The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kelli Ferrell’s ex-husband, Mark Ferrell, was released from jail after spending 17 nights behind bars over alleged unpaid child support, Us Weekly can exclusively report.
On Thursday, January 8, Mark was released from the Rockdale County Jail in Georgia. His rep tells Us that Mark “officially satisfied his child support obligation in full” by paying $61,992 from “the proceeds of the sale of his former marital residence.”
“As a result, Mr. Ferrell’s child support balance is now zero, and he has been released from custody. Mr. Ferrell and his legal team state that this matter could have been resolved far earlier had he been granted timely access to the escrowed home sale proceeds,” his rep added. “For more than a year, Mr. Ferrell sought permission to use those funds to pay child support in full, believing that doing so was the most responsible and direct way to resolve the issue.”
Mark’s rep said their client “maintains that his intent was never to avoid supporting his children, but rather to resolve the obligation completely and permanently once the funds were released.”
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Mark believes the child support amount should be modified to reflect his current income.
His rep told Us, “In the past, [Mark] has been jailed twice and was required to borrow funds to purge himself from custody, including payments totaling approximately $6,000 on one occasion and $14,000 on another.”
“Despite these challenges, Mr. Ferrell has consistently supported his children in practical ways — providing for their needs through Amazon purchases, Apple Pay transfers, food delivery services, and other means, particularly during periods when formal child support payments were rejected.”
As Us first reported, he was locked up on December 22 after Kelli, who was married to Mark from 2011 to 2022, accused her ex of failing to pay his court-ordered support obligations for their three kids: Chance, born in 2012, and twins Chasiti and Chelsi, born in 2015. Kelli is also a mom to Chloe, who is 17, from a previous relationship.
The judge also ordered Mark to continue paying his $3,991 per month in child support to Kelli, 40, following his release from jail.
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The recent legal drama between Kelli and Mark exploded on October 2 when she filed a lawsuit, with the help of her costar and attorney Phaedra Parks, after Mark attempted to block their kids from filming RHOA.
“As a mother, my children are a significant portion of my storyline. As such, I consented to their participation in The Real Housewives of Atlanta season 17,” Kelli told the judge. Mark filed his own lawsuit against Kelli on December 9. He accused her of not allowing him to exercise his visitation with their kids.
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“Kelli finds the claims in her ex’s recent filing both surprising and inaccurate,” Kelli’s rep told Us when contacted about Mark’s lawsuit. “At no point has she prevented him from seeing their children, and she has consistently complied with court orders while prioritizing their best interests.”
Kelli became a cast member in season 16 of RHOA. She recently wrapped shooting season 17 alongside Parks, Porsha Williams, and a couple of rumored new cast members.
