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Former Real Housewives of Atlanta star Eva Marcille and her husband, Michael Sterling, are divorcing after five years of marriage. According to court documents, Eva filed legal paperwork to begin divorce proceedings on March 23, stating that their union is “irretrievably broken.”
Eva issued the obligatory “respect our privacy” statement to PEOPLE, saying, “This has been one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make, but sometimes life takes your journey in a direction you were not expecting. Our children remain our biggest priority and the eight and half years we have spent together will always be cherished. We ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”
The America’s Top Model winner’s attorney states that the two are “currently living in a bona fide state of separation.”
The couple’s marriage and familial journey were featured heavily during Eva’s tenure on RHOA. A major storyline revolved around Eva’s fight to have her daughter, Marley Rae, be given Michael’s last name, “Sterling,” as Eva distanced herself from her ex and Marley’s biological father, R&B singer Kevin McCall, amid alleged abuse claims.
The couple also shares two other children, four-year-old Michael Sterling Jr. and three-year-old Maverick Sterling.
Eva is asking the courts to grant her legal and primary custody of their children as well as child support in order to adequately provide “care and maintenance” for the kids.
In addition to child custody, Eva is also seeking “equitable division” of the assets that she and Michael accrued during their marriage and that any debt the two acquired be “equitably divided” as well.
The couple’s split comes as a surprise to many. Eva and Michael married in October 2018, and the nuptials were filmed for RHOA. The pair showed no signs that their marriage was in trouble as they posted dual Valentine’s Day tribute posts to one another just one month ago. Eva’s post has since been deleted.
Michael captioned his Valentine’s post, “My forever Valentine. ‘I am so in love with you that there isn’t anything else.’ Happy St. Valentine’s Day. #thesterlings”
Fans have been left confused, with one commenting on Michael’s post, “How is there a divorce filing only a month after this post?”
Another pleaded for the two to work it out, “How you from this to divorce! Go work it out!!”
As a third echoed many fans’ suspicions, “This could not have changed in weeks, whatever it is fix it! please! our generation needs to see real love! and see it last! love is way bigger than the issue. There is no problem without a solution! FIX IT! BOTH OF YOU!”
Michael has yet to issue his own statement as of the writing of this post.