Kim Zolciak is shedding light on her relationship with Chet Hanks after they were seen cuddling up in bed in the trailer for the upcoming season of Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the Real Housewives of Atlanta alum, 46, says she didn’t know what to expect before going on the show, but it was a good time for her to get away from home amid her divorce from Kroy Biermann.
She also admits that she had no idea who Hanks, 33, was when she met the group.
“I had to call Brielle [Biermann] and ask who Chet was,” Zolciak jokes of the actor, who is the son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. “She’s like, ‘Mom, there’s only one Chet in the world.’ I’m like, ‘Chet who?’ She’s like, ‘Hanks.’”
After getting to know him, Zolciak explains that the two connected. With such a small group of participants — only eight people total — she says everyone got to know one another well in the two weeks they were together.
“We’re all friends, friends for life, for sure,” she says. “We had a really great experience. All of us. From what I hear from every single person, they all loved it just as much as I did.”
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The Don’t Be Tardy star also confesses she often forgot cameras were watching her all the time, which could explain her moment cozying up to Hanks in bed. She says that when it comes to what went on between them, people will just have to “wait and see.”
“Chet’s a great guy,” she adds. “I mean, he’s adorable. We’ve had a lot of incredible moments throughout the season that you’ll see. We’ve had some deep conversations and he’s great.”
She did reveal the two still keep in contact today, saying, “I just talked to Chet yesterday.” She went on to explain that because she was filmed 24/7 for two weeks straight, she doesn’t exactly know what the cameras caught.
“I’m sure I said things that maybe I didn’t want them to hear,” Zolciak laughs. “Who knows what really went down?”
As for her journey with herself, Zolciak tells PEOPLE the show allowed her to be more vulnerable and open about things she normally wouldn’t talk about.
“I needed some time away from the actual house to gain some clarity going through this divorce and kind of focused more back on Kim,” she says, later adding, “There’s a lot that’s gone on in my life in the last year and a half that people have the completely wrong perception of and that’s because I just, out of respect for my children, just don’t talk. I don’t talk.”
She concludes: “So I think people will see things that they’ll be surprised about that I’m going through.”
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Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets premieres Tuesday, July 23 at 9 p.m. ET on MTV.
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