Real Housewives of Atlanta star Porsha Williams is an activist, a mom, a reality TV personality,
a radio host, and, of course, a phoenix who continues to rise.
But is there still even more to the reality TV personality?
Find out the untold truth of Porsha Williams.
Viewers of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" watched Porsha Williams' marriage to NFL player
Kordell Stewart disintegrate on the show, ultimately resulting in divorce.
As she picked up the pieces, Williams told Bravo's 'The Daily Dish' in January 2014 she
was channelling all that heartbreak in a musical direction for her single "Flatline."
As she explained to the website -
"I've been working on this song throughout the whole divorce and the whole season [of
'The Real Housewives of Atlanta'], mapping out my emotions and putting in things that
I've gone through.
It's really kind of a documentary of everything that I went through to become who I am now."
After the release of "Flatline," she performed the tune onstage in New York City in May 2014,
and later that year at the Allstate Tom Joyner Family Reunion.
According to a press release, Williams' first and currently, only single debuted at "No.
3 on the iTunes RnB Top 100" chart.
In 2020, Porsha WIlliams was among the millions who took to the streets in protest after police
shot and killed Breonna Taylor.
Protesting for social justice is in her blood, given that she's the granddaughter of famed
civil rights activist and politician Rev. Hosea Williams, who worked alongside Martin
Luther King Jr. and helped to organize the historic march from Selma to Montgomery in
1965.
During an appearance on Andy Cohen's "Watch What Happens Live," Williams was asked what
her late grandfather would think of her role on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta", and she
declared -
"He would love it."
In fact, she equated her grandfather's outspokenness to her "Real Housewives" persona.
According to Williams, her grandfather was nicknamed "the bull in the china cabinet,"
because of his ability to inspire and rally everyone around the cause, and she went on
to say -
"So, me being how I am is exactly how he was.
He was just as outspoken and passionate as me."
Given her family history, it's not surprising that Williams would be active in working toward
change.
As a profile in The New York Times put it, she may come across as a, quote, "glamorous
goofball" on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," but crusading for civil rights is something
she takes deadly seriously, as she told the Times -
"When I saw that video of George Floyd being murdered, I knew that I had to change the
way I was moving."
"It awoke something in me that I knew was there, I have always had a heart for the people
it's in my blood."
She noted that she considered what kind of repercussions her activism could hold for
her reality TV career, but decided to let the chips fall, saying -
"That meant now I have to sacrifice myself, my finance, my brand, my everything, and put
it all on the line for change."
As Williams added in an interview with Elle, she simply felt as if she really didn't have
a choice, explaining -
"I have a platform, and I felt compelled to use it to bring awareness to what is happening
to Black folks in America and the need for us to take action in America."
Williams was arrested twice in 2020 while participating in peaceful protests.
Porsha Williams has had other brushes with the law.
Williams and rival Kenya Moore got into it during a 2014 "Real Housewives of Atlanta"
reunion special, which became so heated that Williams pulled Moore's hair.
Moore then pressed charges.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that Williams was subsequently served with
an arrest warrant and turned herself in.
She was released after posting $2,000 bail.
Williams found herself behind bars again later that year, reported TMZ, when she was pulled
over for allegedly driving 78 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone.
It wasn't the speeding that led to her arrest, however, but the fact that her license had
been suspended, and that she allegedly refused to let the officer handcuff her while cursing
at him.
Welcomed a daughter in 2019
After her divorce, Williams moved on and eventually became engaged to Dennis McKinley.
When she learned that she and her then-fiancé were going to be parents, the news wasn't
met with the kind of joy that an expectant mother would typically feel.
As "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star told People in 2018, experiencing a miscarriage
several years earlier had left her full of anxiety about becoming pregnant.
As she said to People -
"When I found out I was pregnant, I was excited [but] I had mixed feelings.
The other feeling that I had beside excitement was fear.
So just the fear of, 'Is the baby going to be okay?
Will I make it full term?'
All those questions that you ask if you've had a miscarriage before."
It wasn't until she'd been examined by her doctor that she was finally able to accept
that she would become a mother.
In March 2019, Williams welcomed a daughter, born without complications.
Williams' relationship with new fiancé Dennis McKinley proved to be no less turbulent than
her previous one with Kordell Stewart.
