Who Is Kenya Moore's Estranged Husband? All About Marc Daly and Their Divorce

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Kenya Moore and Marc Daly separated in September 2019 after two years of marriage.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta star and the businessman met through a mutual friend (and fellow Bravolebrity) Chef Roblé Ali and started dating in December 2016. They married in June 2017 and welcomed their daughter, Brooklyn Doris, the following year.

After two years of marriage, however, Moore and Daly announced they were separating. That same month, Moore broke her silence to PEOPLE about the split, saying, "I didn't get married to quit."

"I love my husband," she continued. "I don't doubt that he loves me. Let me be clear, I took my vows seriously. I believe in for better and for worse and I believe in trying it all before you walk away, especially when we do have a child and we are a family."

Unfortunately, Moore didn't "get the sense that [Daly] feels the same way."

The exes ultimately decided to try again though, with Moore telling Andy Cohen in February 2020, "We're in a good place right now. We're trying to figure it out." However, the couple eventually split again in January 2021, and Moore officially filed for divorce that May.

In court documents, the reality star stated that she and Daly had been living in a "bonafide state of separation" since September 2019. Moore also requested sole physical and legal custody of their daughter Brooklyn. Although Daly ceded physical custody to Moore, he filed his own court documents in June 2021 seeking joint legal custody of Brooklyn.

The Special Forces: World's Toughest Test star gave an update on where her relationship with Daly stands today during a January 2023 episode of Watch What Happens Live, calling their split "the world's longest divorce" and saying that she hopes it will be finalized "soon."

So who is Kenya Moore's estranged ex? Here's everything to know about Marc Daly and his divorce from Kenya Moore.

He and Moore eloped in June 2017

The RHOA star and the businessman got married in a private resort in St. Lucia on June 10, 2017.

"It was just so perfect," Moore told PEOPLE of the big day.

She added that Daly was heavily involved in the planning: "He didn't want something for show. He didn't want it to be left up to other people's interpretation of love. He just wanted it to be what he sees it: him looking into my eyes and us being together. It was just two people in love who wanted to get married."

Moore also discussed how hard it was to find love.

"I'm strong but of course, I get lonely," the former Miss USA said. "I've longed to have someone who steals my heart and who I can trust to be my best friend. I've heard the love stories. And after a certain amount of time you believe it will never happen for you. You lose hope."

"I probably would have married him in 30 days, the feeling was that strong," Moore added. "But we wanted to wait and get to know each other and make sure it wasn't an infatuation. We needed to make sure it was actually real."

They share daughter Brooklyn Doris

Kenya Moore Instagram

Moore and Daly welcomed daughter Brooklyn on Nov. 4, 2018, making them both first-time parents.

The couple gave their daughter a name with special meaning. "Brooklyn because that's where we met and fell in love, and Doris after my grandmother who passed away last year and who raised me," Moore told PEOPLE at the time.

He owns a restaurant in New York City

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Kenya Moore, Marc Daly

Daly is a business owner in New York City, where he owns a southern fusion restaurant called SoCo. In fact, Moore and Daly first met at his restaurant after Chef Roblé invited the RHOA star there for dinner.

With Moore based in Atlanta, the pair's relationship was long-distance at times, which proved to be difficult for the couple.

"The distance had really been taking a toll on us," Moore told PEOPLE after their first split in October 2019. "Initially when we had the baby, it was great. He was there for every single doctor's appointment, every ultrasound, every scare, we were 90 percent together. He was a very supportive husband during that time."

But then, his career took off.

"Marc opened up two new businesses and is opening up another," Moore said. "It was frustrating for me that he kept opening businesses in New York, but listen — I want him to be successful and that's how he feeds his family. So I couldn't be selfish."

She continued, "But if you're living in two different places, you have to be together during the times you are in the same place; either you're both in NY and you're both in Atlanta. And when we'd be in the same place, we weren't always in the same place. So with the businesses, the distance, and the baby, it just became hard for us to figure it all out."

