If you watch Real Housewives of Potomac, then you know it’s hard to rattle Stacey Rusch. The beauty, whose warmth was showcased previously during her days hosting on QVC, is known for maintaining a cheerful, positive demeanor, even amid challenges. And a challenge is the best way to describe her relationship with her castmates on RHOP this season. From ganging up on her, talking about her breath, and making her the only member of a group trip without a personalized robe and toiletry bag, many viewers have described her treatment by some cast members as “bullying.” She didn’t call it that, but she did tell ESSENCE her interactions with some of the ladies haver certainly been disappointing in Season 10.

“I joined this group with the intention of forming a sisterhood of finding new friends. Forming new relationships with women of different ages and different walks of life. I just think it’s such a valuable opportunity to be in such a beautiful friend group, and that has always been my intention. And unfortunately, I feel like a lot of the accusations and unwarranted questioning has prevented me from forming these friendships,” she says. “It’s like, instead of getting to know each other and really enjoying each other, I’m constantly having to defend myself.”

Nevertheless, she can hold her own. She’s responded to the ladies with her truth, positivity, and, when necessary, her own snark to get them together. But overall, she’s unbothered.

“I just have never really looked to other people to validate me. I have never found validation in what other people think of me. I am sustained and validated through my relationship with God, my family, and people who love me. So, you know, if I’m not your cup of tea, that’s fine,” she says. “I tend to let things roll off my shoulders because God and my family sustain me, and the opinion and perception of others do not. And once you have that confidence, once you have that sense of self, you will find that you are able to navigate any situation or any friend group, especially with these crazy ladies.”

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But Rusch is quick to smile. Despite hiccups with the ladies, she’s having a great year personally and professionally.

“There are so many blessings that I have experienced in the last year regarding my family and launching a brand. So, you know, in true Stacey form, I’m an optimist,” she notes. “I’m really just focusing on that as opposed to the negativity.”

One reason she’s feeling blessed is that she’s rekindled her relationship with her ex-husband Thiemo Rusch. “Having been married for 17 years, besides, you know, my mama and my family, this is someone that I’ve known the longest in my life. He knows me more than anyone. We had a beautiful family and we had some hiccups and we found our way back to one another.

“I’m so grateful to God for that,” she continues. “A lot of people don’t ‘circle the block’ and find themselves unhappy and filled with regret. So it really feels good to have someone have your back who truly knows you and knows your heart, especially as you’re navigating getting to know people who don’t know you and make assumptions. He has truly been my best friend and my confidant through all of the madness this season, and I love him for that. I love him for being a good man and a good partner and a good father and the best person to really walk this walk that we do on this earth.”

In response to the reunion, Rusch’s 9-year-old daughter, Arabella, is happy, though she never really knew a different way of life while they were apart. According to Rusch, the family has always done things in an unconventional way because of her and Thiemo’s careers. That includes maintaining two different homes for years while traveling for work.

“Even though she doesn’t know the particulars, she knows that it feels good,” she says of Arabella’s feelings about the pair reuniting. “And for me, that is enough for her right now.”

And what’s best for Arabella is her priority. That and managing her new wellness cannabis business, known as Shayo, which offers rosin-infused chews in fruity flavors. “Before I was in television, I was a yoga teacher. I taught yoga in Washington, D.C. for eight years,” she says. “I was a private yoga teacher for the White House Athletic Center. I taught for NASA. I taught for the CIA. I taught classes at American University, so I was a very well-respected and loved yoga teacher in the area.”

Television led her to step back from teaching yoga, but her heart is still in it and continues to motivate her brand.

“Although I have my private practice, I’m always practicing yoga privately, but TV drew me away from something that I really loved and prioritized in my life. The opportunity to come back into the wellness industry through cannabis, I’m just so proud to be the first Black woman in the state of Virginia to own a cannabis brand. We’re helping people with so many different ailments, whether it be anxiety or helping with their appetites as they go through treatment. Or if it’s just helping people to live harmoniously and to find peace in this crazy world that we live in, through cannabis. I’m just so proud and honored.”

The name of the brand, by the way, is inspired by Rusch’s discovery that her roots lie in Nigeria, where she has since spent time, and where many of her friends come from. “‘Shayo’ means to be happy,” she says. “To be joyous. It means to celebrate your family and your friends in whatever way you choose. And hopefully you’ll choose to celebrate with my gummies.”

Rusch is a woman who wears many hats, from business owner to mother, yogi, and TV star. Her multifacetedness and unflinching, bubbly nature have made her a beloved housewife with viewers, even if not with the Potomac ladies. She is who she is, and she’s here to stay.

“I love that people love me being me. That feels really good,” Rusch says. “We can’t all be queens of shade. I focus on light and life and being in the moment, so it feels good to have people recognize that I’m just being me. I’m genuinely just happy to be me and alive.”

TOPICS:  Mamas at Work rhop