TikTok Star Brenay Kennard Ordered To Pay $1.75M For Affair
Why A TikTok Influencer Was Ordered To Pay $1.75M After Filming ‘Inappropriate’ Videos With Friend’s Husband
Brenay Kennard and Tim Montague addressed the lawsuit on 'Dr. Phil' Jan. 5 and 'The Tamron Hall Show' Dec. 12, 2025, denying an affair and saying their romance began July 6, 2024, "way after" his marriage ended.
Source: Photo courtesy of The Tamron Hall Show / Brenay Kennard and Tim Montague
New details have emerged in the highly publicized lawsuit involving Akira Montague and TikTok influencer Brenay Kennard, who boasts more than 2 million followers across social media. Montague, 27, and Kennard, also 27, were once close friends, but their relationship ultimately collapsed after Montague accused Kennard of having an affair with her husband, Tim Montague, an allegation she says led to the destruction of her marriage. The lawsuit cited claims of “alienation of affection” and “criminal conversation,” according to People. The judge sided with Montague in November 2025, awarding her a whopping $1.75 million.
Brenay Kennard admitted to filming a drunken video in which she said she “couldn’t wait to be Mrs. Montague.”
The TikTok star and her husband appeared on Dr. Phil on Jan. 5, where Kennard admitted that although she was friends with Akira, she stayed at the couple’s home for a week and recorded an “inappropriate” video using Tim Montague’s phone. In the video, she said she “couldn’t wait to be Mrs. Montague — which I am now.” She explained that on the evening of the incident, she was “under the influence” when she took Tim’s phone and recorded herself speaking what she described as “gibberish.”
Looking back, she regrets the moment.
“It was inappropriate…I’m not ashamed,” she told Dr. Phil. “It was very inappropriate.”
She also recorded another video with Tim that she described as seemingly innocent. In the clip, she was filming herself brushing her teeth when Tim came up behind her, and she said she “did a little dance.” She told Dr. Phil she now realizes the video was disrespectful.
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Kennard and Tim opened up about the lawsuit during a December appearance on The Tamron Hall Show.
Kennard and Tim Montague later discussed the lawsuit during a Dec.12, 2025, appearance on The Tamron Hall Show. They insisted they did not have a relationship while Tim was still married to Akira and claimed their romance began on July 6, 2024 — “way after” the marriage ended.
Kennard said she was shocked when Montague presented hundreds of text messages, videos, and social media posts in court, though she continued to deny the allegations. Reflecting on the verdict, Kennard said, “When I heard the verdict, I had no emotion. I didn’t feel anything at that time. Mainly because I’m still trying to process what actually happened, especially because I came to court with facts. I came with facts, and I felt like it was a shock, and the jury agreed with her.”
When asked why she believed the jury sided against her, Kennard explained, “It’s easy to paint out a villain in someone’s story, and I was that villain, sadly. But I know that I didn’t cause a happy home to break. I know I didn’t take the children from their dad. I know I didn’t do those things.”
Brenay Kennard was ordered to pay Akira Montague $1.75 million in November 2025.
According to CNN, in November 2025, Montague, a mother of two, was awarded a $1.75 million judgment against Kennard. The lawsuit accused Kennard of having an affair with Montague’s now-former husband, Tim Montague. A North Carolina jury found Kennard liable for alienation of affection and criminal conversation, meaning the jury determined she played a role in breaking up the marriage and engaged in adulterous sex. North Carolina is one of only six remaining states that still allow spouses to sue third parties for interfering in a marriage.
Montague initially filed the lawsuit in May 2024, alleging that Kennard exploited their friendship to seduce her husband. The complaint claimed Kennard openly flirted with Tim Montague and that the two allegedly engaged in sexual encounters inside the Montagues’ marital home. Kennard, who maintains a following of more than 2 million combined across TikTok and Instagram, is known for posting day-in-the-life videos and vlog-style content. Tim Montague appeared frequently in her posts.
On TikTok, Kennard documented her evolving relationship with Tim Montague, which initially appeared as playful interactions between the two while both were still married. Notably, Kennard was still married to husband Devin Mayo, who is the cousin of Tim Montague. Over time, the content shifted to feature just the two of them, CNN noted. According to the legal complaint, Kennard began creating social media content with Timothy while he was still married to Akira, with many posts allegedly made “without [Akira’s] knowledge or consent.” Montague also accused Kennard of publicly sharing photos of her children, whom she shares with Timothy, the report from Peoplecited.
The complaint further alleged that Kennard “flaunted” her relationship with Timothy online and attempted to “justify” the alleged affair during a TikTok livestream.
Kennard has maintained her innocence and had this to say about whether her relationship was worth the $1.75 million judgment.
