Tensions boil over in courtroom of NC TikTok star’s alienation of affection trial
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Judge warns litigants of contempt after defendant questioned plaintiff about miscarriage
- Plaintiff seeks over $3.5M, alleges affair, trauma and child privacy violations
- Akira Montague’s ex-husband charged, accused of bringing handgun to courthouse.
Representing herself as the defendant of an alienation of affection lawsuit on Wednesday, North Carolina TikTok star Brenay Kennard questioned the woman who sued her on the stand.
Kennard asked Akira Montague, the plaintiff, about an incident her lawyer mentioned in an opening statement: a pregnancy ending in miscarriage.
Montague answered her question, recounting in detail how a doctor informed her she had lost the baby.
“That must’ve been painful for you, right?” Kennard asked.
Some attendees in the gallery — few with any relation to either of the women but there to recount the case to their respective TikTok followers — quietly but audibly gasped. A few jurors were visibly shocked at Kennard’s question.
“Well, I wouldn’t expect you to know since you don’t have children,” Montague answered.
The exchange was emblematic of a heated second day of a trial at the Durham County Courthouse.
Akira Montague sued Kennard in May 2024, accusing her of having an affair with her ex-husband, Timothy Montague, according to her complaint. Akira Montague is seeking in excess of $3.5 million in damages from Kennard, according to her complaint.
Kennard is a lifestyle content creator with almost 3 million followers on TikTok who posts “get ready with me” videos, cooking and makeup tutorials and food reviews known as mukbangs. She lives in Winterville, a Pitt County town south of Greenville.
North Carolina is one of a few states that still allows people spurned by infidelity to sue the person their spouse cheated with.
In the complaint, Akira Montague accused Kennard of posting photos of the Montagues’ children without her consent, “flaunting” the affair in public and on social media while Akira and Timothy were still married and justifying the affair on a TikTok live stream.
As Montague continued to respond to Kennard’s line of questioning, Superior Court Judge Timothy Wilson stopped her and sent the jury out to warn the two to stick to the facts of the case and avoid “editorializing.” Wilson said he had warned the pair before, and another offense from either of them would lead him to hold them in contempt of court.
“You don’t need to express your sympathy,” Wilson said, addressing Kennard, “and you don’t need to make comments,” addressing Montague.
Outside the courtroom, Timothy Montague was arrested Wednesday and charged with carrying a concealed gun — a 9mm handgun — and having a weapon in the courthouse, court records show. Montague was released after posting a $2,500 bond.
Finding fault in alienation of affection suit
Kennard’s husband, Devon Mayo, is a cousin of Montague’s husband, Timothy Montague, the complaint states. (Mayo filed for divorce from Kennard in March 2025, court documents show.) Kennard and Akira Montague became friends as a result.
During the cross-examination, Akira Montague said Kennard stayed with the Montagues for two weeks in 2023. Montague’s complaint claims Kennard stayed at the house through at least February 2024 because she was having “marital problems.”
Kennard’s husband, Devon Mayo, filed for divorce in March 2025, court documents show.
Kennard asked Akira Montague why they continued to “hang out” if she was uncomfortable with Kennard staying at the house.
“We didn’t continue to hang out,” Montague said. “I asked you to leave. Multiple times.”
At one point, Akira Montague’s grandmother came over to her house to tell Kennard to leave, Montague said. But Kennard told Akira at the time that Timothy Montague wanted her to stay. The only reason Kennard left, according to Akira Montague, was because the police were called. Then Kennard came back.
Montague discovered the affair between Kennard and her husband in January 2024, when she stumbled on a video of the two of them together, she said.
Kennard staying at the house made Montague so uncomfortable she could not finish school because of it. Kennard asked her if she believed that “everyone else” was at fault for her struggles in school.
“I take accountability for allowing an intruder into my home,” Montague said.
Timothy Montague had previously cheated on Akira Montague before having an affair with Kennard, according to Akira Montague’s complaint. Kennard referenced the previous affair in her line of questioning, suggesting she was not at fault for destroying the love of Akira’s marriage — one of the three things a person filing an alienation of affection lawsuit must prove.
A person filing an alienation of affection must also prove that the love and affection was “alienated and destroyed” and the love was destroyed by a third party, The News & Observer previously reported, citing a Charlotte-based family lawyer. That can be done through testimony, photos or other evidence.
Akira testified that love existed between her and her ex-husband. She said Timothy would write her love notes every day in the lunchbox he packed for her before work.
Akira Montague’s voice trembled when she said she felt like her two children had lost both of their parents. Without a second income, Akira worked so much she didn’t have quality time with them. Her children are on the waitlist for therapy because they’re “going through a lot of behavioral changes,” Akira said.
“My children aren’t the same,” Montague said, holding back tears.
The trial continues Thursday.
This story was originally published November 6, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to clarify that Timothy Montague did not help Akira Montague’s mother through law school.
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