Alongside all her other claims to fame, Porsha Williams can call herself an Atlanta housewife again. The Dish Nation co-host and Real Housewives of Atlanta alumna is now married to Simon Guobadia.
Williams, 41, and her businessman beau, 57, tied the knot in a traditional Nigerian native law and custom ceremony at the Four Seasons Atlanta on Friday, November 25, with 250 guests looking on, according to People. The happy couple will hold an American ceremony on Saturday, November 26.
Before she walked down the proverbial aisle, the Porsha’s Family Matters star told People she was “ridiculously excited” and “just so ready” to marry Guobadia. “I’m not even nervous,” she said. “I mean, I know I’m marrying the love of my life, and it’s just going to solidify our relationship and our family bond. I’m calm and excited.”
Guobadia, however, did admit to being a little nervous. “But my nervousness comes from the family members and friends who I haven’t seen in a long time coming into Atlanta!” he clarified.
The Simcol Petroleum CEO, who was previously married to RHOA alum Falynn Guobadia, hails from Benin City in Nigeria’s Edo State. And Williams, who was previously married to NFL alum Kordell Stewart, told People she wanted to honor her groom’s birthplace at their wedding.
“I looked up different things about an Edo bride, about the Benin culture, about their ceremonies, just so that I would not be totally green,” she said. “I wanted to make sure that I was as respectful as possible because I didn’t want to not do anything that wasn’t within tradition, within their culture.”
Guobadia said he was “so excited and, quite frankly, surprised” that his bride opted for the traditional ceremony. “To embrace my culture and want to be married in that fashion is something that blows my mind,” he told People. “I think some of the folks we brought on to help us go through the whole ceremony and that whole process were surprised that she knew so much already about the outfits, the clothing, the names, and all of that. She’s immersed herself in the culture, I’d say, in the last year. … If you didn’t know any better, you could’ve sworn she’d been to Nigeria a few times.”
“The journey has been phenomenal,” Guobadia added. “I couldn’t have asked for a better future wife.”
