UPDATE: (2/19/21, 4:08 p.m. ET) HollywoodLife has confirmed with multiple sources that Kim has filed for divorce, after TMZ was first to report the story.
ORIGINAL: Kim Kardashian, 40, and Kanye West, 43, join the list of Hollywood power couples who just couldn’t make it work. They became one of the first breakup casualties of 2021, when on February 19, Kim filed for divorce, according to TMZ. The couple had been married for more than six years, tying the knot on May 24, 2014 — after they first began dating in April 2012.
Kim has reportedly request joint physical and legal custody of the couple’s four children, according to the TMZ report. The site also reports that the split has been “amicable,” and that neither Kim or Kanye are contesting the prenup that they had put in place. Kim did not list a date of separation in the divorce docs. HollywoodLife has reached out to reps for both stars for comment.
Before news of Kimye’s divorce, the former lovebirds made headlines on February 3 when Kanye reportedly moved some of his belongings, including 500 pairs of sneakers, out of the Calabasas, CA home they shared. Kim went off on a girls’ trip to Turks and Caicos at the time to give him space because “they both felt it would be less dramatic without both of them in the house,” a source told Page Six.
Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Aug. 28, 2016. Photo credit: AP Images.
Just weeks before Kanye removed his belongings from the couple’s home, it was reported that Kim had already hired a divorce lawyer. But, not just any lawyer. “Kim has hired Laura Wasser and they are in settlement talks,” Page Six reported on January 5, about the prominent divorce attorney to Hollywood’s elite — including Angelina Jolie, Britney Spears and Gwen Stefani in their respective divorces. Additionally on January 5, TMZ reported that Kim and Kanye’s marriage had been in trouble for months, but they were in counseling and weren’t ready to give up on each other because of their four small children: daughters North, 7, and Chicago, 3, and sons Saint, 5, and Psalm, 1.
Speculation that Kim and Kanye had been spending time apart surfaced in October, around her 40th birthday — in which the rapper reportedly made a less than 24 hour appearance. At the time, Kim began stepping out without her wedding ring, before spending the holidays with the couple’s kids at her sister, Kourtney Kardashian‘s home in Calabasas, CA. Meanwhile, Kanye remained at his home in Wyoming.
This isn’t the first time the couple was involved in divorce headlines. In the summer of 2020, Kanye mentioned divorcing Kim in a slew of tweets. In a separate tweet in July, he also claimed that Kim and her mother, Kris Jenner attempted to put him in a 5150 hold — a code under California law that allows a person with mental illness to be involuntarily detained for 72 hours for a psychiatric evaluation.
In response to the rapper’s alarming Twitter spree, Kim revealed that her husband was dealing with his bipolar disorder. “As many of you know, Kanye has bipolar disorder. Anyone who has this or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand,” she wrote, explaining, “I’ve never spoken publicly about how this has affected us at home because I am very protective of our children and Kanye’s right to privacy when it comes to his health. But today, I feel like I should comment on it because of the stigma and misconceptions about mental health.”
Kim continued, “Those that understand mental illness or even compulsive behavior know that the family is powerless unless the member is a minor. People who are unaware or far removed from this experience can be judgmental and not understand that the individual themselves have to engage in the process of getting help no matter how hard family and friends try.” She later added, “I kindly ask that the media and public give us the compassion and empathy that is needed so that we can get through this. Thank you for those who have expressed concern for Kanye’s well-being and for your understanding.”
Tensions between Kim and Kanye had only risen when he held a “presidential” rally on July 19, 2020 in South Carolina. In a campaign speech, Kanye claimed the couple discussed aborting their first child, daughter North. He said, “Even if my wife were to divorce me after this speech, she brought North into this world, when I did not want to,” and broke down in tears about how “I almost killed my daughter.”
This was Kim’s the third marriage. She was previously married to music producer, Damon Thomas from 2000 – 2004. Kim went on to marry NBA star, Kris Humphries on August 20, 2011, and famously filed for divorce just 72 days later. For his part, Kanye had one failed engagement to designer Alexis Phifer, in 2006. The rapper also dated model Amber Rose from 2008-2010, before he got together with Kim.