Andy Cohen claims Real Housewives of Atlanta producers had no clue Porsha Williams’ marriage was on the rocks when they announced her return for season 16 of the series earlier this month.
Bravo released the news of Williams’ return on Feb. 13, saying she would rejoin the reality show after previously appearing on seasons 5 to 13.
Days later, Williams filed for divorce from her husband Simon Guobadia.
Related Story: Porsha Williams’ Husband Simon Guobadia Denied U.S. Citizenship Over ‘Criminal History’
Cohen, who’s an executive producer on the show, addressed Williams’ divorce filing Monday, Feb. 26, on his SiriusXM radio program.
The Watch What Happens Live host said he was “taken aback” by news of the divorce and Guobadia’s potential deportation.
“Wanted to talk a little Housewives news. First of all, Porsha announced last week that she is leaving Simon and I gotta tell you something, I was saying to the other producers of Atlanta, when the news started breaking about Simon and some of his immigration issues, I was like, ‘This is not,’ I was so surprised,” Cohen said.
“None of us knew any of this was on the horizon and this was really meant to be Porsha’s happily ever after kind of victory lap season,” he added.
Cohen called the divorce filing “a big right turn” from the storyline producers were expecting.
“So it’s just, I was so surprised and taken aback and listen, we wanted Porsha on the show for Porsha. We would take Porsha married, single, picking up the pieces of her life, on high, on low, however, she wants, you know, however she’s gonna be, but we didn’t know, and this is really a big right turn from the story that I think all of us thought we would be telling, so sending love to Porsha,” he said.
Williams filed for divorce on Feb. 22, saying the couple’s 15-month marriage is “irretrievably broken.”
Three days later, she posted a statement on Instagram saying, “Thank you for your prayers and support.”
That same day, Simon addressed the divorce in an Instagram Story, writing: “Will stop loving my wife when divorce is final.”
The two were engaged in May 2021, after one month of dating. They tied the knot in front of hundreds of guests in November 2022.
In addition to his divorce, Guobadia is dealing with serious immigration issues after a federal judge rejected his petition against U.S. immigration officials for denying his naturalization application.
The Nigerian businessman has been trying to obtain U.S. citizenship for years, but his applications have been denied over alleged criminal activity and prior deportations.
According to court documents, Simon was arrested for bank and credit card fraud in September 1987, and pleaded guilty.
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