In Praise of Marlo Hampton, RHOA’s Secret MVP

You know that one friend who you always ran into at the group hang? Maybe you never spent that much time with them one-on-one, but just seeing their face in the crowd signaled to you that the night was bound to be a good one. We’ve all got someone in our lives like that.

And in the world of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, that someone is Marlo Hampton.

Always only a friend-of, Marlo’s been a stable, yet peripheral presence on the Georgia-based installment of Bravo’s hit franchise for nearly a decade—until now, that is. Come May 1, she’ll finally be holding a peach as a full-time cast member on RHOA‘s 14th season. It’s a well-deserved honor considering Marlo has been around longer than several members of the current cast, watching OGs come and go over the years. Hell, she’s done the seemingly unthinkable and outlasted the Housewife who introduced her. (Pour one out for the one and blooping only NeNe Leakes.)

For whatever reason, that all-important peach eluded her for a while, but it’s not hard to see why the powers-that-be finally wised up after keeping Marlo around in some capacity since her introduction all the way back in season four. And that’s because, like that friend we all have, Marlo’s a damn good time. Not only that, she makes damn good TV and just might be this season’s secret MVP.