Eva Marcille leaving ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’

Eva Marcille has announced that she is leaving The Real Housewives of Atlanta (RHOA) after three seasons.

Marcille’s exit from the series was announced on Tuesday morning on the Rickey Smily Morning Show.

“I appreciate the bond of friendship that I’ve made with my castmates and strong personal relationships I have with numerous executives and producers of Bravo,” Marcille, 35, said in a statement.

“I am thankful for the opportunity I was provided, however, after speaking with my family and representatives, I believe that what I hope to accomplish for the culture and community will be better served by focusing on other opportunities,” Marcille continued.

“I look forward to serving the community on Ricky Smiley Morning show and finding other ways to be a voice during this transformational time (in) our country for people of colour,” she said.

Marcille joined the cast of The Real Housewives of Atlanta in 2017 for Season 10 as a “friend of the Housewives” but she became a main cast member by Season 11 of the series.

“The time that I spent on Housewives, I enjoyed myself, I cried, I laughed, I obviously fought, and we did a lot of things,” Marcille said on The Rickey Smiley Morning Show. “But most importantly, I made some great friendships with some beautiful women.”

She said she knew her “time was up” with the series when she started growing her family with her husband Michael Sterling.

Sterling and Marcille share sons Michael Jr., 2, and Maverick, 8 months. The former America’s Next Top Model Season 3 winner is also the mother of daughter Marley, 6, with her ex Kevin McCall.

“There is a lot of work to be done,” she added. “And so, I decided to spend my time and energy focusing on my kids and my community. And not so much reality show business.”

Many fans of the series took to Twitter to discuss Marcille’s exit ahead of Season 13.