Whatever Happened To Apollo Nida?
You remember Apollo Nida, right? The former "Real Housewives" star who went to prison? No, not that one. Or that one. But the one who was married to Phaedra Parks and was sentenced to eight years behind bars for "mail, wire and bank fraud" in 2014, according to People, before becoming a free man a little earlier than his full sentence, returning to society in 2019. With his prison stint, Apollo's reality TV career began to dwindle (those Bravo cameras may get everywhere, but we're guessing behind bars isn't one place they're too welcome) and the Atlanta-based version of the series moved on without him — just like Phaedra.
But what really happened to this "Real Housewives of Atlanta" husband, and what is Apollo Nida up to today? Well, grab that "Donkey Booty" workout DVD (who are you kidding, we know you have it somewhere!) and get ready for a trip down memory lane with one of the most infamous Bravo men in the history of the "Real Housewives" franchise...
What does Apollo Nida do for a living?
Apollo Nida took on a new career after saying bye bye to the slammer. "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" fans may know him best as a businessman when he featured on the show alongside Phaedra Parks, but as announced in March 2021, he was doing something a little different with someone viewers will be all too familiar with. Apollo teamed up with none other than Peter Thomas — yes, Cynthia Bailey's ex-husband — to flip houses. Peter confirmed the news on Instagram, sharing a video of them outside a home. "Getting ready to flip this house. We are partnering to flip homes in Atlanta. Ain't that some s***, that we gonna be flipping houses?" Peter said. "My architectural style. His hustle. Getting ready to kill them," he added, pointing to Apollo.
Apollo is hands-on, too. That December, he shared Instagram photos of himself covered in dust after a long day at work, captioning it with, "I was putting insulation in the attic all day!! WHAT A JOB THIS WAS... ." But that wasn't only the post-"RHOA" career change. In February 2020, Apollo Instagram'd of himself working behind the camera and revealed he was a director, with The Daily Dish reporting the project was for his fiancée Sherien Almufti's wig line.
A quick look at his Instagram bio confirms Apollo has fingers in a number of other pies, too. "Reality Production, Fitness Mogul, Public Speaker, Celebrity Ambassador, Philanthropist, [and] Brand Endorser," it reads. Quite the résumé!
He temporarily went back to prison
As if once behind bars wasn't enough, Apollo Nida actually headed back into the slammer mere days after he was initially released following his sentencing on federal fraud charges in 2014. On June 5, 2019, Apollo left prison around five years into his eight-year sentence and went to a halfway house, where it was confirmed he would serve out the rest of his sentence until that October, according to The Blast. But that didn't exactly go to plan. Around mid-June, Apollo had been "picked up by the US Marshals Service," with a representative confirming to Page Six that the reality star "was in trouble for breaking a technical condition of his release." Apollo was then re-released to a halfway house the following month, with Page Six noting he would be a free man again in November of that year.
His ex-wife, Phaedra Parks, spoke about him being behind bars once again in that same month, telling the Daily Mail during a candid interview that she wasn't really "shocked" by his behavior, noting that the father of her sons was very much "a risk taker." She added, "I just hate it because now it's just above all of us, only Jesus can fix it."
Apollo Nida is booked
Booked and busy! As well as raking in the cash (we assume) from his house-flipping venture, Apollo Nida is also still profiting off his famous name and 15 minutes of Bravo fame, as "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" alum has turned to that infamous reality star moneymaker — the club appearance.
Apollo has made quite a few appearances since being released from behind bars, including showing up alongside Peter Thomas (who else?) in October 2021 at an event in Georgia, which was billed his "Freedom party" post-prison. As for how much of your hard-earned cash you'd have to part with to attend said "Freedom Party"? Well, according to the animated poster shared to Apollo's Instagram, $25. Yep, 25 big ones per person. In the caption, Apollo described the party as being "a star studded event" and revealed he was "calling everybody out to come celebrate, party & have a good time with the crew."
But that's far from the only time Apollo has hit the club for a paycheck. Amongst his other bookings include his and Peter's 2019 New Year's Eve party in Miami. It's not clear how much the two charged for the appearance, though Peter urged fans to get tickets and call if they wanted to make a table reservation, meaning it's likely the duo earned plenty of cash.
