Who Is Michael Sterling? Juicy Details On RHOA Eva Marcille's Husband
He's a former candidate for mayor of Atlanta.
getty Who is Michael Sterling? On October 7, 2018, Eva Marcille, from Real Housewives Of Atlanta and America's Next Top Model, married her boyfriend, Michael Sterling. The two tied the knot in Atlanta with Marcille's RHOA co-stars in attendance.
The couple got engaged on Christmas Day 2017 after more than a year of dating. Together, they have two sons, and have custody of Marcille's daughter with her ex-husband, Kevin McCall.
So, who is Michael Sterling? Read on to find out more about the reality star's husband.
1. Who is Michael Sterling? He has a very accomplished career.
Michael Sterling is from Texas. He's a graduate of Morehouse College and is a summa cum laude graduate of the Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law.
He's also a former candidate for mayor of Atlanta. Before running for mayor, he was the Senior Advisor to the Mayor of Atlanta. Prior to that, he was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois appointed by Attorney General Eric Holder.
When he was hired, he became the youngest federal prosecutor in Chicago. Before he worked for the federal government, he worked in the General Litigation Group of Chicago's Sidley Austin LLP, where he handled commercial litigation from 2007-2009.
Sterling now works at his own firm named Dreyer Sterling.
2. The couple wanted to have their wedding in the same city they met: Atlanta.
Marcille and Sterling decided to tie the knot in Atlanta, where they met and fell in love. Sterling is from Beaumont, Texas, and Marcille is from Los Angeles.
The America's Top Model winner said in January 2018, “My fiancé is from Beaumont, Texas, and I’m from Los Angeles, so I think it only appropriate for us to actually get married... where we met.”
3. Marcille wanted the wedding to be a family affair.
Marcille's daughter, Marley Rae, played an important part in the wedding. She was her mom's flower girl.
Marcille said in the same interview, "She’s going to be my flower girl and she’s super excited. We talk about the wedding often, about her being a part of it and her picking out a fancy dress. She talks about her baby brother every day. The bigger my stomach gets, the more she’s understanding that there’s a baby in there. She’s getting really excited about it and becoming a big sister.”
Marcille and Sterling announced in November 2017 that they were expecting their first child together. Michael Todd Sterling Jr. was born on April 13, 2018.
4. The ceremony had a star-studded guest list.
Marcille's RHOA co-stars Cynthia Bailey, Kandi Burruss, and Porsha Williams attended the wedding. At that time, she definitely had more to celebrate, as she became a regular cast member on season 10 of RHOA. Previously, she made appearances on the show as a friend of Nene Leakes.
5. Marcille made it clear that she moved on from her last relationship.
Previously, Marcille was married to singer Kevin McCall. In September 2019, McCall wanted to take Marcille to court over the custody of their daughter, Marley. He was requesting to have joint custody with Marcille.
However, the entire case was completely dismissed in December 2019 after McCall's failure to respond to Marcille's motion to dismiss. She has now finally moved on and has full custody of the daughter she and her ex have.
Reportedly, Marcille has no relationship with her ex, saying, “We don’t have a relationship. He’s blocked on all my social media. I have full custody of my daughter and her dad is Michael Sterling, so he is a blast from the past and a memory. Marley is the priority, the biggest priority of my life, outside of my newest child and my fiancé. And at the end of the day, despite personal feelings, she deserves a level of stability, tranquility, and sanity. And [that’s] my job as a parent, no matter how hard it is for me to provide that for her, but that’s my job.”
6. Marcille and Sterling recently welcomed their second child together.
In September 2019, Marcille gave birth to a son named Maverick, her second child with Sterling. In an Instagram post, Sterling explained the meaning behind his son's name.
He captioned it, "Maverick Leonard Sterling. First of his name. The unburped. Breaker of waters. ###Maverick - an independent minded person who does not believe they have to just go along with the group or consensus. Willing to think for themselves... Leonard - named after my dad’s dad, grandfather Sterling - the old rice farmer and Pastor... Sterling - conforming to the highest standard. Welcome to the world my son."
7. Marcille recently addressed her relationship with McCall.
In a recent interview with Wendy Williams, Marcille went off on her ex. When Williams showed her a photo of McCall, she said, “This is Marley’s donor. He decided he wanted to file suit against me and sue me for custody, for child support, and for a name change back to his last name. And then went to court to see the judge.”
Williams then said, “And acted crazy in court,” to which Marcille agreed, saying, “A whole fool.” Although Williams appeared to be in agreement with Marcille, fans had their own opinions about the situation.
Taking to Twitter, one fan said, “She plays a good role but she’s low key the disrespectful one, what they portray as crazy is a man fighting to have a relationship with his child that’s been kept from him by a woman who chose to move on and wants to exclude him from the picture all together. Funny how now he’s all these things, a donor, crazy etc but what was he when you was letting him break yo bac in."
On the other hand, while Marcille doesn't seem to have too many good things to say about her ex, it's just the opposite with Sterling. The reality star seems more than proud to praise her husband on social media.
In February 2020, she reposted a photo from his Instagram with the caption, “The love of justice is, in most men, nothing more than the fear of [seeing someone] suffer injustice.” Justice won today. Exonerated! It means so much that you trusted @carlos_tanner_esq and myself with your life @miraclekaye. Thank you for believing in us. It’s over. It’s all over. Case dismissed. Exonerated. Not guilty. #sterlingsays #dreyersterling #thetannerlawfirm #exonerated #notguilty @miketsterling I am so proud of you. Your dedication and fierce determination have saved her life. Gods work. My husband @miketsterling is EVERYTHING @monascottyoung you were so instrumental in this… it’s because of what you decided to show the world on your @vh1 TV show #lhhny that this connection was made and now this case has been DISMISSED!!! Yes."
Her post received a lot of positive feedback from her followers.
8. Sterling is currently in the process of adopting Marcille's daughter.
The reality star has not only changed her daughter's last name to match her new husband's, but Sterling is also currently in the process of adopting her. However, not everyone seems to agree with Marcille's decisions regarding her daughter.
Singer Lyfe Jennings weighed in on the situation on Instagram, saying, “I think is so wack. Changing [your] daughter’s last name from her father’s to somebody else’s. Especially when the father tries to see her. The daughter don’t have anything to do with their beef. And what kind of man allows that????? S*** pissed me off. I expected better out of Eva. S*** personal to me!!! I’ve been there.”
Marcille's ex went viral after getting into an altercation with an officer during an appearance in court in November 2019. Marcille also revealed during her interview with Williams that McCall is estranged from his family and his mother has a restraining order against him.
The reality star also said that she believes her ex may have a mental illness, adding, “I think it’s really easy to say, ‘Oh, he’s crazy.’ But I was explaining to a friend, a sane person, with rational brain, would not do the things that he does. One could only get to the bottom of the fact that he cannot be rational. His brain does not work like anyone else’s. A regular dad would not be away from their child the entire time they were on this earth. They wouldn’t be able to stomach it. He has to be not there.”
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based freelance writer covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.