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The Daily Dish The Real Housewives of Potomac

Stacey Rusch Is Perfectly "Messy" on RHOP Season 9 According to Karen Huger

RHOP veteran Karen Huger just shared new details about Season 9 new addition, Stacey Rusch.

By Shannon Raphael

Karen Huger introduced viewers (and her castmates) to Stacey Rusch on The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 9 premiere, and she just teased why she's a "perfect" addition to the cast. 

How to Watch

Watch The Real Housewives of Potomac on Bravo on Sunday, October 6 at 8/7c and next day on  Peacock. Catch up on the Bravo app

Following the October 6 premiere, Karen appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, and she was asked to share her thoughts on Stacey's Real Housewives debut. 

"I think Stacey is gorgeous," Karen said about her pal. "She's intelligent, she's messy — she's a perfect Potomac housewife."

Stacey herself opened up about her connection to the Grand Dame on Season 9, Episode 1.

"I actually met Karen at an event... As soon as I met Karen, we hit it off," Stacey explained in an interview on the episode. "We were like, basically, the same people."

Who is Stacey Rusch from RHOP Season 9?

As Stacey shared in an interview on the episode, before she joined the RHOP cast, she worked at QVC. As a result, she's only recently returned to the area. 

"I lived in Philly when I worked for QVC," Stacey said on the episode. "I left QVC, so I am happy to be back in the DMV, where I belong."

According to the press release for RHOP Season 9, Stacey "has entered the Potomac chat and she’s causing lots of chatter. She’s a former QVC host and mother of an 8-year-old daughter, who, after 16 years of marriage, is divorcing her husband. As she enters this new phase in her life, she is struggling with the decision to date again and navigating a romantic relationship with her best friend, who is choosing celibacy over intimacy."

A split of Karen Huger and Stacey Rusch.

Who is Stacey Rusch's boyfriend?

The RHOP newbie is in a relationship with Thomas Anthony Jones aka TJ. Like Stacey, TJ also worked as a host on QVC. As she explained on the Season 9 premiere, "TJ and I met at his audition to become a host on QVC. It was this genuine friendship, and then after about six months, we just both couldn't deny that we wanted to be a part of one another's lives."

In preview for Season 9, Episode 2, Stacey opens up about one of the more unusual aspects of her relationship with TJ while on a walk with Ashley Darby. "I love someone, but he is a devout Christian, so we are not intimate at all," Stacey tells Ashley, who then asks if marriage is a possibility for the two. 

"Well, I think we're on that journey," Stacey admits. 

Keep tuning in to new episodes of RHOP Season 9 on Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo to find out more about newbie Stacey. 

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