Ariana Biermann is “excited” to celebrate her sister Brielle Biermann’s upcoming wedding, but it’s bittersweet amid her family’s tension with their adoptive father, Kroy Biermann, following his split from their mom Kim Zolciak.
“I think it’s really sad,” Ariana, 24, exclusively tells Us on Wednesday, July 22, while promoting season 2 of Next Gen NYC. “I’m sad that it all got to this point.”
Ariana notes that the idea of Kroy, 40, potentially not being invited to Brielle’s wedding has been hard to process. (Brielle, 29, revealed earlier this month that it’s “in the air” as to whether Kroy will be on the guestlist amid his messy divorce from Kim, 48, after 11 years of marriage.)
“Like, it sucks,” Ariana admits of their current family dynamic. “I think I’m very grateful for, you know, all the things he did for me growing up and how he helped me and the lessons he taught me.”
The Next Gen NYC star reveals, “I wouldn’t be who I am without him, but just kind of the things that have happened over the last few years is just heartbreaking and really sad. I think for all of us.”
Both Ariana and Brielle have been close with Kroy since he married their mother in 2011 and adopted them two years later. However, since Kroy and Kim’s split in 2023, their relationships have become fractured.
The tension between Kroy and Kim’s eldest children has grown worse amid the exes’ custody battle over their four minor children: KJ, 15, Kash, 13, and twins Kaia and Kane, 12.
Ariana and her older sister have remained loyal to the Real Housewives of Atlanta star amid the former couple’s divorce, especially after Kroy accused Kim in July of subjecting their children to “ongoing mental abuse.” (Us previously reached out to both Kroy and Kim for comments on the allegations.)
“I have not spoken to him in a while. No, and we’ve tried. You know, it’s not that he’s not reaching out either,” Ariana tells Us of where she stands with Kroy at the moment. “It’s just like, I don’t understand. It’s very hard. You’re making up all of these things and saying all these insane things about my mother, and you think that I’m gonna have a relationship with you and talk s*** about my mom and, like, agree with what you’re saying?”
Ariana notes that she is proud of her mom and her resilience now more than ever.
“I think she did a pretty damn good job. I mean, look at me, my sister. I think we’re doing pretty well today,” she adds. “And my mom’s an incredible woman, and I’ll never let someone come in here and try to disrespect her.”
Ariana points out that “not everyone knows the full story,” teasing “there’s a lot to be said” but right now she’s focused on keeping her family in good spirits.
“We’re all just trying to protect my four younger siblings,” she tells Us, sharing that her younger brothers and sister are “doing good” and “the best they can” under the circumstances.
Ariana says that with everything going on with their parents, she tries to “check in on them a lot” and attempts to “put together different things to try and help them feel good.”
With all the drama surrounding their family, Ariana also tells Us she’s focused on Brielle’s upcoming nuptials with Billy Seidl later this year.
“I cannot wait. I’m her maid of honor, and I’m pumped, and I feel, like, so honored,” Ariana says, revealing that she helped Brielle’s fiancé with the proposal. “It was surreal. I was like, ‘I can’t believe you’re getting married, and like you found your person.’ It gives us hope.”
Next Gen NYC airs on Bravo Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
