Sanya Richards-Ross, the Olympic track and field gold medalist and "Real Housewives of Atlanta" cast member, joined Cheddar News to talk about her blog ‘Mommy Resources" as well as her current fame on the reality show. “People keep asking which is harder the Olympics or the housewives, I'm still not sure really," she said. "I'm still not sure because it seems difficult to fit in with these ladies who like a lot of attention."

Between Bells

Sanya Richards-Ross on the Hurdles That Come With Being a Bravo Housewife 

Mhm Welcome back to Between Bells everyone. Our next guest is one of the most decorated female athletes in track and field history after winning four gold medals and one bronze, she's ready to take on her next challenge. The real housewives of Atlanta Cheddar sat down with Sanya Richards ross to discuss. Take a look. Sonja is such a pleasure to have you here as a housewife, super fan. I am just excited and elated to have you here for those who are sort of unfamiliar with the real housewives of Atlanta, your new edition, you are an olympic gold medalist in track and field and now you have a peach on this show. What was that transition like for you to go from being an olympic gold medalist to a reality tv star. So I mean I did a reality tv show before in 2000 and 13, but it was just with my family And so it was a lot different doing a show with people who have obviously known my entire life and you know you get into a little riff here and there and everything's gonna be fine. It's a lot different than entering a 14 season long franchise that has so much history. Women with so many big personalities and people keep asking which is harder. The olympics or the housewives, I'm still not sure really, I'm still not sure because it seems difficult to fit in with these ladies who like a lot of attention. It has been hard to sort of adjust your life because you're sort of showing every public part of your life. Yeah, absolutely. It's it's a big difference because obviously when you're training most of us in private and people see the big moment, right, when you line up on the track and you feel the most ready to compete. But on a reality show they're seeing everything the good, the bad and the ugly and so it's definitely been a transition, but I've enjoyed it. Um for the most part, the ladies have welcomed me with open arms and so it was a lot of fun. One of the other great characters we've been introduced to is your mom, Sharon, who, by the way, is here with us. What's it been like to sort of share this, this experience with her? Yeah, well, you know, my mom has always been a huge part of my success and my journey and so I do very few things without including my family and so it just felt very natural to have her and I love how people have just gravitated towards her and love her because of course we already knew she was a star, right? And now the world do we think Sharon's gonna get a peach at the end? Like Sharon might get a peach that I really hope. So you quickly sort of become a fan favorite? What's your reaction to the fans really sort of responding to you so far this year, it's been really great because I know first season can be a little bit tricky because I feel like the fans obviously love the show, feel like they kind of have ownership of the show and then it's like, who's this new girl? Like, am I supposed to like her or not? And so the feedback has been amazing so far, people have really enjoyed, I think all of us together, the entire cast, I think we kind of really blend well together. So that's been amazing to see one of the most recent episodes. I saw you, you had the ladies cook some jamaican cuisine, there were some good parts of that and obviously some crazy parts per usual, but obviously taking this amazing part of your life in this cultural moment of your life. Just food and sharing that with the ladies. What was that experience like to you to share that with you? That's a great question baker. I think one of the things that I really enjoyed this season was sharing my Jamaican culture with the ladies, you'll see later in the season, I actually take them to Jamaica. You do. Oh my God, that's gonna go stay tuned. But no, that's a lot of fun because you know, like you said, food, music culture is a big part of Jamaica and the thing that I love most about Jamaica. So it was awesome to share that with them even though they weren't always on their best behavior, especially from my mama, but it's still a lot of fun, which by the way, we love has Sharon has been set in a lot of these latest straight and one of them in particular, Drew, it's been sort of an interesting sort of relationship between the two of you guys. But the last episode I saw you really had to sort of set her straight away. It was really important for you to do that. Yeah, because Drew and I are developing a new friendship and I think it's very important when you're, you know, in the early stages of a relationship that you let people know what you like, what you don't like and share how you feel, how you're experiencing them. And so I did that with Drew and the first time I did, it didn't come across really well, she didn't receive it well, but I didn't want her to understand that, look, I do want to be a friend, but these are the things that I don't align with me as a person and if we're gonna move forward, it's important for me to, for you to know that and I feel like, you know, a couple of times we're gonna kind of go up and down this roller coaster again. But ultimately, the goal for me was to come on this platform and build genuine relationships and I feel like I'm figuring that out well, we're almost halfway through the season, I feel like almost, no, we got a lot more to go relationship with Drew goes for the rest of the season? Yeah, definitely something because I do feel like I said, I'm generally trying to build a friendship and sometimes I feel like Drew is trying to have moments and so we clash a little bit because you know, sometimes they're on the same page, but definitely tune in. You mentioned earlier this, this franchise, Atlanta has been on for a very, very long time. Fans love this franchise. What do you think it is about this franchise that has always been one of the highest rated of all the bravo franchises that people gravitate to it so much. Um, I think, and I've been saying this and it just kind of came out of nowhere. I think people come for the reeds, but then they stay for the relationship and I think that's what it is. I think that we're funny light shade, but we really are trying to build genuine friendships and I do think that that comes a lot of ups and downs ebbs and flows that are not just for tv, that's real life, that's real sisterhood. You know, you, you'll, you'll say something today and tomorrow you're like, why did I say that? You know, and you have to deal with that experience with someone? So I definitely think it's the personalities and just kind of how we relate to each other as women. What also in terms of the art of throwing shade, Do you feel? I mean, I feel like you do a really good job of it, but is that something you've mastered or you had to get really good at with these ladies. That's where I feel like I'm a rookie, I feel like I feel really good at it, thank you very much. I am learning to sling my shade a little bit better and I'm learning from the best, I mean some of these ladies have been doing it for a long time. Miss kenya moore is a master at kenya is like the queen of the best thing about kenya is you'll get red and you won't even know it after a couple, you're like, wait a minute, can you just read me for filth listen, so I'm gonna talk about your organization which is also really important from the last episode as well as Mommy Nation, it's really obviously very close to your heart and tell our viewers a little bit more about it. Awesome, Thanks for asking. So, Mommy Nation is a blog, a resource that I created about three years ago specifically to provide resources for black moms and you know, as black women were having a unique experience and especially in motherhood and so I created this space to be able to support and love on women in a very unique way and I'm so happy that you guys were introduced to it on the show and we just have big goals and big dreams for how we want to support women going forward, thanks to real housewives of Atlanta cast member Sanya Richards Ross and, of course our resident housewives expert baker Machado for that interview.