Sunday’s episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta (RHOA) appeared to capture the tense moments that led to the end of Kenya Moore and Marc Daly’s two-year marriage.
The episode, filmed in September, followed the now-estranged couple at a benefit event thrown one day before they announced to PEOPLE exclusively they were going their separate ways.
At the benefit — held by Daly in honor of the Black Man Lab, a charity that inspires young black males by presenting them with examples of successful black businessmen ��� Daly was cold toward Moore, shutting down her opinions and refusing to publicly thank her for the contributions she had made in planning the event.
He was later caught in several hot mic moments complaining about Moore and RHOA, telling a partygoer that he hasn’t been enjoying the ride that comes with being married to a television star.
“I hate it. I hate it. Everybody knows that,” Daly said. “Save me from the drama.”
“It’s invasive,” he told Moore of the cameras, before yelling at a producer to stop filming the party. “Tell them that’s it. They can’t film forever. Tell them they got to wrap. … I’m giving you five minutes and then I’m gonna take care of it. If I come back down here it’s going to be ugly. I don’t give an F. End it.
“They’re never gonna see me again after the event,” he said.
Daly’s lack of affection toward Moore was something her costars noted, including Moore’s longtime rival, NeNe Leakes.
“Every time I’ve seen Mark and Kenya together, I’ve never seen them lovey-dovey,” Leakes said. “It’s almost like, he’s standing over here and she’s standing over here. It’s almost like it’s an agreement.”
Moore herself agreed, later complaining to audiences about the way Daly was treating her.
“I am well-connected in Atlanta and I have put everything in place to help Marc pull off this event. … This is the time to tell the entire world how much you value your spouse. And it’s crickets,” she said. “I love standing behind Marc as Mrs. Daly, but I always want to be appreciated at Mrs. Daly and as a partner.”
“All of the couples seem to be happy. Just enjoying each other so much. I’m just really disappointed,” Moore added. “I miss the fact that that’s where we used to be. It was caring and love and everything that anyone could ever hope for looking for a mate. Looking at where we are now, it’s hurtful to see that we’re not where we used to be.”
Earlier in the episode, Moore lamented to costar Cynthia Bailey about their behind-the-scenes battles.
It wasn’t the first time she’s complained about Daly this season, but things had gotten so tense between the two of them, Moore said, that she had settled on not engaging with him.
“Marc is the type where either it’s an all-out, blow-out fight or either he’s being withdrawn, I feel like right now, it’s just a matter of avoidance,” she said. “It’s almost like I avoid anything that might make him upset because I don’t want to fight.”
Though Moore had told PEOPLE when they wed that their bond was nearly instantaneous, she now said to Bailey that she felt like she was still learning things about Daly.
“I still don’t know all of Marc’s triggers,” Moore said. “You feel like you’re crazy. Why is he upset? That is what’s scary. Because you are in a union with someone that’s suppose to be forever, and you doesn’t know what this person is.”
“It’s difficult for him to admit that he does anything wrong,” she continued. “The nearly three years that we’ve been together, I can remember this man apologizing to me one time.”
“Marc and I are in desperate need to have some intimacy,” Moore told audiences. “I’m not just always talking about sex. You know when your husband is acting differently. You notice when he changes his cologne. You know when your husband changes his habits, the way he speaks to you. All women have the innate sense of what is going on in their relationship.”
Asked if it scares her, Moore said “yeah.”
“There are a lot of things that we’re going through that I did not anticipate. If you can’t fix the things that are wrong, it’s just going to create this crack,” she said. “I don’t want to be single, but I want to have my fairytale that I had. I feel like, you know, I definitely want to make it work. But I’m not sure [if he wants to].”
Moore and Daly wed in June 2017 and are parents to daughter Brooklyn Doris Daly, born on Nov. 4, 2018.
Since they went their separate ways in September, the pair have continued to co-parent Brooklyn. Moore has also been open about the fact that she’s hopeful the two will find a way back together one day.
“I didn’t get married to quit,” Moore told PEOPLE in October. “I love my husband. 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.”
It seems to be working. “We’re in a good place right now,” Moore said on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in February. “We’re trying to figure it out now. We had a beautiful brunch today and it is great.”
Credit: People, Yahoo News. Photo: Kenya Moore and Marc Daly | Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images