‘RHOA’: Kandi Burruss Reveals Who Really Set Her Up With Husband Todd Tucker and It’s Not Phaedra Parks as Believed
Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker are one of the only surviving marriages of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. The two met while both working on the show together. While the couple gave credit to Phaedra Parks for setting them up, Burruss revealed in a new docuseries that her producer on the show is actually responsible.
Phaedra Parks took credit for connecting Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker
Tucker worked as a line producer on RHOA. Though he wasn’t assigned to Burruss, he was immediately drawn to her. On a cast trip to Africa during season 4, Tucker and Burruss sparked up a conversation. But before ever talking, it was Parks who told Burruss she thought she and Tucker would make a great pair.
Parks said she thought Tucker was good and a “nice guy.” Though Tucker was interested, his job on the show prevented fraternizing with the cast.
Related: ‘RHOA:’ Fans React to Kandi Burruss Throwing Todd Tucker a Birthday Bash Featuring Caged Dancers
“I was trying to play it cool in Africa as it’s against the rules to cross the line with the talent,” he told The Daily Dish in 2014. “In production that’s a big NO NO! I loved her smile, she had a great butt! She seemed very humble and genuine.”
The night in Africa marked the beginning of their love story. “At the end of the night, he kissed me on the lips, which I thought was a little aggressive… but I liked it,” Burruss told Inside Weddings.
Tucker resigned so that he could be with Burruss and began appearing on the show in season 5.
Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker’s relationship wasn’t well-received by Burruss’ mother
Burruss and Tucker were clearly smitten but Burrss’ mother, Mama Joyce, was not happy about them dating. After the two moved in together, Mama Joyce accused Tucker of living off of her daughter. She was leery due to Tucker quitting his job on the show, though he continued producing other shows.
Mama Joyce even confronted Parks about setting Burruss and Tucker up. “Why would you set up her with one of the workers,” Mama Joyce asked Parks, telling Parks that it would have been better had she set Burruss up with one of her attorney friends.
Despite Mama Joyce’s meddling, Tucker and Burruss tied the knot in a Coming to America-themed ceremony in April 2014. They have since welcomed two children together and are the proud owners of several successful businesses.
‘RHOA’ producer reveals she set Kandi Burruss up with Todd Tucker
As it turns out, Parks did mention to Burruss that she felt Tucker was attractive, but she’s not responsible for hooking them up. During a recent episode of For Real: The Story of Reality TV, Burruss’ producer, Bianca Barnes-Williams, says she matched the pair.
“I was assigned to Kandi season 4 and Todd would always say to me, ‘Hey Bianca, hook me up with Kandi,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah no, please keep me out of this. I don’t wanna lose my job,’” she recalls. “He was working behind the scenes in production management and it wasn’t until we went to South Africa that I had to deliver some news that I knew was unfavorable [to Kandi] so I took Todd along with me.”
Related: ‘RHOA:’ Fans Are Gushing Over Kandi Burruss’s Husband, Todd Tucker
The news was that the cast were scheduled to get massage treatments, but due to time constraints, Burruss’ was cancelled.
“They sent him to tell me the bad news,” Burruss says of the night she and Tucker began talking. “He came to my room and we started having a conversation and the conversation was just flowing…”
Because of the no fraternizing rule, Burruss went with the story that Parks set them up.
“Phaedra had taken the credit for introducing them and putting them together but Kandi and Todd will tell you differently – it was really me, her assigned AP,’” Barnes-Williams insists.
