Simon Guobadia, the estranged husband of Real Housewives of Atlanta star Porsha Williams, has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Simon Guobadia, who originally hails from Nigeria, is being held at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, as confirmed by records from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security obtained by Us Weekly on February 21.
His current status is listed as “in ICE custody,” indicating he is being held by the agency as part of the U.S. government’s broader immigration enforcement efforts. This comes amid a surge in deportations following President Donald Trump’s executive actions on immigration, aimed at removing individuals who are deemed illegal immigrants from the country.
At 60 years old, Guobadia first arrived in the United States from Nigeria in 1982. He is said to have overstayed his visa and was declared deportable by 1985. Though he returned to the U.S. in 1986, Guobadia once again overstayed his work visa. His legal troubles continued in the late ’80s when he was arrested for credit card and bank fraud, eventually pleading guilty. Guobadia was deported back to Nigeria in 1992 but was able to reenter the country just one month later.
Despite multiple deportations, Guobadia continued his efforts to stay in the U.S. and applied for naturalization in 2016. However, his application was denied. Guobadia again made headlines in February 2024 when it was reported that he had faced several setbacks in his attempts to secure permanent residency in the United States.
He seemed largely unfazed by these challenges, sharing an Instagram post celebrating his resilience: “Happy Tuesday to all who ever overcame and persevered in life. You are winning ???? #42yearsLivinginAmerica.”
Shortly after, Guobadia’s personal life became more complicated when Porsha Williams, 43, filed for divorce. The couple had been married for 15 months after a whirlwind engagement in 2021, but their relationship began to unravel soon after their 2022 wedding.
Williams was awarded “temporary, sole and exclusive possession, use and occupancy” of their shared home in Georgia in November 2024, allowing her to continue filming The Real Housewives of Atlanta amid their ongoing divorce proceedings. Prior to their marriage, the couple had signed a prenuptial agreement, though their divorce is still ongoing.
