Kim Kardashian West has filed for divorce from Kanye West after seven years of marriage, ending months of intense speculation over one of the most-talked about couples in showbiz.
Court records in Los Angeles revealed Kardashian West officially started proceedings to split from her rapper husband on Friday.
The businesswoman and reality TV star has enlisted the services of lawyer Laura Wasser, who earned the title “disso queen” thanks to her work sorting out the divorces of high-profile celebrities.
Further details on the Wests’ divorce were not immediately available and neither party has publicly commented.
However US showbiz website TMZ reported the split was ‘amicable’ and said Kardashian West and West are asking for joint custody of their four children.
It is also claimed the now-former couple is agreeing to the terms of a pre-nup.
While both Kardashian West, 40, and West, 43, were hugely famous before tying the knot, as a couple they leveraged their combined star power to reach new levels of wealth.
According to Forbes magazine, Kardashian West is worth 780 million dollars (about £557 million), largely through her cosmetics business KKW Beauty, while West is said to be a billionaire thanks to his massively successful fashion brand, Yeezy.
They began dating in 2012 – while Kardashian West was still legally married to professional basketball player Kris Humphries – and tied the knot at a lavish ceremony in Florence, Italy, in May 2014.
They welcomed the birth of their daughter North West in June 2013, before going on to have three more children – daughter Chicago and sons Saint and Psalm.
The marriage was rarely far from the headlines. In October 2016 the couple was rocked when Kardashian West was robbed at gunpoint during Paris Fashion Week.
Raiders bound and gagged the star and Kardashian West later admitted she thought she would be killed.
The thieves reportedly stole jewellery worth 10 million dollars (about £7.1 million). West was mid-performance in New York when he learned of the incident.
A month later he was taken to hospital, reportedly suffering from “temporary psychosis due to sleep deprivation and dehydration”.
He cancelled his tour to recover but it was not the last time his mental state would make the headlines.
In June 2018, West released the album Ye and publicly declared he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He had earlier been strongly criticised for suggesting slavery in the US had been a “choice”.
Speculation over the marriage increased last year when West announced he was running for president, a pronouncement that brought a mix of bewilderment and scorn.
During an early campaign event, West delivered a rambling speech and told a crowd in North Charleston, South Carolina, he and Kardashian considered aborting their first child.
In a tirade on Twitter, West claimed his wife had tried to get him locked up by doctors and revealed he had previously sought a divorce.
He later issued a public apology to Kardashian West. She publicly defended him and spoke about his battle with bipolar disorder, saying he is a “brilliant but complicated person” whose “words sometimes do not align with his intentions”.
Rumours over the marriage reached fever pitch in January, with multiple US outlets suggesting divorce was imminent.
It was claimed West had been living at his ranch in Wyoming while Kardashian West had been with the children in California.
More details about the split could be revealed in the upcoming – and final – series of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, the reality TV show which catapulted the family to global stardom.
Series 20 of the show is due to air in the US next month.