Phaedra Parks took a swipe at Kelli Ferrell’s finances, saying The Real Housewives of Atlanta featured “a lot of rich broke,” as her castmate faces a reported $217,301 business debt.
Speaking on the Bravo by Betches podcast, Phaedra discussed representing Kelli during her legal disputes with ex-husband Mark Ferrell over child support.
“Obviously, Kelli became a client, and so I helped her through her matter with her child support and the issues she was having with her divorce,” Phaedra said. “Life-ing can be hard, especially when you’re an entrepreneur.” She then added, “This season we saw a lot of rich broke. There was a lot of rich broke going on on the show.”
According to court documents cited by TMZ, ARF Financial sued Kelli and her Nana’s Chicken-N-Waffles restaurant in 2025. A default judgment of $217,301 was reportedly entered after she did not respond, with interest continuing to increase the amount.
Kelli’s representative said the dispute involves a business loan that she and Mark obtained more than five years ago, while they were married.
“This matter stems from a business loan that [Kelli] and her ex-husband, Mr. [Mark] Ferrell, obtained over five years ago, while married,” the rep said.
The representative added that Kelli believes Mark is responsible for the debt, a claim he has denied.
“We are confident that this legal matter will be rightfully resolved,” the rep said, adding that Kelli “hasn’t been officially served.”