The Real Housewives of Potomac fans better buckle up for a wild ride with Ashley Darby and Stacey Rusch.
“The hardest part I have about Stacey is I see her and I take her for what she presents to me, because she comes across as very genuine. I think it’s that Midwest in her. She’s from Detroit,” Ashley, 37, exclusively shared with Us Weekly while celebrating season 10 of the Bravo reality show. “She has that sort of charm that I think, ‘Oh, she’s obviously going to be honest and genuine with me.’”
But if you ask one of the original cast members of The Real Housewives of Potomac, there’s sometimes more than what meets the eye regarding Stacey, 53.
“Then, when there are moments that contradict that, I’m like, ‘Wow! I feel like she’s tricking me. I feel like I’m falling for something with her,’” Ashley explained to Us. “That is why I get really upset, because I come in and I try to be as honest with her as possible, and I just want it reciprocated back to me. It just feels like she’s trying to trick me.”
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When the season 10 premiere aired on October 5, fans were surprised to see Stacey back with her ex-husband Thiemo Rusch.
According to Ashley, viewers weren’t the only ones shook by the news.
“Babe, shock and awe,” she told Us. “I had no idea, and the only way is because I started seeing little things with her having a ring on. I was like, ‘That’s not costume jewelry.’”
As for claims that Stacey may have paid Thomas Anthony “TJ” Jones to be her boyfriend on the show last season, Ashley believes it’s true. (Stacey has consistently denied the allegations.)
“I do think that they’re still having some business arrangement issues,” Ashley claimed. “I think that’s still happening.”
When asked whether she believes Stacey promised TJ 50 percent of her earnings from the show, Ashley claimed to have seen proof from an unidentified individual that it’s the case.
“Let me tell you, I saw the paperwork. I zoomed in — Gizelle [Bryant] and I both,” Ashley claimed. “It was actual, intimate details. I tried to grab my phone and take the picture, but [the person] was real quick.”
While viewers will have to watch what happens between Stacey and the entire cast, Ashley teased that there’s a lot of “ebbing and flowing in our group.” (Dr. Wendy Osefo, Keiarna Stewart, Tia Glover and Angel Massie are also main cast members.)
“Obviously with Stacey, it’s just quite a roller-coaster ride with her,” she explained. “The dynamic shifted quite a bit, mainly because of incidents that happened or things in our own personal lives.”
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No matter what has happened in the past, Ashley said she is still open to building a friendship with Stacey.
“I never give up on anybody. I really don’t,” she told Us. “I will always have space for Stacey. It’s just a matter of her meeting me halfway.”
The Real Housewives of Potomac airs on Bravo Sundays at 8 p.m. ET. Stream old episodes anytime on Peacock.