This came to a head when McKinley admitted to cheating following the birth of their daughter.
He blamed his infidelity on Williams' postpartum depression after the birth of their daughter.
"Hell when I was pregnant I was literally sitting on the couch and trying to grow our
daughter you know?"
"Mm-hmm"
"Like- so and-and these were the moments when he was doing what he was doing."
In a discussion on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 12 After Show," Williams revealed
another possible reason, believing she possibly contributed to an atmosphere that may have
led him to believe he'd be easily forgiven for cheating, saying -
"I did have a pattern of even saying out loud, 'Ignorance is bliss.
I don't even want to know...
I'm not asking all those questions.'
You don't realize when you're saying all that stuff like that, it lands somewhere."
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text
Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI
(6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
After her marriage and subsequent engagement imploded in front of reality TV cameras, Porsha
Williams took a bold step in May 2021 when she took to Instagram to reveal she was in
a relationship with Simon Guobadia.
As regular viewers of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" are well aware, what made this
relationship particularly awkward was that Simon had recently divorced Williams' co-star
Falynn Guobadia.
Williams' new beau shared a post on Instagram later that same day to reveal that not only
were they an item, they were engaged.
Falynn Guobadia initially stayed silent before eventually issuing a diplomatic statement
to E!, which said:
"At this time, I am focusing on finalizing my divorce and healing.
Sending positivity to all of you."
While Porsha Williams' engagement to the ex-husband of another "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star
left viewers of the show stunned, a member of another "Real Housewives" cast voiced her
skepticism.
"The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star and "The Real" co-host Garcelle Beauvais admitted
she was dubious that the whole thing was legit, saying -
"I don't think she took [her] man, but a month you guys?
A month.
First of all, he's recently divorced.
There hasn't even been time to reflect, to see what did I do wrong, what did he do wrong,
what did she do wrong?
And then all of a sudden we're engaged?"
Beauvais, certainly no stranger to the inner workings of reality TV, posited her theory,
quipping -
"I mean, it sounds to me like it's a storyline for next season."
Beauvais hasn't been the only one to express doubts.
An anonymous source spoke to Reality Blurb, pointing out the convenient timing of the
engagement in relation to production of the special about Williams, noting that Simon
would likely be a part of it.
Less than a month after announcing her engagement to Simon Guobadia, Porsha Williams revealed
she was already heavily invested in planning the couple's upcoming nuptials.
During an edition of "Dish Nation," she dropped some details about her wedding plans.
Noting that her fiancé is African, Williams revealed that three ceremonies are planned,
including one out of the country.
In advance of the wedding, Williams told her "Dish Nation" co-stars about another way she
commemorated her love for Guobadia, saying -
"I got my fiancé's middle name tattooed on my neck.
It doesn't hurt and, you know, I think that's cute."
"Professing our love"
When Williams decided to buy her fiancé an engagement ring, she knew not any old ring
would do, and in September 2021 she posted a video on Instagram where she, Simon, and
some friends perused rings in Tiffany and Co.
The action continued in a second Instagram video, in which the couple become emotional
over their ring-buying experience, saying in the caption -
"Yes we both are professing our love and [are] reminded every time we look down at our left
hand that [this] is a promise and love that will last a lifetime!!"
In a third Instagram post, Williams shared a closeup photo of her left hand intertwined
with that of her fiancé's, showcasing their respective rings.
Porsha Williams has been a part of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" cast since 2012.
On top of that, she has other business ventures, such as her Pampered By Porsha bedding products
and a line of hair extensions called Go Naked Hair.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Williams' fortune is valued at an estimated $400,000
— a decent amount, to be sure, but hardly what would be expected from a longtime reality
TV star with all those irons in the fire.
However, a report from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution indicated that Williams had experienced some
serious cash-flow problems following her divorce from Kordell Stewart.
"Because she didn't pay her taxes, she lost the condo."
"Wow I did not know that."
"Yeah.
Yeah!"
In addition, court documents obtained by TMZ indicated that she owed nearly $18,000 to
her condo homeowner's association, which filed a lawsuit attempting to garnish her wages.
Meanwhile, All About the Tea reported that the daycare center she owned was likewise
sold at foreclosure after she allegedly defaulted on a loan.
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