RHONJ's Danielle Staub Finalizes Divorce from Husband Marty Caffrey 10 Months After Wedding
Six months after their contentious divorce proceedings began, Danielle Staub and Marty Caffrey are officially no longer husband and wife.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey stars — who began dating in April 2016 and wed in May 2018 in a Bahamas beach ceremony aired on the Bravo show — officially finalized the end of their marriage on Thursday, PEOPLE can confirm, both appearing before a judge in a Bergen County court.
Thursday’s hearing, which began at 9 a.m. and lasted for less than an hour, saw both agreeing to an uncontested split. She will have to vacate the $2.15 million house they’re still living in together in April, unless she buys it (and all of the furniture inside it), in which case Caffrey will leave immediately.
A rep for Staub, 56, said the reality star is glad to have the troubled times behind her now that her divorce has been finalized.
“Danielle is very much looking forward to moving on to the next chapter of her life and is excited to see what that will look like,” Staub’s spokesperson, Steve Honig, tells PEOPLE. “She is incredibly grateful for all the support she has received from her children, family and friends.”
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Caffrey, meanwhile, told PEOPLE in a statement that he felt bittersweet.
“Now that the divorce is final, I feel great relief as well as sadness,” the businessman said. “Relief comes as I have finally reached the end of the twisted road I was dragged down. I am looking forward to moving on in life with my supportive and loving family and friends around me. However, Danielle and I did fall in love, and it is sad to part from each other this way after experiencing something special together.”
“Looking back on our relationship, it is hard to reconcile that the camera and the show were more important to her than her relationship was with me,” Caffrey continued in his statement. “I do think the show led to the destruction of our relationship. I would caution any man who contemplates getting involved with a ‘real housewife”’as I think it takes a special kind of person to expose their private lives in this way and not have it not cause problems. However, I have no regrets about supporting Danielle, and vigorously defending her throughout the last two seasons of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. I bear her no ill will, and I wish her the best in everything she does.”
Though Thursday’s proceedings were mostly peaceful, Staub’s attorney did request to file a motion against Caffrey to hold him in contempt of court. If accepted, he will have to return for a separate hearing.
Still, this is hopefully the end of the heated back and forth the pair have been involved in since Caffrey filed for divorce in August.
That month, both were granted restraining orders against the other. Though they were later dropped, their fighting didn’t stop from there — with Caffrey putting their house on the market in November without telling Staub. She later filed a counterclaim in December to Caffrey’s divorce filing, alleging verbal and physical abuse as her reasons for seeking a separation. (Caffrey has denied all of Staub’s allegations.)
Just in January, an N.J. court granted Staub a temporary 10-day restraining order for her and her two daughters (Jillian, 20, and Christine, 24) against Caffrey over emotional torment, causing police to remove him from their home.
Even before the split, their RHONJ castmates saw signs the couple might be in trouble. On the show, Staub told a dinner table of their friends that Caffrey’s kids “hate” her. When Margaret Josephs’ husband Joe Benigno and Teresa Giudice‘s brother Joe Gorga confronted Caffrey about Staub during a recent episode, he told them, “She’s a challenge. I like challenges.”
In October, Staub told PEOPLE exclusively that she and Caffrey were never able to overcome their problems, but that she felt confident she would survive the drama.
“Fiercely I will push through this and like a warrior,” Staub said. “I will overcome everything like I always do. I will always land on my feet. And I’m not changing who I am. I might end up alone for the rest of my life, but I’ll be happy.”
“I try not to get hung up on everything too much and I try to remember that I have two daughters who are watching me, who I need to lead by example,” she adds. “Every day gets a little bit better and a little bit easier for me. And I’m proud of myself. I’ve come a long way.”
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Wednesdays (9 p.m. ET) on Bravo.
