One of our favorite RHOA alums and ESSENCE cover stars, Cynthia “Cheekbones” Bailey, is having a moment. Recently she graced the cover of Harper’s Bazaar Serbia, looking regal and talking about the power of her “third act,” which is stepping into her next role, acting. This moment also marks a new personal development chapter for Bailey, moving forward after her divorce from Mike Hill and still believing in love.
Bailey graced our television screens again during last Sunday night’s episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, got real about her divorce from Mike Hill, and decided to attend a sexy party as a newly single lady. In conversation with one of her friends on the show, multi-hyphenate entrepreneur Kandi Burruss, the former model gently spoke about her split with the sports commentator, saying she had been “just rebuilding my life and loving being back at Lake Bailey.” Although Bailey admitted that she wasn’t ready to go too much into detail about her fresh divorce, filed in 2022, after only two years of marriage, she continued, anyway.
She said, “You know it just sucks when — you know, this is my second divorce and it’s like, ‘Wow.’ On one hand, I don’t want to stay in something if I’m not happy. But then, you know, I wake up, and the reality is, I’m a 55-year-old woman, and it’s like, ‘All right, damn,’ you know?”
However, being single hasn’t entirely shifted the entrepreneur’s viewpoint on romance. “I’m a Pisces,” she added, “so it’s like, I’m always gonna live for love.”
She added that the split felt like a new page — but not necessarily in a good way. “So here I am, starting all over again. I am very disappointed that my marriage did not work out. God is moving my steps, even if it’s away from my last marriage.”
Bailey’s ex previously told PEOPLE that their friendship remains strong, even amid their divorce. “Even though our relationship is ending, our friendship remains rock solid, and for that, I am grateful,” he said. “Honestly, we’ve been thinking about going our separate ways for the last few months, so it was good for us both to have that time to process it all privately, and I can smile knowing she’ll always be there for me as I will be for her.”
We look forward to watching Bailey blossom in her new single era.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
