Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s Divorce: Everything to Know About Their Messy Split

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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s Divorce: Everything to Know About Their Messy Split

One year after Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from Kanye West, things have taken a messy turn. Us Weekly exclusively revealed during summer 2020 that there was trouble in paradise for the duo, who wed in 2014. While sources told Us that the Keeping Up With the Kardashians alum was weighing her options as the rapper made headlines for controversial comments amid his equally as controversial presidential campaign, she didn’t take legal action until February 2021. “Kim and Kanye haven’t been on the same page for a while now,” a source told Us at the time. “Kanye isn’t as focused and doesn’t live in the real world. Their world views no longer line up. Kim is done dealing with Kanye’s unpredictable behavior, she has tried to get him into treatment for his mental health and all attempts have been unsuccessful. No one can tell Kanye what to do other than Kanye.” [jwplayer aB0jMQDH-zhNYySv2] Kardashian and West share four children: North (born June 2013), Saint (December 2015), Chicago (January 2018) and Psalm (May 2019). She broke her silence on their split during the final season of the family’s E! show. “I just honestly can’t do this anymore. Why am I still in this place where I’m stuck for years? Like, he goes and moves to a different state every year,” Kardashian said. “I have to be, like, together so I can raise the kids. He’s an amazing dad, he’s done an amazing job. … He should have a wife that supports his every move and travels with him and does everything, and I can’t. I feel like a f–king failure. It’s my third f–king marriage. Yeah, I feel like a f–king loser. But I can’t even think about that. I want to be happy.” As the show aired in 2021, a source told Us that the Selfish author struggled with reliving the drama. “Kim worked so hard and did everything in her power to make the marriage work and seeing it now brings up a lot of pain,” the insider said in June 2021. “Kim really worries for her kids and that she couldn’t give them a traditional family home. That’s where most of the pain is coming from.” Things became even more tense for the pair when West began making public pleas to win Kardashian back. His fall 2021 proclamations of love turned into a series of allegations about his ex keeping the kids from him by early 2022. “He likes being in control and having that power,” a source told Us in February 2022 of the Grammy winner’s decision to air out their dirty laundry via Instagram. “He didn’t choose divorce and isn’t liking that Kim is basically ‘winning’ so far when it comes to the kids [and] the home.” Kardashian, for her part, took to Instagram Stories at the time, writing in part: “Divorce is difficult enough on our children and Kanye’s obsession with trying to control and manipulate our situation so negatively and publicly is only causing further pain for all.” Scroll through for a breakdown of the allegations in Kimye’s divorce:

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The Pete Davidson Factor

During her Saturday Night Live hosting gig in October 2021, Kardashian joked about her divorce. “I’ve been very blessed in this life, and I’m grateful for everything, honestly, all the ups, all the downs. I mean, I married the best rapper of all time. Not only that, he’s the richest Black man in America, a talented, legit genius, who gave me four incredible kids,” she said in her monologue. “So when I divorced him, you have to know it came down to just one thing: his personality. I know it sounds mean, but people keep telling me that comedy comes from truth. And if there’s one thing that I always strive to be, it’s genuine.”

While a source told Us at the time that West was aware of the jokes Kardashian would be making, he later slammed the remark.

“SNL making my wife say ‘I divorced him’ on TV because they just wanted to get that bar off, and I never have seen the papers. We’re not even divorced,” he said on Revolt’s “Drink Champs” podcast in November 2021. “So how we — because [it’s] no joke to me, my kids want their parents to stay together. I want their parents — I want us to be together.”

Kardashian’s SNL appearance also sparked her post-split relationship with Pete Davidson. The duo have been romantically linked since October 2021, weeks after they kissed during a skit.

“How you gonna bring me to SNL and then kiss the dude you dating right in front of me?” West said in January 2022 interview. That same month, he dissed the comedian in a song titled “My Life Was Never Eazy,” rapping, “God saved me from the crash just so I can beat Pete Davidson’s ass.”

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Kanye’s Lack of Legal Action

Nearly one year after taking legal action to end her marriage, Kardashian filed paperwork requesting to be declared legally single and have her maiden name restored in December 2021.

“The parties’ marriage has irremediably broken down. [Kardashian] no longer desires to be married to [West],” the legal docs stated. “There is no question that the marriage of the parties is no longer viable. [Kardashian] has no desire to reconcile with [West] and wants their marriage terminated. Irreconcilable differences have led to the irremediable breakdown of the marriage, and there is no possibility of saving the marriage through counseling or other means.”

Kardashian called out West’s lack of responsiveness amid the legal case in February 2022. “I wish to handle all matters regarding our children privately and hopefully he can finally respond to the third attorney he has had in the last year to resolve any issues amicably,” she wrote via Instagram.

Credit: Courtesy of Kim Kardashian/Instagram

North's TikTok

Kardashian created a joint TikTok account with their eldest daughter in November 2021 after North (and several of her cousins) got caught on the app without parental guidance.

