Kimye Divorce: A Social Media Battle That Could Lead to Future Settlement Issues
Kim Kardashian is not a stranger to ending nuptials. The supermodel star had been married twice before tying the knot with Kanye West in 2014, bringing her total up three times down the aisle. At 19, she married producer Damon Thomas, ten years her senior. Their marriage ended in 2003. She then married basketball player Kris Humphries in 2011 after a short engagement. That seemed to foreshadow the duration of the marriage, considering that 72 hours later, she filed for divorce. Their split was finalized in 2013 after 536 days of nasty court battles. Most recently, Kim Kardashian tied the knot with rapper Kanye West in 2014. After nearly 7 years of marriage, Kim Kardashian filed for divorce. As of last March, after a months-long battle, Kim Kardashian is legally single.
Why did Kim Kardashian file for divorce?
In February of 2021, Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from Kanye West, the reasons not completely explained. Later, in an interview with Vogue, Kim shared that after spending so much time doing things for other people, it was time to start choosing herself and making her interests and who she really was as a priority. 2020 was a rough year for the couple, seeing as during the beginning of the pandemic, things from their personal lives started to spill out for the world to know. West ran for presidency, made statements that brought up concerns about his mental health and bipolar disorder, and had relocated to Wyoming. His irrationality and actions ultimately led to him needing to be placed on psychiatric hold after spending some tumultuous few days on tour in 2016. Throughout the rough times, Kim always asked for compassion and empathy for Kanye, stating that caring and understanding someone with mental health complications was no easy feat. In the end, Kim Kardashian stated that there were too many irreconcilable differences in her marriage, and that both her and West deserved to start new lives.
What could make Kanye West’s custody battle more difficult?
If Kanye West and Kim Kardashian cannot come to an agreement regarding their children, custody battles are going to get really ugly. Since trying to finalize her divorce, Kanye West has been very vocal about the state of his feelings for Kim and his children. However, his usage of social media to voice these feelings could potentially harm him when custody battles come into play. In a social media rant lasting a few days, Kanye West exposed private texts between him and Kim Kardashian, insulted Kim’s most recent partner- Pete Davidson, and voiced concerns about their eldest daughter, North West, being on Tiktok. When two people end their marriage and there are children involved, the courts take into consideration the psychological state of each parent when deciding who and how much custody rights are allotted. Because Kanye West made all of his concerns known to the public and ultimately harassed his now ex-wife, that material is evidence for custody battles. All that he posted can, and most likely will, be used against him.
When will the divorce be finalized?
As of last March, one of the many court hearings needed to finalize the Kardashian/West divorce went underway. Through this hearing, Kim Kardashian was declared legally single and was able to drop “West” from her last name. The declaration came about a year since Kim Kardashian had originally filed for divorce. The decision also comes a few weeks after Kim Kardashian urged the court not to be deterred by Kanye’s efforts to delay the divorce by creating social media scandals and attempting to change their prenup agreements. Though both parties are now legally separated, there are still hearings to be held in order to discuss things such as the pre-nup agreement, custody of their four children and/or other matters that need to be settled by a judge. Their next trial is in August of this year.
Divorce is messy no matter who the parties are. Many things go into consideration when it comes to being legally separated and this case is a prime example of behaviors to avoid when going through this process. More often than not, children will be involved in the process and will see their parents go through a tough time settling the end of their parents’ relationship. It is a series of very unfortunate events– a split that could’ve ended amicably has turned sour and full of drama because a chunk of it was put on social media with no context. Just as any other personal situation, divorce is something that might be better off handled behind closed doors.