Kimora Lee Simmons Explains Why She’ll Never Join ‘Real Housewives’—and What Pulled Her Back to Reality TV

After more than a decade away from reality TV, Kimora Lee Simmons is stepping back into the spotlight—on her own terms. On Not Skinny But Not Fat, she sits down with Amanda Hirsch for a conversation surrounding the early days of Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane, navigating motherhood as a single parent, and why she finally felt ready to bring cameras back into her world.

‘Not Skinny but Not Fat’: Kimora Lee Simmons on Her Comeback

Simmons also gets honest about aging, beauty culture, and why she refuses to overfill her face—even in an industry obsessed with Botox. Below, the standout moments from the interview—told in a Q&A format that captures her humor, honesty, and signature no-nonsense energy.

Below are highlights from the conversation, adapted from Not Skinny But Not Fat.

Why did you say yes to returning to reality TV after 14 years?

“I always have a lot going on. I never feel like this is time. I wasn’t quite ready for this either. It’s kind of like something that, and people who know me…know that I was very non-committal to this for years. A lot of people would say there’s a lot of like comments and stories and articles and interviews and just wherever you get information. There’s a lot of information saying like, come back to TV…So I know it’s a thing, but I just wasn’t ever sure when to do it or even how to do it. It’s weird for me.”

Why wouldn’t you ever join Real Housewives, even though you’re constantly asked? 

“I didn’t want to go do the Housewives…and I didn’t want to fight with these girls. And I didn’t want to have to manufacture drama with these girls. Not that it always is. I’m not trying to tell trade secrets. This is just my humble opinion—that it’s like manufactured crap: drama, fighting, bullshit, or BS for no reason, and I don’t want that. I don’t want you to have to turn my friend against me for ratings.”

How do you feel about aging and beauty standards and what do you tell young women, especially your daughters, regarding that?

“I’m not scared to age. My face is like—look at it…I don’t have a lot of crazy filler, none. You can see how it moves. I don’t need all that. That’s the whole point. I think if you stay a little more natural as you age, it looks better…I have smile lines and things like that, but I think if I go the opposite, it’ll be too plump and stiff…

…and you guys are actually aging your face and you’re aging yourself…I hear the craziest stories, and there are people that don’t look good, you guys. If you do that when you’re so young, then what are you going to do when you’re older?…

…[My daughters and I] talk about this all the time and I say ‘No, and you don’t need it.’ Even something that could be care…I would say no, it’s too much on your skin, it’s going to thin your skin. There are things you can do for care, but don’t do too much. Lights and all that…Don’t do too much.”

How do you manage motherhood on your own?

“The fathers of the children are not involved… I’m alone. There’s no co-parenting…They’re welcome to be around, just to clarify for the record. They’re welcome to be around at their will and leisure. My kids are all big enough and old enough to be able to have their own relationships and do their own things, so it’s not about me at all…

…Parenting is always a lot and you do the best you can. It definitely takes a village. I definitely have people with me—aunties, like sisters, friends, support—but you’re always going to worry, you’re always the main one up, you’re the next batter up always.”

What was going through your mind when Aoki’s relationship with a 65-year-old went public?

“Why is it a big deal though? Because if you look back…you see that all the time…I let my kids make their own mistakes…First of all, I know this guy, but I didn’t know this guy in that capacity—like with my kid—or that you were even dating my kid. I know this guy growing up myself. He’s a restaurateur…

…I was learning some of these things as I went along too…It went from 0 to 100 really quick, and I didn’t even know this was a thing. I found out when the world found out. So that was what was so shocking. And you can’t say as a mom, you can’t give the ‘I told you so’ right now, you can’t give the ‘what the hell are you doing’ right now…you can’t give all those things right now. They’re going through it. It was a lot. It was a lot for her….that big age gap relationship, let’s just call it that, I do think it’s predatorial.”

Are you dating?

“No, I’m just not into that. Not actively seeking.”

What was it like reacquiring Baby Phat after all these years?

“It was a lot. It’s always very emotional because it’s like your baby. You don’t even want to sell it or get rid of it in the first place, but we did. We built it, we sold it. That was a crazy deal. At that time, it was a historical deal. Even now today, I think there’s only been a handful of deals like that, at that level, that were done…it’s hard to let it go, and then once you let it go, you’re kind of subject to rules and regulations of others and what they think.

Usually that’s a marriage of the minds, but sometimes it can be a little bit difficult…so I sold it…I stayed a while as an officer of the company…and then we eventually parted ways. I didn’t have her for a while, and I did quite a few other things, but I always wanted her back. I got her back. And it’s always just emotional.”

To hear the full conversation, listen to Not Skinny but Not Fat with Amanda Hirsch wherever you get your podcasts.

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