After Montague filed her lawsuit in May 2024, Kennard began posting more frequently about the case on social media. She insisted that her former friend’s version of events was false and claimed that the “truth” would come out at trial, though she did not provide specific details. Even after the judge ruled in Montague’s favor in November, Kennard continued to deny the allegations, calling them “nothing but lies.” Kennard, who married Tim in 2024, testified that Akira Montague knew about and permitted the relationship.
During the December sitdown with Tamron Hall, Tim Montague echoed similar sentiments, calling all of the allegations false.
“I know she doesn’t deserve it. All the hate, all the lies, is just absolutely crazy. And like she said, I know what actually happened. We know what the truth is. The people who are close to us, we know what is really going on.”
He also suggested the legal battle may not be over and acknowledged shortcomings in his marriage.
“I can take accountability for the things that I’ve done, especially, you know, I made that clear in court. I wasn’t the best husband. I know that. However, the things that are being said… It’s kind of hard to really get into without saying too much.”
Notably, when Tamron Hall asked Kennard whether her relationship with Tim was worth the $1.75 million judgment, she replied:
“Honestly, no. It’s not worth over a million. But he’s worth it is what I can say.”
She added that the lawsuit ultimately brought them “stronger” and “closer” together.
Akira Montague wanted the lawsuit to be private, but the case grew far bigger than she imagined.
Montague told CNN in November that she would have preferred to keep the case private, but the story exploded.
“I told my attorney, I don’t know about this. Like, I don’t want it connected to my kids. Can we see about getting a document sealed?” Montague said. “And that wasn’t something that the opposing party wanted.”
Instead, the lawsuit became a viral sensation in the short-form video space, bringing renewed attention to the personal histories involved. In an August 2024 TikTok, Devon Mayo, Kennard’s former husband, whom she married in 2021, revealed that he and Kennard were not yet legally divorced. He also disclosed that Kennard had dated Tim Montague in high school and that Tim had previously been involved with her twin sister.
Mayo reportedly shared the same details during his trial testimony.
Montague declined to speak publicly throughout the legal proceedings. Meanwhile, as Kennard continued posting her perspective — gaining supporters in the process — other influencers stepped in to amplify Montague’s story, positioning themselves as citizen journalists.
Influencer Quanolia Phillips, known on TikTok as Big Show, said she posted one of her first videos about the situation in May, following a TikTok Live hosted by influencer Regina Terry. During that livestream, Kennard, Mayo, and Tim Montague joined, and the discussion escalated into a heated argument.
“I felt like I was Team Akira,” Phillips said of the moment. “And I was also fighting for her in a way I did not fight for myself.”
Phillis said she felt personally connected to the case as she, too, had experienced challenges with infidelity with a past partner.
“I’m like this shouldn’t happen and it just go unseen, unheard of, because so many of us don’t voice when this thing has happened to us,” she added. “We’re too ashamed or too embarrassed, so we just write it off.”
The case quickly gained massive traction on social media, thrusting Montague into the public eye. Supporters followed the case for months, reporting on every detail and even attending the November court proceedings, celebrating alongside her when the verdict was announced.
“It was like a moment of waiting to exhale,” Terry told CNN. “In that moment, it was like a moment of relief that I helped somebody get their truth out.”
Montague acknowledged the group’s support both online and offline. Terry helped publicize a GoFundMe to assist with legal fees and purchased bikes for Montague’s children.
What led to Brenay Kennard’s viral lawsuit?
Kennard launched her TikTok account in 2020 and has since amassed a large following. She also has sizable audiences on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Snapchat. She initially rose to prominence as a Christian influencer. Over time, Kennard transitioned to lifestyle and mukbang-style content, showcasing elaborate nail designs and videos of herself eating large quantities of food, including her well-known fondness for Chipotle.
Her early content frequently featured her husband at the time, Devon Mayo. She referred to him as “bae” and shared affectionate tributes and cooking videos. Eventually, her posts began including Mayo’s cousin Tim Montague and his wife, Akira, who had been married since 2018. By 2023, Kennard posted numerous videos of the two couples going on double dates. However, viewers began noticing that Kennard and Tim Montague — who had known each other since high school — appeared especially close.
“All of a sudden, we saw Timothy Montague coming into the picture, which we weren’t exactly sure why it was her, Timothy, and Devon,” said influencer Leah Williams, known as CaramelLove07. “Then we looked up one day, and she had made a video saying, ‘I am divorced.’”
That announcement came in February 2024. Kennard dismissed questions about Tim Montague at the time, referring to him as her “manager.” Soon after, the pair began appearing exclusively together in videos, and their romantic relationship became increasingly apparent, turning into a firestorm of drama.
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