Monique Samuels and Chris Samuels have called it quits after 11 years of marriage.
The Real Housewives of Potomac alum, 39, filed for divorce from the former NFL player, 45, in Maryland, the Montgomery County Family Court told multiple outlets on Tuesday, June 20. Monique reportedly filed a petition to have the legal documents sealed. She also filed a complaint for absolute divorce in April and filed an amended complaint on June 15, according to court documents obtained by multiple outlets. The former couple are reportedly scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, June 21, to finalize their divorce.
Eight months before the pair’s split, Monique shut down divorce rumors.
“Chris, whatchu have to say about all this?” Monique — who tied the knot with her estranged husband in March 2012— said via her Instagram Story in October 2022, after noting that she just returned from “hiking all day.” The retired athlete responded by directing fans to his wife’s store, “Shop Mila Eve.” The reality star laughed and showed off her diamond engagement ring.
“No better source than the actual source,” she wrote in another Instagram Story. “Y’all already know how I roll. I give my own damn exclusives.”
Several days later, however, she clarified that she and Chris were going through a rough patch, which played out in part on Love & Marriage: DC in early 2022.
“It’s no secret that Chris and I have been struggling in some areas of our marriage and anybody who watched Love & Marriage: DC last year, y’all saw the arguments, y’all saw everything that was going on,” Monique shared in a lengthy YouTube video. “It was a lot of confusion, it was crazy building up to that 10-year marker of our marriage and when you’ve been married that long and when you have things that you’re like, ‘Listen, this is being unmet or I’ve been unheard’ you start to get frustrated and it’s like, ‘Oh, my God, is this what life is going to be? I can’t take it anymore.’ So what y’all saw on Love & Marriage: DC last season, it was my cry for help.”
After appearing on four seasons of RHOP, the twosome — who share three children: Christopher, 9, Milani, 8, and Chase, 4 — joined the cast of Love & Marriage: DC.
“Everything I went through leading up to this moment was for Love & Marriage: DC. We are able to really showcase here’s our family, here’s our marriage, here we are as entrepreneurs, here we are as parents, and here we are amongst a beautiful circle of other people who are in the same position as us and we are all learning and growing from each other, Monique exclusively told Us Weekly in May 2022 about the couple’s return to reality TV. “It’s more up my alley this time around. And you’ll see so many different sides of me because I feel as though I was put into somewhat of a box the first time people saw me on reality TV.”
Monique also added how joining the new reality show differed compared to her time on the Bravo series.
“That was my reason for coming to reality TV. The platform that I was previously on — it didn’t really fit with that dynamic. I feel like everything is divinely laid out and I had to go through what I went through to get to this point. I am very passionate about family, I’m passionate about my marriage and people get to see the full picture,” she said. “They get to see not just me amongst a girls’ group, but they get to see me, how I interact with my husband, how we navigate difficulties in our marriage, how we love each other, how we might blow up on each other and how we are raising these beautiful kids together. And all the challenges that may come our way.”
