We’ve got a mess on our hands in Atlanta. People exclusively broke the news yesterday that Drew Sidora and Ralph Pittman from The Real Housewives of Atlanta are headed for divorce. Initially, the headlines seemed like Ralph filed for divorce from Drew. However, in a surprising update from TMZ, it turns out that Drew actually filed first. She beat him to court by an hour. There’s a lot to unpack here.
Ralph and Drew have been married for nine years, and we’ve had a front-row seat to their marital issues on RHOA for the last two seasons. Although we always tend to side with the Real Housewives in a divorce, there are technically two sides to these stories. We’ll start with Drew’s.
In a statement, Drew shared, ‘”After eight years of wholeheartedly fighting for my marriage, I have made the agonizing decision to release my husband with love. Although Ralph and I have decided to move forward separately, the hope is to remain friends so that we can co-parent responsibly. In spite of our very public life, I am asking for privacy during this difficult time as my children and I learn how to navigate through our new beginnings,” she said per People.
According to legal docs, the court received Drew’s divorce petition on February 27th at 1:10 PM. In the petition, she lists their separation date as February 23rd. Meanwhile, the court stamped Ralph’s petition as received on February 27th at 2:11 PM. Do the math. That’s just 61 minutes after Drew’s. You can’t help but imagine the two of them racing through the streets of Atlanta, trying to get to the courthouse. Or, maybe Ralph had to make a pitstop in Tampa. Either way, he lists the separation date as February 19th, a slight discrepancy from Drew’s.
In a separate statement, Ralph also asked for privacy amid the divorce, which is hard when you’re famous. Still, he said to People, “Unfortunately we have made the difficult decision to move on to our next chapters, independent of each other. Drew and I have decided to file for divorce. We have three amazing young children, and their mindset and growth is what is most important. As we navigate this difficult time, I ask that you please respect our privacy.”
Drew and Ralph share two kids, a 7-year-old son, and a 5-year-old daughter. Drew also has her 11-year-old son from a prior relationship. If you recall, Ralph was in the process of writing a book all about co-parenting. Now, custody of these kids might become a sticking point in this breakup. Ralph states in the divorce petition that he wants joint physical and legal custody of their children. On the other hand, Drew is seeking primary physical custody and joint legal custody of their kids.
Another potential point of contention is spousal support. According to the petition, Ralph wants to avoid paying her anything, claiming Drew makes enough money from her reality TV and acting gigs. He also claimed that she hadn’t made any major financial contributions to their household throughout their nine-year marriage, per TMZ.
Although Drew and Ralph are asking for privacy during this difficult time, a season of Real Housewives of Atlanta is currently in production. So there’s no way this isn’t going to play out on reality TV in some capacity. There will be more to this story in the coming days, and we will be here to follow it closely.
TELL US – ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT RALPH AND DREW HAVE CALLED IT QUITS? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON DREW BEATING RALPH TO THE COURTHOUSE BY AN HOUR?
[Photo by: Heidi Gutman/Bravo]