After mentioning in a January 2022 interview that he didn’t want his daughter on social media, West made it clear in February 2022 that he wasn’t happy with the idea, writing via Instagram: “SINCE THIS IS MY FIRST DIVORCE I NEED TO KNOW WHAT I SHOULD DO ABOUT MY DAUGHTER BEING PUT ON TIK TOK AGAINST MY WILL ?” He also shared a screenshot of the guidelines that TikTok users must be 13 years of age to be on the app.

Kardashian clapped back at the time, writing, “Kanye’s constant attacks on me in interviews and on social media is actually more hurtful than any TikTok North might create. … I am doing my best to protect our daughter while also allowing her to express her creativity in the medium that she wishes with adult supervision — because it brings her happiness.”

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The Primary Caretaker

In her February 2022 statement, Kardashian referred to herself as “the parent who is the main provider and caregiver for our children,” a comment that West took issue with.

“What do you mean by main provider ?” he asked in his reply.

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The Custody Questions

As of April 2021, Kardashian and West are both seeking joint custody of their four kids. He made headlines in December 2021 when he bought a home across the street from Kardashian. ”Nothing with my career, with this rap, with this media, with none of that [is] gonna keep me from my children,” he explained on Hollywood Unlocked at the time. "And that’s what I want everybody to know: Don’t play with me, don’t play with my children, ain’t no security gonna get in between me and my children and you ain’t finna gaslight me."

In February 2022, West claimed that Kardashian was preventing him from taking the kids to Chicago.

“I WANT TO BRING MY KIDS TO MY HOME TOWN OF CHICAGO TO SEE MY BASKETBALL TEAM PLAY FOR 7 THOUSAND PEOPLE,” he wrote via Instagram. “AND KIM IS STOPPING THAT. HOW IS THIS JOINT CUSTODY?"

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Chicago’s Birthday Party

The family made headlines in January 2022 when West alleged that he wasn’t invited to Chicago’s 4th birthday party. “I’m being the best father — the Ye version of a father — and I’m not finna let this happen. … Chicago, Happy birthday. I love you and I’m just putting this online because I need y’all’s support,” he said via Instagram at the time. “I did call Kim, texted nannies. I got on the phone with Tristan [Thompson, Khloé Kardashian’s ex], he asked Khloé [and] won’t nobody give me the address to my daughter’s birthday party right now. That’s gonna imprint in her mind that I wasn’t there for her.”

Shortly after his remarks, the musician was spotted at the birthday bash in social media footage. He later claimed that Kylie Jenner’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Travis Scott, gave him the information about the party’s location. After the event, he released another video about how “happy” he was, saying at the time: “Everyone just had a great time. I’m just really happy that I could be there for my children. I just want to thank everybody’s support in this situation [and] let me just calmly and legally take control of my narrative.”

Meanwhile, a source told Us at the time that Kim was “shocked to learn that he released a video about not being invited to her party — that’s not true and as soon as he asked to come he was given the location. He’s at the birthday party.”

Chicago’s milestone was brought up by West again in one of his February 2022 statements, in which he wrote: “America saw you try to kid nap my daughter on her birthday by not providing the address."

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Kanye's Claims Drug Tests

“You put security on me inside of the house to play with my son then accused me of stealing,” West alleged of Kardashian in February 2022. “I had to take a drug test after Chicago’s party cause you accused me of being on drugs.”

One day later, he made more allegations: “YESTERDAY KIM ACCUSED ME OF PUTTING A HIT OUT ON HER. SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT I BEG TO GO TO MY DAUGHTERS PARTY AND IM ACCUSED OF BEING ON DRUGS THEN I GO PLAY WITH MY SON AND I TAKE MY AKIRA GRAPHIC NOVELS AND IM ACCUSED OF STEALING.”

Kardashian has yet to respond to West’s various claims about drugs and theft, which have since been deleted.

Credit: Courtesy Tracy Romulus/Instagram

Kim Being ‘Manipulated’

West has previously hinted that Kardashian’s inner circle “influence” her. He then name-dropped the chief marketing officer at KKW Brands in one of his February 2022 statements, writing, “Tracy Romulus stop manipulating Kim to be this way…”

Romulus, who has known Kardashian since 2006 and worked with West as a publicist for Yeezy in the past, has yet to publicly comment on the drama.

West also called out Kardashian’s cousin, sharing their text messages amid his public complaints about North’s TikTok in February 2022. “THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF KIM’S COUSIN AGREEING WITH ME ABOUT TIK TOK THEN PROCEEDING TO ASK ME FOR SOME YEEZYS AFTERWARDS HER OTHER COUSIN KARA CALLED ME SAYING SHE AGREED WITH ME THEN SAID SHE WOULD SPEAK OUT PUBLICLY WHICH SHE NEVER DID THEN SHE SUGGESTED I TAKE MEDICATION…” he wrote via Instagram.

