Kim Kardashian Files for Divorce from Kanye West After Almost 7 Years of Marriage
Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West are ending their marriage.
The couple, who started dating in 2012 and tied the knot in May 2014, have officially separated. A source tells PEOPLE Kardashian has filed for divorce from West and that things are amicable. According to the source, they are in agreement over joint legal and physical custody, neither is contesting the prenup in place, negotiations have progressed and they are nearing a settlement.
The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star, 40, and the rapper, 43, share four children: daughters North, 7, and Chicago, 3, and sons Saint, 5, and Psalm, who will turn 2 in May.
The split comes after a tumultuous period for the pair, who appeared to be on the brink of divorce last summer before reconnecting and spending private time together with their children.
Then, in January, multiple sources confirmed to PEOPLE that Kardashian had been working with high-profile divorce attorney Laura Wasser and planned to file for divorce from West.
"They are just not on the same page when it comes to their future as a family," one insider said. "And Kim is okay with it."
The couple's marriage originally landed in crisis at the height of West's erratic behavior. His public outbursts began last July, after he launched a controversial bid for president of the United States and divulged deeply personal details about his family and marriage on the campaign trail and on Twitter. The frenzy prompted Kardashian to address her husband's bipolar disorder diagnosis in a rare public statement, asking fans for "compassion" and acknowledging their "complicated and painful" situation.
During a rambling speech in front of a small crowd at his first campaign rally on July 19 in South Carolina, West made a number of bizarre and controversial comments. At one point, he broke down in tears while revealing that he and Kardashian considered abortion when she got pregnant with their first child.
"Even if my wife wants to divorce me after this speech, she brought North into the world even when I didn't want to," he said. "She stood up and she protected that child."
A source told PEOPLE at the time that Kardashian was "shocked that Kanye spoke about North at the rally," and "furious that he shared something so private."
West's unpredictable behavior continued that week as he tweeted and deleted a string of provocative statements, including claims that Kardashian and her mother Kris Jenner had tried to "lock him up." (Of the allegation, a source told PEOPLE at the time that Kardashian had been "trying to get Kanye help for weeks.") West also claimed then that he had been looking to end his marriage since November 2018, when Kardashian consulted with rapper Meek Mill during a criminal justice reform summit.
Days later — after Kardashian's public statement asking fans for "compassion," and acknowledging their "complicated and painful" situation — West issued a public apology to his wife on Twitter. A source told PEOPLE at the time that West felt "very bad," adding, "It's obvious that he still loves her."
The two then reunited in Cody, Wyoming, meeting face-to-face for the first time in weeks. Kardashian was seen crying in the car with her husband, and a source told PEOPLE she was "very emotional about everything, and also exhausted."
Shortly afterwards, they flew to the Dominican Republic with their kids, with a source telling PEOPLE "the focus" of the trip was to work on their marriage. After they returned to the United States together, a source said they were "getting along" and both seemed "much happier."
In mid-August, West reinstated his Sunday Service in Wyoming, with Kardashian assuring fans that his team "took every precaution to ensure the choir's health and safety" amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Kim still seems focused on making her marriage work," a source told PEOPLE at the time. "She is pretty quiet about her exact plans for the future, but for now she seems okay with Kanye living in Wyoming."
Then, in September, West once again thrust himself into the spotlight when he fired off another round of troubling tweets. A source told PEOPLE then that Kardashian was "at the end of her rope — again."
Still, they appeared to weather the storm, and for the remainder of 2020, West maintained a relatively low profile. The first signs of renewed trouble came in December, when a source told PEOPLE the two were still together, though very much living "separate lives."
Sources have also told PEOPLE that the couple had previously discussed the possibility of a split. According to one source, the two "were already nearing the end of their marriage" prior to their recent public struggles, and the possibility of divorce was "a long time coming."
Their romance began as a friendship years before Kardashian married basketball player Kris Humphries in 2011, though West has since admitted he always had a crush on her. After she and Humphries infamously announced their divorce just 72 days after their wedding, her relationship with West turned romantic in the spring of 2012. Months later, they announced that they were expecting their first child, baby North.
The two got engaged in October 2013 during an elaborate proposal at San Francisco's AT&T Park, and after a nearly weeklong Parisian celebration, they wed on May 24, 2014 in Florence, Italy — where North was conceived. Their daughter, then 11 months old, was carried down the aisle by her grandmother, Jenner.
It was West's first marriage and Kardashian's third. She was previously married to music producer Damon Thomas from 2000-2004.
A power couple from the start, they made history when they graced the cover of Vogue in 2014: She as the first reality star on the fashion bible's cover, he as the first rapper, and together as the first interracial pair.
Throughout their nearly decade-long romance, the pair faced their share of ups and downs. Kardashian stood by her husband as he made headlines over the years for Twitter rants, behind-the-scenes meltdowns, numerous public feuds, a Thanksgiving week hospitalization for exhaustion in 2016, a $53 million debt claim, explosive interviews and a controversial alliance with then-President Donald Trump.
A source told PEOPLE at the time of West's hospitalization that the two were "incredibly supportive of one another."
"Kim has a unique understanding of him, probably in a deeper way than anybody else in the world," the source said. "She's understanding of the way that he operates."
West has also been supportive of his wife. In October 2016, he dropped everything to rush to her side after she was robbed at gunpoint of millions of dollars worth of jewelry in Paris.
"Kim and Kanye are determined to turn any setbacks or tragedies into triumphs," an insider told PEOPLE at the time. "It's in both of their natures, and embedded in their personal stories."
TMZ was first to report the news of the divorce filing.
If you or someone you know need mental health help, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
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