Pinky Cole lists $6,000 monthly income in bankruptcy case

Pinky Cole, the founder of Slutty Vegan and a new face on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, has told the court her monthly income is just $6,000 as she works through Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The figure sharpens the contrast between Cole’s public profile as a fast-rising consumer brand builder and the private strain now visible in her finances.

Court filings show Cole, also known as Aisha Cole and Pinky Cole Hayes, filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia on February 12, 2026. Her case centers on about $1.2 million owed to the U.S. Small Business Administration and about $192,000 owed to the Georgia Department of Revenue, putting roughly $1.4 million in government-related debt under court scrutiny. Earlier disclosures listed monthly income of $14,583 and monthly expenses of $41,700, a gap that helped explain why she amended her financial paperwork as the case moved forward.

The latest proposed reorganization plan pares her reported income down to $6,000 a month. Other filings and testimony have pointed to money from speaking engagements, rental properties, a mentorship program and Bravo payments tied to The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Cole has also said she is unemployed and relying largely on her husband’s reported $15,000 in monthly income, underscoring how thin the margin can be for a founder whose brand remains visible even as the books come under pressure.

The bankruptcy has also drawn in an Atlanta-area home. Court records say Guardian Asset Management seized the property, changed the locks and posted notice on the window on February 20, 2026. Cole later regained control of the house and said she felt “vindicated” after the court let her reclaim it. She has argued the property is needed to produce rental income, and filings say a prospective tenant was already lined up.

Slutty Vegan’s own retrenchment gives the case broader business context. The chain reportedly fell from 14 locations to five amid a cited $10 million corporate overhead crisis. For a founder-driven brand built on momentum, that contraction is a reminder that expansion can mask fragile cash flow until debt service, taxes and fixed costs catch up.