Amanza Smith has admitted she’s concerned about her ex-husband Ralph Brown coming back into her life, a year after he disappeared without a trace.
Selling Sunset viewers witnessed the realtor fighting to get sole custody of their children, daughter Noah, 11, and son Braker, nine, but she revealed exclusively to MailOnline that she is now ‘dragging her heels’ with the proceedings.
While Amanza is thriving raising her children alone, she confessed that it took a long time to settle her children in the sudden absence of their father, and she’s worried what his reappearance could do.
Candid: Amanza Smith has admitted she’s concerned about her ex-husband Ralph Brown coming back into her life, a year after he disappeared without a trace
The last time Amanza saw her ex-husband in the flesh was on August 26, 2019, and her final communication with him to date was in an email he sent her her a few days later on September 1.
The realtor has been left in the dark as to his whereabouts and has since said that Ralph – who she divorced in 2012 – ‘doesn’t want to be found’.
Explaining her predicament in terms of the ongoing custody battle between them, Amanza said: ‘I haven’t had another court date since we stopped filming because of the pandemic, and now I’m dragging my heels to be honest.’
AWOL: The last time Amanza saw ex-husband Ralph Brown in the flesh was on August 26, 2019, and her final communication with him to date was in an email he sent her her a few days later
She continued: ‘The kids and I are so acclimated to our new situation, at this point it would rock my world just as much if he came back.
‘Not because I don’t want that for my children. Because we just got in our groove and it would be stirring up new emotions and a different type of confusion.
‘Who knows how I would react and what his reasoning would be? I’ve had to mentally prepare myself for that. But if I’m being completely honest, I’m not ready.’
Terrific trio: Selling Sunset viewers witnessed the realtor fighting to get sole custody of daughter Noah, 11, and son Braker, nine, but she is now ‘dragging her heels’
Describing the situation as ‘super crazy and bizarre’, Amanza – who is also being kept in the dark by Ralph’s family – continued: ‘It’s very hard to wrap my head around.
‘I’ve gone from being so devastated and heartbroken – and trying to explain to my kids and make excuses and wipe their tears – and now that’s eased up.
‘I’m just really really proud of myself that I’ve been able to hold it down because I was terrified. I’m proud of my kids, they have handled it like champs.
‘There’s still a lot of things, probably on the back end, that we’re going to have to work out with therapy, and that’s fine. But we’re doing it.’
Former model Amanza married American football star Ralph in July 2010, with the couple divorcing two years later.
Following their split, the pair shared joint custody of their children – looking after them on alternate weeks.
However, Amanza began caring for the kids full time after Ralph disappeared in August 2019, last seen dropping the kids at school.
Confused: Describing the situation as ‘super crazy and bizarre’, Amanza – who is also being kept in the dark by Ralph’s family – confessed, ‘It’s very hard to wrap my head around’
Although Amanza filed a missing person report after not seeing her ex for two months, investigators announced that it wasn’t a missing person case as there wasn’t any sign of foul play.
In her bid to locate Ralph’s whereabouts, Amanza also hired a private investigator to find him, but they ‘never got a visual’.
The reality star also claims she has made several attempts to contact his family, but they haven’t responded to her texts or phone calls.
Sweet: While Amanza is thriving raising her children alone, she confessed that it took a long time to settle her children in the sudden absence of their father
For now, Amanza has had her hands full working full time for The Oppenheim Group from home whilst also caring for her children.
Recalling the lockdown period and the challenges of parenting in quarantine, Amanza admitted: ‘At times it has been tough and full on but I’m lucky my kids are older.
‘I can’t even imagine what it’d be like with young kids now. I mean, I was a single parent when they were two and three, but we could go to the park or play at the beach. Now you can’t do that. So I’m just grateful that my kids are the age that they are!’
Amanza is also keeping busy as one of many Hollywood stars who work with Thrillz, a site that allows fans to commission personalised video messages from celebrities.
Discussing why she chose to partner with the platform, she revealed: ‘I really enjoy interacting with fans that truly like me for the person that I am.
‘It’s all positive. And you know that you’re genuinely speaking to people that like you. And it makes somebody feel good and I like to make people happy, so it’s like a win win!’
You can request a video from Mary, or a number of other stars, at www.thrillz.co.uk
Multitasking mama: For now, Amanza has had her hands full working full time for The Oppenheim Group and creating content for celebrity video app Thrillz