Would you believe that Ronnie DeVoe wasn’t that fond of his wife, Shamari DeVoe joining the cast of Real Housewives of Atlanta for the new season of the hit Reality series? Well, he wasn’t. Shamari DeVoe tells ESSENCE that it took a bit of convincing for her husband to get on board with cameras filming his wife and their kids.

“At first he was just like, ‘Oh hell no,'” Shamari says of Ronnie’s reaction to RHOA production offering her a spot. “But we talk about things — that’s very important — so the more we talked about it, he just became more open [to it] and just began thinking about ways that we can share our story as marriage ambassadors. And then he was like, ‘OK. I’ll do it.'”

Shamari DeVoe is deemed by some of the cast members as the wild card of the group. Even Porsha Williams admits in a clip from Season 11 that Mrs. DeVoe is definitely someone to watch.

Although her antics may be out of the ordinary on the show, Shamari and Ronnie DeVoe only have one mission in mind when inviting the public into their happy home. “We are in the business of helping heal families, and saving marriages, and just bringing other like-minded couples together and encourag[ing] one another,” the RHOA newcomer says.

“There’s so many challenges you go through in a relationship — no relationship is perfect — so you need to have a group that cares, that wants to be that positive light, to help you get your fire back and reignite the flame,” Shamari adds. “Nobody’s relationship is perfect, but there is a testimony that comes out of any imperfect thing.”

You can see the testimony that is Ronnie and Shamari DeVoe’s union when Season 11 of Real Housewives of Atlanta premieres on BravoTV on November 4, 2018. Catch the first episode of the season at 8/7c!

Photo: ESSENCE/Getty Images

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