Aunt Lori has been Kenya Moore’s shoulder to lean on as we’ve seen throughout her time on Real Housewives of Atlanta. When Kenya’s dog was killed, Lori consoled her and attended the funeral. But, on tonight’s episode of RHOA, the two butt heads over the topic of Kenya Moore’s mother. Kenya was abandoned by her mother and has had a rocky relationship with her father over the years. On last week’s episode, Kenya knocked on the door of her mother, Patricia Moore. Unfortunately, she was rejected as her mother refused to answer the door or acknowledge her. Kenya tells Aunt Lori about what happened, saying that she had every right to try to talk to her mom. Lori disagrees and tells Kenya that Patricia actually called her, telling her to instruct Kenya to not contact her.
Kenya’s attempt to contact her mother came during a family reunion trip that she had planned. Unfortunately, Kenya’s Aunt Lori opted to leave and excuse herself from the situation. Kenya opened up to Bravo about her Lori’s choice to leave saying that:
I believe my Aunt is torn between her sister and her family and me. I don’t envy her position, but having said that, I was shocked she left as she has always shown me the most compassion. I believe she did what she thought she should do to stay neutral. But in that, she clearly took a side, which is what my mother’s family has always done by turning their heads when I was being abused in front of them.
According to Reality Wives, Kenya was given up by her mother when Aunt Lori was attending college in Michigan. People reports that Patricia was sent to live with Lori when she was pregnant because it was considered “shameful” at the time. Lori was the woman who reportedly named Kenya because she was “dark and beautiful” like the country. People reveals that Aunt Lori Moore went on to become an attorney in Atlanta, Georgia.
Kenya Moore’s parents Patricia Moore and Ronald Grant were both teens when she was born, so they were not prepared to care for a child. Patricia almost immediately abandoned Kenya. She did, however, contact her daughter when she won Miss USA in 1993. Kenya Moore remembers:
She said she just wanted to congratulate me. But I didn’t want to talk to her. I’m a very forgiving person. But I’ll only forgive her if she asks for my forgiveness. I can honestly say I don’t love her. I don’t even know her.
Patricia’s reported response was that the door of communication would always be open. As we see on RHOA, this is no longer the case.
