Alex Martinez/BravoAfter being blindsided by her husband's divorce filing, Porsha Stewart has come back firing.
In court documents filed today in Georgia, the Real Housewives of Atlanta star requested alimony and additional relief, as well as getting to stay in the home she and former NFL quarterback Kordell Stewart have shared with his son, Syre.
Stewart states that she has not worked for two years and that she sold her business to focus on caring for Syre, setting her earning capacity back "significantly." (She also notes in the filing that her "actual name" is Stewart but that her husband "improperly" identified her by her maiden name, Porsha Williams, in his divorce petition.)
"Her heart is broken," a source close to Stewart exclusively tells E! News. "She opened herself up to being a mom, and now this has happened. She had a miscarriage recently [as seen in an episode of Real Housewives]. She is a great mom and a fantastic woman. This whole situation has been incredibly upsetting."
Kordell filed for divorce last week after less than two years of marriage, stating that their union was irretrievably broken—an assertion Porsha did not deny in her counterfiling. He had asked that the court not award alimony, writing that his soon-to-be ex was "capable of supporting herself," and he claimed that there were no marital assets to be divided between them.
Our Stewart insider says that it's great to see her taking a stand.
"She is standing up for herself, finally," the source says. "She has stayed in that marriage and in that home for all this time because there was a child involved. She loves Syre like he is her own. She was with Syre all the time, and he even calls her 'Mom.'"
Syre is Kordell's son with ex-girlfriend Tania Richardson.
"She wants to do what is best for Kordell's son and so that's why she hasn't taken action before now—she wanted to try and keep everything amicable," our source added. "She put up with everything Kordell did because of Syre. She couldn't leave before, she just couldn't do that to him."
A rep for Stewart has said that she first found out about her husband's decision to pull the plug on their marriage in the media after he had agreed with her to try to work things out.
While the reality-TV star's filing states that she and Kordell are "living in a bona fide state of separation," the source tells us that neither has moved out of their house. But, it's a big house, "so they actually don't need to spend time together while they are both there. She has been trying to keep things consistent. This has been a big adjustment period."
Meanwhile, we hear that Stewart may be on her way to visit ex-Housewife NeNe Leakes this weekend.
"NeNe has been a fabulous friend to Porsha," our source says. "She has given her a shoulder to cry on. The two of them may be going out this weekend. Porsha is still trying to deal with what has happened so everything is up in the air, but, at the moment, the plan is for them to have some friend time together in New York."
—Additional reporting by Claudia Rosenbaum