A North Carolina jury has ordered TikToker Brenay Kennard to pay $1.75 million in damages to her husband’s ex-wife, finding that the influencer intentionally caused the breakup of the couple’s marriage.
The verdict, handed down Monday in Durham County Superior Court, caps a case that has fascinated both legal experts and social media followers — a 21st-century scandal decided by a law that dates back to the 19th.
The lawsuit was filed in May by Akira Montague, who accused Kennard of “alienation of affection” and “criminal conversation,” a pair of civil claims that still exist in just a handful of states, including North Carolina. The statutes allow a spouse to sue a third party for interfering in a marriage — a vestige of an era when love, fidelity, and property were legally entangled.
Montague alleged that Kennard began an affair with her then-husband, Timothy Montague, and flaunted the relationship online, sharing TikTok videos and Instagram posts while Akira and Timothy were still married. Some clips reportedly featured Akira’s children, whom she shares with Timothy, without her permission.
Jurors deliberated for less than two hours before siding with Akira, awarding $1.5 million in compensatory damages for alienation of affection and another $250,000 for criminal conversation.
Kennard, who has built a following of more than three million users with her upbeat, domestic-themed content, represented herself during the trial. She argued that she couldn’t possibly be the reason for the Montagues’ breakup, insisting the marriage had been “falling apart for years.”
Timothy echoed that defense, testifying that he had not been in love with Akira for some time. “We were just like roommates,” he said in court. But Akira disputed that, telling jurors the two had continued living as a couple, seeing each other on weekends and maintaining an intimate relationship until Kennard entered the picture.
After the ruling, Kennard called the verdict “outrageous,” accusing Akira of fabricating claims to gain sympathy. “This lawsuit was all about money,” she said in a statement to People. “The truth will always be the truth, and it’s easy to believe the lies, especially when playing the victim card.”
Timothy also criticized the decision, claiming the jury had been swayed by emotion. “It’s easy to make someone out to be the villain when you don’t want to face the truth,” he said. “The marriage was not full of genuine love.”
