Relationship Expert Sheridan Ruth Weighs In On Kim Zolciak, Kroy Biermann Divorce: ‘It’s No Surprise’

A relationship expert tells In Touch exclusively that it’s not surprising Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann‘s 11-year marriage broke down and ended up in divorce following their financial woes, including almost losing their home to foreclosure.

“It’s no surprise Zolciak describes her relationship with Biermann as ‘irretrievably broken with no hope of reconciliation’ following the tax debt and financial issues the pair have experienced,” Sheridan Ruth, an Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapist, tells In Touch. She does not know the former couple and has not worked with them.

“Even for the most emotionally mature partnership, financial stress will put both parties into a physiological stress response, which then puts them into a self-preserving state of mind that feels like it is ‘me against everyone else,'” Ruth explains.

Friends of the reality TV couple were blindsided by their split and subsequent divorce filings. Kroy filed first on May 5, while Kim filed a contested divorce two days later on May 7.

“The … stress response is most likely what led to Zolciak keeping their issues a secret from her friends, only exacerbating the feelings of fear, loneliness and disconnection,” Ruth continues.

Prior to their split, Kim and Kroy had a tumultuous 2023 where they battled to keep their Alpharetta, Georgia, mansion from being sold at auction to the highest bidder. In Touch confirmed in October 2022 that the reality TV couple failed to pay back a $300,000 loan taken out on the 6,900-square-foot home, resulting in foreclosure proceedings.

The experience was incredibly stressful for the Real Housewives of Atlanta alum. “She’s a bragger at heart so this is super embarrassing for her,” an insider told In Touch at the time of Kim, adding she was “in denial” or “expecting a miracle” when it came to the property’s foreclosure.

Truist Bank was overseeing the sale of the property based on a $1.65 million mortgage the Biermanns established in 2013. The home, according to the foreclosure notice, was to be sold due to the couple’s “failure to pay the indebtedness as and when due and in the manner provided.” Kim and Kroy worked out a last-minute deal with the bank to save their home on February 24, and the March 7 auction was canceled.

That wasn’t the end of Kim and Kroy’s financial issues. They allegedly owe the IRS $1.1 million in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties from 2013, 2017 and 2018, TMZ  reported on May 8.

Bravo’s Don’t Be Tardy, a reality show based on the former couple’s marriage and family life, had been a major source of income for the pair, but the series was canceled in 2021 after eight seasons. Kim still makes money as an entrepreneur, as she is the owner of Kashmere Kollections, a skincare line that she founded in 2016.

Amid her divorce from Kroy, an insider exclusively told In Touch that Kim’s husband “doesn’t have a job” unlike her who has “her skincare line and other avenues of income.”

“House husbands don’t want to get jobs,” the source dished.