Earlier this month, North Carolina TikTok influencer Brenay Kennard was ordered to pay $1.75 million after a jury found her guilty of breaking up her manager’s marriage. The lawsuit, which was filed in Durham County Court, accused Kennard of seducing and having an affair with her manager, Tim Montague.
Akira Montague (Tim’s Wife) filed the case in civil court, claiming that the affair caused mental anguish, damaged her health, and deprived her two children of a two-parent household. Tim Montague eventually divorced his wife to be with Kennard, ending their five-year marriage. He has been featured prominently in Kennard’s social media posts throughout the course of their relationship, including her TikTok channel which has close to 3 million followers, giving the affair even more publicity.
“I believe the message is that there are consequences for interfering with another person’s marriage,” said Akira Montague’s attorney, Robonetta Jones. “People have to know that if you interfere and you sleep with someone who’s married, there are consequences in the state of North Carolina and maybe they will think twice before they do it.”
North Carolina is one of seven states that still allow alienation of affection and criminal conversation cases, where spouses can sue a third party who interferes with their marriage. In February of 2025, the NC Court of Appeals upheld the longstanding definition of these laws:
“Criminal conversation requires a plaintiff to prove that there was an ‘actual marriage between the spouses and sexual intercourse between defendant and the plaintiff’s spouse during the coverture.’”
“Alienation of affection, on the other hand, requires a plaintiff to prove: ‘(1) there was a marriage with love and affection existing between the husband and wife; (2) that love and affection was alienated; and (3) the malicious acts of the defendant produced the loss of that love and affection.’”
NC Family has long supported and defended these laws in North Carolina, as they help to hold an individual accountable for intruding into someone else’s marriage, alienating the affections of the spouse from their husband or wife, engaging in sexual intercourse with someone else’s husband or wife, and breaking up the marriage.