Real Housewives of Atlanta star Brit Eady filed for divorce from husband Michael Cunningham after roughly five years of marriage, citing a December 1 separation, asking the court to deny him alimony, and moving to sell their jointly owned Fulton County home. Under Georgia law, none of these requests is automatic — each is decided by a judge applying equitable principles.
Key Facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| What happened | RHOA star Brit Eady filed for divorce from Michael Cunningham |
| When | Filing reported in 2026; separation date cited as December 1 |
| Where | Fulton County Superior Court, Georgia |
| Who's affected | Brit Eady, Michael Cunningham, and their jointly owned marital home |
| Key statute/rule | O.C.G.A. § 19-6-1 (alimony) and O.C.G.A. § 19-5-13 (equitable division) |
| Impact | Court will decide alimony eligibility and how to divide the sole marital asset |
According to Yahoo Entertainment / Reality Tea, Eady's filing comes during a turbulent year that included an eight-figure lawsuit she filed against Bravo. The petition reportedly asks the court to bar Cunningham from receiving alimony and seeks authorization to sell the Fulton County property, which the couple describes as their only shared real estate.
Why this matters legally
Filing for divorce and asking the court to deny alimony are two separate legal acts, and the second is never guaranteed in Georgia. A spouse can request that the court award no alimony, but the judge — not the filing party — decides eligibility under O.C.G.A. § 19-6-1. Georgia is one of the few states where marital fault can completely bar an alimony award: under O.C.G.A. § 19-6-1, a spouse who caused the separation through adultery or desertion is not entitled to alimony at all.
This distinction matters because it changes the strategic posture of a Georgia divorce. In equitable-distribution states like Georgia, asking the court to deny support is a starting position, not a ruling. The requesting spouse must still show why support is unwarranted, and the other spouse retains the right to claim need and present evidence of the marital standard of living. The December 1 separation date Eady cited can also become a contested fact, because Georgia courts often use the separation date as a reference point for valuing and dividing marital property.
How Georgia law handles this
Georgia divides marital property through equitable distribution, not equal division, under O.C.G.A. § 19-5-13 and decades of case law. Equitable means fair, which does not always mean 50/50. When a couple owns a single marital home — as the couple reportedly does in Fulton County — the court has several options: order the property sold and the proceeds divided, award the home to one spouse with an offsetting payment, or let the parties negotiate a buyout. A motion to sell the marital residence is a common and permissible request, but a Fulton County Superior Court judge must approve any forced sale if the spouses cannot agree.
On alimony, Georgia judges weigh the factors listed in O.C.G.A. § 19-6-1 and O.C.G.A. § 19-6-5: the length of the marriage, each spouse's financial resources, the standard of living during the marriage, age and health, and the contributions of each party, including homemaker contributions. A marriage of roughly five years is considered short-to-moderate in Georgia, which generally weighs against a large or long-term alimony award, though it does not foreclose one. There is no Georgia statute that automatically denies alimony based solely on marriage length.
Georgia also recognizes that property acquired during the marriage is presumptively marital, regardless of whose name is on the title. So even if the Fulton County home is titled to one spouse, the home is likely marital property subject to division under O.C.G.A. § 19-5-13 if it was acquired during the marriage with marital funds. Separate property — assets owned before the marriage or received by gift or inheritance — generally stays with the original owner, but it can lose that protection if it was commingled with marital assets.
Practical takeaways
For Georgia residents watching this case, here are the actionable lessons:
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Asking the court to deny alimony is not the same as winning. In Georgia, the judge decides alimony under O.C.G.A. § 19-6-1 after weighing both spouses' finances. Plan your case around evidence, not the wording of your petition.
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Document your separation date. Because Georgia courts often use the separation date to value marital assets, write down when you and your spouse stopped living as a married couple and keep records, such as a new lease or changed accounts.
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Understand that a single marital home can be sold by court order. Under O.C.G.A. § 19-5-13, a Georgia judge can order a marital residence sold and the proceeds divided equitably if the spouses cannot agree on a buyout.
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Title does not control marital property. A home acquired during the marriage is presumptively marital in Georgia even if only one name is on the deed. Do not assume the titled spouse keeps it automatically.
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Keep separate property separate. If you owned assets before the marriage or inherited them, avoid mixing them with joint accounts, because commingling can convert separate property into divisible marital property under Georgia law.
If you are facing a Georgia divorce involving alimony disputes or a single shared home, an experienced Fulton County family law attorney can explain how O.C.G.A. § 19-6-1 and O.C.G.A. § 19-5-13 apply to your specific finances and help you build a strategy grounded in evidence rather than assumptions.
This article discusses recent news and provides general legal commentary. It does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique. Consult a qualified family law attorney for advice specific to your situation.