Who is Real Housewives’ Porsha Williams’ estranged husband, Simon Guobadia, who has been detained by ICE as Donald Trump continues his mass deportation of illegal immigrants

Donald Trump kicked off his mass deportation operation under border tsar Tom Homan almost as soon as he was sworn in again as US president. As the crackdown on illegal immigrants continues, it’s not only unknown faces who are being targeted. The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Porsha Williams’ estranged husband, Simon Guobadia, has been detained by ICE at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, reports People.

In response, Williams posted on Instagram, distancing herself from her ex. “It’s disheartening to see my estranged husband make choices that have led to this outcome. At this moment, my priority is moving forward with my family,” she wrote.

Guobadia, 60, was facing citizenship problems before Williams filed for divorce and has been accused of crimes including fraud and marrying to obtain a Green Card, says business publication Black Enterprise. Its sources say the couple’s separation is unrelated to the allegations.

So who is Simon Guobadia?

What does Simon Guobadia do for work?

Guobadia graduated from the University of the District of Columbia with a degree in accounting and started his career as a certified public accountant, reports People. He later founded Simcol Petroleum Limited Company, formerly known as Simon & Company, which does business mainly in the southeast of the US. He has been an executive producer on films including Jail Dogs (2012) and Son of the South (2020) and is known for having invested in several Atlanta restaurants.

When not working, Guobadia enjoys playing golf and collecting cars. As of 2022, his collection, which includes Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari, was worth more than US$2 million, he told Atlanta lifestyle magazine Simply Buckhead.

He has been divorced several times

Per People, Guobadia has been married and divorced four times. His third wife was another RHOA star, Falynn Guobadia (now Falynn Pina), whom he married in 2019 and divorced in 2021. Months before their split was finalised, he got down on one knee to propose to Falynn’s co-star Porsha.

Guobadia and Williams tied the knot twice in 2022, adds People: first in a Nigerian ceremony and the following day in the American equivalent, with Williams calling their weddings a “true combining of family”.

However, the couple did not last long: Williams filed for divorce in February last year and it became messy fast. The pair butted heads over their prenuptial agreement but the judge ruled in her favour and granted her sole possession of the marital home, albeit temporarily. Meanwhile, Guobadia sued Williams for defamation for implying on social media that he suffered from erectile dysfunction.

He is a father of five

Guobadia has five children – Quentin, Nicole, Christian, Benjamin and Ximena – from various mothers, per People. They seemed to be close to Williams as she celebrated a homeschool graduation with Guobadia in 2022, featured in an Instagram post on her account.