More than ten years ago, Miami Social Club was picked up by Bravo, a series about the wealthy, well-connected and extravagant women of the Florida city. It was so juicy, though, (or perhaps so similar to their normal line-up) that the network decided to restructure it into their most notorious franchise. And thus, The Real Housewives of Miami was born. The show went on to have three seasons before abruptly ending in 2013. However, the ladies are back for a triumphant fourth season return via the streaming realm – or at least, some of them are. Returning alum Alexia Echevarria explained why it would have been “weird,” at least for her, to see Lea Black on the cast again.
Along with Alexia Echevarria, Season 4 includes quite a few other OGs, including Larsa Pippen, Lisa Hochstein, Adriana de Maura and Marysol Patton. Notorious castmates Lea Black (Seasons 1-3) and Joanna Krupa (Season 2 & 3) did not come back on the show. For her part, Black now lives across the country in Los Angeles, which might account for her absence. But her former co-star Echevarria thinks her location wouldn’t have mattered anyway because Black isn't actually in their friend group anymore. She said to ET:
Lea [not returning] didn't surprise me. I feel like everybody has a time period -- and she was a big part of the show in seasons one through three -- but eight years have happened, and what really keeps the show going are the women's relationships. And honestly? She doesn't have a relationship with any of us. It would've been weird if they would've brought her because she really doesn't have a relationship with any of us. And I feel that that's such a key factor in this kind of show. At the end-- you can have a disagreement, you can have your opinion, you can fight about it, but at the end it has to be that bond.
So far as things ended in the third season, Lea Black had several rocky relationships with her co-stars. She infamously feuded with both Adriana de Moura and Marysol Patton, both of whom are on the new Real Housewives of Miami season. Whether that's coincidence or not, that drama is technically eons ago at this point.
Yet Season 4 will apparently hold both new and old friendship entanglements. Guerdy Abraira, Julia Lemigova and Nicole Martin are making their freshman turn in the franchise. Meanwhile, Larsa Pippen gets her feet held to the coals about her OnlyFans and “Kim Kardashian butt” after returning for the first time since the first season. (Fans online suspected that Kardashian actually shaded the comparisons being made, which prompted a response from the SKIMS CEO herself.) Things will also take an unfortunate turn again for Alexia Echevarria, whose mother sadly died from COVID-19 on what was supposed to be her wedding day filmed on the show.
After a seven-year hiatus, there’s definitely a swirl of new changes afoot on the Real Housewives of Miami. Much like the crossover special, Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, Miami is being exported over to Peacock. The first two episodes of Season 4 have already dropped on the streaming platform, with subsequent installments expected to drop every Thursday.
