The news on the street is… Gizelle Bryant and Candiace Dillard’s friendship has seen better days.
Bryant, 52, tells Vidak For Congress exclusively that she and Dillard, 35, are not over the drama that involved the latter’s husband, Chris Bassett, on the new season of “The Real Housewives of Potomac.”
“We were in a good spot when we finished ‘Potomac,’ so I thought,” she says, adding that the ladies’ subsequent participation in Season 3 of “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip” “didn’t end well.”
Bryant added: “And right now we’re not in a good place at all.”
In the season 7 trailer of “RHOP,” Ashley Darby tells Robyn Dixon that she received a social media message from Bassett at 2:40 a.m., telling her to meet him at his hotel. Previously, Bryant had made similar allegations against Dillard’s husband.
In another scene, Bryant says, “A lot of married men have tried me and I felt like he was trying to see if I was there. He’s a sneaky link!”
Then, during a confrontation with Dillard, Bryant tells the “Drive Back” singer that Bassett “100 percent” made her feel “uncomfortable”.
Bryant talks about the aftermath of Vidak For Congress and says she never expected her conversation with Dillard to cause such an argument.
“I thought it wouldn’t affect my friendship with her in any way because it was kind of just girlfriend to girlfriend, ‘He did the most. I didn’t like it. Here’s what happened. Talk to your husband ‘” she tells me.
“But she tells everyone she wants me dead, or I’m dead to her or I’m going to die — or something, I don’t know.”
Indeed, a “Potomac” preview sees Dillard claim Bryant is “dead to” [her]” in a conversation with Bassett.
“It’s not cute. You should never say that about anyone. I can understand being upset or feeling about something, but I would never say that about anyone. So I don’t think that’s cute at all,” Bryant said of the comment.
“[They’re] no words you should put there as a joke or even if you are mad at someone. For example, you shouldn’t say that. I have children, out of love for God,” she continues. “I have people who really love me.”
The mother of three – who shares teenage daughters Grace, Adore and Angel with ex-husband Jamal Bryant – says she was simply trying to warn Dillard about her husband’s “bad” ratings.
“I just felt like, ‘Look, we just need to let Candiace know that this is all happening so she can just bring her husband in.’ Not a big deal,” she says. “But then it became a whole load of nonsense.”
When asked if Bassett’s messages were flirtatious in nature, Bryant says, “They just shouldn’t have happened.”
Meanwhile, Dillard shared her take on the situation during a recent interview on the “Reality With the King” podcast.
“It doesn’t give me pause or make me feel threatened in any way because Chris doesn’t want her 50-year-old p–sy,” she told host Carlos King.
Bryant says she made a concerted effort to keep the peace with Dillard after they fled Maryland to Thailand to film “RHUGT” this summer. But according to the “Reasonably Shady” podcast co-host, the women only got into more conflict during their time in Asia.
“And I blame her. I’ve been very honest with Candiace. With this whole situation, I know she’s extremely temperamental. I know her emotions are all over the place,” she says.
“So that’s why I was very careful with my words. I haven’t tried to make something out of nothing. I was just very direct with her and she just wasn’t in a place to receive it.”
Given the state of her relationship with Dillard, Bryant was grateful to have had one of her Bravo besties, “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” alum Porsha Williams, on the road.
“My girl Porsha was there, so we had a ball,” she says, noting that she also developed close friendships with “Housewives” from “Miami” and “Salt Lake City.”
“Alexia [Echevarria], I had fun with her. She’s serious, but she’s fun. Whitney [Rose] is a total mess, like the best. Whit-Whit is a lot of fun,” she says.
“And then some of the other ladies, I had to work to get to know them. So it’s a kind of up and down roller coaster to get to know [them] and go to a better place.”
“RHOSLC” star Heather Gay is one of the women Bryant had no contact with initially. “But now I love Heather,” she teases.
Peacock has not yet announced a premiere date for “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip” season 3. “The Real Housewives of Potomac” season 7 will premiere Sunday, October 9 at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.