I can’t imagine being a parent with a steady, successful partner, let alone having to raise children only half the time, thanks to a co-parenting schedule. But so many families do this daily and seem to be okay at handling the stress. Just because some of these former couples were Real Housewives and Bravolebs doesn’t mean they don’t face the same issues a viewer’s family may face. But after the darkness of separation, these couples somehow made it to a brighter side. Most importantly, their children are happy.
Ashley & Michael
Even though Michael Darby might have been told to keep his hands off the Real Housewives of Potomac cast and crew, he’s very hands-on with his two sons, Dylan and Dean. Recently, the two co-hosted a birthday bash for their son and made sure to show a united front. Fans are aware that Ashely Darby is still a bit gun-shy about signing the divorce papers. Michael still pays for a lot, including her car and credit card, and even helped her buy her home.
During a Watch What Happens Live episode in February, Ashley opened up about her co-parenting agreement with Michael. She said, “Watching him with my kids and seeing how they light up when they see their dad. That kind of stuff touches me. We are no longer parallel parenting. We are officially co-parenting. That’s a big deal for us, y’all. I didn’t know if we would ever get here, but I appreciate, especially Gizelle, she always said ‘It’ll get better. It’ll get better,’ and she was right.”
Porsha & Hot Dog King
Porsha Williams and Dennis McKinley seemed like a match made in heaven. The man made a living off of selling hot dogs, which all the co-stars loved, and it felt like Porsha had found her knight in shining armor. Sadly, he turned out to be a loser in aluminum after fans found out he had cheated on her shortly after she gave birth to their daughter, PJ. But after months of therapy and a few rough patches, the two seem to be doing better than ever, especially when it comes to raising their daughter.
The two have no problem posing together on Atlanta outings, especially when PJ is present. Porsha explained during another Watch What Happens Live moment in 2020, “We are single. We are exactly that, single. But we’re very cordial. We have a great co-parenting relationship.”
Garcelle & Michael
Garcelle Beauvais didn’t let her cheating ex-husband, Mike Nilon, get away with his naughty deeds as she sent out an email to family friends entitled Tiger Woods/Jesse James/Mike Nilon and went on to ask, “What do they have in common… I found out today that MY husband of almost 9 yrs has been having an affair for 5 yrs with some slut in Chicago. I am devastated!!!! And I have been duped!! Our boys don’t deserve this!” The couple had twin boys together, and to say Garcelle was pissed was a massive understatement. Even though Garcelle didn’t want her boys split between two homes, she had no other choice.
In her blog via People, she told fans, “As parents, we try to protect our children from boo-boos and bullies. I think we should also try to protect them from adult drama and, more importantly, make sure they know it’s not their fault.” With added grace, Garcelle ended her post, writing, “While I’m so grateful that my ex and I are peacefully co-parenting and committed to creating a strong, consistent presence in our sons’ lives, we know that divorce is difficult. It’s hard on us, and it’s especially tough on our children, the innocent bystanders.”
Gina & Matt
Gina Kirschenheiter is in the midst of raising six children; three are shared with her ex-husband, Matt Kirschenheiter. In 2019, the former couple found themselves in quite the pickle after it was revealed that Matt had cheated. But things got exponentially worse when Gina was the victim of a domestic violence incident. At the time, Gina alleged that Matt had choked her, hit her, dragged her, threw her, and threatened to kill her, all while in front of their children.
But today, the former duo are co-parenting their children pretty well and have moved past the abuse. Gina told Us Weekly, “I was very thankful that he filmed, and I do owe a lot of that, I think, to his girlfriend. Even though I did go through such bad things with Matt, I feel like it is important for people to see that you can go through all those bad things, but then you can move on.” The OC star ended by noting, “It took us a long time to get here, but you really rock co-parenting. We are very good parents and we have a very open dialogue, and we talk all the time about the kids.”
TELL US – HOW DO YOU THINK THESE BRAVOLEBS ARE DOING WHEN IT COMES TO COPARENTING?
