Michael Darby Addresses Sexual Assault Allegations at The Real Housewives of Potomac Reunion
The RHOP husband opens up about Season 4, including that unseen production footage.
When the men of The Real Housewives of Potomac joined their significant others at the Season 4 reunion, the group discussed one of the biggest topics of the season: the sexual assault allegations against Michael Darby.
Michael clarified the claim, which was ultimately dismissed, at the reunion. "The incident, which I described accurately from the beginning, was bumping this cameraman. After the shooting, he made a claim. And by the way, we've got to straighten this out. It was not a charge; it was a claim by an individual," he explained. "The claim had no evidence, and so it was thrown out."
He then addressed the previously unseen production footage taken during Monique Samuels' Rainbow Party earlier this season. "I have no idea. I bumped him, and he said, 'Don't do that,'" Michael said. "It's the weirdest thing to say, but he said, 'Don't do that.' It's as simple as that."
Michael also clarified that in the second piece of previously unseen production footage, he was talking to Monique's cousin Hank. "Hank always thinks it's fun to say to me, 'Hey, touch my butt, Michael,'" the RHOP husband said. "He's said it to me multiple times throughout the years."
In Part 2 of the reunion, Robyn Dixon brought up new allegations she has heard about Michael. "That same evening when he grabbed Andrew's butt, we also were made aware that he grabbed a couple of our producers' butts as well," she said, referring to a moment from Season 1 of RHOP.
"That's not true," Michael reacted to the claim in Part 3 of the reunion.
He also responded to Robyn's claim that he made a comment about Juan Dixon the night of the birthday party for wife Ashley Darby's uncle. "You crossed a line that night. We had stopped filming. We were having a good time. You were very drunk, and you know you were very drunk," Michael said. "There's no way that you remember me saying that."
Robyn stood by what she said she heard that night. "I did not make it up," she told Michael during the reunion. "And most of the reason why I never even wanted to talk about it was because it was what we should perceive as a safe zone. It happened outside of the cameras. I had no desire to really talk about it."
When Andy Cohen asked Michael about the rumors regarding his sexuality, he said, "What do I have to prove to anyone? And what's wrong with whatever sexuality is, Andy? I don't think you have a problem with people knowing your sexuality. So I'm really not sure what the question is."
Michael later responded to the ladies' criticism that he did not apologize to his wife during his past TV appearance to address the allegations. "I didn't put her through anything," he said. "That's absurd to even say I put her through it."
Before the guys left the reunion set, Michael shared his final thoughts, showing his gratitude for having Ashley by his side during this difficult time and looking forward to the future with his wife and their 2-month-old son Dean. "Because of their reactions, I don't feel this is a forum to share things about how incredible Ashley has been through this process, but I will now because of what was said. She has been a stalwart, she's been behind me all the way, and with our child, there are so many more important things in life than having to deal with this," he said. "Seeing all this happen, I knew was gonna happen, it just makes me look at our child and realize that there is some hope for the future because this is not the way the future should be."
Ashley shared a photo on Instagram of herself and Michael at the reunion prior to Sunday night's episode airing. In the post, she thanked fans for watching this season and called her husband "the bonafide yin to my yang."
See more from the RHOP Season 4 reunion, below.
