Explains Why He Posted THAT Shamea Morton Scene
Speaking of Don’t Bring Your Man To Atlanta, Tucker also cleared up the controversy surrounding his eyebrow-raising promotion of the film, which included a steamy scene featuring #RHOA star/his ex-wife’s bestie, Shamea Morton.
While encouraging followers to purchase tickets, Tucker shared a graphic smithereens scene featuring Shamea and Michael “Bolo” Bolwaire captioned, “I may direct the best sex scenes!” It also included a #RHOA scene of Shamea crying because her husband Gerald Mwangi was displeased with it.
When viewers questioned the provocative footage and its use as a promotional tool, Tucker defended the scene with a straightforward response: “It’s acting.”
But during Ryan Cameron Uncensored, Todd said his understanding of Gerald Mwangi’s feelings about his wife’s movie scene was different.
According to Tucker, Gerald had already attended a screening of Don’t Bring Your Man to Atlanta roughly a year earlier, and Todd specifically checked with Shamea afterward to make sure her husband was comfortable.
“We did a screening a year ago on this movie, and her husband was there,” Todd said. “I actually was like, ‘Yo, was he cool?’ She’s like, ‘Oh yeah, he cool. It’s nothing. It’s nothing.’”
Because Tucker is no longer involved with #RHOA, he said he wasn’t following the current season closely and didn’t know Morton and her bestie Kelli Potter had since filmed a scene discussing Gerald’s apparent discomfort with her onscreen intimacy.
“Fast forward, I’m not on Housewives anymore, so I’m not keeping up with what their stories are,” he said. “Supposedly they did a scene where they talk about how he had an issue with the sex thing.”
Given what Shamea previously told him, Todd admitted he questioned whether Gerald’s apparent objection was being amplified for reality TV.
“In my head, I’m thinking they just putting on for TV because she told me he was cool,” he said.
So Todd, ever the producer, saw an opportunity to connect the Housewives conversation directly to his film.
“I take the scene from Housewives, and I put my video of the sex scene in it,” he explained. “So now people can connect what supposedly he was mad at.”
According to Tucker, Morton contacted him after seeing the mashup.
“She did hit me after, but she didn’t complain that he was mad,” Todd said. “She was like, ‘Dang, why would you do it that way?’”
“Yo, it’s gonna get numbers!” Todd said he told her.
Still, Todd said that when Shamea ultimately asked him to remove the post, he respected her request and took it down.
Todd Responds To Riley Burruss’ Criticism Of His Social Media Posts
Todd also addressed his relationship with Riley Burruss after his stepdaughter publicly questioned some of his post-split social media behavior.
When Cameron asked whether Riley’s comments made him reconsider what he shares online, Tucker confirmed that he reached out to her directly.
“I hit her up. I told her I love her,” he said.
Todd nevertheless pushed back against the idea that he should remain quiet about what he’s experiencing simply because Kandi has traditionally been the more public-facing person in their relationship.
“As soon as a guy does it, it’s crazy,” he said, pointing out that Kandi has spent decades in the spotlight as a singer, actress, entrepreneur and reality star.
But after roughly a decade of appearing on #RHOA and having everything from his finances to his marriage and relationship with his mother-in-law dissected publicly, Todd believes he should be able to tell his own story now.
“This isn’t messy. This is my journey of my life,” he said. “It was okay when I was on Housewives. It was okay when people blasted me on Housewives or disrespected me, right? So now, y’all gonna get this journey too.”
Tucker added that he doesn’t see documenting this chapter as simply exploiting his divorce.
Todd Tucker Turns To Church As He Heals From His Divorce
As for where things stand now, Tucker said he and Kandi separated on July 15 and finalized their divorce in March.
With their marriage officially behind him, Todd said he’s leaning on his faith while figuring out what comes next.
“I’ve been going to church,” he said, revealing that he attends Change Church. “It’s done a lot for me.”
Therapy is also part of his plan. Tucker said he hopes to find a therapist with a spiritual foundation who can offer him direct, honest guidance as he processes the end of his marriage.
And while he may be embracing this new chapter publicly, Todd admitted that navigating it privately can still be difficult.
He recalled feeling so lonely one night that he left home and headed to the club rather than sit alone with the feeling.
“I was so lonely last night, I left and went to Whiskey Mistress,” he said.
Still, Tucker isn’t trying to immediately replace his marriage with another relationship. He said he isn’t ready to date and understands that adjusting to single life after more than a decade with Kandi will take time.
