When Real Housewives of Potomac star Ashley Darby announced that she and her husband Michael Darby were separating, I don’t think it was a surprise. In a statement to Bravo’s The Daily Dish, Ashley said, “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,” she stated.
Michael has been a controversial figure on RHOP since its debut. Michael was charged with sexual assault for allegedly grabbing a cameraman’s butt in 2018. After the charges were dropped, Michael returned to filming the show.
The couple briefly separated in 2017. There were also numerous rumors of infidelity on Michael’s part. Ashley always had her husband’s back. In March of 2022, Ashley once again defended Michael when he was seen with another woman at a South Carolina hotel.
Ashley’s separation will play out on Season 7 of RHOP. In the trailer for the season, Ashley told the ladies she was planning to purchase a house with Michael. Ashley’s co-stars have some questions about this unusual separation.
Ashley spoke with Entertainment Tonight about why she and Michael decided to end their marriage. “It’s a really difficult decision, but ultimately I think it is the best decision for us because I just really am a different person than I was when he met me,” Ashley explained.
The accusations of cheating affected Michael more than Ashley. “I mean, if he was out anywhere, people would take pictures and send them to me, you know? ‘Who’s Michael talking to?’ ‘What’s Michael doing?’” Ashley remarked. Part of that was because of Michael’s behavior.
Ashley noted that she and Michael “just have different expectations for the relationship.” The couple share two sons: Dean, who is three years old, and one-year-old Dylan. After becoming a mother, Ashley no longer wanted to engage in threesomes with her husband.
She explained, “It has just sort of been a long time coming. And yes, there is something that happened, that I do share in this season, that was sort of the pivotal moment that made it come to fruition, but ultimately … it’s just been piling up if you will,” Ashley added.
So, will RHOP viewers hear Michael’s side of the story this season? That would be a hard pass. Thankl heavens! “Michael has decided that he doesn’t wanna be a part of [the show] anymore, and I respect that,” Ashley stated. “It was a really difficult thing, where he didn’t have any privacy for a while there. Granted, it was from some of his own doing but, you know, he just wanted to– he says, ‘I’m 62 years old and I just wanna have my life back,’ and I respect that,” she remarked. The duo still live together in their penthouse to co-parent their sons.
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Due to a technicality, a couple must be legally separated for at least one year before filing for divorce in Virginia. Ashley explained, “It was very fresh, it was a fairly new decision, that we had decided — or that I had decided on — so it had still felt like a new and I don’t feel like it was so– ‘divorce’ is so, even d- it’s just such a hard consonant, I just wasn’t ready,” she said. Ashley admitted, “There’s some moments of missing our relationship.”
It will be interesting to watch Ashley’s journey on RHOP this season, and see how she connects with her co-stars without Michael in the picture.
TELL US- ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT ASHLEY AND MICHAEL ARE STILL LIVING TOGETHER? ARE YOU EXCITED TO WATCH A SINGLE ASHLEY?
[Photo by: Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images]
