What’s Up With Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert’s Messy Divorce?
The couple that caused widespread bi panic after starring in the Flashdance-themed music video for Kanye West’s 2016 song “Fade” is splitting up for good. A judge has ordered Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert to submit their divorce settlement in writing by noon on June 27, according to documents obtained by TMZ. It appears the judge wants to end the back-and-forth between Taylor and Shumpert over issues like their parenting plan and child-support addendum. If the pair don’t come to an agreement by the deadline, the judge has promised to remove the case from her docket, meaning they’ll have to start the process all over again. The news comes after a protracted divorce proceeding that was first filed in January 2023 and kept hidden from the public until late last year. Here’s everything you need to know.
Why are Taylor and Shumpert divorcing?
Taylor secretly filed to divorce former basketball player Shumpert in January 2023 citing his “cruel treatment.” She managed to keep the filing under wraps for a full ten months before reporters caught wind of the divorce in November of last year. Taylor announced their separation in September. In the court documents, Taylor alleges their marriage crumbled because Shumpert was jealous of her fame, grew insecure when photographers requested him to step out of the frame for pictures of her, and felt like he wasn’t good enough for her.
Eventually, Shumpert began “treating her cruelly and displaying extreme narcissistic behavior throughout the majority of their marriage,” the filing claims, per TMZ, adding that Shumpert “emotionally and mentally” abused Taylor. He allegedly “did not want her to work” when she became a mother but complained about her lack of employment when she stayed home to raise their two children. Taylor tried to reconcile with Shumpert as his NBA career was falling apart, but she couldn’t make amends, according to the documents. She filed for divorce once in 2022 before asking her legal team to withdraw the filing one day later. Shumpert’s cheating scandals and arrests for DUI and weed possession didn’t help matters. His attorneys denied the allegations of cruel treatment and asked that the reason for their divorce be changed to an “irretrievable broken bond.”
What do their finances have to do with it?
According to June documents, Shumpert asked the court to revise his child-support payments to $8,000 a month to account for his gross income of around $48,000 a month, per the Daily Mail. He also claimed Taylor brought in around $94,000 a month. For her part, Taylor accused Shumpert of withdrawing nearly $4 million from their shared accounts and left her to foot a $200,000 home-renovation bill.
What has Taylor said about the news?
Taylor denied the TMZ reports about Shumpert’s behavior, saying the articles have “misleading headlines.” “My court documents aren’t clickbait for your salacious headlines,” she wrote in an Instagram Story on January 27. In January filings obtained by TMZ, the performer accused Shumpert of being under the influence and smoking weed while with their daughters. Taylor also claimed he failed to feed them when they were under his care and once sent them to Chicago’s United Center arena alone using a rideshare app. While he allegedly put the children in danger, he also allegedly cut off the utilities at their Georgia home, leaving Taylor without Wi-Fi, cable, or water. “Also, let me add,” Taylor wrote, “ALL OF THE UTILITIES IN MY HOME WAS ON THE SAME DAY AFTER THAT SHIT WAS PULLED!! Me and my kids are NEVER GOING TO BE SITTING DUCKS!!!”
“Yo @tmz are you serious????” Taylor posted. “Y’all really be taking it too far with these d*mn misleading headlines and I’m tired of it! Every time I turn around it’s either half leaked and made up stories, or words being twisted up for clickbait!!!! I kindly asked you mothaf%ckas to mind ya damn business, and for y’all to respect me and my family’s privacy.” She added, “HOWEVER, y’all keep putting out f%ckery. If you’re going to keep leaking my documents, SHOW IT ALL & COME CORRECT!!! Stop taking bits and pieces and putting 10’s on 2’s!” This kind of coverage, Taylor explained, is why she filed the divorce secretly in the first place using only her initials.
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