Photo: Paras Griffin/Getty
Kenya MooreandMarc Dalyfinalized their divorcein December 2023.
The pair, whomarriedin 2017 and share a daughter,Brooklyn Doris, separated in September 2019. 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.”
The exes ultimately decided to try again, with Moore tellingAndy Cohenin February 2020, “We’re in a good place right now. We’re trying to figure it out.” However, the coupleeventually split againin January 2021, and Moore officially filed for divorce that May.
So, who is Kenya Moore’s ex-husband? Here’s everything to know about businessman Marc Daly.
He and Moore eloped in June 2017
TheRHOAstar and the businessmangot married at a private resort in St. Luciaon 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.”
He and Moore share daughter Brooklyn Doris
Kenya Moore Instagram
Moore and Daly welcomed daughterBrooklyn Dorison 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.
The reality star now considers herself a “single mom,” following her split from Daly, who rarely sees Brooklyn.
“There isn’t really any co-parenting because there really hasn’t been any visitation — not zero, but very few,” she shared onThe Big Tigger Morning Show. “It’s up to Brooklyn’s dad to make an effort to see her, and it just hasn’t happened a lot in the last three years.”
He owns a restaurant in New York City
Kenya Moore, Marc Daly.Jamie McCarthy/Getty
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 theRHOAstar there for dinner.
With Moore based in Atlanta, the distance “[took] a toll” on the relationship.
But then, Daly’s 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.”
He and Moore announced their separation in September 2019
Less than a year after welcoming Brooklyn, Daly and Moore decided to go their separate ways. The exesannounced their separationin two statements to PEOPLE in September 2019.
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.”
“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, shedenied reports that Daly had cheatedto 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.”
He and Moore tried to work it out before getting a divorce
Marc Daly, Kenya Moore and their daughter Brooklyn.Kenya Moore Instagram
Daly and Moore broke up when Brooklyn was 1, but they waited to file for divorcein 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 onWatch What Happens Live withAndy 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 thatshe still has love for Daly. After Cohen noted the pair’s “ever-changing relationship status,” the reality star said she and Daly were “good.”
“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.”
He and Moore had “communication” issues
Jeff Neira/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty
In a November 2019 episode ofRHOA, Moore opened up about thecommunication issuesat 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 2021interview withEssence.
“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
Inan April 2020 episode ofRHOA, 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.”
Moore 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.”
The reality star 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 appearanceonWatch 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.”
He didn’t want a prenup
Before Daly and Moore got married, the businessman 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 ofRHOA.
Daly explained: “We never had a discussion about [a] prenup because, for me, you bring up prenup to me, it’s over. 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 aninterview with TMZin January 2023, Moore confirmed that having no prenup contributed to the long divorce.
He and Moore finalized their divorce in December 2023
Daly firstfiled for divorcein early 2021, then “withdrew 12 hours later.” Mooretweetedon 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.”
One year later, Moore shared that Daly had been holding up the divorce proceedings.
“I feel like it’s been going on for years too,“Moore told Cohenin a May 2022 episode ofWatch What Happens Live. “I want it to be over. The hold-up is on the other side.”
A few months later, Moore revealed that she and Daly were “still not divorced” in a September 2022RHOAreunion. “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.”
The divorce was eventually finalized in December 2023.
“After more than three years of litigation, I have finally beengranted a divorce,” Moore told PEOPLE in an exclusive statement. “I’m excited for this next chapter in my life and being the best mom I can be for my daughter, Brooklyn.”
source: people.com
