• Celebrity
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Women in Music
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
  • Fashion
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion House
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Color Files Podcast
    • Nails
    • How-To
    • Beauty Carnival-Archive
    • Dope Stuff On My Desk
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weaves
    • 4C
    • Spring Hair And Beauty
  • Love
    • Love & Sex
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle News
    • Coronavirus: Everything You Need to Know
    • Health & Wellness
    • Holiday Gift Guide 2020
    • Unbossed Podcast
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
    • Currency Conversations
    • Your legacy
  • News
    • BLACK VOTES MATTER
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Videos
  • Events
    • WELLNESS HOUSE: YEAR OF RENEWAL
    • LEVEL UP: Entrepreneur Summit (DEC 2020)
    • Power Tools
    • SHE GOT NOW
    • Girls United Summit
    • Making Moves Now: Virtual Bootcamp
    • #EF SESSIONS
    • Dear Black Men
    • Cares Act
    • News & Announcements
  • Festival
  • Subscribe
  • Essence Studios
  • Girls United
  • NaturallyCurly
  • Shop Essence

Follow Us

Skip to content
  • Essence Studios
  • Girls United
  • NaturallyCurly
  • Shop Essence
  • Celebrity
    • Celebrity
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Women in Music
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
  • Fashion
    • Fashion
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion House
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Color Files Podcast
    • Nails
    • How-To
    • AVEENO® Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty Carnival-Archive
    • Dope Stuff On My Desk
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • Beauty News
  • Hair
    • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weaves
    • 4C
    • Spring Hair And Beauty
  • Love
    • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Coronavirus: Everything You Need to Know
    • Health & Wellness
    • Lifestyle News
    • Holiday Gift Guide 2020
    • Netflix’s Jingle Jangle Gift Guide
    • Unbossed Podcast
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
    • Currency Conversations
    • Your Legacy
  • News
    • News
    • BLACK VOTES MATTER
    • Essence 50th Anniversary
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Videos
  • Events
    • Events
    • WELLNESS HOUSE: YEAR OF RENEWAL
    • LEVEL UP: Entrepreneur Summit (DEC 2020)
    • Power Tools
    • SHE GOT NOW
    • Girls United Summit
    • Making Moves Now: Virtual Bootcamp
    • #EF SESSIONS
    • Dear Black Men
    • Cares Act
    • News & Announcements
  • Festival
  • Subscribe
Home · Relationships

Celebrity Divorces Through the Years

Celebrity Divorces Through the Years
By · November 16, 2009October 29, 2020
01
Foul Play

Shaquille O’Neal married Shaunie Nelson in December 2002. The couple almost called it quits in 2007, when the basketball star filed for divorce from Shaunie—who shares four children with Shaq—due to discrepancies with money. On November 10, 2009 Shaunie threw in the towel when she filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.

Getty Image
02
Waiting to Exhale

Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown got hitched in 1992. Brown was considered a bad boy and the marriage did not receive much public support. Rumors of the couple using drugs together fueled further distaste for their union. Whitney left Bobby in 2006 and divorced him in 2007.

Getty Image
03
Heart Beats to Heartbreak

Producer and rapper Swizz Beats married singer Mashonda in 2004. The two, who have a son together, Kaseem Jr., decided to part ways in April 2009 and in May 2009 Swizz Beats admitted to being in a relationship with Alicia Keys. Whether Swizz and Keys were together while the married couple were breaking up is not confirmed.

Getty Image
04
Fatal Addiction

Halle Berry and singer Eric Benet seemed like a match made to last when they wed in 2001. While they were married, Benet revealed that he was a sex addict. The couple separated in 2003 and eventually divorced in 2005.

Getty Image
05
Cocooned

Mariah Carey married Columbia Records exec Tommy Mottola in 1993. While the couple seemed happy, Mariah later said she felt trapped. She separated from Mottola in 1997 and the two divorced in’98.

Getty Image
06
Unbreak My Heart

Toni Braxton and Keri Lewis (formerly of Mint Condition) were married in December 2001. The couple recently announced they were no more, leaving speculators to suspect that Braxton’s sultry kiss with singer Trey Songz at the 2009 Soul Train Awards may have brought these lovers-on-the-rocks to a crash.

Getty Image
07
Royal Flush

The King of Pop married the daughter of the King of Rock n Roll, Lisa Marie Presley in 1994. While together, questions were raised concerning the validity of the arrangement. The two split less than two years later in January 1996. The couple remained friendly and Presley has spoken kindly of Jackson since his death in June 2009.

Getty Image
08
Phat Chance

Kimora Lee married Russell Simmons in December 1998. The couple separated in March 2006 and rumors of Russell’s infidelity spread. In March 2008, Kimora officially filed for a divorce. By then she was already dating her current beau, Djimon Hounsou.

09
Fallen Star

Former co-host of ‘The View,’ Star Jones and Wall Street banker Al Reynolds married in New York City in November 2004. Three and a half years later Jones filed for divorce. The case was marked as “uncontested matrimonial.”

Getty Image
10
Let it Burn

Usher married Tameka Foster in August 2007. Just two years later he filed for divorce from Tameka, who gave birth to their second son last December. During their short marriage, critics claimed that Foster, eight years Usher’s senior, was controlling Usher.

Getty Image
11
Low Blow

Robin Givens and Mike Tyson tied the knot in February 1988. On Valentine’s day, one year later, Givens and Tyson parted ways. Givens claimed Tyson was abusive toward her and Tyson alleged Givens was a gold digger.

Getty Image
12
Milkshake Meltdown

Nas and Kelis were hip-hop’s dynamic duo. The two wed in 2005, sporting matching gold grills and Kelis gave birth to a son in January 2009. The couple filed for divorce in April 2009.

Getty Image
13
Split Styles

Hip-hop entrepreneur Damon Dash married fashion designer Rachel Roy in January 2005. Four years later, in March 2009, Roy filed for a divorce. The couple have two daughters together, Ava and Tallulah.

Getty Image
14
Deliriously Done

Comedian Eddie Murphy and Nicole Mitchell divorced in August 2006 after over 13 years of marriage. Murphy had been caught in a car with a transvestite prostitute in 1997. Mitchell filed the paper work in ’05 and cited “irreconcilable differences.”

Getty Image
15
Tropical Storm

Actress Lisa-Raye McKoy became the first lady of the Turks and Caicos Islands in 2006 when she married the island country’s then Premier Michael Misick. Shortly thereafter trouble rose in paradise and the two parted ways in August 2008.

Getty Image
16
Turn Your Love Around

Tina Turner married bandmate Ike Turner in Mexico in 1962. Theirs was a volatile relationship and Tina ended it when she escaped from one of their violent episodes in 1976. The couple officially divorced in 1978.

Getty Image

Read More

Lifestyle
Shop These Valentine's Day Gifts By Black-Owned Brands
News
My VP Looks Like Me: These Inauguration Day Tribute Photos W...
Black Celeb Couples
Black Love: Barack and Michelle Obama's Love Through the Years
Entertainment
‘Bridgerton’ Is Getting A Second Season
Health & Wellness
Tiffany Haddish Unveils Her Slimmed Down Figure After 30-Day...
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2021 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now