Shamea Morton Mwangi isn’t letting any friendships hold her back in her sophomore season as a peach holder in The Real Housewives of Atlanta on Bravo.

Last season, the self-proclaimed female Jamie Foxx and Atlanta’s best friend found herself struggling to make sense of the fallout between her and her longtime BFF, Porsha Williams. After starting out as a fan favorite, viewers questioned whether her allegiance to keeping a seemingly non-reciprocal friendship was more important to her than setting boundaries and standing on her own. This season, she says she’s doing the latter, and she doesn’t care whose feathers she ruffles.

The radio host has been a staple on the show for over a decade, but now viewers get to see more of who she is. With new friendships, new business ventures, and an ever-busy family life, Morton Mwangi believes viewers will love what they see. Ahead of the season premiere, Blavity’s Shadow and Act spoke with the multi-talented wife and mother of two about all to come this season.

So you started off Season 16 as a viewer fave and, with public criticism regarding how they feel you handled your fallout with Porsha, things seemingly changed. What is your response to some who felt like you cared more about holding on to Porsha’s validation than stepping into your own star power?

I’m OK with that, to be honest. I always pride myself on just being a good person and being a good friend. And I’m not working on anyone else’s clock or timetable. I think that we all process things differently. And that was a childhood friend of mine. So you don’t get over that kind of stuff overnight. But now, I’m in a great space, and I’m happy, and I know that you’re gonna really enjoy this next season because I’ve made some amazing friends. I’m super excited about the new cast members. So I think we really have an amazing group, including Porsha. I think all of us bring something amazing to this cast.

Coming off the reunion last year and heading into filming, what were your hopes for this new season?

Just to live in my truth and just be who I am unapologetically. Cynthia said some really wise information to me at the reunion to just stop sweeping things under the rug, and if you don’t like something, let it be known, and if they like it, they don’t, whatever, at least you would have just been forthcoming and outright, just honest with your feelings. And I’ve done a great job of that this season, and honestly, it probably ruffled a few feathers, but I have zero regrets. And that’s all that matters, honestly, just living your life without any regrets.

And what I love in the trailer is that we see you wanting to step into your entrepreneurial era and you now have a rum company. So talk to me about how that came to be.

Yes, so I launched my rum company based off of a Grenadian rum from a company named Clark’s Court that I tried when I was there last season for Season 16. That’s where Kelli and I hosted our cast trip and I enjoyed it. The people were so kind, the food was great, but the rum was amazing. And I’m not even really a rum drinker. I’m a rosé, champagne, and tequila drinker. But that rum was so good, and it’s like good for your libido, too. So you don’t need Viagra when you have rum from Grenada. So I really was like, ‘I can bring this back to the States.’ Why not? My husband was like, ‘Are you sure? Like, what are you doing?’ And I was like, ‘OK, now I got to prove him wrong. Now I have to prove to him that I can do it.’ And it’s working out. It’s coming together. It’s a little slow, but it is really amazing. I can’t wait for you to try it.

Speaking of your husband, I know that you previously said that he was a little reluctant to be on the show, hence why you didn’t join as a full-time cast member for some time, and he also didn’t attend the reunion last season. Has he come around more and will we see him more in this season?

Yeah, you’ll get to see my husband, Gerald, a lot, but I do appreciate them being able to stay focused on me as a housewife. It’s called The Real Housewives, not The Real House Husbands. And I’m just blessed to be able to have a husband that is supportive of me in this chapter of my life. He supports me in many ways, but he’s like, ‘I’m not for the camera, that’s never been my passion.’ And I support that and I respect that. And I do appreciate him just stepping in and really just begrudgingly coming on these cameras…I’m not forcing anything. If he says he’s coming, great. If he can’t make it, alright, fine. You’ll see that right off the gate, first episode. It’s like, ‘OK, well, here I am by myself at the party. Here we go.’

You’re also close with Kelli this season, and I know she’s seemingly at odds with Porsha. So, how do you go about navigating shifts in relationships this season overall?

You know, in the past I would walk on eggshells like, ‘Oh man, this person don’t like this person. I can’t hang out, I can’t see them.’ But I’m my own person, right? I am a grown woman. I can like and love whoever I want. And I did a great job doing that when Kandi and Porsha were at odds. I was like, ‘I love y’all both.’ And I’m gonna continue to do that now that Kelli and Porsha are in a weird space. I’m cool. That ain’t my business. I’m gonna stay out of it. I’m gonna mind my business.

And in the premiere episode, you and Drew kind of get into a little tizzy, if you will. You came in pretty hot. Where does the ongoing annoyance with Drew stem from?

I don’t know, it’s an awkward space. But Drew is just being Drew. My little nickname for her is Drewnocchio with all them lies. But I just wanted her to really focus on her Zoom call and not me. That’s really what I wanted for her. But the focus came over here. So, it was like, ‘OK, girl, what do you want? Do you really want to see my husband that bad?’ It was a little weird.

And you mentioned just loving the cast. So how would you rate the newbies coming on to?

I think we have a great cast. Of course, we got Pinky Cole from Slutty Vegan. Pinky is a walking TED Talk. She’s always got a business idea, and they’re actually really good ideas that she has, and then of course, K. Michelle, amazing country singer AKA Pudding, doing her thing. She is a firecracker, a ball of fun and a ball of energy, and I love her down. We have a great team. I honestly feel like every person at home on their couch watching this season can find someone that resonates with them, that they’ll have something in common with, that they’re like, ‘Oh, I’m team this person or team that person.’ I enjoy it. I enjoy Angela and Charles. They are a fun, dynamic duo.

Speaking of being team people, this last one is a two-parter. I know that you’ve had past issues with Phaedra. So tell me where things stand with you guys this season, and then if you had to summarize this season for you in a quote or a sentence or just a word, what would it be?

I really like Phaedra. She adds a lot to the show. She’s been around for a very long time. And she’s a boss. She has many jobs. She’s a great mom. She has two beautiful sons who I actually adore now. Her sons, now anytime I see them, I’m running to hug their neck. So, I would have loved to have gotten a lot closer with her this past season, but who knows, maybe in my junior season of Housewives of Atlanta. But I like Phaedra.

And then just leave us with a sentence or a quote of what this season of Real Housewives represents for Shamea.

My favorite song right now is I ran it through the trigger. Season 17, I’m gonna let them know.