Kim Kardashian and Kanye West File for Divorce
On February 19, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce was filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Kardashian is being represented by Laura Wasser, a prominent divorce attorney. According to NBC News Wasser has represented celebrities in divorce court including “the singers Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus and Kelly Clarkson, the actors Angelina Jolie and Amber Heard, and the model Heidi Klum.” Kardashian and West had been married since 2014.
West has moved out of the former couple’s Calabasas mansion. According to a source, “Kanye is 100% out of the house and not staying there even when he comes to visit the kids. He doesn’t need anything there anymore. When he’s been in LA, he’s been staying with music producer friends.”
Kardashian and West have four children together: North, 7, Saint, 5, Chicago, 3, and Psalm, 1. Kardashian is asking for joint legal and physical custody. However, she has been with the kids most of the time recently. They have been living in separate places for some time. Kardashian is staying at the Calabasas mansion while West is staying at his ranch in Wyoming.
The couple has a prenuptial agreement that covers all financial matters. Neither of them really needs money from the other because they are both wealthy in their own right. They will have to settle who gets their shared properties, though. Kardashian will most likely get their Calabasas mansion that is worth $60 million since it is where they have been raising their kids and she is currently the primary caregiver.
The couple had been struggling with West’s bipolar disorder. Kardashian often defended her husband and had written a public post on social media last summer doing so, stating: "I understand Kanye is subject to criticism because he is a public figure and his actions at times can cause strong opinions and emotions. He is a brilliant but complicated person who on top of the pressures of being an artist and a black man, who experienced the painful loss of his mother, and has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bi-polar disorder. Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words some times do not align with his intentions."
In mid-March, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, West contracted the illness and Kardashian was the only one taking care of him. According to Kardashian in her GRAZIA cover story interview, "Kanye had it way at the beginning, when nobody really knew what was going on. It was so scary and unknown. I had my four babies and no one else in the house to help."
There was also West’s campaign for president that started in July. His campaign had a rough start when he was exhibiting erratic and worrisome behavior at a campaign rally in South Carolina. According to USA Today, at this rally, West “shouted without a microphone, cried and offered deeply personal statements about his family, including a revelation that the couple considered terminating their first pregnancy. He tearfully said Kardashian West fought to keep the unborn child, and gave birth to daughter North in 2013.”
Despite all this, they still appeared to be happy. In June, West congratulated Kardashian on social media for selling a part of her beauty brand to Coty for $200 million with a tweet saying, "I am so proud of my beautiful wife Kim Kardashian West for officially becoming a billionaire. You’ve weathered the craziest storms and now God is shining on you and our family." In October, for Kardashian’s 40th birthday, West gave her a hologram of her late father, Robert Kardashian.
This will be Kardashian’s third divorce. According to USA Today, “She was previously married to music producer Damon Thomas (2000-2003) and NBA player Kris Humphries (2011- 2013), from whom she famously filed for divorce after only 72 days of marriage.”
As of now, the couple has not spoken publicly about their divorce.
