Shereé Whitfield’s Boyfriend Martell Holt Accused of ‘Abusing’ His 4 Kids
Shereé Whitfield’s Boyfriend Martell Holt Accused of ‘Abusing’ His 4 Kids
Martell Holt, boyfriend of Real Housewives of Atlanta star, Shereé Whitfield, faced allegations of child abuse by his ex-wife, Melody Shari, which he vehemently denied.
As he made his debut on The Real Housewives of Atlanta alongside his girlfriend, Shereé Whitfield, during the May 6, 2023 premiere, the former spouses engaged in a year-long court battle.
In January 2022, court documents filed in Alabama revealed that Melody sought a protection order against Martell for the well-being of their four children.
According to The Sun, a separate filing was submitted shortly after, as part of Melody and Martell’s divorce case. In this filing, Martell requested sole physical custody of their children and informed the court of Melody’s alleged violation of clauses outlined in a March 2021 final order.
Martell Holt claimed that his ex-spouse was obstructing his ability to communicate with their children, citing an incident in November 2021 when she purportedly “served him with a trespass notice” after he dropped by to bid their kids goodnight. In response, Melody countered by stating that he had arrived unannounced and without prior permission.
Meanwhile, he also raised doubts regarding her allegations of child abuse. “The plaintiff has falsely accused the defendant of child abuse in a separate protection from abuse action,” Martell Holt’s filing mentioned their shared appearance on the television series Love & Marriage: Huntsville. “Plaintiff’s accusation comes as she learned this modification action was coming through the reality show both parties are contracted with and sought to pre-empt this filing.”
In March 2022, her protection order was ultimately dismissed, a year after their divorce had been finalized. Despite this, Melody maintained her stance and continued to allege that, “[Martell’s] discipline and punishment of the children is excessive and abusive.”
“The Defendant has used objects to hit his children hard enough to draw blood, he has spanked them excessively, and he has used slurs and other insults towards his children as discipline techniques,” Melody claimed.
“When this Court restricted the parties’ ability to use corporal punishment on the children pendente lite and ordered the Defendant to participate in the children’s therapy and counseling, he lashed out at this Court in such a way that he was admonished with possible contempt for any future outbursts.”
In March, a judge in Alabama signed off on an order that mandated the continuation of their joint custodial agreement and the completion of a conflict resolution class by both parties. “each parent can only recall testimony in their favor but are evasive in other respects.”
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Avigail is an Entertainment blogger at All About The Tea, who specializes in The Real Housewives of Atlanta and The Real Housewives of Potomac. Avigail has a background in marketing. She’s a Brooklynite living in the Bahamas, with a passion for travel, writing, reality TV watching, pop culture and spoken word.