While it should never come as a surprise when a reality TV couple decides to call it quits, I’ll admit I was still a litte shocked when I saw that former Pittsburgh Steelers star Kordell Stewart is filing for divorce from his much-younger “Real Housewives of Atlanta” wife Porsha Williams. Heck, we only just got to some light squabbling between the two of them on the show! It’s not that they were a great couple, or even an appealing one. It’s just that Porsha seemed so determined to cater to Kordell’s every whim that I couldn’t imagine why he’d kick her to the curb. Maybe he found a country that sells affordable house slaves.
I’ll admit that, as often as I’ve bagged on Porsha for seeming only slightly more intelligent than a potted plant, I never doubted how much she wanted to be the perfect wife. Of course, Kordell seemed to have a slightly different definition of “perfect.” It wasn’t enough for her to wear the clothes he picked out for her, or ask his permission to visit a strip club (one featuring women, not men, mind you) when she went to Vegas, or generally plead for his opinion about everything she did short of going to the bathroom. He wasn’t satisfied. Not that you could tell, given that when he spoke he sounded like he was trying to motivate her to win the Super Bowl, not handle her problems.
Of course, we’ll never know what really happened between these two. We know having a baby was an issue, in that she wanted one and he seemed to think she wasn’t ready. I suspect it wasn’t so much an issue of Porsha’s readiness as it was his growing realization that he had one foot out the door and didn’t want to cough up money for child support. Looking back, Kordell seemed increasingly irritated with Porsha’s repetitive battles with fellow Housewife Kenya. I couldn’t blame him, though. I was tired of Porsha’s whining, and I didn’t have to live with her.
The split will add poignancy to the coming scenes of Porsha pleading for a baby and better communication and Kordell mentally calculating when’s the best time to call his lawyer. If nothing else, that can take comfort in knowing that they have plenty of company in breaking up after (or really, during) a stint on reality TV. I see an opening for “All-Star Divorce Court,” don’t you?
Are you surprised? Do you think reality TV contributed to their split? Will this change how you view upcoming episodes of the show?