Is the former Bravo star still engaged?
Apollo Nida didn't waste much time in the wake of his split from Phaedra Parks. In November 2016, he got engaged to Sherien Almufti (while still behind bars) after dating her for two years, according to TMZ. Phaedra had claimed on TMZ's "Raq Rants" that same month that she and Apollo were officially divorced, only that wasn't actually the case, as a judge reversed the ruling in March 2017, keeping them legally married.
Sherien even appeared on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," popping up in a Season 9 episode when she attended Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker's restaurant opening. As fans will remember, she got quite the grilling from Kandi after she claimed she was attending the event to show Apollo's support, considering he was (you guessed it!) still serving his prison sentence at the time.
It looks like Apollo and Sherien are still very much together, as of this writing, too. But they don't seem to have officially tied the knot in the wake of his prison stint — despite Sherien appearing on "Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta" in 2018. In September 2021, Apollo celebrated her birthday by sharing an Instagram photo of the two of them while calling her his "BEAUTIFUL BOSS BABY" (yes, in all caps) in the caption. Meanwhile, Sherien seems just as smitten with her man: That March, she shared a snap of him with his hands on her hips alongside the caption, "Us," with a double heart emoji.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta still talk about him
He may not have properly appeared on the show since he was sent down in 2014, but that doesn't mean the cast of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" have stopped talking about Apollo Nida. Phaedra Parks' ex has still been a topic of conversation for the peach holders, with Kenya Moore addressing her interactions with him (longtime fans will remember that the two were famously a little flirty before his prison stint) on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" in January 2021. Kenya admitted at the time that she wished things had gone down differently with her former co-star's husband, saying, "I think I could have just distanced myself from Apollo altogether, not been so chummy-chummy, especially when it bothered his wife."
Phaedra then went on to talk about that storyline and her feud with Kenya in May on — where else? — "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," admitting that things were still strained following the furor, but that they've interacted on social media.
For his part, Apollo also hasn't stopped speaking about his former Bravo co-stars. In April 2020, he shared his opinion on Kenya's husband, Marc Daly, and he didn't hold back. He called Marc a "d***head" on "Happy Hour Live with Michelle ATLien Brown," adding, "I don't like that guy, man." Apollo continued, "He's demeaning. He's just, like, a chump, man. ... I might slap the s*** out of him ... like for real, he's not cool, man." Ouch!
Apollo Nida is also a fitness buff
Apollo Nida is one buff former Househusband. He has clearly been hitting the gym since he left "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," and often shows off his buff body on social media. The star regularly shares his workouts with fans, posting pictures and videos to Instagram, which he dubs NidaFitness ("RHOA" fans may remember he also dabbled in personal training while on the show).
In May 2021, Apollo posted a video on Instagram of all the equipment he uses, including ropes and weights laid out inside a gym. As for how all that work paid off? Well, take a look for yourself: Apollo shared a shirtless mirror selfie on the social media site in July 2020 as he showed off his ripped physique, including rock-hard abs and bulging biceps. He wrote in the caption in all caps, "TRYING TO GAIN MOMENTUM. ITS A FIGHT GOIING UP HILL, BUT THE REWARD IS SO SWEET AT THE TOP. EVERYONE HAVE A BLESSED FRIDAY."
It seems like all that time at the gym has made the star interested in heading into the ring, too, as he challenged another former "Real Housewives" husband, "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice's ex, Joe Giudice — or anyone else, for that matter — to a boxing match (via The Shade Room). As of December 2021, though, the two were yet to throw down, though Joe's probably a little busy amid his post-prison deportation issues.
Inside this Bravo alum's relationship with his kids
Apollo Nida's children with Phaedra Parks seemed to be a bit of a source of contention between them for a while, as Apollo has hinted he didn't see his kids as much as he would like when he first left prison in 2019. In August that year, he shared a gorgeous snap of his sons, Dylan Nida and Aydan Nida, to Instagram and suggested he'd not seen them since becoming a free man.
"DON'T WORRY ! We will be together soon, No matter what, she can't keep us apart," he wrote in the caption. Apollo didn't clarify who "she" was, though many speculated he was referring to his former wife, Phaedra. "The fight will not stop to be a good DAD!!! There's not a day that goes by I don't think of the 2 of u," he continued, adding, "LOVE AND MISS YA SO MUCH," with the hashtags, "#dayonedad," "#alwaysbeenthere," and "#fathershaverightstoo."
