RHOP Star Monique Samuels Says Ex-Husband Will Be Involved in Her Dating Life: 'We'll See What Happens'

Real Housewives of Potomac star Monique Samuels isn’t back on the dating scene after her 2023 divorce, but when she’s ready to, she has a plan in place for introducing them to her three kids… as for how it will go? “We’ll see what happens,” Samuels tells SheKnows.

The 42-year-old, who returned to the show in this year’s tenth season after a five-year hiatus, shares three children with ex-husband Chris Samuels: 12-year-old son Christopher, 10-year-old son Chase, and 7-year-old daughter Milan.

The author of Love Letters From Versions of Myself joined SheKnows in our studio for our Parents Tell All series, where she got candid about strict rules, dating, and parenting hot takes. For more, read below or watch the video above.

Name one thing that your children do that makes you think, “They get that from me.”

My children will read you for filth. They don’t hold back and always tell them it’s okay to express yourselves, as long as you’re doing it in a respectful manner. My children are three little mini mouth versions of me, and I’m grateful for that, because ain’t nobody about to bully them.

What’s your criteria for introducing your kids to someone you’re dating?

So this hasn’t happened yet. I am still not in these dating streets, but if I’m dating someone and it’s serious, we’re gonna wait six months before introducing that person to my ex first, and then introduce them to the children, both of us as co-parents. Hopefully, the goal is that we will encourage the children to just, you know, give it a chance. Give it a shot. Mommy and Daddy are both in a better place. That’s what the goal is. So we’ll see what happens.

What’s your favorite holiday tradition with your kids?

So I don’t celebrate holidays. The only thing we do is celebrate birthdays. We use our birthdays as a holy day, and what we do is we go on trips. I love that. Every year, my children turn a different age [and] they can tell you what country they were in.

What are some ways that you encourage self-love in your kids?

I always remind them that they are the creator of their reality. How they perceive the world is exactly what you get. Whatever you speak is what happens. So I always tell my children to always speak positive things about yourself. It was something that I don’t think I really grasped when I was their age, and they really do. But for me, self-love is all about just reminding yourself that you are important.

What’s a hot take that you have about parenting?

I have a lot of hot takes, but the one that I think is the most pressing hot take that I want to let people know is that just because your children are young does not mean they’re stupid.

They actually pick up on energy and sense everything more than you know. What’s unfortunate is that children will go through things when they’re young, and we say, “Oh, children are resilient.” No, they’re not. They’re taught young how to mask their feelings, because they may not feel safe to express themselves when they see that something isn’t right. You’re teaching your children how to be little liars very young. You’re teaching them how to mask their emotions very young. So be real with your kids.

I want my children to look at me like I’m human, and they know, “Mommy has feelings, mommy makes mistakes, mommy does things just like them.” I just learned how to be vulnerable enough and transparent with them to get through it and let them see me in that moment so that they know how to handle it when they get older. That’s tea.

What’s the strictest rule you have for your children?

Going to bed at a decent time is the most strict thing that I have when it comes to my children.

If you aren’t getting proper sleep, you’re not about to wake up the next day and be driving me crazy when it’s time to start homeschool.

Lights out, give you kisses, rub you down with my Mila Eve Essentials, and send you off to sleep. And don’t get out of your bed! Nope, you ain’t waking up for no snacks and water. I won’t hear none of the excuses. Go back to bed.

What’s one part of your kid’s personality that you wish you could freeze forever?

Oh, the affection. I hope it never ends. We love to sit on the couch and cuddle and watch a good movie, or just sit and talk. And I hope that never goes away. I love cuddling on my babies so much.

What’s the best piece of co-parenting advice you have?

I have a lot of pieces of advice, not that any of it’s taken, but the one piece of advice that I could give to people who are out there co-parenting [is to] keep it about the children. Stop making adult business children’s business. There’s a difference between co-parenting and sharing children. Don’t share your children. Co-parent your children. Don’t put them in the middle. It damages them, and it destroys them more than you know, please. It’s for your babies. Keep it about your babies. Keep the bitterness for reality TV.