Riley Burruss Addresses the Status of Her Relationship with Her Dad

Kandi Burruss' daughter Riley Burruss' future was at the center of an emotional conversation during The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 13 premiere. When the topic turned to paying for Riley's college education at NYU, she opened up about her dad Russell "Block" Spencer.

"OK, well, I feel like my father never really did anything. It's time for him to at least provide something when I'm going away to college," she told her mom and stepdad, Todd Tucker.

In previous seasons on RHOA, Riley's estranged relationship with her dad has been discussed, including when he appeared on the series in Season 9.

During the December 6 episode, Riley reflected on that time: "Wasn't I like 15 when he came around and tried to start talking again? When you are only the bum father to me, it just kind of rubs me the wrong way because you had the capability to be there because I can see it with all your other children. I have the people around me who I'm already comfortable with, so I feel like I just kind of moved past the point where he's necessary."

While Kandi asks her daughter to be open to someday having a relationship with her dad (who she notes in the episode allegedly still owes her child support), in an interview in the episode Kandi says she knows it would be a hard journey.

"For her as a little kid, she's like 'well my dad say he's coming' and then he wouldn't come and then she'd be all upset and that would upset me," Kandi said, later adding, "It would be hard for Block to bond with Riley this late in life ... she's really hurt and he does not get it."

Still, Kandi is here to celebrate her daughter's extremely bright future: "I cannot believe that my baby girl is about to go to NYU to be a successful attorney. She's grown now; this is official."

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