Marlo Hampton has given Real Housewives of Atlanta fans plenty of insight into her life, and now they’re about to see her experience a major milestone: her first blind date.
In Us Weekly‘s exclusive sneak peek of the Sunday, June 25, episode, the 47-year-old goes out to dinner with a chef named Scotley Innis on the suggestion of her friend Tye.
“Oh, Lordy, my lashes are about to come off,” Marlo says in a confessional interview before the outing. “I feel like I’m about to sweat, I hope my wig stays in place. It’s a lot!”
Upon seeing her date, however, Marlo’s nerves seem to ease up a bit. “[He’s] handsome,” she tells the cameras. “Nice beard.”
When she informs Scotley — who has previously appeared on season 18 of Hell’s Kitchen — that she’s never been on a blind date before, the chef says he hasn’t either.
Tye, for her part, has a simple explanation for why she thought Scotley and Marlo would be a good match. “I like the fact that he was opinionated because she needs someone that can kinda, like, handle her,” Tye explains to a producer. “And you know she loves to eat, so [him] being a chef was like, ‘Yeah!’”
Whether Marlo and Scotley truly hit it off remains to be seen, but the beginning of their date seemingly goes well — even if Marlo is slightly skeptical of her potential beau’s age. “Thirty-nine is young,” she says during one confessional sit-down.
Earlier this year, Marlo hinted that she’s dating someone special, but she didn’t identify the man in question.
“He’s nice looking. He’s nice and he’s tall, so right now I’m just having fun. I’m smiling every time I’m with him,” she told Entertainment Tonight in May. “Shereé [Whitfield] has coached me through this: just enjoy the moment, Marlo. Have fun, because I’m one who overthinks everything like, ‘OK, are we gonna be together in five years? Well, when are we gonna move in together? Or, what are we doing here?’ So, I’m just having fun.”
Marlo has appeared on RHOA off and on since season 4, but she didn’t become a full-time Housewife until season 14, which aired last year.
“Getting the peach meant a lot to me for my fans,” she told E! News in May 2022. “At some point it was depressing just to see everything — ‘Why don’t you have a peach? Give her a peach!’ — to a point where I wanted it to stop, you guys, just stop it. But it just felt so good when I found out I had a peach. I’m like, ‘Yes! My supporters and fans are going to be so happy.’ It was just an amazing feeling and I just feel everything happens at its right time and right now it’s my time.”
The Real Housewives of Atlanta airs on Bravo Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.