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Ashley Darby Reveals a “Final Straw” Ended Her and Luke Gulbranson’s Relationship
Get new details on the relationship between the RHOP and Summer House cast members.
The Real Housewives of Potomac’s Ashley Darby confirmed her split from Summer House’s Luke Gulbranson back in January, but now that some time has passed, she’s elaborating on what exactly led to their breakup.
Details on Ashley Darby and Luke Gulbranson’s Split
Discussing her relationship with Luke during a live taping of Page Six’s Virtual Reali-Tea podcast on September 7, Ashley began by noting, “Really we just sort of grew apart.”
She then referenced her ongoing divorce from Michael Darby. “My situation is complicated. My stuff with my previous partner has gotten better, but at that time, [it] was really bad,” she said. “[Luke] stuck out through a lot of it.”
“I commend him, but there was a final straw that we decided to keep between us," she added. "And I respect that.”
Ashley made similar remarks when she first announced that she and Luke were “not romantically involved anymore” during the January 8 episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.
“My life is very complicated, as you guys can imagine,” she said at the time. “I’m going through a very difficult situation. And Luke was a trouper — believe me, he went through some things.”
Andy then asked if Michael’s “not being thrilled about the relationship” played a factor in her and Luke’s split, to which she responded, “That, and I mean it’s not really about Luke. We just have a hard time period with co-parenting and separating.”
Ashley Darby and Luke Gulbranson’s Relationship
It was actually a WWHL fan who first suggested that Ashley and Luke get together in October of last year. Andy agreed it was “a good idea,” promised to play matchmaker, and seemingly fulfilled that promise at BravoCon 2022, as Ashley and Luke were spotted together there for the first time.
The pair continued to hang out over the next couple of months, but by January, things had apparently fizzled out. In addition to addressing her and Luke’s status on WWHL, Ashley also shared details on their since-ended relationship during the RHOP Season 7 reunion in February.
“I started falling in love with the guy,” Ashley said, much to her castmates’ surprise. “I did. After getting divorced, I think the first relationship can probably be the hardest, where you have consistent communication, you have someone being affectionate, all those things that I haven’t had for so long.”
For more, look back at Ashley and Luke’s relationship timeline.