They announced their separation in September 2019

Less than a year after welcoming Brooklyn, Daly and Moore decided to go their separate ways. The exes announced their separation in two statements to PEOPLE in September 2019.

"It is with profound sadness that I regret to inform my fans that I am divorcing my husband Marc Daly," Moore said. "Due to recent and ongoing circumstances, I can no longer continue in the marriage. My sole concern and focus is and will always be my daughter, Brooklyn, my miracle baby. She was made in love and true commitment. I ask for our privacy to be respected moving forward."

Daly said, "I have come to the difficult decision to separate from Kenya at this time. Our daughter has two parents that love her very much and in her best interests, this situation should remain as private as possible. I cherish our family's good times together and will continue to co-parent in a loving way. Rumors, innuendo or false accusations only serve to hurt our family and will be addressed through counsel as the law permits. Please respect our privacy during this challenging period."

The separation was prompted by a fight at a charity event hosted by Daly that month. Moore recalled the incident during a March 2020 episode of RHOA.

"We went to the event and he just seemed very irritated the whole time we were there. Not loving, not being nice to me," she said. "He was just like, saying little things under his breath. It just seemed everything I was doing was an issue. And then, I don't know what happened, but he ended up getting in the Uber and we took off and he was just like, livid. He was like, 'I didn't even want you to come.' Somehow I ruined his night."

"It got really out of hand," Moore said, adding that their Uber driver asked Daly to exit the car. "And I told him he can't come back here."

Moore also told her costars that she had suspected Daly of being in an inappropriate relationship with another woman and had seen "text messages" between him and one of his exes. However, she denied reports that Daly had cheated to PEOPLE.

"I can tell you I've heard a lot of rumors about secret families. I can tell you that's completely made up; there's zero truth to that," she said. "In terms of infidelity, I've had no proof of that. That's not our issue."

They tried to work it out before getting a divorce

Kenya Moore Instagram Marc Daly, Kenya Moore and their daughter Brooklyn

Daly and Moore broke up when Brooklyn was 1, but they waited to file for divorce in the hopes of reconciliation.

In February 2020, they seemed to rekindle their romance briefly. "I think when you're married you have to try everything to stay together," Moore said during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. "If you exhaust everything, then you'll have your answer at the end of the day. So right now, yeah, if he's going to be a changed person, yes. If he's going to be the Marc that you've seen [this season], no."

Moore and Daly split for good in January 2021. That March, Moore told Cohen that she still has love for Daly. After Cohen noted the pair's "ever-changing relationship status," the reality star said she and Daly were "good."

"It does, because emotions are really high, Andy, and I've never been through a divorce," she continued. "I've never had a separation. I've never had a child with anyone, so all of these things are new for me."

"With Marc, I think, you know, he's still in love. I still have love for Marc," she added. "We are just in a very difficult place, and no one wants to really pull the trigger. But I had to do what was best for Brooklyn for right now, because I am her primary custodial parent."

He and Moore had "communication" issues

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In a November 2019 episode of RHOA, Moore opened up about the communication issues at the heart of their split.

"He'll admit, 'I am a fighter. I like to fight.' But there are issues, underlying issues in our marriage that we are not dealing with," she said, adding, "I'm not a fighter [in relationships], I want peace. I like to resolve issues. I don't want to be fighting with my husband like this. I want to be like we were."

Moore continued, "When he's upset, it's like he's no holds barred. He can be funny and smart and helpful and supportive but then when he gets mad, it's like an alter-ego comes in from the depths of hell."

She also didn't want their fighting to affect their daughter. "We love each other but this thing just gets nasty sometimes and I don't want that," she said. "I don't want it for Brooklyn. I waited my whole life for her and I was that little girl who was never protected and I will protect her."

Moore named "communication" again as the reason for their separation in a May 2021 interview with Essence.

"Um, well the biggest issue and what I've found early on in the marriage is the lack of respectful communication," she said. "I am very big on talking and not fighting and just explaining things so we can get to an understanding. He is not of that same mindset."

