Ashley: It is Brutal to Watch This Moment with Michael Now

BravoTV.com: Tell us about finally attending Robyn Dixon’s event and how you felt being there. Did you feel like Monique Samuels was trying to get you to ditch Robyn’s event? 

Ashley Darby: I was really proud of the evening Robyn put together for her She is Empowered event! Special attention was given to each detail, including the food and decor. Even more impressive was the amazing panel of specialists from different industries who had incredible words of wisdom. I learned about entrepreneurship, networking, and branding. It was a great evening all around. There had been some correspondence between Monique and I where she asked me a few times about where I would be that Friday night. I told her I'd been previously invited to the gala, and felt more compelled attend the empowerment panel. Monique looked beautiful in her silver gown and I'm glad she had a fun time, even asking Karen Huger the question on everyone's mind.  

BravoTV.com: Tell us about not telling Gizelle Bryant about the park in the dark rumor – why not yet? Would there be a good time? 

AD: Interestingly, I had no idea what was going down in the Potomac streets! When I was going to meet Gizelle in the jewelry store to buy a gift for Robyn, I didn't know she and Sherman had broken up. It felt unnecessary to tell her about a rumor from his past when the relationship had already come to a stop. It didn't feel right to potentially introduce that worry into her mind, that Sherman could have a wandering eye. I'm not really sure if there'd be a good time to talk about that. While I know Gizelle and Monique have their share of squabbles, I didn't really want to incite more tension between them by bringing that rumor up.  

BravoTV.com: How did you feel when Michael first made those comments about your mother?

AD: I felt like a hockey puck had just flown off the ice and hit me in the face. At first I didn't think I'd heard him properly, but then when he repeated it I felt my heart start to beat rapidly. Like, come again? 

BravoTV.com: You call this the worst dig Michael has ever thrown at you - what is it like watching it now? What is Michael’s reaction to seeing it now? 

AD: It is brutal for me to watch now. Being transported back to that evening is very difficult for me, mainly because I am surprised by my own reaction. I didn't recall what I'd said and expected myself to say something quite different than what actually came out of my mouth. I have to remember not to be too hard on myself because I was in a different mind space then - Michael and I had just come back together and I was committed to putting my relationship first during this fragile time period. While I understand now that Michael was projecting his feelings about my family onto me, in the moment I was focused on trying to hear my partner's needs. I did so at the expense of my mom - I should've defended her and asserted what a great mother she was/is to me. We both had tunnel vision at the time, which clouded what a wonderful woman Sheila is. It wasn't fair on her. I feel very bad, as does Michael. We were both caught up in the immediacy of everything going on around us, causing us to lose sight of how important love and acceptance is. 

BravoTV.com: Onto Karen’s O Gala event - what were you thinking when you found out who Kyndall was? Why do you think Karen invited her? 

AD: The O Gala escalated in excitement that night, when I found out who Kyndall was! This woman was unbeknownst to me just a few days prior, then she came on full blast - first during my conversation with Monique, then in the flesh at the dinner. It was quite interesting timing that Karen invited her to an event with us for the first time that night, when I’ve known these ladies for a few years now. Naturally, it's grade A shade for Karen to have invited Kyndall knowing she is the ex-wife of Gizelle's boyfriend. I think the 'press' conference left a bad taste in Karen's mouth, and she took the most necessary action to get it out!