Porsha Williams Admits She 'Felt Like a Rookie' Returning to “RHOA”: 'It Took Me a Minute to Recalibrate' (Exclusive)

Williams will return to 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta' for season 16 after taking a two-season hiatus

Ivan Apfel/Bravo/Getty  Porsha Williams in Miami, FL on Saturday, November 23, 2024

Ivan Apfel/Bravo/Getty

Porsha Williams in Miami, FL on Saturday, November 23, 2024

Porsha Williams had some nerves when it came to her return to Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Williams, 43, told PEOPLE at Bravo Fan Fest 2024 in Miami on Nov. 23 that she was a little apprehensive about coming back to the hit reality series for its upcoming 16th season after a two-season hiatus. Williams appearing on the show from seasons 5 through 13 in addition to starring in her own spinoff, Porsha's Family Matters, which aired on Bravo in 2021.

“But the first day of filming, I kid you not, I felt like a rookie,” she told PEOPLE. “I promise you, I stopped midway, and I was like, ‘Am I supposed to be looking this way?’”

The TV personality confessed that in the first few scenes, she had “to stop looking at the camera.” Adding, “It took me a minute to recalibrate and make the cameras invisible again.”

Paras Griffin/Getty Porsha Williams attends her Pampered By Porsha Sheets X Bloomingdale's meet & greet at Bloomingdale's Lenox Square on May 17, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Paras Griffin/Getty

Porsha Williams attends her Pampered By Porsha Sheets X Bloomingdale's meet & greet at Bloomingdale's Lenox Square on May 17, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Related: Porsha Williams Says It Was ‘Very Noble’ for Kenya Moore to Apologize for RHOA Incident: ‘Everybody’s Human’ (Exclusive)

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Williams is returning to the show after a two-season absence amid a divorce from estranged-husband Simon Guobadia. At Bravo Fan Fest, she told PEOPLE that "God is showing out” after a November ruling in which a judge granted her temporary sole possession of the former couple’s home and gave her permission to film in the residence.

“God is good,” she shared. “You know, Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, has never let me down. And at the end of the day, you know, people are gonna take their shots, people are gonna try to speak on your future and what it is, but it's already written, baby. You can't mess that up. It is what it is.”

“You just gotta stay strong and just know that the next day can be better than your current day,” she added.

Her update came less than a year after she filed for divorce from Guobadia in Feb. 2024 after 15 months of marriage. According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE at the time, she noted that their marriage was "irretrievably broken."

Paras Griffin/Getty Images From left: Simon Guobadia and Porsha Williams attend the game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on January 11, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Paras Griffin/Getty Images

From left: Simon Guobadia and Porsha Williams attend the game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on January 11, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Related: RHOA's Porsha Williams Is Preparing a 'Hand-Cooked' Meal for Thanksgiving — But Catering in Christmas (Exclusive)

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The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip star told PEOPLE at Bravo Fan Fest last month that therapy taught her to put up boundaries as she navigated her divorce while simultaneously filming RHOA.

“I really got into therapy and a big part of therapy was her suggesting self-preservation, which is hard to do when you're in an ensemble cast and you have to speak about your life,” she explained. “But I really had boundaries about what I would open up to with some of the other girls and what I would not.”

She continued, “So just kind of like being and protecting myself, but also being with everyone else has been a good thing for me.”

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The Real Housewives of Atlanta can be streamed in full on Peacock. Season 16 will premiere next year on Bravo.

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