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The Untold Truth Of Porsha Williams
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00:00Real Housewives of Atlanta star Portia Williams is an activist, a mom, a reality TV personality,
00:06a radio host, and, of course, a phoenix who continues to rise.
00:10But is there still even more to the reality TV personality?
00:13Find out the untold truth of Portia Williams.
00:17Viewers of the Real Housewives of Atlanta watched Portia Williams' marriage to NFL player
00:21Cordell Stewart disintegrate on the show, ultimately resulting in divorce.
00:25As she picked up the pieces, Williams told Bravo's The Daily Dish in January 2014 she
00:29was channeling all that heartbreak in a musical direction for her single Flatline.
00:33As she explained to the website,
00:34"...I've been working on this song throughout the whole divorce and the whole season of
00:38The Real Housewives of Atlanta, mapping out my emotions and putting in things that I've
00:42gone through.
00:43It's really kind of a documentary of everything that I went through to become who I am now."
00:47After the release of Flatline, she performed the tune on stage in New York City in May 2014
00:52and later that year at the Allstate Tom Joyner family reunion.
00:56According to a press release, Williams' first and currently only single debuted at number
00:59three on the iTunes R&B Top 100 chart.
01:03In 2020, Portia Williams was among the millions who took to the streets in protest after police
01:07shot and killed Breonna Taylor.
01:09Protesting for social justice is in her blood, given that she's the granddaughter of famed
01:13civil rights activist and politician Reverend Hosea Williams, who worked alongside Martin
01:17Luther King Jr. and helped to organize the historic march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965.
01:23During an appearance on Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live, Williams was asked what her
01:26late grandfather would think of her role on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, and she declared,
01:30"...he would love it."
01:31In fact, she equated her grandfather's outspokenness to a Real Housewives persona.
01:36According to Williams, her grandfather was nicknamed the Bull in the China Cabinet because
01:39of his ability to inspire and rally everyone around the cause, and she went on to say,
01:44"...so me being how I am is exactly how he was.
01:46He was just as outspoken and passionate as me."
01:50Given her family history, it's not surprising that Williams would be active and working toward
01:54change.
01:55As a profile in The New York Times put it, she may come across as a, quote, glamorous
01:58goofball on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, but crusading for civil rights is something
02:02she takes deadly seriously.
02:04As she told The Times,
02:05"...when I saw that video of George Floyd being murdered, I knew that I had to change
02:08the way I was moving."
02:09"...it awoke something in me that I knew was there.
02:14I have always had a heart for the people, it's in my blood."
02:17She noted that she considered what kind of repercussions her activism could hold for
02:21her reality TV career, but decided to let the chips fall, saying,
02:24"...that meant now I have to sacrifice myself, my finance, my brand, my everything, and put
02:29it all on the line for change."
02:30As Williams added in an interview with Elle,
02:32She simply felt as if she really didn't have a choice, explaining,
02:35"...I have a platform, and I felt compelled to use it, to bring awareness to what is happening
02:39to black folks in America, and the need for us to take action in America."
02:43Williams was arrested twice in 2020 while participating in peaceful protests.
02:48Portia Williams has had other brushes with the law.
02:50Williams and rival Kenya Moore got into it during a 2014 Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion
02:55special, which became so heated that Williams pulled Moore's hair.
02:58Moore then pressed charges.
03:00The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Williams was subsequently served with an arrest
03:03warrant and turned herself in.
03:05She was released after posting $2,000 bail.
03:08Williams found herself behind bars again later that year, reported TMZ, when she was pulled
03:12over for allegedly driving 78 miles per hour in a 55 miles per hour zone.
03:17It wasn't the speeding that led to her arrest, however, but the fact that her license had been
03:21suspended, and that she allegedly refused to let the officer handcuff her while cursing at him.
03:26After her divorce, Williams moved on and eventually became engaged to Dennis McKinley.
03:30When she learned that she and her then-fiance were going to be parents, the news wasn't met
03:33with the kind of joy that an expectant mother would typically feel.
03:37As the Real Housewives of Atlanta star told People in 2018, experiencing a miscarriage several
03:41years earlier had left her full of anxiety about becoming pregnant, as she said to People,
03:46When I found out I was pregnant, I was excited, but I had mixed feelings.
03:50The other feeling that I had beside excitement was fear.
03:52So just the fear of, is the baby going to be okay?
03:55Will I make it full term?
03:56All those questions that you ask if you've had a miscarriage before.
03:59It wasn't until she'd been examined by her doctor that she was finally able to accept
04:03that she would become a mother.
04:04In March 2019, Williams welcomed a daughter born without complications.
04:08Williams' relationship with new fiance Dennis McKinley proved to be no less turbulent than her
04:13previous one with Cordell Stewart.
04:15This came to a head when McKinley admitted to cheating following the birth of their daughter.
