Drew Sidora Is Still Living with Ex Ralph Pittman amid Ongoing Divorce: 'He's in the Basement' (Exclusive)

• Drew Sidora and Ralph Pittman separated in February 2023 after eight years of marriage, each filing for divorce within an hour of one another the following month.
• In the time since, the former pair have been working to finalize their divorce while Pittman has been living in the basement of their shared home due to a court-ordered mandate.
• Here, Sidora opens up to PEOPLE about and navigating their new normal, co-parenting their kids and why she's looking forward to putting this chapter behind her.

It's been over a year since Drew Sidora and Ralph Pittman filed for divorce, and the Real Housewives of Atlanta star tells PEOPLE not much has changed in their legal battle — or in their living situation.

"It's still not settled and yes, we're still living together under the same roof," Sidora tells PEOPLE, while discussing her role in Bounce TV's hit sitcom Mind Your Business. "I didn't even know that could happen. I was like, 'What?' But yeah — he is living in the basement, and that was court-ordered."

The challenge that brings, Sidora adds, has "just been crazy."

"It'd be much easier if we were able to move on separately; you know, out of sight, out of mind, with your own space and your own energy. But that's clearly not in the cards," she says. "So sharing space has been a double whammy."

"We're kind of like, the blueprint for a s---show divorce," she joked.

PEOPLE reached out to a rep for Pittman for comment.

Sidora, 39, and Pittman, 41, separated in February 2023 after eight years of marriage, each filing for divorce within an hour of one another the following month. The two have lobbied contentious claims in a legal back and forth since, which — in addition to overall court date schedules — is part of the reason the process has been delayed, Sidora says.

"When you're dealing with someone who wants everything and is just not willing to walk away with what he came in with, it makes it very, very hard," she shares. "So I'm just learning how this process can go in the worst-case scenario. And I'm taking it literally one day at a time."

The actress and singer and been channeling her pain into her work. She says that filming Mind Your Business, in which she plays a divorcee, has helped her move past some of her trauma through laughter. "I've been healing through this character, for sure."

She's also working on new music, including her latest single, "I Got 5 on It." Sidora explains: "Music has been my therapy. Every emotion, every piece of this journey, I'm writing about it and putting it on the album. So that's been a lifeline, too."

But mostly, Sidora has been leaning on her family, including kids Josiah, 13, Machai, 9 and Aniya, 6 — the latter two whom she shares with Pittman.

"My village is my everything," she says. "My sister, my sister-in-law and my cousin came out to be there for me emotionally and help me with the kids. My mom, she's been back and forth, she takes the kids with her to Chicago whenever needed. They have been my rock through it all."

"The kids, because we're still under the same roof, the energy has definitely shifted. But to keep some normalcy for my babies has meant everything to me. To be able to put my arms around my kids during those tough times... I think it's been helpful for all of us."

Bravo viewers saw Sidora and Pittman's split play out on RHOA. The former couple didn't hide their problems for the camera when she joined the show in 2020 for season 13, with their communication issues eventually boiling over and culminating in a tense sit-down at the season 15 reunion that aired back in September.

"I didn't expect it to go that way, obviously. I never saw it coming in a million years," Sidora tells PEOPLE, looking back at their journey to divorce. "There were issues there that I thought were repairable, and I was willing to show that in front of the cameras because that's what I thought marriage is. 'You have problems, but you go through the mud and you come out on top' — because I grew up in a household with parents who stayed married until my dad passed away, and that's what I always wanted for myself. So it saddened me that we couldn't come back from that."

But as "challenging" as it's been to live that out loud, Sidora says she's hopeful it'll give others going through similar strife hope.

"I just always hope at the end of the day, my journey will help inspire other people in similar situations and be able to pull healing and strength from that," she says. "That's kind of how I have to walk through this situation and understand that could be the purpose and bigger picture of it all."

And when that divorce does come in? Sidora is ready to celebrate.

"One day I'll be able to sign on the dotted line and boy, I can not wait," she says. "I'm going to probably have a divorce party after this because it's unimaginable what you have to go through in this type of situation. So when I get on the other side? We're partying."

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Mind Your Business airs Saturdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bounce TV. Episodes can also be viewed on streaming service Brown Sugar. The Real Housewives of Atlanta can be streamed on Peacock.