In perhaps the least surprising news in recent "Real Housewives of Atlanta" history, Phaedra Parks is planning to divorce Apollo Nida now that he's in federal prison for bank fraud and ID theft.
Steve Honig, Parks' spokesman, wrote to me, "I can confirm that Phaedra has retained an attorney with the intent of amicably ending her marriage." (RadarOnline broke the story.)
The pair have been married about five years and have two young sons Ayden and Dylan.
Just over a year ago, the Feds seized Nida's laptop and phone after his partner snitched on him. He had ripped off financial institutions and individuals for more than $2 million using various ID theft methods over four years. He was charged in January, admitted to guilt in May and sentenced in July to eight years after spending five years in prison for a prior auto title scheme. In the spring, he admitted in federal court that he had a difficult time finding honest work out of prison in 2009 and fell back into what he knew to keep up with Parks' lifestyle as she started "Real Housewives of Atlanta."
Parks, Nida's attorney said in court, had no involvement whatsoever in Nida's schemes. On the show, Nida said he ran debt-collection agencies. That was a cover for what he was really doing.
To date, Parks has kept her mouth shut about the situation but in the trailer for the upcoming season of "Real Housewives of Atlanta" debuting November 9, Nida is seen entering their home in a tizzy and getting angry just hours before turning himself in to federal prison a few weeks ago.
And she is planning to discuss Apollo's situation for the first time on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" next Tuesday for airing on Wednesday, October 15. Locally, "Ellen" airs on 11 Alive at 4 p.m. EST.
A good portion of season 7 had been taped before he entered prison in Lexington, Ky. Sept. 11 so we'll see plenty of both Parks and Nida on the hit Bravo program.
She did not show up to either his indictment hearing or his sentencing hearing, a sign that perhaps she wasn't going to play the supportive wife in public.
This is Parks' first marriage. Their kids will be tweens by the time he gets out of prison, even if he leaves a few months early for good behavior. He is scheduled to depart in September, 2022.
Several "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" cast mates over the years have been through divorces, including Sheree Whitfield (before she joined the show), DeShawn Snow (after she left the show) Lisa Wu (after she left the show), NeNe Leakes (who divorced and then remarried the same person) and Porsha Williams (allegedly blindsided by Kordell Stewart last year).
Of the other housewives, Cynthia Bailey has been married to Peter Thomas since 2010 and Kandi Burruss married Todd Tucker this past summer. Kenya Moore has never been married and neither has Claudia Jordan, a new full-time member. New part-time member Demetria McKinney has also never been married. Former housewife Kim Zolciak married Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman Kroy Biermann in 2011 and they have four children together.
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