‘RHOA’ Star Kelli Ferrell Described Living With Her Ex-Husband as a “House of Hell”

We're so back! The Real Housewives of Atlanta may have kept us waiting for over a year before they revealed Season Sweet 16, but it was well worth the wait. The season welcomed back Cynthia Bailey, Phaedra Parks, Kenya Moore (briefly, sad face), Drew Sidora, and the one and only Porsha Williams. With such a stacked lineup, one would be nervous to come in as a newbie. Fortunately, the new blood, including Kelli Ferrell, had plenty of story to tell.

Kelli was married to her ex-husband, Chuvalo Mark Ferrell, on Aug. 20, 2011. The couple welcomed her youngest three daughters, Chance and twins, Chasiti and Chelsi, during their marriage. Kelli also has an older daughter, Chloe, from a previous relationship.

The RHOA newbie filed for divorce from Chuvalo in 2022 after 11 years of marriage. Since then, Kelli's divorce has been a significant part of her life on and off screen.

Here's the scoop on her ex-husband.

In a March 2025 episode of RHOA, we heard more about Kelli's divorce from her Chuvalo. During a ki-ki with her friend and fellow new peach holder, Brittany "Brit" Eady, they discussed how ugly her and her ex's divorce had become. She shared with Brit that Chuvalo's alleged infidelity and him stealing from her restaurant led to their split.

"It was cheating," Kelli confirms in the episode, adding, "He took almost $500,000 out of the company's money."

The businesswoman further explained she discovered her husband cleared out a bank account she set up for Nana's Chicken and Waffles. As Brit (and the rest of us) looked at Kelli in disgust, she shared she filed a lawsuit and eventually left the couple's home out of fear for her safety. She said leaving the house resulted in a "physical" altercation between her and her ex.

"Honestly, I probably should have an Oscar for as much as I made my marriage or my family look like it was all together," Kelli said in a confessional. "From me sleeping in my closet some nights, police being called numerous times. It became the house of hell."

Kelli's account of her and her estranged husband's alleged physical and financial abuse came after their custody battle made headlines. Months before her RHOA debut, she and Chuvalo battled in court after he failed to abide by the agreements of their temporary parenting plan. In Kelli's petition, obtained by InTouch, she said he failed to pay their agreed upon $1,500 for childcare expenses.

She ordered to have him in contempt, stating he hadn't made any payments in February, March, April, May and June of 2024 after being released from jail that January. The judge presiding over the case ruled in Kelli's favor, and Chuvalo was booked into the Rockdale County jail on August 7, 2024. They have yet to reach a settlement in their divorce.

Despite Kelli's personal woes, the Baltimore, Md. native has proven no one can keep her down for long. The chef and restaurateur has a net worth of $1 million, per Celebrity Net Worth. In addition to Nana's Chicken and Waffles, Kelli is a cookbook author and launched her cookbok, Kooking with Kelli: Kollection of Family Recipes from Nana's Chicken-N-Waffles, in 2019.

Kelli also shared the beginnings of her building her second Nana's Chicken and Waffles location on RHOA. She revealed she had to start with a new location after her ex-husband closed her Conyers, Ga. location amid their split. Looks like Kelli's getting the last laugh!

Catch new episodes of The Real Housewives of Atlanta on Sundays at 8 p.m. EST on Bravo.