Cynthia Bailey on Dating Deal Breakers After Mike Hill Split and If She’s Still Open to Marriage (Exclusive)

Cynthia Bailey is ready for a new love! The former Real Housewives of Atlanta star tells ET that she’s “officially outside” after calling it quits with ex-husband Mike Hill last October.

“I am officially outside and single and ready to mingle,” the 56-year-old reality star told ET’s Cassie DiLaura backstage at the iHeart Festival over the weekend. While Bailey lamented the chance to interact with two of her celebrity crushes — Lenny Kravitz, who made an appearance at the festival on Saturday, and Jared Leto, whom she would later introduce before he hit the stage with his brother as 30 Seconds to Mars to perform some of their biggest hits — she gushed about getting back into the dating game after her divorce.

“I’m really excited about dating. Like, I feel like I’m really ready,” Bailey shares. “My deal breakers [haven’t] changed, you know, this [was] my second divorce, so hopefully the third time will be a charm. But marriage doesn’t have to be the happy ending, I’m just looking for love.” 

Bailey and Hill confirmed the split to ET in a statement in October 2022. A source told ET that the former couple had been having issues for “a while.”

“Cynthia and Mike tried working on things but weren’t able to come to a resolution. The two have been busy with work and it wasn’t easy on their relationship,” they added.

Bailey and Hill first became romantically linked in late 2018 after Bailey’s divorce from her first husband, Peter Thomas, in 2016. The two became engaged in 2018 and were married in October 2020. The wedding in Acworth, Georgia, a celebration with 250 guests, was part of Bailey’s sendoff season of RHOA after she announced her departure the following year. 

During an appearance on Teddi Mellencamp and Tamra Judge’s Two Ts in a Pod podcast, Bailey revealed that the “final straw” had everything to do with the fact that their marriage lacked an integral component to the relationship, and that was an established friendship. 

“I felt like we weren’t friends anymore,” she said. “I felt like it was just going toward we’re just not going to be friends if we didn’t pump the brakes.” 

Bailey added that experience taught her that her current marriage lacked the key friendship ingredient. “This is not my first rodeo,” she said. “I think friendship just has to be there in a marriage. Like, love is great. But friendship has to be there. I truly want to be with my best friend.”

While at BravoCon last November, Bailey shared with ET her outlook on love amid her split.

“I am a Pisces woman. I’m never going to give up on love,” she said. “I may not get married again, but I will always be on a quest for love. Self-love, you know, the love in my life. Love. You know, for me, everything operates from that space of love and, you know, I’m not going to stop until I find the right one.”

While talking to ET on Sunday, Bailey reiterated that sentiment. She shared that she still wants the same things she’s always wanted in a partner, saying, “I always prayed for a successful guy. A nice guy… But I never prayed for a nurturing man. I want to be nurtured. My love language is personal touch; I want you to hold my hand, I want you to massage my shoulders, I want to be nurtured.”

The model told ET that she’s still looking for her “person,” then sends out a mini PSA in case they happen to be on the lookout for her as well. “If my person is watching this, get at your girl! Just slide in those DMs,” she quipped. “Let me know because I’m looking for my person.”

In the meantime, the reality star has been keeping busy by hopping around the Real Housewives franchise.

Although Bailey officially announced her departure from RHOA after 11 seasons in 2021, she’s since starred in the first season of Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip and appeared on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and RHOA. Her appearance on RHOBH — which will air in the upcoming 13th season — sparked rumors that the star might eventually return to the franchise for good.

“Well, I pop up on Atlanta and you guys saw all that. It was another great season. It was really good to pop in [and] check on the ladies. My fans were really excited about it and [I had to] check on my girls in Beverly Hills as well,” she said of her brief appearances. But the star admitted that she likes hopping around from series to series, warning her fans not to expect a permanent return to the franchise. 

“I’m feeling very noncommittal at the moment,” she said, laughing. “I just want to be everywhere; I just want to pop in on everyone. It’s good. My main focus is still my acting career. And that’s been going really, really well. Hopefully soon we’re gonna be at the end of the strike and a lot of great things [are] gonna come from that, so that’s the focus.”

“But you know what? Bravo and Housewives will always be my family, so whenever I can pop in and pop out, that’s what I’m comfortable doing right now,” she added.

Despite her protests, Bailey said she’s flattered that fans are still happy to see her when she does make an appearance. “I’m very flattered that they think my absence [had an] effect [on RHOA]. But you know what? I will say I’ve heard from many, many people that it was like a breath of fresh air for me to pop back up when I popped back up on the screen. So that made me feel really good,” she told ET. 

She concluded, “It’s always good to be missed after you leave, it’s like, ‘OK, do you guys miss me?’ So, I was glad that I did just pop in and out, and the fans really responded to it in a positive way. So thank you!”

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