American reality TV star Kim Kardashian has officially filed for divorce from her husband, rapper and entrepreneur Kanye West.
In early January, NBC News reported that the two spouses were living apart and undergoing couples therapy sessions.
American reality TV star Kim Kardashian has officially filed for divorce from her husband, rapper and entrepreneur Kanye West, an AFP spokeswoman told AFP on Friday after weeks of speculation over a possible separation.
The couple have been married since May 2014 and have four children, for whom Kim Kardashian has requested shared custody, according to tabloid news site TMZ, with Kanye West's agreement.
In early January, NBC News reported that the two spouses were living apart and undergoing couples therapy sessions.
Kanye West (43) had moved to Wyoming, while Kim Kardashian (40) still lived in the family home in California.
The end of one of the world's most famous couples
This divorce, presented as an amicable procedure by TMZ, puts an end to one of the most famous couples in the world, union of two celebrities who already had considerable popularity before their marriage.
In the opinion of several American media, citing sources close to the couple, the candidacy of Kanye West for the presidency of the United States, last year, will have been one of the triggers of this separation.
On the sidelines of his campaign, the rapper, producer and designer had made inconsistent comments and published cryptic messages on Twitter suggesting that his wife was seeking to have him interned in psychiatry.
Enigmatic statements
He also accused her of having wanted to have an abortion when she was pregnant with him for the first time, as well as of having had an affair with another rapper, Meek Mill, which he denied.
The streak had been attributed to bipolar disorder to which Kanye West is prone and for which he refuses to take treatment, because he believes it would extinguish his creative energy, according to his wife.
After this series of cryptic statements, Kim Kardashian called for "compassion and empathy", assuring that "those who know Kanye know that his words are not always in line with his intentions".
Formerly known as manic depression, bipolar disorder is characterized by alternating periods of elation and depression.