He's a very private person — even with Moore

Kenya Moore Instagram

In an April 2020 episode of RHOA, Moore discussed how Daly wasn't able to open up to her completely.

"I just feel like there's always been this block up of him not letting me completely into his life," she said. "It's just a lot of things I felt like I was in the dark about it."

She added, "There's a large part of him, or the relationship, that I was never privy to. For example, I'm not allowed to speak to his mother or father. And if you don't know everything about this person's life, you're not being let in."

Moore had previously told PEOPLE that while she didn't think she rushed into marriage, there were some conversations the couple should have had before tying the knot.

"Of course, hindsight is 50/50," she said in November 2019. "Looking back, I think, 'Okay, we should have discussed more things about religion, we should have discussed living conditions, we should have discussed those important things.' Those are the things we missed."

He stayed in New York during the COVID-19 pandemic

During the shutdowns at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Daly stayed in New York while Moore quarantined in Atlanta.

"We're not together being quarantined because when everything happened, he was in New York," Moore said in an April 2020 appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. "And now he's just trying to keep his restaurant alive, and feeding people at the hospital, and doing his own deliveries and stuff like that."

The time apart proved to be good for the couple, with Moore explaining that she and Daly were "actually getting along better than we've gotten along probably [since] shortly after we got married."

"I mean, it's just been no arguments, no real fights or disagreements," she said. "He's been really sweet and caring and thoughtful. It's like, 'Wow, this is the man I married.' "

This prompted Daly to reconsider the split from Moore. When talking about how his clothes are still at her house in Atlanta, she explained: "I did start to box them up and then, you know, in his true fashion, he came back and he was like, 'I don't want to break up. I want to work on our marriage.' He wants to work on the marriage. He wants to be a better person."

He didn't want a prenup

Kenya Moore Instagram

Before Daly and Moore got married, Daly insisted that the couple not sign a prenup.

"You know, Marc didn't want a prenup. We don't have one. Like, he wouldn't even have the conversation," Moore said in a December 2019 episode of RHOA.

Daly explained: "We never had a discussion about [a] prenup because for me, you bring up prenup to me, it's over," he said." I'm not going to marry someone who has a prenup. If you're with me, you're all the way with me or you're not with me."

In an interview with TMZ in January 2023, Moore answered that the lack of prenup contributed to the long divorce. When asked why the divorce was yet finalized, Moore responded, "No prenup, so yeah, unfortunately."

Their divorce is still ongoing

Kenya Moore Instagram

Daly first filed for divorce in early 2021, then "withdrew 12 hours later," Moore said in a March 2021 episode of RHOA. She tweeted on February 28: "For the record: Marc withdrew the divorce petition the next day and said that he was not asking for alimony in the filing and that we misinterpreted NY law. There has been no further divorce action to date. This scene was taped months ago."

Moore then filed for divorce in May 2021, requesting sole physical and legal custody of Brooklyn. Daly responded by requesting joint legal custody of Brooklyn, according to documents obtained by RadarOnline, although he agreed that Moore could have primary physical custody.

One year later, Moore shared that Daly has been holding up the divorce proceedings.

"I feel like it's been going on for years too," Moore told Cohen in a May 2022 episode of Watch What Happens Live. "I want it to be over. The hold-up is on the other side."

After Cohen said he was "sorry to hear" that, Moore responded, "I'm sorry to hear that too. Get me free! Get me free!"

A few months later, Moore revealed that she and Daly were "still not divorced" in a September 2022 RHOA reunion. "He's not asking for anything at this point. It's just at a standstill," she told Cohen. "So until we get a trial date or settle, it's still going to go on."

That hasn't stopped Moore from moving on romantically, though. "I'm definitely doing some group dating and have people pursuing me, but nothing serious yet," she said.

In a January 2023 episode of Watch What Happens Live, Moore told Cohen that she hopes her divorce will be finalized "soon."