Amelia Victoria Babis and Arizona senator Mark Kelly tied the knot on January 7, 1989. Their marriage lasted 15 years, ending in divorce on October 7, 2004. Throughout their time together and after their split, the couple kept details of their relationship private.
In the divorce settlement, Amelia got the family home, though Kelly continued living there until 2005.
Following the divorce, Amelia chose to keep her married name, going by Amy Babis Kelly. Her Instagram account offers a peek into her life after the split. More than half of her 36 posts feature dogs, showing her clear love for four-legged friends.
Kelly moved on, marrying former U.S. Congresswoman Giffords on November 10, 2007. The couple has been together ever since, navigating both personal and political challenges.
As for Amelia, her life after divorce seems centered around her passion for dogs. Her last Instagram post was in 2016, suggesting she may have stepped back from social media in recent years.
While she’s kept a low profile, her love for dogs and her choice to keep her married name are the main details known about her life post-divorce.
Amelia Babis Had Two Daughters With Her Ex-Husband
During their 15-year marriage, Amelia and Mark welcomed two daughters, Claudia and Claire Kelly. While Amelia has kept a low profile since her divorce, her daughters have carved out their own paths.
Claudia recently tied the knot with Mark Sundman. The couple has since expanded their family, welcoming a baby daughter named Sage. Interestingly, there were no reports of Amelia attending her daughter’s wedding, leaving fans to wonder about their relationship.
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Claire, on the other hand, has made a name for herself in the business world. Since March 2023, she’s been running the show at Rise & Shine Social as its founder and CEO. Her entrepreneurial spirit has turned heads in the industry.
While her public presence has dwindled over the years, her Instagram account offers a glimpse into her relationship with her daughters. Both Claudia and Claire appear in her posts, and she follows them on the platform. This social media connection suggests that Mark’s ex-wife maintains ties with her children despite the divorce and her retreat from the spotlight.
Initially Hesitant, Her Daughters Are Now Close To Their Stepmother
Claudia and Claire, Amelia’s daughters with Mark, didn’t immediately warm up to their stepmother, Gabby. When Kelly married Giffords in 2007, the sisters kept their distance, barely acknowledging her presence.
But life has a way of reshaping relationships. In 2011, Giffords was shot at a public event in Tucson. This shocking incident turned the family’s world upside down. For a brief, terrifying moment, they even thought Giffords had died.
This near-tragedy became a turning point for the Kelly sisters. Watching Giffords fight through her recovery, their feelings began to change. They saw their stepmother’s strength and determination in a new light.
Over time, what started as a chilly stepmom-stepdaughter relationship grew into something much warmer. The girls who once gave Giffords the cold shoulder now stand by her side at family events.
This shift shows how family bonds can evolve, even in the most unexpected ways. For Amelia’s daughters, it took a life-altering event to open their hearts to their stepmother.
Amelia Was Raised In California Alongside Four Siblings
Her roots trace back to the Golden State. Growing up in California, she shared her childhood with four siblings – two sisters and two brothers.
Her sister Julie gave fans a glimpse into their past with a nostalgic snapshot from Christmas 1969. The photo shows young Amelia and her siblings posing in front of a festively decorated tree, capturing a slice of their shared childhood.
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While Amelia has kept much of her personal life private, we know two of her sisters by name: Laura and Julie. This peek into their family history paints a picture of a typical California upbringing, complete with holiday traditions and sibling bonds.
