Meghan King Edmonds Is Leaving 'Real Housewives of Orange County' to Focus on Family and Pregnancy

Meghan King Edmonds is hanging up her Housewives hat.

On Tuesday, the Real Housewives of Orange County star announced that she’s stepping away from the Bravo show after three seasons, explaining her “bittersweet” decision in a lengthy blog post.

“I arrived at this multi-faceted decision after much thought, and then I thought some more,” she said. “As you might suspect filming this show takes a massive emotional toll: I’m literally filming my real life in real time and engaged in situations and circumstances which can be contentious. Then, when the show airs, we relive some trying of the most trying moments in our lives and then endure the public’s reaction; we never come out as winners to every viewer.”

Edmonds, 33, also said the show took a “physical toll” on her as she underwent IVF treatments in season 11, and experienced the busy life of a new mom after welcoming daughter Aspen King Edmonds in season 12.

“Filming is grueling!” she admitted. “After my first season I knew what to expect for round two, but even still, filming during IVF and then the beginning of pregnancy during my second season was difficult. I was hormonal and tired all the time. But my third season takes the cake: I had a newborn and had to hire a full time live-in nanny (my cousin) so as to allow me the flexibility to meet my obligations of continuous days and long hours of filming, traveling, etc.”

“My mind was often foggy as I filmed but I put on a great face and did it because I loved being a Housewife and was so grateful for my opportunity,” she said. “It was only after the season was filmed that I felt I was finally out of the newborn fog and I could look back on the past few months of season 12 with clarity. I had no idea how exhausted I actually was until I wasn’t exhausted anymore!”

Edmonds, who is now expecting twin boys, says she knew while filming the season 12 reunion five weeks pregnant that she “was done.”

“I knew that I was going to have a long pregnancy growing the twins and it would be next to impossible to film,” she said. “I could do it, but did I really want to? Twin pregnancies must be treated more delicately than a singleton pregnancy and are high-risk by default, so I also wanted to have a peaceful pregnancy with positive influences. Consistent positive influences are harder to find on RHOC!”

Edmonds is “sad” to leave her Bravo family, but she said Andy Cohen and the entire production team have been “nothing but understanding and supportive of me and my decisions every step of the way.”

“Lastly but not least importantly, I wanted to spend more time with my husband during baseball season and more time with my two young step kids who live full-time in St Louis,” she said, referencing her former St. Louis Cardinals star and current baseball commentator husband, Jim Edmonds. “Jimmy and I have decided to dig our roots into the midwest as we begin to build our dream home for our rapidly expanding family.”

“I know this is what I must do,” she said. “I must focus on my family and my pregnancy. I will miss the rush of the first all-cast event of the season, the anticipation of receiving each week’s episode, the thrill of wrapping the reunion. I have made soul sisters in Shannon Beador and Tamra Judge and that can’t be lost. They have touched my heart and I would do anything for them and I know they feel the same way about me — what a gift to have found that on RHOC! But I guess it’s time for me to become an actual real housewife of sorts. Oh, the irony!”