Eva Marcille and Michael Sterling are calling it quits.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta star, 38, filed for divorce from the lawyer on March 23, stating that their marriage is "irretrievably broken," according to documents obtained by PEOPLE.
"This has been one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make, but sometimes life takes your journey in a direction you were not expecting," Marcille tells PEOPLE exclusively. "Our children remain our biggest priority and the eight and half years we have spent together will always be cherished. We ask that you respect our privacy at this time."
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The pair married on Oct. 7, 2018, and "are currently living in a bona fide state of separation," Marcille's attorneys wrote in the filing.
They share three children: son 4-year-old Michael Sterling, Jr., whom they welcomed in 2018 and Maverick Sterling, 3. Sterling is also a father figure to Marcille's daughter Marley Rae from her previous relationship with ex Kevin McCall.
The former America's Next Top Model winner and The Young & the Restless actress is seeking legal and primary custody of their children and child support as well as support with "care and maintenance" and medical costs.
Marcille wants the court to award her "equitable division" of the assets she and Sterling gained during their marriage, as well as her own separate property. She wants their debt to be "equitably divided" too.
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Sterling has been absent from Marcille's Instagram profile since earlier this year, when she posted a photo of him on a yacht.
She kept the caption simple with a sunflower emoji.
Sterling last posted a photo of him and Marcille on Valentine's Day. In the snap, she's sitting on his lap as the two laugh and smile together.
In the caption, he called her "My forever Valentine."
He added, "I am so in love with you that there isn't anything else." Happy St. Valentine's Day. #thesterlings"
RHOA viewers saw Marcille and Sterling tie the knot on an episode of the Bravo series that aired in March 2019.
The couple was in tears as they said their "I dos" in front of 220 family and friends.
It was a beautiful affair that had Marcille's RHOA castmates NeNe Leakes, Kandi Burruss, Cynthia Bailey, Porsha Williams, Shamari DeVoe, Tanya Sam and Marlo Hampton overcome with emotion, too.
"I promise to love you unconditional, unrelenting, comforting and eternal. I promise you not only this present love, but future love. The future love that can't forecast the unpredictability of life but is prepared to withstand the hardships, the pains, and the struggles," Sterling said in his vows.
During her vows, Marcille said, "Michael, you're my safe place. In a world that is often disappointing, you give me hope. Learning to love the biggest part of me, my daughter Marley, holding my truth and my fragility firmly in your hands, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was designed for you. Our bond is unbreakable and our love is pure."
