Reality star Kim Kardashian files for divorce from Kanye West
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Reality star Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye West at an event in Beverly Hills in February last year. The divorce filing after almost seven years of marriage follows months of rumours that the relationship between the two celebrities was on the rocks.
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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LOS ANGELES • Reality star Kim Kardashian has filed papers to divorce her rapper husband Kanye West after almost seven years of marriage, a Los Angeles Superior Court spokesman said on Friday.
A representative for Kardashian, 40, confirmed that she had filed papers.
Celebrity website TMZ cited unidentified sources as saying the split was amicable and that Kardashian had asked for joint custody of their four children.
Representatives for West did not immediately return a request for comment.
The filing follows months of rumours that the relationship between the two celebrities was on the rocks.
Kardashian, who made her name in the reality TV series Keeping Up With The Kardashians, married West in May 2014, making them one of the biggest celebrity couples in Hollywood.
The couple's relationship became strained last year when West, 43, who suffers from bipolar disorder, ran an unsuccessful campaign marked by erratic statements to be elected US president under his self-styled Birthday Party.
Kardashian in July released a statement urging compassion for West's mental health struggles, but the couple appeared to grow further apart, with the 21-time Grammy winner spending most of his time at his ranch in Wyoming and Kardashian remaining in their Calabasas mansion outside Los Angeles.
The marriage was the third for Kardashian. She was divorced from music producer Damon Thomas in 2003 and from NBA player Kris Humphries in 2013.
The marriage also came after West had ended high-profile relationships with designer Alexis Phifer and model Amber Rose.
In recent years, West has made an explicit turn to religious themes in his music. Since his second album Late Registration in 2005, every one of West's eight solo studio albums, including the gospel-infused Jesus Is King in 2019, has opened at No. 1.
But his long-promised new album, Donda, which he originally said would be released in July, has not materialised.
During the marriage, West's star as a fashion designer rose. His first Yeezy shoe collaboration with Adidas (after parting ways with Nike following a five-year partnership) debuted in 2015 with all 9,000 pairs of the initial run selling in 10 minutes.
Over the years, Kardashian has given West credit for influencing and refining her personal style. West, in turn, initially saw their match as a perfect fit.
"I knew that I wanted this family, and with her," he said in 2013.
REUTERS, NYTIMES
