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Phaedra Parks Makes First Appearance, Breaks Silence After Apollo Nida’s Report to Prison

Phaedra Parks is breaking her silence. The Real Housewives of Atlanta star appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Wednesday, Oct. 15, and spoke about her estranged husband Apollo Nida‘s jail term and their impending divorce.

Nida reported to prison last month to begin an eight-year term after he pled guilty to fraud this past May. Attorney Parks told Ellen DeGeneres that she had no idea that her husband was committing fraudulent acts, as she has been busy with her career and her growing family. 

“I work, I just got my fifth college degree  I’m pretty much an overachiever,” she said on The Ellen Show. “I have two very small children. I just stopped breastfeeding three months ago. So, I didn’t have any idea this was going on until he called me and he said ‘I’ve been arrested and I’m having this problem, but it’s not true.'”

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While she famously skipped Nida’s July sentencing hearing, Parks told DeGeneres that she stood by her husband when he first informed her of the charges, working with him to fight the case.

“I went out of my way to get him the best attorneys, the best investigators, and to do everything I could,” Parks explained. “I’m an attorney myself and so I wanted him to have the best so we could fight this together, but obviously it did not turn out like that.” Find out more about Phaedra’s involvement in the case.

Parks, who said she thought Nida was a “changed person” when she met him while he was on parole, will now be raising the couple’s sons Ayden, 4, and Dylan, 17 months, alone. 

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“It is extremely hard,” she told DeGeneres. “My heart aches for my two sons because they are the heart and soul of who I am. That’s the best thing we ever did together. We have these great kids. I never wanted to do anything to diminish his character in public. But we’ve had some times where he’s done things that weren’t so cool… weren’t so nice.”

The reality star then confirmed that she is divorcing Nida, and cleared up some rumors about the end of her relationship, including allegations that she cheated during her marriage with a man named Chocolate

“I think it’s totally absurd to think that I cheated,” Parks said. “They’re saying that I had an affair with a man from Africa named Chocolate. Now, everybody knows that I do love a Snickers bar every once in a while, but it’s definitely not a man from Africa that I’ve ever had an affair with. It’s just absurd.”

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Insinuating that the rumors came from Nida himself, Parks added, “I think sometimes when people are hurting they do things to hurt over people. There’s been a lot of lashing out from Apollo because I think he’s in a place — a very angry place — and I think you hurt the people closest to you sometimes. It’s unfortunate.”

Asked point-blank whether she knows a man named Chocolate, Parks shot back, “I don’t. I do know Mr. Goodbar though.”

Watch the Real Housewives of Atlanta star open up in the video above. 

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