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The Real Housewives of Potomac’s\u00a0<\/em>Stacey Rusch\u00a0is taking the high road when it comes to critics of her new\u00a0cannabis brand, Shayo.<\/p>\n Though Stacey previously denied rumors she was starting a cannabis line at the RHOP Season 9 reunion, she announced on Season 10 that she was, indeed, launching a wellness-centered business in that space. As she clarified on the show, however, those discussions did not begin until several months after the reunion taped.<\/p>\n Still, some of her castmates, namely Gizelle Bryant and Ashley Darby, said they weren’t buying Stacey’s timeline.<\/p>\n “I don’t have anything to say to people who criticize my decision to talk about the launch of my brand in my own time,” Stacey clapped back in an exclusive interview with The Daily Dish. “I think that reasonable people and people that have businesses understand the importance of timing. And when I was asked about my brand, I didn’t have it at the time. And now that I do, I’m very excited to share that.”<\/p>\n The former QVC host also highlighted the historical nature of her new career venture.<\/p>\n “I mean, I’ve made history as the first Black woman in the state of Virginia to have a cannabis brand,” she continued. “I can’t be worried about other people. I can only focus on myself and my success.”\u00a0<\/p>\n As Stacey concluded, “So, I don’t have a response to anyone who rushes greatness.”<\/p>\n Elsewhere in the interview, Stacey reflected on her “phenomenal” cannabis brand launch\u00a0\u2014 and shared that business is already booming.<\/p>\n “It was such a beautiful moment,” she added. “We are thriving in the state of Virginia.”<\/p>\n The\u00a0RHOP\u00a0<\/em>‘Wife also explained that her main reason for entering the “wellness industry” was that she simply wanted “to help people.”<\/p>\n They include clients “who may suffer, for example, from anxiety; or people who are going through treatment and need help in terms of getting their appetite back; people who have certain personal issues but need a little help maintaining their anxiety or their stress level,” she said.<\/p>\n The timing of Stacey launching her cannabis business came up again during Season 10, Episode 6’s cast trip to Nevis. As the ladies feted\u00a0Jassi Rideaux\u00a0ahead of her June 2025\u00a0wedding to NFL linebacker Darius Harris, Gizelle and Ashley brought up how Stacey was “asked to be a bridesmaid.”<\/p>\n “I declined because of family reasons, and we talked about that,” Stacey vaguely explained on\u00a0RHOP<\/em>‘s Nov. 9 episode.<\/p>\n In a confessional, however, she shared more details about what was really going on behind the scenes.<\/p>\n “My business launch is coinciding with Jassi’s wedding,” Stacey elaborated to a producer. “I want to support my friend, but this is life-changing for me. This is the legacy that I wanna leave to [9-year-old daughter]\u00a0Arabella. And I wanna be very careful about my decisions. So, my intentions are to be there to support her, but there are a lot of factors at play here.”<\/p>\n As the ladies enjoyed a group meal on the Caribbean island, Jassi said that there were no hard feelings, though: “I love Stacey, and I would love for her to, ya know, be a part as much as she has the capacity to.”<\/p>\n Despite Gizelle and Ashley’s continued skepticism, Stacey insisted that she and Jassi were “good,” before shutting down all their questions and eventually adding, “I feel like I’ve said enough.”<\/p>\n Stacey Rusch during The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 10 Episode 5.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yes. Jassi and Darius tied the knot just outside Dallas, Texas, on June 6, and Stacey was in attendance, along with several other members of the RHOP inner circle, including Ashley, Wendy Osefo, Jacqueline Blake, and Mia Thornton.<\/p>\n It was a no-brainer for Patricia Altschul to spend a good portion of her new memoir honoring her late butler, Michael Kelcourse.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was a family member,\u201d Altschul, 84, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting her memoir, Eat, Drink, and Remarry: Memories from a Lifetime of Art, Class, and Southern Charm, released on Tuesday, November 11.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was the consummate professional, but we also felt like he was a member of our family,\u201d she continued. \u201cHe lived here and was with us practically every day. Even on his days off, a lot of times, he wouldn\u2019t want to go any place or do anything but come over and make dinner or play with the dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n Altschul announced Kelcourse\u2019s death in October 2024 with an emotional Instagram post. Kelcourse\u2019s death came years after he suffered a rare acute spinal stroke in February 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cHe deserved to be memorialized, and I wanted to do that,\u201d she told Us. \u201cHe was with me [for] 18 years. 18 years is a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n Altschul recalled hiring Kelcourse in 2004, after the death of his former boss, who she described as \u201can ancient dowager who maintained an enormous estate\u201d in New York.<\/p>\n \u201cWe met, and I liked everything about him,\u201d she wrote, revealing that Kelcourse was her companion when she was looking at new properties, including Altschul\u2019s iconic Charleston mansion. When Southern Charm premiered in 2014, Kelcourse became a breakout star.<\/p>\n \u201cMichael became the resident expert on cocktails and everything domestic, and so many fans wrote to him for his housekeeping advice that we had to incorporate an \u2018Ask Michael\u2019 button on my website,\u201d Altschul recalled.<\/p>\n She also made it clear that they never had a romantic relationship.<\/p>\n \u201cI have trouble writing the words. Did I ever have a romantic relationship with Michael? No \u2026 God, no,\u201d Altschul shared. \u201cThe relationship between an employer and a butler is completely professional and built on trust and mutual respect. Period. Please don\u2019t ask again.\u201d<\/p>\n All joking aside, Altschul got real when she recalled the morning that Kelcourse had his stroke in her book.<\/p>\n \u201cAs he fell to the floor, he pulled the phone down with him and managed to press the \u2018All page\u2019 button. \u2018Call an ambulance,\u2019 he said into the speaker. \u2018I\u2019m having a stroke,\u2019\u201d she wrote. \u201cI was asleep upstairs but woke up when I heard his panicked voice and immediately dialed 911.\u201d<\/p>\n Altschul\u2019s son, Whitney Sudler-Smith, \u201craced\u201d to Kelcourse\u2019s room and \u201cput a pillow under his head\u201d until the ambulance arrived. The spinal cord stroke left him paralyzed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe news of his condition \u2014 and the terrible uncertainty of his future \u2014 was devastating,\u201d she wrote.Kelcourse moved to a full-time care facility in Florida to be \u201cclose to his family\u201d in the years preceding his death.<\/p>\n \u201cWonderful, dedicated, kind, and exceptional-these were the words people used to describe Michael,\u201d she wrote. \u201cHe was all that and so much more.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Real Housewives of Potomac’s\u00a0Stacey Rusch\u00a0is taking the high road when it comes to critics of her new\u00a0cannabis brand, Shayo. Though Stacey previously denied rumors she was starting a cannabis line at…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4857,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t