Kenya Moore Speaks Out On Her ‘RHOA’ Detroit Visit To Confront Her Mom

Kenya Moore doesn’t regret going to Detroit to confront her mother, whom Kenya says abandoned her after her birth and has never acknowledged her, even though she didn’t get to actually see or talk to her. Prior to the latest airing of The Real Housewives of Atlanta episode on Sunday night, Kenya posted a message to her Instagram page in which she talked about her decision to seek out her mom and the outcome.

Kenya posted a photo of herself standing with her father, Ronald, in front of her mother’s home in Detroit. She wrote that going to see her mom, Patricia, was one of the hardest things she has ever had to do in her life. She also wrote that she finally got what she needed from her family.

As viewers saw on the latest episode of Real Housewives, Kenya went to Detroit for a family reunion. She decided to seek out her mother, with whom she has never had a relationship. On the way to her mother’s house, Kenya had some family members in the bus with her for support, including her father and stepmom. Kenya’s friend, Brandon DeShazer, also made the trip from Atlanta to Detroit to support her.

Kenya stepped out of the bus alone and knocked on her mother’s door. Kenya knocked several times to no response. She then announced her presence.

“It’s Kenya. I’ve been wanting to speak to you.”

Unfortunately, the door never opened. Instead, Kenya actually heard someone who sounded like her mother say “don’t answer the door” along with the door being locked.

Kenya admitted that she wasn’t surprised by what happened. She said it would be the last time she extends herself to her mother. Later, at the family reunion, Kenya tried to put everything that happened at her mother’s house aside in order to have a good time.

After the show, Kenya Moore received a lot of encouragement from her fans. Some people also shared their own experiences with family estrangement. In response to one viewer who wrote that she’s also trying to build a relationship with her father and look for her mother, Kenya replied that it’s never too late.

It's never to late #RHOA https://t.co/8uDIQHs750

— KENYA MOORE (@KenyaMoore) January 11, 2016

Kenya then thanked a viewer who applauded her for trying to meet with her mom.

Thank you #RHOA https://t.co/GYm4efx13u

— KENYA MOORE (@KenyaMoore) January 11, 2016

Kenya also re-tweeted a viewer’s tweet that said Kenya’s scenes with her dad, stepmom and aunt are sweet.

I like seeing scenes with @KenyaMoore dad, step-mom & Aunt. It's very sweet. We need the ? & support of family!!@Bravotv #RHOA

— Alexandra Lespere (@AlexandraLesper) January 11, 2016

Kenya’s mother and father were teenagers when she was born. A People article from May 1993, right after Kenya won the Miss USA title, reported that after her birth, Patricia wanted to give Kenya up for adoption but Ronald refused. Instead, he asked his mother, Doris, to raise the baby and she agreed. Patricia’s older sister Lori, whom Patricia was sent to live with during her teenage pregnancy, named the baby Kenya because “she was dark and beautiful.” Lori, who frequently shows up on Real Housewives with Kenya, told People then that in her middle-class family, “getting pregnant was considered shameful.” Kenya said that growing up, she would sometimes see her mother at family functions but her mother would never acknowledge her.

The People article also revealed that Patricia actually reached out to Kenya after she won the Miss USA title. She called the hotel where Kenya was staying at. Kenya told People that Patricia said that she just wanted to congratulate her but she didn’t apologize for how she treated her.

Patricia, who was described as a special education teacher, gave People her side of the story. She said that “the door for communication has been and always will remain open.” Patricia also said that she’s not who Kenya publicly makes her out to be and that she’s praying for her.

“I’m a very private person. It doesn’t matter how dim Kenya portrays me, because I know exactly who I am…I’m praying for her. I wish her all the luck and success in the world.”

On last week’s episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Kenya had a tearful heart-to-heart talk with her father, with whom she had a distant relationship for many years. Kenya confronted her father about not speaking to her for years when she was a teenager. Her father told her that it broke his heart when she, when she was 12, ran away from Houston and that it made him, who finally felt as if he was getting his children back, feel as if he wasn’t good enough for her. In an interview, Kenya explained that she ran away from her new home in Houston and went back to Detroit because she didn’t like the area and admitted that it was a rash teenage decision.

In a blog post posted last Wednesday, Kenya criticized her mother and expressed thankfulness for her father.

“I’m thankful that we have grown together. He is not perfect, but he is my family and the only father I have. Most importantly, I know he has always wanted me, unlike my mother. He has never abused me, he has never set out to hurt me, he has never disowned me — all things my mother has done.”

Two days ago, Kenya Moore paid tribute to her dad and grandmother. She posted a photo of them sitting in the audience when she competed for the Miss Universe pageant.

[Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images]