‘Love & Marriage: Huntsville’: Martell Holt Says Mistress Only Gave Him 15% of What He Needed
Watching a marriage fall apart on reality television is daunting. In the case of Melody and Martell Holt of Love & Marriage: Huntsville, the drama was elevated due to Martell’s affair. He had a relationship with his mistress, Arionne Curry, for seven years of the 14 years he was married to Melody. Now that he and Melody are no longer together, Martell is sharing his regrets and says Curry wasn’t worth losing his wife and family unit.
Martell Holt says he regrets his longtime affair; says Melody gave him 85% of his needs while his mistress only gave 15%
The OWN star recently gave his truth about his extramarital affair during the 2022 ESSENCE Music Festival. He appeared on a panel alongside other celebrity personalities, including Hollywood Unlocked’s Jason Lee, and reality star Tammy Rivera on the Chemistry Rejection Panel.
When looking back on his affair with Curry, Martell says it wasn’t worth the fallout of his marriage. He says his decision to step out was immature and selfish, noting that he didn’t lack much at home.
“I think that was very foolish of me to do such a thing. But at that time, I wasn’t thinking like, oh my wife she’s giving me 85 percent, and she’s giving me 15 or whatever. I wasn’t thinking like that. If I would have thought like that, I don’t want that damn 15 percent. I’ma stick in this house and sit my a– down somewhere. But that wasn’t the case. I think that I just wasn’t thinking,” he told the host and audience.
Why he says he decided to cheat
According to Martell, he grew frustrated with Melody, alleging that years into their marriage, he was not getting much attention from his wife. He alleges that he was the dominant parent to their children, the financial breadwinner of their household, and he was not satisfied sexually. Martell says he was vocal about his grievances with Melody, but she didn’t listen.
“I feel that rejection I was receiving, it seems as if that – ladies don’t get mad – but it seemed as if I had no other option but to be out,” he said. “The first time I met the particular person, it was the night my ex-wife was supposed to go with me to a barbecue. We got into it that night; she was on the computer, in the bed. And she made this statement to me, we got into it, she said, ‘Go out there and find you a girlfriend.’”
With that statement, Martell felt justified in deciding to cheat. He says he went out without Melody to the barbeque with the intention of getting into a relationship outside of his marriage. “I mentioned this on the show. She admitted to it and all that, she said, ‘Go out and find you a girlfriend.’ And she was up in the bed on her computer, and I’m like, ‘Wow.’ So honestly, that got into my spirit apparently because that night I met the girl, and I told her, ‘Listen, I want you to be my girlfriend,’” he admitted.
He and Melody are now in a better co-parenting relationship
The divorce between Melody and Martell was contentious. Coupled with Martell’s affair with Curry, Melody discovered Curry was pregnant with his child just months after giving birth to their fourth child together.
Their divorce settlement granted them joint custody, with each getting two full weeks out of the month with their children and swapping holidays. After months of not speaking and filming scenes for the show with one another, they recently buried the hatchet and even went on a family vacation together.
