RHOP Star Mia Thornton Separates from Husband Gordon Thornton: 'Family Is My No. 1 Priority' tram

Mia Thornton and husband Gordon Thornton have separated after 11 years of marriage, she tells PEOPLE exclusively.

"Like all marriages, ours has had its ups and downs," says The Real Housewives of Potomac star, 38. "At this time, Gordon and I are separated, but my family is my number one priority, and I am committed to doing whatever it takes to make sure we are okay."

"We ask that you respect our privacy and give us the time and space to figure things out," she adds.

Mia and Gordon, 70, have been married since March 2012 and share son Jeremiah Carter, 8, and daughter Juliana, 6. Additionally, they each have one child from their previous relationships.

The couple's marital woes are expected to play out season 8 of RHOP, which premieres Nov. 5 on Bravo. PEOPLE exclusively premiered the trailer that hinted at trouble between them, with Mia admitting that she once "obtained a divorce lawyer" during a difficult point in their relationship.

She also tells costar Ashley Darby that she "might" have married Gordon for his money.

Viewers first met the couple when she joined the franchise back in season 6. She and Gordon met at a strip club charity event in 2003.

"The reason why we became friends is because we partnered and served on the same board for a non-profit organization to raise money for Haiti," Mia told E! News in 2021. "We were raising money for the cause."

"One of the ladies, one of the original founders of the organization, she worked there — not as an entertainer, but in the admin office and so she did use the facility in order to raise money," she continued. "They serve steak dinners and then the proceeds went to the organization."

As for their family, Mia often shares images of them on Instagram, and has praised Gordon in the past for being "such a POWERFUL positive influence on our children."

"I admire the way you love, nurture, and empower our babies to be the best versions of themselves," she wrote in June. "Thank you for loving us and being a great dad!"

The pair are also grandparents four times over. "Gordon is 32 years older than I, and we do have grandbabies," she told E! News. "We have four beautiful grandbabies. Two are adults moving into the college world, and two are in grade school. Of course, I feel like the two younger ones are actually my birth grandchildren because I actually helped name them."

Mia added, "I was there to be a part of their birth and things like that, but it's been great. We have such a blended family. His kids are phenomenal. His daughter calls me for advice, so it's just really great. It's just natural."

The pair also run a chain of chiropractic clinics called The Joint Chiropractic, though last October, Mia accused Gordon's brothers of having "revoked his access to the company bank account" while the two were "out of the country."

"Please pray for our family," she added in the now-deleted Instagram post from October 2022, per Page Six.

Mia then revealed in January that the pair had to move out of their home due to "unforeseen circumstances."

"This was bittersweet as we anticipated living in the big house for at least 3 years while we decided to build/purchase, continue to rent who knows, but due to unforeseen circumstances, our big space got cut short," she wrote on Instagram. "One thing about me, I never stay down for long. Minor setback!"

She explained at the RHOP season 7 reunion in February that she and Gordon "are literally living off our savings" and were now living in a penthouse rental in North Bethesda, having given up previous rental properties they owned.