Credit: Courtesy Kim Kardashian/Instagram

Their Status

While Kardashian told Vogue in her March 2022 cover story that she was “happy” and focusing on “Team Me” post-split, West wrote via Instagram that same day that he wanted his “family back together.”

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Kanye Causing 'Emotional Distress'

Kardashian submitted another set of divorce documents in February 2022, asking once again to be declared legally single in the hopes that it would help West "accept that our marital relationship is over." In the filing, she claimed that her estranged husband had gone against her wishes to keep their split private and alleged that his social media posts were causing "emotional distress."

Kardashian also addressed West's since-deleted Instagram uploads, claiming that "Kanye has been putting a lot of misinformation regarding our private family matters and coparenting" online.  Later in the documents, the reality star's legal team suggested that West's goal was "to prevent or make it difficult for Ms. Kardashian to remarry" in the future.

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Kim's 'Double Hearsay'

Kanye's lawyer called for Kardashian's quote about "misinformation" to be stricken from the record in February 2022, one day after her filing with the statement. The objection called her response "double hearsay" because the social media posts she referenced were not submitted as evidence.

Kardashian will have to officially submit West's social media posts if she wants her comments about "misinformation" to stay on the record. She'll also have to prove they were written by her estranged husband.

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Kanye's New Lawyer

Attorney Christopher Charles Melcher confirmed to Us on March 1 that he's no longer representing the rapper, one day ahead of West's next divorce hearing. His new lawyer will be Samantha Spector, who represented Nicole Young in her divorce from Dr. Dre in 2021.

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Expediting the Process

The Stem Player cocreator revealed at the beginning of March 2022 that he was ready to finalize the split. “I’ve asked my team to expedite the dissolution of my marriage to Kim so I can put my entire attention into our beautiful children," West said in a statement to Hollywood Unlocked.

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A Win for Kim

Us confirmed in March 2022 that a judge granted Kardashian’s request to be declared legally single amid the ongoing divorce.

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Coparenting Conflict

In a series of since-deleted March 2022 Instagram videos, West claimed he didn't get a fair say in how his children were being raised. He took issue with North being on TikTok, especially with her singing the song "Emo Girl" by Machine Gun Kelly and Willow Smith.

“I just got off the phone with Kim,” the Yeezy designer told followers in a clip. “I told her to stop antagonizing me with this TikTok thing. I said, ‘It’s never again.’ I am her father. I know y’all don’t respect fathers and the idea of family and the media tries to promote something. I said, I am not allowing my daughter to be used by TikTok, by Disney. I have a say-so.”

He added that he didn't get to choose his children's school other. “When people say, ‘they’re gonna use this [against] you in court,’ I didn’t even have a say-so whether or not they went to Sierra Canyon,” West alleged, referencing the name of his kids' elementary school. “Most men do not — there’s no such thing has 50-50 custody in society today. It always leans toward the mom.”

In another video that day, he claimed, “I don’t have custody, I had to fight to have my kids not on TikTok. It’s always been a gang. It’s like we’ve never had Christmas anyplace else other than one location."

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Another Attorney Change

West acquired a new attorney Nicholas A. Salick from the Salick Family Law Group, APLC in September 2022. The change of lawyer was processed on September 28, according to court documents obtained by Us. Salick, who is based in California, will be the musician’s new point attorney since the case is being handled in Los Angeles.

According to the docs, the rapper has also brought on Robert Stephan Cohen, who is based in New York, as his retainer representation. Cohen — who previously represented Melinda Gates in her divorce from Bill Gates — is now the sixth attorney on West’s team.

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Kanye Claims the Kardashians 'Kidnapped' Chicago

“YOU ARE LYING AND ARE LIARS YALL BASICALLY KIDNAPPED CHICAGO ON HER BIRTHDAY SO SHE COULD REMEMBER HER FATHER NOT BEING THERE SO THERE,” the hip-hop artist shared via Instagram in October 2022 after Khloé hit back at his previous comments about not being allowed to see Chicago on her birthday earlier that year. “YALL ALSO THREW A PARTY BEFORE PSALMS BIRTHDAY WHEN I WAS FLYING BACK FROM JAPAN TO BE THERE FOR HIS BIRTHDAY AND THE FIRST I HEARD ABOUT IT WAS SEEING PICS OF THE PARTY ON LINE.”

West added: “ALSO I SHOULD SEE MY CHILDREN 100 % OF THE TIME BUT SINCE THERE’S A SEPARATION IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN 50% OF THE TIME YA’LL WOULDN’T HAVE PLAYED WITH DONDA LIKE THAT IN JESUS NAME.”

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Skipping the Deposition

In November 2022, multiple outlets reported that West skipped a scheduled deposition amid settlement negotiations in his divorce from Kardashian. The estranged couple are reportedly attempting to settle their contentious divorce ahead of their December 2022 court date. Page Six reported that West has only one more chance to offer up a deposition before then.