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Since her return to “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” a continuously trending topic has been Kenya Moore‘s strained relationship with her husband, Marc Daly. Any time the now-estranged couple filmed scenes together it was uncomfortable to watch at best and cringe-worthy at worst.
Based on how the couple has been interacting on camera, most fans concluded that Marc wanted out of the marriage and that he had developed a disdain for his wife. He didn’t even seem to like her, let alone love her. For fans, it was painfully clear why Moore had stated that she could not “continue in the marriage,” which she later deemed “toxic.” But then something happened; months after the restaurateur’s debut on the Bravo franchise, Moore reported that Daly had become more loving and that their relationship was improving. The reason for the shift was Daly seeing himself on television and witnessing how poorly he’d been treating his wife.
“I think the first thing is to put the child first,” Kenya said when explaining her husband’s behavior in an interview with “The Real“. I think Marc watching the show – we shot at like six months ago. I think he’s seeing himself and some of the things. We haven’t gotten along then, but we are getting along amazing now,”
Many who had witnessed the terrible treatment of Kenya by Marc couldn’t believe it and naturally assumed that her deep desire to keep her family together had made her delusional. But something appears to be happening because the estranged couple was recently spotted walking hand-in-hand through an airport, which has fueled rumors of a reconciliation.
It’s difficult to unsee how Marc treated Kenya, which is why his character remains in question in the minds of “Real Housewives of Atlanta” fans. Falling out of love and wanting out of a marriage is not an excuse to be a terrible person. However, I don’t doubt that Marc seeing himself on the show resulted in some level of change in his behavior.
Marriage requires a particular level of self-awareness that doesn’t come naturally to everyone. There’s not a married person on earth who has not taken their spouse for granted — even if just for a moment— at some point or another. Additionally, because marriage is a full-time commitment, we are not always at our best and we don’t always handle our partners in the most loving ways, especially when the stressors of life are having their way with us. I suspect that if any of us saw ourselves on camera, we may treat our spouses a little better.
That said, whether or not Marc has altered his behavior enough to actually save his marriage long-term remains to be seen by the general public, especially since he was treating her so poorly to begin with. And considering that the bar was already so low, the shift in his behavior and attitude towards Kenya may have been as small as intolerance to tolerance (which is still a problem) or as dramatic as intolerance to acceptance. Hopefully, it’s the latter. Kenya clearly wants to save her marriage, but one can only hope that she realizes that she deserves a life partner who loves and respects her, not one who has merely learned to tolerate her.
