Welp, we saw this coming...eventually. "Real Housewives of Potomac" star Ashley Darby has filed for divorce from Michael Darby after almost 8 years of marriage. And the news comes as the ladies are filming the new season of the show. Deets inside.
Ashley Darby is about to be a single woman again.
After a roller coaster of scandals involving her husband, Michael Darby, that played out on "Real Housewives of Potomac" over the years, Ashley appears to be throwing in the towel.
The mom of two confirmed reports that she has filed for separation, and she gave am exclusive statement to Bravo saying she and Michael are "at different stages in our lives" and "cannot do this together":
“Almost eight years ago, when Michael and I said ‘I do,’ we anticipated sharing every single day together from that moment forward. Unfortunately, that is not our current reality. We have decided to separate. We are aware that there will be many speculative views as to why we have made this decision. People will be quick to assume that the causes were too much intrusion by reality TV into the most personal parts of our lives, age gap issues, cultural problems, or child-rearing differences. Pieces of all these may have affected our pure love for each other, but no one reason is the root cause of our mutual decision to go our separate ways," she said. "We are now both at very different stages in our lives and have different goals for our futures. We both want the other to achieve true happiness and fulfillment and feel that we cannot do this together."
Her statement continued, "While our romantic bond is broken, we will always love and respect each other. We also know that true happiness can only be achieved by continuing to work together and putting our hearts and souls into raising our two beautiful boys, Dean and Dylan. They will always feel loved and supported, for they were truly created out of love. As this is a personal matter for us, we appreciate everyone who has been a part of our journey and ask for your continued support by respecting us as we go through this emotional situation.”
It's interesting, because about three weeks ago, Michael was once again accused of cheating...and Ashley defended him with fervor.
Apparently, he was spotted out with another woman in Columbia, South Carolina. The pic - which shows Michael sitting close to a brunette at a wedding he was not at with Ashley - could be innocent, or it could be more than that. Michael doesn't have the best track record when it comes to things like this.
It's not totally shocking to us because Ashley said just last year she didn't feel completely trusting of Michael due to his past shenanigans. But, she has stayed with him through all of said shenanigans so, it's somewhat shocking she actually pulled the separation trigger.
Ashley went above and beyond to achieve her dream of becoming a mother, suffering through tough times attempting to get pregnant and tough times after pregnancy with post partum. Fans of the show often saw cracks in the marriage as Ashley constantly asked for more support from Michael as she tried to get back to feeling like herself.
It seemed like Michael had become more of the doting dad and husband this past season of RHOP, but more rumors of him cheating and them admitting to their threesomes and risque bedroom behavior seemed to take a toll.
In previous seasons, bloggers posted pics and video receipts allegedly of Michael Darby cheating, but he says those images of him - snapped by the person he was with and butt naked in a hotel room - were innocent.
Michael has also been accused of being sexually inappropriate with Bravo production and even other husbands on the show.
The family seemed to have pushed through the roller coaster of marital ups and downs and appeared to be happier than ever just this past Christmas - posting photoshoots with matching pj's and all:
We knew something was up when she started wearing less and going out more (*Drake voice*) soon after though:
And we're not mad at it. Chick looks amazing.
Something tells us we'll see more of the drama when season 7 arrives. We wish Ashley and Michael the best.
Photos: Instagram