04:19He blamed his infidelity on Williams' postpartum depression after the birth of their daughter.
04:22When I was pregnant, I was literally sitting on the couch and trying to grow our daughter,
04:27you know?
04:28Like, so, and these are the moments where he was doing what he was doing.
04:32In a discussion on the Real Housewives of Atlanta season 12 after show, Williams revealed
04:36another possible reason, believing she possibly contributed to an atmosphere that may have led him
04:40to believe he'd be easily forgiven for cheating, saying,
04:43I did have a pattern of even saying out loud, ignorance is bliss.
04:46I don't even want to know.
04:47I'm not asking all those questions.
04:49You don't realize when you're saying all that stuff like that, it lands somewhere.
04:52If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text
04:56Line by texting HOME to 741-741.
04:59Call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI, that's 6264, or
05:06visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
05:10After her marriage and subsequent engagement imploded in front of reality TV cameras, Portia
05:14Williams took a bold step in May 2021 when she took to Instagram to reveal she was in
05:19a relationship with Simon Gobadia.
05:21As regular viewers of the Real Housewives of Atlanta are well aware, what made this relationship
05:25particularly awkward was that Simon had recently divorced Williams' co-star Fallon Gobadia.
05:30Williams' new beau shared a post on Instagram later that same day to reveal that not only
05:33were they an item, they were engaged.
05:35Fallon Gobadia initially stayed silent before eventually issuing a diplomatic statement to
05:40E!, which said,
05:41At this time, I am focusing on finalizing my divorce and healing, sending positivity to
05:45all of you.
05:46While Portia Williams' engagement to the ex-husband of another Real Housewives of Atlanta star left
05:51viewers of the show stunned, a member of another Real Housewives cast voiced her skepticism.
05:55The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star and The Real co-host Garcelle Beauvais admitted
05:59she was dubious that the whole thing was legit, saying,
06:01"...I don't think she took her man but a month, you guys.
06:04A month.
06:05First of all, he's recently divorced.
06:06There hasn't even been time to reflect, to see what did I do wrong, what did he do wrong,
06:10what did she do wrong, and then all of a sudden were engaged?"
06:13Beauvais, certainly no stranger to the inner workings of reality TV, posited her theory,
06:18quipping,
06:19"...it sounds to me like it's a storyline for next season."
06:21Beauvais hasn't been the only one to express doubts.
06:24An anonymous source spoke to Reality Blurb, pointing out the convenient timing of the engagement
06:28in relation to production of the special about Williams, noting that Simon would likely be
06:31a part of it.
06:33Less than a month after announcing her engagement to Simon Gobadia, Portia Williams revealed
06:37she was already heavily invested in planning the couple's upcoming nuptials.
06:41During an edition of Dish Nation, she dropped some details about her wedding plans, noting
06:45that her fiancé is African, Williams revealed that three ceremonies are planned, including
06:49one out of the country.
06:50In advance of the wedding, Williams told her Dish Nation co-stars about another way she
06:54commemorated her love for Gobadia, saying,
06:56"...I got my fiancé's middle name tattooed on my neck.
06:58It doesn't hurt.
06:59And, you know, I think that's cute."
07:02When Williams decided to buy her fiancé an engagement ring, she knew not any old ring
07:06would do.
07:07In September 2021, she posted a video on Instagram where she, Simon, and some friends peruse rings
07:12in Tiffany & Co.
07:13The action continued in a second Instagram video, in which the couple became emotional
07:17over their ring-buying experience, saying in the caption,
07:20"...yes, we both are professing our love and are reminded every time we look down at our
07:23left hand that this is a promise and love that will last a lifetime."
07:27In a third Instagram post, Williams shared a close-up photo of her left hand intertwined
07:31with that of her fiancé's, showcasing their respective rings.
07:34Portia Williams has been a part of the Real Housewives of Atlanta cast since 2012.
07:38On top of that, she has other business ventures, such as her pampered-by-Porsche betting products
07:43and a line of hair extensions called Go Naked Hair.
07:45According to Celebrity Net Worth, Williams' fortune is valued at an estimated $400,000 — a
07:50decent amount, to be sure, but hardly what would be expected from a longtime reality
07:54TV star with all those irons in the fire.
07:56However, a report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution indicated that Williams had experienced some
08:01serious cash flow problems following her divorce from Cordell Stewart.
08:04"...because she didn't pay taxes, she lost a condo."
08:06"...Wow, I did not know that."
08:08"...yeah."
08:09In addition, court documents obtained by TMZ indicated that she owed nearly $18,000 to
08:14her condo homeowners association, which filed a lawsuit attempting to garnish her wages.
08:18Meanwhile, All About the Tea reported that the daycare center she owned was likewise sold
08:22at foreclosure after she allegedly defaulted on a loan.
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