Skip to main content

Porsha Stewart Blindsided: Learned About Her Divorce on Twitter

By Aditi Mukherji, JD on April 23, 2013 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

We all know it's a cop-out to break up via text message. But you know what's even worse? Twitter.

"Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Porsha Stewart recently found out her husband of two years, ex-NFL star Kordell Stewart, was filing for divorce -- and she got the news through a tweet.

Of course, filing for divorce is only the first step. He also has to serve her -- in real life. Here's the process for divorce in Georgia:

To file for divorce in Georgia, the person seeking the divorce has to file a complaint with the court. The complaint has information about current living arrangements, financial information, and the grounds for which the spouse is seeking the divorce. Georgia recognizes 13 grounds for divorce.

In his complaint, Kordell Stewart called his marriage "irretrievably broken" and said he shouldn't pay spousal suport because Porsha is "an able-bodied person, earning income and is capable of supporting herself," ABC News reports.

In Georgia, the spouse who's getting dumped then has to be legally served with the divorce papers. Alas, Twitter does not count. But there are different methods to make sure the spouse gets notice. It's important for it to be done right for the divorce to proceed.

After being served, the dumpee can then file an answer with the court. The answer lets a spouse contest the reason for the divorce or contest the claims for child custody, child support, alimony, or property division.

In Porsha Stewart's divorce case, she filed an answer soon after receiving her husband's complaint. Interestingly, she didn't contest the grounds for divorce -- that their relationship is "irretrievably broken."

But in true "Real Housewives" style, she contested the spousal support. Porsha is asking for alimony and the use of their palatial Atlanta mansion.

As awkward as their dinner conversations must be, Porsha and Kordell are still living together in their Atlanta mansion, reports ABC News. In Georgia, a husband and wife don't have to live apart when divorce papers are filed. But the spouses do need to be considered separate in a legal sense, which includes not sharing the same room and/or not having a sexual relationship.

In their whopping 12,000-square-foot Atlanta mansion, that shouldn't be too hard for the Stewarts to do.

Related Resources:

Copied to clipboard