The ‘Real Housewives of Potomac’ star announced the couple’s split in April 2022 after eight years of marriage — and now, she’s telling PEOPLE the exes ‘really don’t have a relationship at all’
Former couple Ashley Darby and Michael Darby have yet to take the right steps towards ending their marriage.
Ashley (35) announced that the couple are separating in April 2022 after eight years of marriage. But The Real Housewives of Potomac star — who shares sons Dean, 4, and Dylan, 2, with Michael, 64 — exclusively tells PEOPLE that the exes still haven’t filed for divorce.
“I don’t know what this is. As I mentioned, I did this meditation retreat, and one of the things I meditated on was what is my problem? What is it? So I decided I’m going to talk to my lawyer and really try to get it going ,” Ashley said while at BravoCon 2023. “I was just a little smug about it, to be honest, because there are benefits to being married.”
‘RHOP’ Ashley Darby’s issues with ex ‘were piling up’ before ‘pivotal moment’ sparked their split
“Emotionally, there’s nothing. I think he’s moved on, I’ve moved on, but I don’t know. There’s just some kind of emotional attachment,” she admits. “There are some professional and financial benefits that he and I have. They’re not huge, but there are reasons why it’s beneficial for us to be married. But [the] the reality is we just have to pull the plug and do it.”
Meanwhile, Ashley says they’re “still figuring it out” co-parenting their two children post-divorce, though she believes “parallel parenting” is a more accurate term for their dynamic.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2)/Ashley-Darby-fashion-week-92922-2000-2ad55a6e39b4406e90dde9490fe6ac96.jpg)
Pictured is Ashley Darby. Lexie Moreland/WWD/Getty
“I think that’s probably a more accurate assessment of where I’m at. We’re not divorced yet, so we’re still figuring it out,” she explains. “I want to say we’re on better terms than we are, but unfortunately we’re just not. That’s how the cookie crumbles.”
For more information on PEOPLE’s BravoCon, click here.
The Bravolebrity adds: “We’re co-parenting and luckily we’re both very involved in the kids’ lives. They don’t see any difference. All they know is that they have two houses and they have twice as many toys. So that was good, but not really at all we don’t have a relationship.”
When she announced their split last year, Ashley told Bravo’s The Daily Dish: “People will be quick to assume that the causes were too much reality TV intrusion into the most personal parts of our lives, age gap issues, cultural issues or child-rearing differences. .”
RHOP’s Ashley Darby admits she was the ‘last straw’ that ended her relationship with Luke Gulbranson
“Parts of all this may have affected our pure love for each other, but no single reason is the main cause of our joint decision to go our separate ways,” she concluded. “We’re both at very different stages in our lives now and have different goals for our future. We both want each other to achieve true happiness and fulfillment and we feel we can’t do that together.”
Ashley was later in a romantic relationship Summer house star Luke Gulbranson. However, she confirmed the couple’s breakup in January after less than three months of dating.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
BravoCon 2023 continues through Sunday, November 5 at the Caesars Forum in Las Vegas.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education