On Monday (August 19), Eva Marcille Sterling announced that her first child, Marley Rae, from her short-lived relationship with rapper Kevin McCall will now also carry the last name of her new husband, former Atlanta mayoral candidate, Michael Sterling.
According to Eva, while the permanent name change of her firstborn may come as a surprise to us, this was a process that had been in the works for a while now. On a recent episode of the Rickey Smiley Morning Show, the former top model revealed:
"Marley was born in 2014 and I gave her her biological father's name. After two months, we became estranged and I raised her as a single mom. And then, the good Lord saw fit for me to meet an amazing man, Michael Sterling, who has become my husband and the father of my later children."
Eva and Michael, who married in 2018, now have a one-year-old son and a baby on the way and say that this decision was the best one for their family:
"Long story short, we all have the name Sterling, and Marley is the only one with her biological father's name and I saw it necessary and Mike saw it necessary to change her name."
While the Atlanta housewife seems to be living the life of her dreams, she's used her platform to let other women know that her happily ever after didn't come without some not so happy memories. Earlier this year, Eva revealed that she and Kevin's relationship was ultimately ended by domestic violence, and judging from his emotionally violent actions in public, it's hard to imagine the damage that was done in private:
"It didn't start for me until I was pregnant with Marley. I was pregnant with my child, so. Then, about a month after having Marley, it didn't stop…The final straw was when Marley was actually in my arms once and I was like, 'I can't do this no more.'"
Although Kevin has since denied the allegations, his arrest records prove that Eva was right to leave when she did. The 44-year-old reality star says that although the journey has been both difficult and uncomfortable, the road to healing usually is:
"We've been going through the process—I must say, it is not an easy process and it is not for the faint of heart—but we've been working through it and [as of] yesterday I can say thanks to the honorable Judge Manning here in Fulton County court granted me a name change for Marley. She is now officially and legally Marley Rae Sterling."
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