Angie Harrington is stepping away from "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” to take care of her 4-year-old son, Hart, who was recently diagnosed with autism.
A representative for Harrington confirmed the news to TODAY.com and said in a statement that Harrington is leaving the reality series to "focus on her family."
"She hopes that sharing this news and bringing awareness to autism might just help another family," the statement read.
Bravo also confirmed Harrington’s departure to TODAY.com.
In an article published May 10, Harrington, 41, told People that Hart was diagnosed in November 2022.
“We cried,” the mom-of-three told the outlet, in regards to her family's reaction to their son's diagnosis. “It wasn’t the dream we had for our child, but we had to and have empowered ourselves.”
The early signs of Hart’s neurodivergence included challenges in preschool and airplane travel, Harrington said.
“I think we noticed that something wasn’t typical with Hart, probably around age 1,” Harrington said. “He was extremely advanced physically. He was walking by 9 months. He was climbing on things, but he wasn’t saying those little words that you expected your 1-year-old to start saying.”
Harrington said her and her husband, Chris, have had to make adjustments to their lives, which includes easing up on work hours.
“My husband is a wonderful father, and so he’s been great at coming home earlier. He was a 60, 70-hour work-week guy, and now he’s more of a 40-hour work-week guy,” she noted.
To take the pressure off and ensure that she and her husband remain connected, Harrington said she's also hired a nanny.
“We spend a lot of our time together doing new activities, getting outdoors, to kind of remove our brain from the situation at home, just for a minute,” she said. “That’s our main priority, of course, but it is important to make sure you’re looking after yourself and enjoying yourself as well.”
Part of that self-care means moving on from her time on “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.” She said her fellow castmates have been "extremely supportive and wonderful” about her decision.
“I was offered to come back, but this is just a time when my family really needs me, and I wasn’t able to commit to it,” she said. “I want to be able to give my kids what they need at this moment."
