Getty
‘RHOA’ Newcomer Kelli Ferrell’s Restraining Order Battle With Stepdaughter Exposed Amid Nasty Divorce
Kelli Potter-Ferrell and her stepdaughter made shocking allegations against each other in court before the chef was cast on Real Housewives of Atlanta, In Touch has exclusively learned.
According to court documents obtained by In Touch, Markia Ferrell, Kelli’s stepchild, filed for a temporary protective order in June 2022.
Kelli was married to Chuvalo Ferrell from 2011 to 2022.
As In Touch exclusively report, the exes are in the middle of a bitter divorce. In Markia’s petition, the then 24-year-old accused Kelli of having “made many threats to me stating she will beat me up or get someone to do it.”
“She comes to my job to provoke me by bumping into me,” the filing read. Markia said the new Bravo star blamed her for “the breakup of her and my father.” “A couple months ago she followed me home along with her family, and came into the house and cornered me against the wall accusing me of something I didn’t do,” Markia claimed in the petition.
Markia said, “She has … terminated my position at my workplace. This has caused a lot of emotional distress on me. I have suffered with headaches, panic attacks and anxiety.”
She pleaded with the court to order Kelli to stay 200 yards away from her.
The petition was dismissed weeks later due to Markia failing to appear for a hearing. Kelli had yet to respond to the allegations in court.
Kelli’s lawyer Bobby Aniekwu tells In Touch, “With regard to Mr. Ferrell’s 25 year old daughter’s purported application for restraining order against Ms. Potter-Ferrell, my client DENIES the entire fabricated flight of fancy factual account by Ms. M. Ferrell. However, since issues were never joined in the matter and Ms. Potter-Ferrell was never served with same, the application was never litigated, considered by the court and therefore, was of no legal effect whatsoever.”
Kelli tells In Touch about the situation, “Unfortunately, after taking in Chuvalo’s adult daughter (Markia) during the height of COVID, I was informed that she physically assaulted my oldest daughter, Chloe.”
She continued, “This included Markia biting and throwing a burning candle at Chloe. At the time of incident, Markia was 21 and Chloe was only 14. I’m a mother first, so of course, Markia was chastised verbally.” Kelli continued, “However, this isolated incident began a domino effect, which eventually culminated in the demise of my 10-year marriage to Chuvalo.”
She ended, “Furthermore, as the sole owner of Nana’s Chicken-N-Waffles, I was Markia’s only employer at the time. As everything began to spiral, I had no choice but to terminate Markia, due to her aggressive actions in my home and at the workplace.”
In addition, In Touch obtained documents that showed Kelli filed for a protective order against Markia and Chuvalo on January 12. The court granted the temporary order and awarded Kelli exclusive use of the family home. Markia was ordered to vacate the home immediately and stay away from Kelli.
Chuvalo tells In Touch, “The incidents my team and I are replying to do not reflect how myself or Kelli envisioned our family dynamic to be. Personally, I did not want to involve my children or hers in any public forum. However, it would be a disservice to not address the facts instead of the salacious attempts she is making since she is unfortunately going to be eventually exposed for her wrong doings sooner rather than later.”
.
Regarding the incident between Markia and Chloe, Chuvalo’s rep, Francis Perdue, claims the confrontation was started after the younger child’s alleged actions.
They claimed Chloe had started the fight and Markia was defending herself.
The rep said the family resolved the incident without involving the police, but it caused tension within the household. Regarding Markia’s employment, the rep said Kelli removed her from the work schedule at Nana’s Chicken-N-Waffles, but Chuvalo reinstated her. The incident caused more tension and Kelli left their home in January 2022, the rep alleged.
The rep said Chuvalo filed a restraining order against Kelli in early 2022 due to alleged threats.
They told us Kelli’s 2022 restraining order against Markia ended up being dismissed in the end but the order against Chuvalo was “upheld.” However, the rep said the court allowed visitation with his children on Fridays through Mondays.
Chuvalo’s team said he has yet to see his kids since Kelli filed her new restraining order in 2024. The rep added, “Mr. Ferrell’s primary goal is to achieve justice and regain normalcy in his relationship with his children while protecting his financial and business interests. He has faced numerous challenges due to Kelli’s escalating actions and public behavior, but he remains committed to resolving these issues through legal means and ensuring that both sides of the story are represented fairly.”
Kelli tells us in response, “It’s truly disheartening that a grown woman can justify biting, throwing a burning candle and abusing a minor child in the manner that she did for any spurious reason. One of my biggest regrets was not pressing charges against Markia at the time because she was my purported stepdaughter. Sadly, it still triggers undesirable memories when I see marks on Chloe’s arm from that incident, and to hear that she’s apparently working with kids now is truly appalling, since she has no issues committing violent acts against them while taking zero accountability.”
As In Touch exclusively reported, Kelli filed for divorce from Chuvalo in 2022. She listed the date of marriage as August 20, 2011, and the date of separation as January 2022. Kelli and Chuvalo share three children: Chance, born 2012, and twins, Chasiti and Chelsi, born 2015.
The chef has an older daughter named Chloe from a previous relationship. Kelli was awarded primary custody of the kids and Chuvalo was ordered to pay child support. Earlier this year, Chuvalo was thrown in jail after the court found him in contempt. He was released weeks later. Recently, Kelli asked for her ex to be thrown back in jail for allegelly refusing to comply with the court order.
Kelli opened the restaurant Nana’s Chicken-N-Waffles during the marriage, which she was awarded in court. Chuvalo disputes she is the sole owner. A hearing has been set for September
Earlier this month, Bravo announced Kelli will join season 16 along with Brittany Eady and Angela Oakley. The newbies will be joined by returning cast members Porsha Williams, Kenya Moore and Drew Sidora. Cynthia Bailey, who was previously a main cast member, will return as a friend of the cast. Sheree Whitfield and Marlo Hampton will not be returning for another season.
Have a tip? Send it to us! Email In Touch at contact@intouchweekly.com.
