Kim Zolciak Hoped for 'Clarity' Amid Kroy Biermann Divorce on 'The Surreal Life' (Exclusive)

Kim Zolciak was hoping to gain some "clarity" amid her divorce from Kroy Biermann while filming Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets . The Real Housewives of Atlanta alum, 46, opened up to PopCulture.com ahead of the MTV show's July 23 premiere, revealing she was able to be "open and raw and honest" about her emotional state during filming.

"I wanted to step away from my home and take a breather and take a break," she told PopCulture of agreeing to join the Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets c ast, which also includes celebrities like Chet Hanks , O.T. Genasis and Macy Gray. "I was just thinking that I would gain some clarity there, and [I] had no idea how awesome it was truly going to be when I left."

Amid her contentious divorce from Biermann, Zolciak said she "definitely needed to step away" and get some "time to process" her emotions. The Don't Be Tardy alum hopes seeing her journey will help viewers gain "a little bit more empathy" for her situation , which she says has a "perception" that is "completely not accurate."

"People don't really have any clue what's really going on here," Zolciak noted. "I've remained tight-lipped. I will continue to and try to keep a lot of this out of the media just for my kid's sake. But people have no idea what's going on here. And so they'll catch a little glimpse of some of it throughout [the Surreal Life ]."

"[On] the Surreal Life , it was super easy for me to just be open and raw and honest, just emotionally," she continued to PopCulture, noting that people will see a whole different side to her they haven't seen on RHOA , which is "a lot of drama," and negativity. " Housewives ... you only see [small] glimpses. A couple minutes every week on that show for many years, and you're painted how you're painted, and what have you. And then Don't Be Tardy [is] with my family," she added. "So this is just Kim."

Amid the many connections the Bravo star made in the house, one particularly strong relationship formed this season was with Hanks, the son of Oscar winner Tom Hanks. And while fans have seen the reality star's potential romantic tie to her co-star in the trailer for Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets , Zolciak played coy when asked about their relationship now.

"Chet's a great guy," she teased to PopCulture. "You'll have to stay tuned to see what happens, for sure."

Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets premieres Tuesday, July 23 at 9 p.m. ET on MTV.