RHOP’s Ashley Darby and Husband Michael Splitting Up After Nearly 8 Years of Marriage

Another Housewives marriage is coming to an end. This time it is Real Housewives of Potomac star Ashley Darby and husband Michael who are separating. She announced the split in a statement to the Daily Dish on Tuesday, April 19.

“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,” the Bravo star, 33, began.

“We are aware that there will be many speculative views as to why we have made this decision. 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,” she continued. Ashley is 29 years younger than Michael.

The reality star explained their split by stating, “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.”

The now former couple are original cast members of the show, appearing on the Bravo hit since 2016, two years after they wed. The former beauty queen and the Australian real estate mogul were initially featured opening their Oz restaurant and bar in the Washington, D.C., area. But their plotlines pivoted more towards family after the pair welcomed son Dean Michael Darby in July 2019, followed by baby brother Dylan Matthew Darby in March 2021.

Michael and the boys were a constant fixture on Ashley’s Instagram page, but she noticeably hadn’t posted any photos featuring her husband in recent months. The last time he appeared was in a family photo on January 2 to ring in 2022 with the message, “Happy New Year from the Darby crew! We wish you all a wonderful 2022 with all of the love and happiness your heart can take.”

Ashley previously gushed about her husband and kids on her birthday in June 2021. Next to a family photo while on vacation in Jamaica, she wrote in the caption, “In my 33 years on this planet, I could never imagine being this happy,” with a heart emoji and the hashtag “thankful.”