Candiace Dillard on How “Heinous” Claims by RHOP Cast Impacted Marriage, Breaking Fourth Wall, and Escort Claim

Candiace Dillard-Bassett is still reeling over the “heinous” accusations made against her husband, Chris Bassett, throughout the first half of the seventh season of The Real Housewives of Potomac.

During a new interview, Candiace opened up about how claims made by Gizelle Bryant and Ashley Darby impacted Chris and their marriage before looking back at the moment in which she broke the fourth wall of production, explaining why Gizelle should be “recast,” and offering an update on her IVF journey.

“It’s been challenging, not in a way that broke my husband and I apart, but challenging in a way that forced us to have to come together in a way we never have before,” Candiace admitted during a November 22 interview with Entertainment Tonight. “Just seeing my husband be bewildered and just astonished by such heinous accusations, all for entertainment, has been really hurtful … [And] knowing that this is not his character, it created a lot of tension outside of our house — and a lot of glue for us inside.”

After Gizelle confronted Candiace about Chris, claiming he made her uncomfortable during a private chat at the season six reunion taping, Candiace reached her breaking point with the accusations and broke the fourth wall with a stern warning to executive producer Eric Fuller.

“If [this season is] going to be about maligning my husband, you don’t want me here,” she declared. “I’m not gonna have it. … It’s bullsh-t. If you want that, Michael Darby is available for that. The a–grabbing motherf-cker that likes to actually make people feel uncomfortable, he’s available for that. Not my husband.”

And after sharing her thoughts about the narrative being put out about Chris, Candiace told Eric she expected her fourth wall break to be included in season seven.

“I had to get out of there because I saw the bad acting. It was like a bad Broadway show that two people bought tickets to, and I couldn’t sit there anymore,” she recalled, adding that she and Chris are “grateful” the moment was aired.

Although Candiace was able to speak her mind to Eric amid production, Chris felt his side of the story wasn’t being shared and took to Twitter as the episodes aired to defend his character.

“I don’t blame him for looking for an outlet to speak. Unlike the women on the show, he doesn’t have a permanent platform to speak and to defend himself,” Candiace explained. “[And] in our household — it’s been very dark, morose, and I supported him in finding a place to just to get his voice out, because for him to have to wait until the reunion to speak on a platform? It’s torture.”

“This subject matter that we’re dealing with this season is not to be played with,” she continued. “It’s not something that will go away easily. It’s something that will live with my family for a long time.”

Amid Gizelle’s allegations against Chris, Candiace called for a “recast” of RHOP, mainly in regard to Gizelle.

“If you don’t have anything real to offer to the show maybe you shouldn’t be a part of the show,” she reasoned, shading her co-star’s premeditated attack.

“It just feels gross. It feels icky, and it feels disingenuous to our show and what our show stands for, which is friendship and family and reality,” she shared. “It sets women back so far, to use a platform like this to lie, or embellish, or create drama where there should be none.”

Still, Candiace isn’t completely opposed to a reconciliation with Gizelle.

“Right is right and wrong is wrong, and if she can get to a place where she can own what she has created of her own volition for entertainment purposes, then maybe I can get to a place where I respect her again, but as it stands I’m not worried about it,” she noted.

And the same goes with Ashley.

“It’s not me, it’s her,” Candiace stated. “I agitate something in her, and it creates this need, this passion, for throwing darts at the Candiace board.”

One particular moment that likely agitated Ashley was when Candiace claimed she knew a male escort used by Ashley’s estranged husband, Michael, which Candiace admits wasn’t her “finest moment.”

“The moment that you need a moment, you are back to lying and trying to malign my husband in a very damaging way, so, as I always say, you bring grenades to the party? I bring rocket-launchers,” she admitted.

Although Candiace has very strong feelings towards many of her co-stars, she seemed to be slightly forgiving toward Mia Thornton, even after seeing that she threw a glass of water at Wendy Osefo during the cast’s trip to Miami.

“I think Mia is a sweet girl, I think she means well,” Candiace explained. “With that said, I also think that Mia is still finding her way on this platform and can get caught up in the popularity contest of it all… I just I want so badly for her to just learn that there is power in marching to the beat of your own drum.”

“She gets caught up in the moment, and it doesn’t bode well for her,” she added.

Moving on to her career in the music industry, Candiace acknowledged that it’s been an “uphill battle.”

“You do have to deal with those naysayers and the people who think that you’re ‘just a Housewife who wants to do a song,’ but for me, the key has just been to keep my head down and keep working,” Candiace shared.

Also, during the interview, Candiace offered an update on her IVF journey with Chris.

“I won’t spoil it, but it is a tumultuous journey,” she teased.

RHOP Live Viewing – This is also the live viewing thread for tonight’s all-new episode of the Real Housewives of Potomac season seven, so feel free to comment and chat below as the new episode airs at 8/7c on Bravo.