Garcelle Beauvais announced that she is leaving “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” after five seasons on Tuesday. She announced the news in a video on Instagram.
“Hey everyone,” she said. “I have some news. I’ve decided to leave ‘Beverly Hills.’ It’s been an amazing ride. I mean, some great things have happened, and some hard things have happened, but it’s been an amazing ride. One of the reasons I left is my family, my sons, their senior year of high school is next year and I wanted to be a part of that. And Jade is starting a new career and I wanted to be a part of that. And secondly, I have the most exciting projects that I’m developing, producing, and acting in. I can’t tell you anything right now, but you’ll hear about it soon.
“I just want to say thank you to Andy Cohen, to Bravo, to NBCUniversal, to Evolution, to 32 Flavors, to the producers, to the crew, and of course to the girls,” she continued. “Andy Cohen said I could come back at any time. The door is always open, so you never know, I might come back at some point. To my fans: I want to say thank you so much. You cheered for me, supported me, and sometimes even fought for me or on my behalf. It means a lot and I hope you will continue this journey with me. This is not goodbye, it’s see you later — so see you later.”
A source close to the production team confirmed that the departure was Beauvais’ idea, making it one of the few instances of a cast member actually quitting rather than being fired on “Real Housewives.”
After Beauvais announced her departure, Bravo released a trailer for the reunion episodes of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” the first of which will premiere on April 1. In it, she appears to argue with Kyle Richards (about whether she’s dating Morgan Wade), Dorit Kemsley (about her 2021 home invasion), and Erika Girardi (about her accusation that Beauvais isn’t interesting) over various issues that have come up throughout the season. The trailer shows Beauvais walking off set and saying, “I’m really sick of this.” And then, after changing into civilian clothes, she says, “I can’t be friends with people like that. I don’t trust them. They’re all assholes.”
Beauvais joined “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” in 2020, becoming the show’s first black cast member. Last December, Variety included Beauvais in its annual list of the most powerful women in reality TV, noting that she used her time on the show to land a deal with Lifetime Television for movies she both starred in and produced. “If being on ‘Housewives’ can sometimes cause cast members to lose their dignity, Beauvais has challenged that axiom,” the entry reads. “Now in her fifth season, Beauvais both stirs it up and rises above it—a rare skill.”
Beauvais, however, has endured racism during her time on “Real Housewives.” In 2022, one of her twin sons, Jax, was 14, was attacked by racist bots online. As a result, he chose not to appear on the show’s current 14th season, a decision Beauvais supports. The season 14 finale of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” airs this week.
Before joining “Real Housewives,” Beauvais starred on series such as “The Jamie Foxx Show” and “NYPD Blue,” and has had roles in films such as “Coming to America,” “White House Down” and “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”
Kate Aurthur contributed to this report. This story was updated later on March 25 after the trailer for “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” was released.