Another marriage has reached its end! ‘Real Housewives of Potomac’ star Ashley Darby confirmed the circulating talks of a separation. After nearly eight years of marriage and two kids, Ashley and Michael Darby have decided to move on. Ashley spilled her truth to Bravo’s The Daily Dish in a lengthy statement published Tuesday (April 19).
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“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,” Ashley said.
The Ashley & Michael Love Story Comes To An End
Viewers of RHOP met Ashley and Michael during season one of the popular series. Like most relationships on reality television, viewers got a taste of the great, the good, the bad and the ugly. From becoming parents to two-year-old Dean and one-year-old Dylan to navigating Michael’s sexual assault charges, the couple bared it all for TV.
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Still, Ashley insists there was no one situation or circumstance that ended the union.
“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.” Ashley continued, “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.”
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Despite the fizzled romance, Ashley clarified their commitment to raising their children.
“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,” Ashley said. “They will always feel loved and supported, for they were truly created out of love.”
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Virginia Law Requires At Least One Year Of Separation Before Divorce
B. Scott first broke the legal separation story citing a close source to the former couple. Twitter users quickly began pumping out reactions to the chatter. Per their report, the paperwork was filed in Virginia. The state grants “no-fault” divorces after “showing that for more than one year one of the parties intended to and the parties have continuously lived separate and apart without any cohabitation,” according to the Virginia State Bar.
“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,” Ashley concluded.
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