Selling Sunset’s Amanza Smith got real about the toll that being a single mom and searching for her missing ex-husband has taken on her mental health.
Her ex-husband, former football player Ralph Brown, disappeared in August of 2019 after being unable to pay child support for their children, Noah and Braker. No one has heard from him since.
Amanza’s late-night worry selfie
Smith took to her Instagram (@amanzasmith) to share a very candid, tear-filled photo of herself in the middle of the night.
She captioned, “It’s ok not to be ok. Many people are afraid to be open about mental health. You all see me very strong and I appreciate so much the support I have gotten thru fans and friends for the way I carry myself thru this difficult new journey as a full time working single mom.”
When Brown vanished from the picture, Amanza had to step up as the new breadwinner for her family. This included taking odd jobs cleaning and dog walking.
Smith’s career as a real estate agent for the Oppenheim Group on Selling Sunset has helped her immensely. But Amanza revealed that the pressure has sometimes gotten to her.
“I also want to honest and not pretend I’m always at the top of my game with it all,” Smith continued in the post. “This was me last night at 4am when I couldn’t sleep because so much was on my mind. Hang in there everyone. You are not alone.”
Amanza’s fans and friends came to her support in the comments. Smith is known for coming to the defense of her castmates, so they all returned this kindness with their words of encouragement.
Selling Sunset costar Christine Quinn, who Amanza once defended by saying that she is “really sweet,” responded:
Who is Amanza’s ex-husband? And why did he disappear?
On the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, Amanza elaborated on the situation with ex Ralph Brown.
“I know he’s alive because we’ve had to get an attorney and file court records, because I’m trying to get full custody. And at one point he submitted something to the courts where he did a change of address. We traced it back, and it’s a P.O. Box at, like, a UPS store,” she explained.
“So he’s off the grid,” Amanza continued. “Whatever’s going on, and I have no idea what it is, he doesn’t want to be found right now.”
Although Brown’s disappearance has certainly affected Amanza, it has been most traumatic on the two children they share. “This is the kind of stuff that’s going to come back up later [in their lives],” she said. “Braker is angry, and Noah is sad.”
She continues, “I’ve had to pick up the pieces and mend little broken hearts. But right now we’re doing good, and we’ve settled into this new reality.”
Amanza plans to continue to do her best to provide for her family.
“If he does come back, it’ll never go back to 50/50 [custody],” she said. “They’re amazing kids, but they’re hurt.”
Watch Selling Sunset on Netflix, with season 4 release date TBD.