Kim Zolciak Defends Herself as a Mother, Says Kroy Biermann is Mentally Abusive

Kim Zolciak is firing back at her estranged husband, Kroy Biermann, defending her abilities as a mother and accusing Kroy of years of emotional and mental abuse.

Kim's attorney, David Beaudry, issued a blistering statement to TMZ Tuesday, telling us Kroy's attempt to paint Kim as a bad mother is not only misleading and harmful to the reality star, but to the couple's young kids, too.

Beaudry continues, "The emotional and mental abuse Kim has suffered from this man for so many years has taken a toll on her and, most heartbreakingly, their children. Kim has always been an extremely devoted mother to her children; they are her entire world and she is always there to love and support them every step of the way."

Finally saying, "She refuses to allow Kroy to paint her as something she is not for his own gain. Kim looks forward to the day we can appear in court and solve these issues once and for all."

As we reported, Kroy filed docs earlier this week stating he was concerned Kim may go on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" and talk about their divorce.

He's asked the court to set up some sort of protection for their 4 kids while the divorce proceedings move forward.

Kroy claims he's tried his best to protect the kids, but says Kim's constantly talking in an "abusive" and "derogatory tone" about the divorce when they're all around.

To say the split has been nasty would be an understatement -- for starters, each filed their own petitions for divorce -- and there's a massive struggle over custody. What's more -- Kim's accused Kroy of having an issue with smoking too much pot ... and he says she's a gambling addict.