TikTok star Brenay Kennard ordered to pay $1.75 million after North Carolina jury finds her liable in affair-based lawsuit

12 November 2025

Virally popular influencer Brenay Kennard, known for her “day-in-the-life” content and mass TikTok following, has been hit with a historic civil judgment after a Durham County, North Carolina jury found her liable for alienation of affection and criminal conversation. The suit, brought by Akira Montague, alleged that Kennard’s relationship with Akira’s then-husband, Timothy Montague, spurred the breakdown of their marriage and caused emotional harm, including to the couple’s children.

Kennard was ordered to pay $1.5 million for alienation of affection and $250,000 for criminal conversation, bringing the total to $1.75 million. The verdict marks one of the largest awards of its kind in the state. Akira had originally sought $3.5 million.

The lawsuit argued that Kennard, who boasted over three million TikTok followers, leveraged her social-media presence while allegedly involved with her manager, Timothy Montague. Evidence presented by Akira’s team included hundreds of social-media posts, livestreams and text messages purportedly showing Kennard’s public interaction with Montague at a time when he was still married. During the six-day trial, Akira testified her marriage endured despite the affair, and she claimed deep emotional and familial disruption as a result.

Kennard defended herself by insisting the marriage was already over when she entered the scene. She called the verdict “outrageous” and described the lawsuit as a “money grab.” Montague later left his marriage for Kennard. Though he testified that the marriage lacked genuine love, jurors were persuaded by the evidence of ongoing marital relations and the impact of the affair as argued by Akira’s legal team.

North Carolina is one of just a few U.S. states that still recognise the tort of “alienation of affection,” more colloquially referred to as the “Jolene law” after the Dolly Parton hit about a woman stealing someone else’s man. Under the law, a spouse can sue a third-party for willful interference in their marriage, provided certain criteria are met: a genuine marriage existed, the third-party knew about the marriage, and the marriage was harmed by the interference.

Legal experts note the case sends a strong message to digital-native influencers and content creators who regularly blur personal-professional boundaries, especially when their relationships form part of their online persona. The settlement underscores that fame and follower count do not offer immunity from liability even when behaviour plays out primarily on social media.

While the ruling is strictly civil, the reputational damage may be substantial. For Kennard, the financial judgment and legal scrutiny raise questions about how influencers build business around relationships, loyalty and audience trust. For Montague’s children and family, the decision is being viewed as validation of emotional harm sustained not just through the affair, but the public spectacle it generated.

The case has broader resonance in the creator ecosystem, especially amid growing scrutiny of influencer authenticity, monetisation of relationships and the blurred lines between content and personal life. Followers often watch influencers’ relationships unfold in real time; this tragic outcome highlights the real-world consequences when those lives expose others to harm.

In the aftermath, Kennard remains free, though the financial burden is heavy. Enforcement of the judgment may involve collection efforts, asset assessments and ongoing legal wrangling. Observers will also watch whether there are appeals or additional claims.

Ultimately the Brenay Kennard case serves as a reminder that even in a world of likes, clips and traffic analytics, underlying legal and ethical frameworks still apply. In one of the first high-profile influencer-based alienation-of-affection cases in the digital era, the message is clear: content creators may also carry personal-liability risk when their public lives intersect with others’ relationships.