Dr. Contessa Metcalfe Had to 'Dig Deep' During Dramatic Season 12 of 'Married to Medicine': 'I Didn't Know What I Was Capable Of'

Dr. Contessa Metcalfe knows how to navigate drama.

Since joining the ladies of Married to Medicine in Season 5, the physician has been put through the wringer, showing the trials and tribulations of her personal life and ever-changing dynamics with her castmates.

Metcalfe speaks exclusively with OK! about why Season 12 shocked her, the new women joining the show, Dr. Simone Whitmore's ongoing feud with Quad Webb and investing in herself and her business.

Despite going into the show's latest installment feeling confident, Metcalfe admits she was shocked by what transpired. "Everything that happened in my personal life, I didn't expect any of it," she teases, without getting into specifics.

"If you watch the season from the beginning, I came in on a high. Like, 'Look! We're doing good! Me and my husband [Dr. Scott Metcalfe] are working, we're building out this practice! I'm going to throw myself a party because I can do that because I have money!' I was thinking I had it all down, but then life fell apart. I had to dig deep in so many ways. I didn't even know what I was capable of."

"I was excited that these women came in and shared their story," Contessa says. "Dr. Brandi [Milton] is a nurse practitioner. She has a doctorate, but she has her own practice. She also has four little kids, she's married and her husband's a professional. It's tough trying to balance all of that and not fall apart. But then Angel [Love Davis] is a single mom, has a super successful business, but she is also a working nurse, and she's trying to balance all of it as well. I feel like we can all contribute and help one another because we are different faces in our marriages and with our kids. I love the fact that they came in vulnerable. We can be that way with one another because we can support each other. I need support. I know I can't navigate this world alone, but they came in and gave that to each other."

Following numerous seasons of Simone and Quad being at each other's throats, Contessa doesn't think their rift will ever cool down.

"They just picked up where they left off. I don't even think they remember what they're fighting about. They could have seen each other last week, hugged, drank out of the same glass and shared an appetizer — but then the next time they see each other, they had a dream about something that happened 17 years ago, and they get mad all over again," she says. "I don't even know with these two, I get to the point where I'm just like, 'Here we go again!'"

During Season 12, Contessa and Scott fund a medical venture and a new building.

"Investing in this building, this business and in myself, it's something that you never get motivation from other people to do. They don't really encourage you to do that," she says. "It never becomes the right time to believe in yourself. Once you become a mom, you have everybody else who's responsible for you. But you have to know that you're going to be okay to make moves."

Married to Medicine airs on Bravo Sundays at 9 p.m. ET. Stream old episodes anytime on Peacock.