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For the last 14 years, Phaedra Parks has shown so many facets of her life on reality television, including her journey as a mom. The Real Housewives of Atlanta alum, 50, is the proud mom of two sons, whom she shares with her ex-husband, Apollo Nida. Phaedra married Apollo, 45, in 2009 but they split five years later, and their divorce was not finalized until 2017. Apollo went to prison in 2014 for five years for fraud and identity theft, so it was up to Phaedra to raise her children alone — and she did an amazing job at it!
While Phaedra is busy crushing it on shows like The Traitors and Married to Medicine, she puts her job as a mom before anything. Phaedra has even taught her sons many important life lessons, as she revealed in an interview with PEOPLE. “I have three rules for my sons. Be respectful of adults, yes and no ma’am all the time. My second rule is clean up behind yourself. And the last thing is be grateful,” she said.
Phaedra also revealed in the interview that she’s not a pushover mom. “I definitely will take their phone away and follow through with that because I worked too hard for them not to appreciate,” she explained. “Of course, we have a housekeeper. but I want them to know!”
Keep reading to learn all about Phaedra’s two sons: Ayden and Dylan.
Ayden Nida
Ayden, 13, is Phaedra’s oldest son. She was pregnant with Ayden when she joined RHOA for season 3 in 2010. Phaedra let the cameras into the hospital room when she gave birth to her first child on March 26, 2010. “Being a new mother is a total change,” she said on the episode where she gave birth. “I mean, that’s a new life. Caring for someone outside of yourself is a whole different ballgame.”
Ayden — who Phaedra nicknamed “Prince” — was 7 years old when his mom was fired from RHOA after season 9. While Ayden’s time on TV came to an end, Phaedra continued to give updates on her oldest son on social media and in interviews. In June 2023, Phaedra told PEOPLE that she gave Ayden $13,000 to invest in his first property for his 13th birthday.
“He said for his birthday he either wanted a dirt bike or a way to make money. And so I said, ‘Well definitely not gonna give you a dirt bike to kill yourself. I will give you $150,000 for you to buy a piece of property,’ ” the Ultimate Girls Trip star said. “And so now he’s basically trying to figure out if he wants to do a little multi-unit duplex, you know, [start] his own little rental properties.”
“Ayden is big into cryptocurrency and big into researching how to become a millionaire before he is 25,” Phaedra further said about her oldest child. “And so he’s been talking about getting investment properties.”
Dylan
Dylan, 10, is Phaedra’s youngest son. He was born on May 8, 2013 and got the nickname “Mr. President” from his mom. Like his big brother, Dylan has been off RHOA since Phaedra left the show in 2017.
However, in June 2022, both Dylan and Ayden appeared backstage on Watch What Happens Live where they were greeted by Andy Cohen in a sweet video. Andy could not believe how grown up Phaedra’s boys were when he saw them. “I haven’t seen you in so long!” Andy said to Ayden and Dylan.
In August 2022, Phaedra celebrated Dylan’s first day of 4th grade with a heartfelt Instagram post. She shared photos of her with Dylan at his school. Apollo was also there for his son’s big day. “So long #summer #hello #4th grade Mr. President has arrived! #1stdayofschool#boymom #family,” Phaedra captioned the post.
Phaedra told PEOPLE in June 2023 that both of her sons “can be a bit bougie.” She also said that they’re very well traveled. “Dylan loves all Asian countries. That’s his big thing,” she said about her second son.
