Who Is Apollo Nida? New Details About Phaedra Parks' Ex
Phaedra Parks' ex is getting out of jail early. Who is Apollo Nida?
Instagram Phaedra Park’s ex-husband Apollo Nida will be getting out of prison earlier than he expected. The Real Housewives alum is serving an eight-year sentence for charges related to a massive identity theft operation in New Jersey.
But don’t expect him to be back with his one-time wife. She filed for divorce shortly after he got locked up and hasn’t looked back. As for Apollo, he has moved on as well, having gotten engaged to Sherien Almufti in 2016. He is now due to be released in 2020. No word on whether they’ll wait until then to get married or have a jailhouse ceremony.
Who is Apollo Nida and why is he in prison? Read on for all the details.
1. Real Housewives of Atlanta
Phaedra and Apollo were married in 2009 after 14 years of dating. They began appearing on the hit Bravo show in 2010 when it was in its third season. Together, the couple has two children Ayden, 8, and Dylan, 5. While Phaedra is a one-time funeral director and current lawyer, Apollo was working as repo man when they first appeared on the series. Later, he became a personal trainer and nutritionist.
2. Arrest
It turns out that personal training wasn’t Apollo’s only hustle. He was arrested in 2014 due to his involvement in a massive identity theft scheme. Court papers from the time state: “This defendant participated in a sweeping fraud scheme that exploited many segments of the financial system, including phony claims submitted to federal and state agencies, loans secured by vehicles, and even basic identity theft associated with stolen checks.”
He stole the identities of over 50 people and laundered over $2 million over the course of four years. He ultimately pled guilty and was sentenced to 96 months in prison. This wasn’t his first time in prison either. He previously did six years for other theft schemes.
3. Divorce
Phaedra filed for divorce not long after Apollo headed to prison. They spent two years finalizing the process and finished everything up in 2016. Only a judge overturned the whole divorce due to some irregularities in the paperwork and concerns that Apollo hadn’t bee fully informed about the decision and court proceedings. They had to start over from the beginning, which was a frustration to Phaedra.
“[The divorce] was finalized last year in July so of course that obviously made me assume that I had regained my independence and a new start. So to be placed back into a position where I have to do it all over again … it’s disheartening but it’s a process and I can’t obviously change it.” They finally got all the legal loose ends tied up by 2016.
4. Moving on
Apollo didn’t wait for the final paperwork to start moving on with his life. Even before Phaedra filed the initial paperwork, he was certain that the marriage was going to end.
“I doubt it. mean, my wife didn’t even f—king show up for my sentencing. I’m still salty about that.”
Phaedra and the boys also haven’t visited Apollo in prison, though Phaedra says she lets them speak to their father by phone. Instead of dwelling on it, he found a new relationship. By 2016, he had gotten engaged to Sherien Almufti, a realtor who has started appearing on RHOA since becoming engaged to Apollo. For her part. Phaedra is dating DJ Tony Kapone.
5. Early release
In good news for the engaged couple, a judge this week ruled that Apollo is eligible for release in 2020, instead of 2021. The court papers don’t give a reason for the change but simply said: “The defendant’s sentence is hereby reduced to 84 months of imprisonment with credit to be given by the Bureau of Prisons for all time served. All other terms of the sentence imposed by this court on July 8, 2014, shall remain unaffected by this order.”
Apollo will have to remain on probation for several years afterward.
No word on whether or not Bravo has plans to bring him back to the show.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. Her work has been seen at Ravishly, Babble, Scary Mommy, The Mid, Redbook online, and The Broad Side. She is the creator of the blog Stay at Home Pundit and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.