The gang seemed to be reunited by January the following year, though, with Apollo sharing two photos to Instagram showing him with his boys as he seemingly bought them both gifts. "The positive energy you two have is so awesome. Love you," he captioned one snap as they checked out their presents, while he wrote alongside the second, "I love these two amazingly smart young men. Life is only going to get better for US." Apollo added in all caps, "THANKS FOR REMAINING STRONG WHILE DADDY WAS AWAY. LOVE YOU SO MUCH."
Apollo Nida's still friendly with the RHOA cast
Apollo Nida may not have appeared on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" since 2014, but that doesn't mean he's not still friendly with some of the cast. Of course, we've covered his close friendship with his house-flipper buddy and fellow club appear-er, Cynthia Bailey's ex-husband, Peter Thomas (if this photo of him wearing a "We heart Peter Thomas" t-shirt doesn't prove their bromance is real, nothing will), but Apollo was also still on friendly terms with someone more unexpected.
In February 2020, he posted a picture to Instagram featuring fellow former "RHOA" star NeNe Leakes after he attended one of her "Ladies Night Out" shows and posed alongside her with his fiancée, Sherien Almufti, backstage. "We had a great time hanging with @neneleakes last night. The show was amazingly funny. After so many years thanks for the same wonderful vibes and positive energy. #muchsuccess," he captioned it. But not everyone was such a fan of the nostalgia of seeing the two back together.
NeNe isn't the only one he's stayed in touch with, though. Kandi Burruss confirmed her man, Todd Tucker, has been in contact with Apollo since he left the show, saying on "Watch What Happens Live" in January 2020, "Todd has spoken to Apollo. I think they saw each other out one day." She added that she and Todd stored two motorcycles for Apollo when he went into the big house, but they were allegedly taken by the cops.
Will he return to The Real Housewives of Atlanta?
While it's been a while since we last saw Apollo Nida on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," it sounds like he'd be open for a return. We know the cast, past and present, still like to gossip about him from time to time, but Apollo revealed he'd be down to appear on the reality series with his fiancée, Sherien Almufti. The star admitted he thought his fiancée would make a great "peach holder" while speaking to Michelle "ATLien" Brown in a YouTube video in April 2020, noting that she would be "the baddest one on there."
He also spoke about if he'd return with or without his former wife, Phaedra Parks, who exited in 2017. Apollo said he'd still want to come back even if Phaedra was there, sharing that he sees the show as a great way to earn money to provide for their kids. "If there's anything that I can do to contribute to feeding my children, then I'll do it, and I would hope that she would do the same, but she wouldn't. That's just not in her character," he claimed.
As for Phaedra, she too has hinted at returning. "What's meant to happen will happen," she told People in June 2020. "They say you're set up to step up for the next thing, right? I know that I'm fortunate. I know that good things happen to me because I have my feet on frugal ground."
Apollo Nida's net worth is higher than you might expect
Despite being in a pretty bad financial state when he left for prison in 2014, Apollo Nida's net worth is nothing to sneeze at. Celebrity Net Worth puts his financial earnings at $400,000 (though that's a drop in the ocean compared to the richest "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star), despite all his money woes pre-prison, which saw him ordered to pay back a whopping $1.9 million. It was claimed that Apollo had to give that eye-watering sum back as restitution after being part of what was described as "a $2.3 million scheme," in which he and others allegedly "stole victims' identities and used them to obtain checks, file fraudulent tax returns and make fraudulent claims against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development," as Page Six put it.
There's no doubting Apollo did pretty well to keep his net worth so high in the wake of his financial problems, though, with former wife Phaedra Parks claiming his issues with money was one of the main factors in their divorce. She said her now-ex-husband "needed money to spend on that flashy life" while speaking to Daily Mail in 2017, also calling the father of her children "narcissistic" as she admitted she believed "he broke the law to be flashy to impress people." Phaedra also claimed that she and Apollo never had a joint bank account during their marriage.
One thing's for sure, though — Apollo Nida has been pretty darn busy over the years!