The Real Housewives of Potomac's Candiace Dillard Opens Up About Becoming a Stepmom

Candiace Dillard never saw herself marrying someone like her fiancé Chris Bassett (or, as she calls him, her "susband" or soon-to-be-husband). Chris was previously married and has three children from that relationship, and The Real Housewives of Potomac newcomer wasn't really interested in pursuing a relationship with someone who had been married before and already had kids, she recently told The Daily Dish. 

But then Candiace fell in love with Chris, and everything changed. Now as the RHOP couple prepares to tie the knot this August, Candiace, whose parents divorced when she was 2 years old, has found herself stepping up as a stepmom as she is about to officially step into this role. "I think that what made it OK was the fact that I also come from a blended family, so it wasn't like unchartered territory for me. I know what it's like really to be — I call them my bonus children — I know what it's like to be my bonus children. I've been in their shoes where you've got parents who maybe don't agree all the time and have sort of a tumultuous relationship at times, and the kids are often in the middle," she shared during an interview with The Daily Dish earlier this month. "So I often find myself advocating for them before I'm advocating for Chris or his ex-wife because you know what the scarring can do to you as a child in the middle of divorce. And they're about the same age as I was when my parents got divorced, so I really empathize with them in that way." 

It wasn't that difficult for Candiace to love and care for Chris' children as her own, either. "Once I knew that I was in love with Chris, I just loved his kids; it was just sort of automatic. They're an extension of him, and because they're an extension of him, they're an extension of me," she said. "And when, if and when, [I have] a child, I want for my biological children and my 'bonus children' to have a special bond and a relationship, so I feel like it just kind of worked out. It worked out for the best."

But when it comes to give birth to a child herself one day, Candiace still isn't sure she's ready to make that big decision just yet. "I don't want to be sleepless and I don't want to have stretch marks and I don't want to have to wake up at all hours of the night to feed a child. You have to feed a child. You have to bathe them. You have to make sure they're not ---holes. Like, it's a lot of work, and it's a lot of responsibility to have to put onto me," she explained. "I know the kind of person I am. I'm a control freak. I want the best for myself and for my family, so I know I'm gonna be a psycho mom. And it's just like I need to accept this or pray about it, or what do I need to do?" 

Ultimately, Candiace said that she does want to have children with Chris, and it may be best for the couple to just go for it. "So there's a lot of thought that has gone into having kids for Chris and I," she shared. "I need to just stop thinking about it and just do it because if I keep thinking about it, I'm not gonna do it. I'm gonna make an excuse." 

See more of Candiace on the road to becoming a Mrs., below.

Candiace Dillard Gets Emotional Trying on Wedding Dresses