‘Basketball Wives: LA’ Star Jackie Christie Talks Whether Season 5 Will Suffer Without Draya Michele

One familiar face was missing from “Basketball Wives: LA” Season premiere last Sunday — Draya Michele. The model and TV personality quit the series during the middle of Season 4. In a new interview, veteran “Basketball Wives: LA” star Jackie Christie opened up about her relationship with Draya and whether she thinks Draya’s absence could put a damper on things this season.

“I like Draya, I really do. In fact, I will say she’s like a little sister to me. We had our ups and downs, we were at each other’s throat,” Jackie told TMZ’s Raq Rants Friday. “When she left I was kind of worried, like, ‘Aww, I don’t want you to leave.’ But you know, I haven’t really missed her that much.”

When asked if Draya quitting the VH1 series could hurt the show’s ratings, Jackie quickly dismissed it saying that fans can still tune in to watch her. “Not even to pat my own back, but I just feel like I've been the most transparent the whole five seasons that we’ve had,” she explained.

Even though Jackie thinks the show will be fine without Draya, it appears that fans really do miss seeing her on their TV screens. According to Global Grind, the Season 5 premiere didn’t do nearly as well as last season’s premiere did. The outlet reported that 1.9 million people tuned in for episode 1 of Season 4, but only half a millions fans returned for last week’s debut.

Draya, who gave birth to her second child in April, spoke to Global Grind about her exit and said she doesn’t regret leaving and still thinks she made the right choice. “It was hard to walk away, and at times I still miss it because there is the being-on-TV factor and the camera following me around everywhere,” she said. “Sometimes I’m at lunch and I realize I’m taking to another woman and I’m not being recorded. For a while it felt odd, but ultimately I think I made the right decision.”

Last October, Draya explained to BET that she wanted to walk away from reality TV because she was “mentally over it” and didn’t want her personal life played out for everyone to see. “I don’t need every single thing I do to be on TV and to be judges,” she said. “I just don’t like it anymore. I just want to live a more private life. It ruins families, relationships, work relationships, I think it tarnishes your name.”