'Real Housewives of Atlanta' Star Cynthia Bailey Marries Mike Hill

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT

The reality star and the sports journalist are officially married!

Cynthia Bailey and Mike Hill are officially married! The 53-year-old Real Housewives of Atlanta star married the 50-year-old sports journalist at the Governors Towne Club in Acworth, Georgia, on Saturday.

The couple tied the knot in front of 250 guests, including her costars Kandi Burruss, Kenya Moore and former RHOA castmate Eva Marcille, who served as bridesmaids, per People. The reality star looked stunning in a Nneka C. Alexander of Brides by Nona wedding dress, which she paired with Badgley Mischka heels and a Bridal Styles Boutique headpiece.

This is the second marriage for both. Cynthia split from ex-husband Peter Thomas in 2017, as documented on Real Housewives.

Burruss and Porsha Williams shared their stunning looks from the couple's wedding.

Meanwhile, Cynthia and Mike got engaged last July after a year of dating. ET spoke to the couple in November 2018, and they opened up about their whirlwind romance -- which started on Steve Harvey's daytime show, Steve, in February of that year. During ET's sit-down, Hill promised that he would be putting a ring on her finger "soon."

"I know that if it's in God's will for me to be married again, for us to be married, then this is the woman I want to marry," he shared. "I never thought I'd say that again, I've been there before … But I do know that, if it's somebody I want to be with for the rest of my life, it's Cynthia Bailey."

Cynthia commented at the time, "It's weird, because we're not in a rush, but we're not taking our time. We're just going with the flow. I mean, I feel like we could, like, three weeks from now, 'Hey, babe? Whatcha doin'? You feel like getting married today?' Yeah."

ET spoke to Cynthia again in March, when she admitted that quarantining with Hill as well as both of their children and her daughter's girlfriend at his house in Los Angeles has been a struggle.

"This is the ultimate test right now, because -- here's the thing, if we get into an argument, and I get mad at Mike about something, normally the old, before-the-coronavirus-quarantine Cynthia Bailey would go check into a hotel," she said. "I'd be like, you know what? I'm going to stay here tonight. Go and drive myself from Porter Ranch to Beverly Hills and check myself into a nice little hotel and be alone. Now, I have to still sleep in the same bed, in the same house, and I'm just happy to go out for any reason at this point."

"It's kinda forced us to [see], this is kinda what it would really be like to be married and work from home together," she continued. "Like, I take my hat off to anybody who is married and works from home every day and sees their partners every single day, because, you guys have to realize, Mike and I were in a long-distance relationship. And even if we weren't, with both of our careers, I travel a lot for work, so does he, so we don't see each other every single day. Morning, noon, night. Breakfast, lunch, dinner."

Still, the couple have clearly worked through their struggles. ET recently spoke to Bailey, and she said their wedding would be following lot of protocols to keep everyone safe amid the pandemic. The wedding will be filmed for RHOA and will air on season 13, making her the first Housewife to ever marry twice on the show (she married Thomas on season 3).

"I feel like I've been talking about this wedding for two years, at least Mike for two years," she said. "So, I am excited. 10-10-20 is our perfect date, although it didn't seem so perfect when the pandemic hit, COVID-19 and everything that's been going on in the world, as everything was happening. But I feel like in my heart, and Mike agrees, that this is our date and we just want to do it."

"I think I've focused more on making people safe, since people are super excited to come," she added. "We have like a long laundry list of things in place, from temperature checks to, we actually have a wash basin. When you come in, you actually have to wash your hands before you can enter the building. Then we have hand sanitizing posts, we have face shields, we have masks. ... We are social distancing, there are no traditional tables. Everyone is moving around indoor, outdoor. You literally could be outdoors the whole time if you wanted to.  ... I've almost talked my guests out of coming at this point with so many rules and updates saying 'Hey, just want to let you know we have 250 people coming. If you don't adhere to the rules you will be asked to leave. You can't do this, you can't do that,' and they're still like, 'I'm still coming.'"

Cynthia also said she knew Mike was her "forever," and that she was living her "best journey."

"You know, I went into my first marriage ready to work and I gave it my all," she said. "And you know, I am where I am now and I am certainly, you know, excited about my marriage to Mike. I am super optimistic that this is my happy ending and my forever. So yeah, this will be the last wedding you will see on the Housewives, I'll can tell you that. I don't know what God has for us but I don't think you'll be -- you will not be seeing another wedding from Cynthia Bailey. This is it."

 

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