Gone, but never forgotten.
The Real Housewives of Miami has officially made its long waited return with the season four premiere on Peacock today, Dec. 16. In the eight years since RHOM last aired on Bravo, the series lost a fan-favorite cast member beloved by all who watched: Marysol Patton's scene-stealing mother, Mama Elsa.
Despite no longer being with us, the series premiere pays tribute to Mama Elsa in the form of a voiceover played over a flashback montage at the beginning of the first episode. The special moment is sure to put a smile on fans' faces.
"Everyone kept saying if they bring the show back they won't have Marysol there. People only wanted to see Elsa, no one's going to want to see Marysol," Patton told E! News exclusively of the show's return. "So when I was sitting there in my first interview I was like, 'Bet you never thought you'd see me again!'"
Much like the show's opening montage, Marysol also found a way to honor her mother on the show.
"She hasn't been around for quite a while so it was a little odd," she admitted, adding, "But when we traveled or when I did my interviews, I would bring a picture of her with me and stand it up in a frame. Or if I was going to do a scene with the girls I was like, 'C'mon mom, we're going to go film with the girls. Come with me.' So she was there."
After eight years of being off the air, Marysol admitted, "I never thought [RHOM] was coming back."
"After two, three years went by, I never thought it was coming back. Alexia [Echevarria] would argue with me all the time, 'It's coming back! It's coming back!' It would be like six years later. 'You're crazy, it's been six years. You gotta give it up.' And then when it came back I had to eat some crow," she laughed.
Since we last saw Marysol on The Real Housewives of Miami, she retired her PR business and married a new man. Out of all the returning Housewives, Marysol insists she has changed the most since season one.
"I was running a business, I was very stressed out, had sick parents. I was like a chicken with its head cut off worried about so many things," she shared. "I just don't worry about anything anymore...I've matured and I'm very strong. I've become very strong like my mother."
One person who hasn't changed so much? Adriana de Moura, who definitely causes major drama this season (particularly with Larsa Pippen, as Marysol put it, "They are not exactly in love with each other").
"She's always being naughty!" Marysol laughed of Adriana. "I always look at her and I go, 'You get a pass because I expect it from you. That's you my friend. You're so naughty.'"
The Real Housewives of Miami is streaming now on Peacock.
(E!, Bravo and Peacock are all part of the NBCUniversal family)