Akira Montague, whose marriage ended due to her husband’s affair with TikTok star Brenay Kennard, became a viral sensation for reasons she would not have chosen.
A Durham jury awarded Akira Montague $1.75 million in a civil lawsuit after finding Kennard violated North Carolina’s “alienation of affection” and “criminal conversation” laws. The significant award amount and the rarity of such legislation—fewer than 10 states have these laws—have drawn international attention to the case.
Akira Montague received $1.5 million for alienation of affection and an additional $250,000 for criminal conversation. The latter is the legal term for sexual intercourse with a married person before their legal separation.
Akira Montague told ABC11 that when she discovered the affair between her husband, Tim Montague, and Kennard, she felt physically ill.
“I literally was like dizzy. Like I was about to faint,” Akira Montague told ABC11. “It was like I had got hit by a car…and the emotion of like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe I’m alive right now.”
More than 700 pages of evidence were presented by Akira Montague and her lawyer, Robonetta Jones, consisting of text messages, videos, and photos.
“It was a lot, but that it was lifted once we got our verdict,” said Akira Montague.
According to the lawsuit, Kennard boasted about her relationship with Tim Montague to her over 3 million social media followers, even stating her excitement about their upcoming marriage.
“She doesn’t regret it,” Akira Montague said of Kennard’s actions. “Like she said, I’m just bitter because she took my husband. Those were her words. That’s what she told the jury. That’s the woman that is not accountable for her actions and does not show any remorse for breaking up a family.”
Kennard and Tim Montague married after the Montagues’ divorce.
“I want people to be able to think, OK, Mrs. Montague won $1.75 million,” Jones said. “Is that man worth it? Is that woman worth it? They will think now. She posted online that she wanted to be Mrs. Montague, and I believe she did everything she could.”
“Well, to become Mrs. Montague. That’s her last name. But at what cost? Instead of being famous, she’s infamous,” Jones said.
In North Carolina, a spouse can sometimes sue the third party involved in an affair if the infidelity leads to the marriage’s dissolution.
This legal action, known as “alienation of affection,” requires the plaintiff to demonstrate that the marriage was loving and ongoing during the affair, and that the third party was aware the spouse was married.
“I was, I was raised to respect the marriage. I was raised to respect God. So loyalty, marriage, the white house with the picket fence, and the dog and the kid. That’s me,” Akira Montague said. “I was deeply in love with that man that I would do anything for him. I made sure that I put him first, and I shouldn’t have.”
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Akira Montague revealed that now she tries her hardest to protect her children from the constant flow of hate and death threats they have been subjected to.
“It was horrible. I don’t like going out in public with my kids because I get stopped in the store,” she said in tears. “I can’t have fun with my kids; to this day, people harass me and them. It’s hard.”
Akira Montague, however, went back to work after the verdict.
“The people at my job, they kind of got rid of some of my stuff because they thought I wasn’t coming back because of how much that I was awarded,” she said. She also has plans to finish college and buy a home for herself and her young children, ages 4 and 6.
Meanwhile, Jones, Akira Montague’s attorney, believes the case has garnered global attention because Akira Montague’s experience resonates with those of other women in their own relationships.
Jones said, “When you are thinking about alienation of affection, you have to think about the humiliation that the spouse went through. Ms. Kennard flaunted her relationship with a married man. And of course it went viral, and my client was humiliated as a result of that.”
“She has an outpouring of support from everyone online and just here in the state of North Carolina, because a lot of women can resonate with her,” Jones said of Akira Montague. “She has a voice for women who have been hurt by friends and by their loved one. So a lot of people say that they can recognize themselves in my client.”
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