A jury on Monday sided with the woman who accused North Carolina TikTok influencer Brenay Kennard of ruining her marriage with her ex-husband.
A Superior Court judge then ordered Kennard to pay $1.5 million for alienation of affection and $250,000 for “criminal conversation.”
Kennard represented herself in the civil case, where she was accused of stealing Akira Montague’s husband, Timothy Montague, and flaunting the alleged affair on social media.
North Carolina is one of the few states where someone can sue the person their spouse had an affair with.
Akira Montague, right, embraces attorney Robonetta Jones following the jury’s verdict in her lawsuit against Brenay Kennard on Monday. Kaitlin McKeown The News & Observer
Akira’s lawsuit, which sought $3.5 million in damages, also accused Kennard of criminal conversation — a legal term for having sex with someone’s spouse.
Jury members deliberated for roughly one hour and 50 minutes. After court was adjourned, Montague’s supporters spotted her rocking and hugging Robonetta Jones, her attorney.
They cheered for two minutes straight with chants of “Team A-kira!” ringing through Courtroom 7A.
Final day in court
Jones started the final day of the trial in Durham Monday by concluding her cross examination of Kennard. She presented two videos to Kennard, one where she bought a pregnancy test after saying “I am getting down and dirty in the sheets.” Kennard denied being sexually active at that time.
Brenay Kennard, the defendant in an alienation of affection lawsuit, reacts following the announcement of the jury’s verdict in a Durham County courtroom on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. The jury sided with Akira Montague, who accused Kennard of ruining her marriage with her ex-husband. Kaitlin McKeown The News & Observer
Jones showed another video where Kennard said, “I make her very uncomfortable.” Kennard admitted “her” referred to Akira Montague but said “uncomfortable” could mean many things. She again denied being sexually active with Timothy Montague while he and Akira were together.
Kennard previously testified she was unaware her relationship with Timothy made Akira uncomfortable.
The case caught national attention because Kennard has 3 million followers on TikTok. Kennard is a lifestyle influencer who posts “get ready with me” videos, cooking and makeup tutorials and food reviews known as mukbangs. She lives in the Pitt County town of Winterville.
Timothy Montague prepares to testify as a witness in the Durham County Superior Court civil trial on Nov. 6. His ex-wife’s lawsuit accused TikTok influencer Brenay Kennard of having an illegal relationship with him. Travis Long tlong@newsobserver.com
When called as a witness for rebuttal after Kennard left the stand Monday, Akira Montague again emphasized the love and affection she and Timothy Montague showed for each other. She said they have matching “True Love” tattoos.
Akira Montague disputed Timothy’s testimony Thursday that the two separated in 2021, saying he came home every weekend and had sex with her.
Closing statements
In the plaintiff’s closing statement, Jones emphasized that Akira never consented to Timothy and Kennard’s relationship, using a text where Akira asked Timothy if he and Kennard were “a thing” as evidence she wouldn’t ask that question if she consented to it.
Jones disputed Kennard’s testimony that she was drunk in videos where she was seen “twerking” on Timothy and appearing to talk about having sex with him.
“Being intoxicated doesn’t excuse you from twerking on another woman’s husband in the bathroom,” Jones said. Jones pointed to a Snapchat story on Kennard’s account where she answered a question about her legal troubles and said Timothy was “worth it.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is your job to figure out how much he’s worth,” Jones said.
In Kennard’s closing statement, she kept her remarks shorter. The lawsuit was only for financial gain and retaliation, she said, claiming she was an easy target given her profile as an influencer.
Kennard said she couldn’t “be the reason” Timothy wanted to leave because he had free will.
“This was a marriage that had been falling apart for years,” Kennard said.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
NC TikTok star’s alienation of affection case
Here are previous stories from the case.
This story was originally published November 10, 2025 at 5:31 PM.
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Twumasi Duah-Mensah
The News & Observer
Twumasi Duah-Mensah is a breaking news reporter for The News & Observer. He began at The N&O as a summer intern on the metro desk. Born and raised in the Triangle, Duah-Mensah has previously interned for WUNC and NC Health News. Send him tips and good tea places at (919) 283-1187.
