The Real Housewives of Atlanta premiered its explosive 17th season last night and fans got their first glimpse of one of the newest full-time Housewives, Pinky Cole. Kicking off her debut at Porsha Williams’ Mystic Island couple’s party, she got her first taste of that infamous Housewives shade. But she’s got it handled.
“I shade their ass back,” she exclaimed to EBONY with a chuckle. “I lead in love, but I don’t stay there. If you come for me, I’m going to come back for you.”
Cole’s had to handle the highs and lows of publicity scrutiny and commentary. The founder and CEO of Slutty Vegan launched the business in 2018, turning her plant-based restaurant into a multimillion-dollar business with locations nationwide. Lines wrapped around blocks as the vegan burger chain quickly became a bona fide hit among customers and celebrities like Snoop Dogg, Gabrielle Union, and Ludacris.
But in recent years, Cole has faced significant financial and legal challenges. Several locations closed, and she temporarily lost ownership in February 2025, regaining control 43 days later. This year, on February 12, Cole filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing over $1.2 million in debt. As Cole restructures her business, she’s ready to turn tragedy around.
“My life is an open book,” she told EBONY. “I realized that my story is very polarizing. You have a very successful entrepreneur who’s being very vocal about failure and bankruptcy. That’s something that you haven’t seen from somebody as successful as me in business.”
Because of that polarity, “I bring a level of conversation to the mix, especially when it comes to entrepreneurship,” she continued. “Somebody can be inspired by my story, feel encouraged and empowered to continue going when they feel like giving up.”
Shortly after news of her bankruptcy filing broke, she took to social media with a Ms. Rachel-inspired parody, explaining the different types of bankruptcy to her critics. Poking fun at her predicament started as a lighthearted moment, but has since evolved into a new partnership with Earn Your Leisure, where she’ll launch a YouTube education series about financial literacy for adults.
Despite the turbulence, Cole’s new sisterhood with the Atlanta housewives is what she’s most excited for fans to see this season. “I’m so glad that I decided to be a part of this friend group because I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’m a very independent woman, and I don’t travel in packs. I had to learn how to share space with other women. I had to learn about friendship beyond my husband.”
Here’s Cole on her first impression of the ladies, the importance of sisterhood, and how she plans to rebuild Slutty Vegan.
EBONY: What was your first impression of the other Atlanta Housewives after meeting them at Porsha’s party?
Pinky Cole: I walked into that room and said, “This is an opportunity to make genuine friendships and whatever comes out of this is coming from a super genuine place.” I’m Jamaican, so I’m giving you that warm Jamaican greeting. I’m not on the defense. I’m giving you a warm introduction to who I am, and I come in love. For other people who don’t come in that way, that’s up to them. As for me and mine, I show up in love. That’s what you see throughout the season. You’ll see some spats and breakdowns in the friend group. But at the end of the day, it’s a sisterhood.
Angela’s already thrown jabs at you. How has it been navigating the different personalities of this group?
I’m a little shady, too, in the confessionals. That’s why people love this show. They love a good, light shade. When it starts getting dark and heavy, that’s when it’s too much. We don’t want dark and heavy. What makes this friend group beautiful is that even through the BS, we can always bring it back around. Even through the drama, breakdowns, arguments, and shadiness, if somebody is having a problem, we are all going to come to their defense. We all want support, and we’re all going to rally for one of the girls in the friend group.
A major storyline this season will be about your restaurant, Slutty Vegan. You’ve been very open about its current financial challenges, including your Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. As you navigate the current reality of your business, how have you been processing this shift, especially after experiencing such significant success with the franchise?
Black women often carry the burden of taking care of the family, being an entrepreneur, working, showing up every day, being a wife, having a smile on our face, solving problems all day, every day. To navigate all of that and be in the middle of a breakdown in business is incredibly difficult. I almost lost my mind. You never realize how real mental health is, especially in the Black community, until you are the recipient of what it looks like when you don’t take care of your mental health.
I’m not happy it happened, but the timing couldn’t have been better because I had started the healing process before the world knew about what was going on with me. When you see all of the headlines and people talking, I had already grieved the death of my business. I had already cried. I had no tears left…When people watch this show, they can resonate with real healing and what it looks like. They can resonate with how you continue to move forward when you go through tough times and see vindication.
How have the Housewives supported you during this challenging time?
There’s a good amount of them that have really been there for me in different ways, whether it’s from the beginning, middle, or end of this process. We’re all going through our stuff…What I love about what we have as a sisterhood is that no matter who is going through something, somebody is always going to be there to be that shoulder for you.”
Who in particular has extended their support?
All of them at one point have reached out. K. [Michelle], Kelli [Ferrell], and Shamea [Morton] have really been like, ‘What do you need?’ Do you need help? I got you. I’m here for you.’ And Cynthia [Bailey] has really been there for me.
There’s been growing online discussions around the heightened scrutiny that Black-owned businesses face during challenging times. What do you wish more people understood about what it truly takes to run a business?
Unless you’ve been in the trenches, had payroll, and are responsible for the sustainability of somebody else, you have no room for an opinion. Entrepreneurship is a spiritual practice. It’s the hardest thing that I’ve ever done in my life. But I would rather work 80 hours for myself than 40 hours for somebody else. The people who get it, get it. Businesses go through tough times. The average restaurant business doesn’t last three years. And here it is, I’m in year eight.
What are your plans for rebuilding Slutty Vegan and keeping it successfully operating?
You have to have good operators in your business. It took me learning the hard way that you have to have people who know the business and those who have scaled businesses like yours before. That’s the only way that you’re going to be the best.
Everybody’s talking about the brand. They know the brand. They love the brand. But if you don’t have the right pieces orchestrating that puzzle, then you have nothing. That was one of my biggest lessons now. I’m more focused on the franchise business and building that instead of running corporate stores so that I can have other operators tap into my brand and help me scale it.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta airs Sundays on Bravo and streams on Peacock the next day.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.