Why Did ’The Traitors’ Star Candiace Dillard Bassett Leave ‘Real Housewives of Potomac?’

Candiace Dillard Bassett is out for blood in Season 4 of The Traitors. After being selected as one of the three deceitful traitors on the show, she’ll now have to do whatever it takes to make sure the other players don’t figure out she’s not a faithful.

Prior to her time on The Traitors, Dillard was a cast member on The Real Housewives of Potomac from Seasons 3 to 8. She left the show after Season 8’s conclusion in 2024 and is not part of the reality show’s current season.

“As I embark on a new chapter after six remarkable years with The Real Housewives of Potomac, I am filled with gratitude for the enriching friendships, personal growth, and moments of introspection that have defined this journey,” Dillard told People at the time of her departure.

Scroll down for everything else we know about Dillard’s RHOP exit and more.

Why did Candiace Dillard Bassett leave Real Housewives of Potomac?

Dillard announced her exit from RHOP in March 2024 following the Season 8 finale. She left the show because she had other professional opportunities to focus on. “With a whirlwind of new opportunities and responsibilities on my plate, I have decided to take a break from RHOP,” she said.

A Bravo production source told the People that Dillard made the decision to leave the series on her own.

One month later, Dillard announced that she and her husband, Chris Bassett, were expecting their first child. Their son, Jett, was born that October, and Dillard later said that having a baby was “95%” of the reason she left RHOP.

“I was really adamant about creating a space not just for the baby, but for me — for us — for this time in our lives,” she explained to Entertainment Tonight. “I wanted the space around us and around our child to feel peaceful and to feel free and to feel positive, without any added pressure, good, bad or indifferent from the show.”

Dillard told People in November 2024 that she didn’t know if she “could have made it” if she filmed Season 9 of RHOP while pregnant. “I would’ve not enjoyed it,” she surmised. “I would’ve been robbed of what was the most beautiful experience of my life outside of [Jett] being born.”

While appearing on the According to Blake podcast in September 2024, Dillard admitted that she was “ready” to be done with the show “halfway through Season 8.” She cited behind-the-scenes drama, noting, “I can’t be in battle with talent and production. That’s too much.”

Dillard shared that she “started to just not feel safe” while filming the show. “This is not a slight at Bravo, directly, but there were people at our production company who contributed to me just not feeling safe,” she said. “Pregnant or not, I was ready to go. But definitely when we decided we were going to do an embryo implantation, because we did IVF, I knew that it was not a safe space for me.”

Will Candiace Dillard Bassett return to RHOP?

At the time of her exit announcement, Dillard teased that she could return in the future. “This is not a farewell, but a ‘see you later,'” she said.

She gave an update on her podcast in January 2026. “I do not have any plans to return to Potomac at this time,” Dillard admitted. “I say that you never know, as someone who believes firmly in never saying never. I’m not saying it will never happen. But what I am saying is, as you all are badgering and beating down my door to come back like, yesterday, I am not having those conversations.”

What is Candiace Dillard Bassett doing now?

Dillard is currently focusing on her career as a singer and entrepreneur, as well as motherhood. “I am having conversations about other things and other projects and other ideas and other endeavors that I’m really looking forward to,” she said.

Related

'The Traitors': Porsha Williams Slams 'Obnoxious' Michael Rapaport

Plus, of course, she’s currently in the thick of The Traitors, which filmed in spring 2025 and premiered on January 8. She’s also regularly posting new episodes of her Undomesticated podcast with Michael Arceneaux.

“Every week, they dive into the wildest moments in pop culture, reality TV, celebrity drama, and the chaos of the internet with honesty, humor, and just the right amount of petty,” a description for the pod reveals.

The Traitors, Season 4, Thursdays, 9/8c, Peacock

The Real Housewives of Potomac, Season 10, Sundays, 8/7c, Bravo