Ashley Darby () (born June 8, 1988) is an American reality television personality and singer. She gained notability after winning

Miss District of Columbia Miss (pronounced ) is an English-language honorific typically used for a girl, for an unmarried woman (when not using another title such as " Doctor" or "Dame"), or for a married woman retaining her maiden name. Originating in the 17th century ...

in 2011 and has been a main cast member of '' The Real Housewives of Potomac'' since the show's inception in January 2016.

Early life and education

Darby was raised by her single mother, Sheila Matthews, in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

. She has two younger half-siblings: musician/entrepreneur Zach Smith and sister Jessica. As a teenager, she often worked to help provide additional income for the family. Following high school graduation, Darby attended

University of Maryland College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

and earned a degree in communications.

Career

Since the show's creation, Darby has been a cast member of '' The Real Housewives of Potomac''. Her first seasons focused extensively on her desire to have a child and efforts to successfully run the Australian-themed restaurant, Oz, owned by herself and her former husband. The restaurant floundered for nearly four years until its closure in June 2019. In 2018, Darby released a single titled ''Coffee and Love'' produced by her brother. Before joining the show, Darby worked as a bartender at one of her future husband's restaurants. In 2011, she was crowned

and went on to represent the District of Columbia in the

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

competition. In 2025, Darby starred alongside RHOP co-star Gizelle Byrant,

Shannon Storms Beador {{Infobox person , name = Shannon Storms Beador , image = , alt = , caption = , birth_name = Shannon Marion Storms , birth_date = {{Birth date and age, 1964, 03, 25 , birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. ...

(RHOC) and

Luann de Lesseps Luann de Lesseps (née Nadeau, previously D'Agostino; known as "Countess Luann" from her first marriage, although she no longer has that title; born May 17, 1965) is a Canadian-American television personality, singer, model, and author. She is b ...

(RHONY) in a ''Real Housewives'' spin-off ''

Love Hotel A love hotel is a type of short-stay hotel found around the world operated primarily for the purpose of allowing guests privacy for sex. The name originates from "Hotel Love" in Osaka, Japan. Although love hotels exist all over the world, the ...

''.

Personal life

Ashley Darby married Australian restaurateur and largescale realtor Michael Darby in May 2014. She had her first son, Dean Michael Darby, on July 7, 2019. Darby was very public about her

postpartum depression Postpartum depression (PPD), also called perinatal depression, is a mood disorder which may be experienced by pregnant or postpartum women. Symptoms include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability, and extreme cha ...

following her son's birth and shared she was experiencing "postpartum blues" within the first month. Her second son, Dylan Matthew Darby, was born in March 2021. The Darbys announced in April 2022 that they would be separating after almost eight years of marriage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darby, Ashley Participants in American reality television series 1988 births Living people African-American women singers African-American television personalities People from Potomac, Maryland People with mood disorders Singers from Silver Spring, Maryland