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90 Day Fiance’s Molly Hopkins Sues Former Friend Cynthia Decker Over Competing Business
90 Day Fiancé star Molly Hopkins is suing her former friend and ex-business partner Cynthia Decker over starting a competing company, In Touch can exclusively confirm.
Molly, 47, is asking for a declaration that Cynthia, 51, is a member of their business, LiviRae Lingerie, and that her new business cannot compete with the store that the two founded together in 2006. Molly is additionally suing on grounds that Cynthia is in violation of their operating agreement, according to the lawsuit filed in Cherokee County, Georgia, on January 20, 2023, that was obtained by In Touch. She is also requesting a temporary restraining order, damages, attorney fees and any further relief the court deems proper in the lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, the Georgia native went on to claim that Cynthia started a business that directly competes with LiviaRae. The TV personality alleged that her former friend took client information and has continued to harass employees. After Molly served her with a cease-and-desist letter, she claimed that Cynthia continued to post negative messages about her online.
Despite filing less than one month ago, the TLC personality claimed in the document reviewed by In Touch that Cynthia has only made sporadic appearances at LiviRae Lingerie since 2019 and she “withdrew from any involvement in the Business’s operations, fittings, or functions.”
“The lawsuit is frivolous and was unnecessary. We had a verbal agreement with a witness on video of Molly agreeing that I would not come back into the store for reasons she knows,” Cynthia says about the lawsuit in an exclusive statement to In Touch. “I have worked very hard building LiviRae, and for her to say I have not worked since 2019 is comical.”
Molly also claimed in the filed lawsuit that Cynthia has been making accusations about her to the business accountant and “anyone who would listen” since 2020. Some of her alleged claims include that Molly should be suspected of “killing” Cynthia if she goes missing, that Molly was improperly diverting and taking business funds and that she mentally abused Cynthia.
The lawsuit also alleged that Cynthia continued to step away from the business when she broke ground on a new house in 2022.
Meanwhile, a source close to Molly alleges to In Touch, “Cynthia is bitter that she has always been under Molly’s shadow, lost out on being on TV, and doesn’t have an inkling on how to run a business, hence the reason why she’s running her mouth with preposterous lies to defame Molly and has gone as far as to side with Kelly now to use that against her when it was Cynthia who was always telling Molly to leave Kelly.”“Molly is taking every measure possible to keep Cynthia away from her,” the insider claims.
Fans became concerned for Cynthia on January 13, 2023, when she wrote via Instagram that she “had been crying all day and having extreme anxiety from the shock of losing someone I thought was a friend and my business in one day! I felt my whole world crumbling around me. The pain was so much that I was almost in a dream state. I was empty and broken!”
After the former 90 Day Fiancé: Pillow Talk star shared the post, Molly started to receive threatening messages from fans, as she detailed in the lawsuit.
News of the lawsuit comes one day after In Touch exclusively revealed that Molly and Cynthia ended their 20-year friendship over a disagreement about Pillow Talk, as well as their joint business venture.
”Molly is the one who did most of the work and Cynthia did nothing. She’s upset that she won’t be making that Pillow Talk money any longer,” a source exclusively told In Touch on Thursday, February 9. “[Cynthia] resented Molly for being the star of the show and Cynthia was just a sidekick.”
Molly first appeared on 90 Day Fiancé during season 5 alongside her now ex-husband, Luis Mendes. Fans fell in love with Molly and Cynthia’s friendship, which landed the duo roles on the spinoff in 2019.
A week before Thanksgiving 2022, Cynthia revealed that she and Molly had a falling out. When asked by a fan why she stopped appearing on Pillow Talk, Cynthia said that she and Molly are “no longer friends” and she “will not be back” on the show. “I wish I had a different answer for you,” she said at the time.
The business partners ended their friendship shortly before Molly split from her ex-boyfriend Kelly Brown after two years together. In Touch exclusively broke the news on February 4 that Molly and Kelly, 43, called it quits after he allegedly got into a physical altercation with her eldest daughter, Olivia Hopkins, 22.
The incident allegedly took place at LiviRae Lingerie on November 21, 2022, according to a February 2 police report obtained by In Touch that was taken by Cobb County Police Department.
Kelly and Olivia’s argument stemmed from issues with her boyfriend, with Kelly telling Olivia that he would “come at her.” Officer D.M. Kolb continued in their police report, “Kelly rushed to the counter, grabbed Olivia by her neck and slammed her against the wall.”
“Kelly then threw Olivia to the ground. Olivia stated that she could not breathe when Kelly grabbed her by the neck.”
The report continued, “Olivia stated that she waited a long time to report the incident because she did not want to stress her mouth during that time and because Kelly is a former NYPD detective.”
Cynthia’s name was mentioned in the police report when Olivia claimed that she couldn’t obtain security footage of the incident because only Cynthia had “access” to it, a claim that Cynthia exclusively told In Touch she was upset by. “I am deeply mortified and want my name to be removed from the report. I will be telling investigators all of this as I do not want to be listed anywhere on this!” Cynthia told In Touch. “I have tried to remain quiet and let this play out but now they are involving me and I am not going to sit back as my name gets misconstrued.”
Kelly has since denied the altercation with Olivia. “I never punched her or threatened her with any weapon. I really want to be left alone,” he said in an exclusive statement to In Touch. “I don’t bother them or even go in their town. I don’t want anything to do with them. It’s over, I haven’t been near them since November.”
Reporting by Nate Grant.
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