EXCLUSIVE: Single lady! Kim Kardashian seen for the first time after judge grants bid to restore her maiden name in bitter divorce from Kanye West as it’s revealed custody agreement will ‘likely be informal’
- A judge declared Kardashian, 41, single in a court hearing on Wednesday
- On the same day, the Hulu reality star was pictured out with her daughter North West
- The ruling means that her ex West, 44, is also legally single
- Kardashian – wearing a black blouse and her hair swept back – appeared via video today at a court in downtown LA; West, 44, did not appear
- West tried to slow down the case by challenging their prenuptial agreement
- Judge Steve Cochran granted Kim’s request to have her maiden name restored
Kim Kardashian has been pictured for the first time since it was revealed she is officially single again amid her contentious divorce battle with ex-husband Kanye West.
On Wednesday, the 41-year-old Hulu reality star was seen stepping out on the same day that a Los Angeles judge ruled in her favor, granting her request to be declared legally single immediately and settle child custody and money issues later.
Kim looked suitably stylish in a bright orange Balenciaga top as she was pictured with eight-year-old daughter North West, whom she shares with Kanye.
Single lady! Kim Kardashian has been pictured for the first time since it was revealed she is officially single again amid her contentious divorce battle with ex-husband Kanye West
Meanwhile on Thursday, it was reported that their custody agreement will ‘likely be informal.’
‘Kim will be home base and Kanye can see his four kids pretty much whenever he chooses,’ a source told TMZ on Thursday.
‘As crazy as the divorce has been, the custody issues for the most part have been handled peacefully. Whenever Kanye’s in L.A. and wants to see the kids, Kim has facilitated it. They can always go back to court if it becomes acrimonious, but for now things have been peaceful.’
Yesterday, Kardashian — wearing a black blouse and her hair swept back — appeared via video at a court in downtown LA.
Keeping calm and carrying on: On Thursday, it was reported that their custody agreement will ‘likely be informal’
New era: Kim was seen out after being declared legally single by a judge following Wednesday morning’s court hearing over her divorce from the 44-year-old rapper
‘We’re having so much fun’: Yesterday, Kim confirmed to a judge that she is showering her children with affection amid the divorce
West, 44, did not appear in person nor via video.
Judge Steve Cochran granted her request to have her maiden name restored, and he denied West’s motion to prevent Kardashian from transferring assets out of trusts set up during the marriage.
The feuding couple, both billionaires, had their high powered attorneys in court Wednesday: Laura Wasser for Kardashian and Samantha Spector for West. Spector was only appointed last night after West fired his previous lawyer.
Pictured: Kanye West as seen above at a cafe on Wednesday, the first time since the latest development in their divorce
Judge Cochran began today’s hearing by asking Kardashian how her four children by the hip hop star and producer — North, eight; Saint, six; Chicago, four; and Psalm two — are doing.
‘Everybody is doing OK,’ she responded.
Asked by the judge if she was ‘showering her children with affection,’ she replied, ‘Absolutely.’
She added, ‘We’re having so much fun.’
The couple married in 2014 and have four children together. She filed for divorce from Kanye in 2021
After asking Kardashian to raise her right hand to be sworn in, Judge Cochran asked her a series of five questions:
Is everything true in your petition? ‘Yes,’ she replied.
Did you live in Los Angeles at least six months prior to filing for divorce? ‘Yes.’
Is your marriage irretrievably broken? ‘Yes.’
Will counseling save your marriage? ‘No.’
Is it your desire to be granted single status? ‘Yes.’
With a grin, the judge told Kim it was his practice to see photos of children involved in cases before his court.
But in this case, he added, he did not ask to see pictures, ‘to protect the children’s privacy. Is that OK with you?
‘Yes your honor, thank you,’ she responded with a smile.
Wasser told the court that she ‘didn’t believe there would be any disagreements’ between the celebrity couple over custody of their kids.
But she and West’s attorney, Spector, hit roadblocks on two other issues.
The first was Kanye request to prevent Kim from transferring assets out of any trust — a request Kim has fired back at due to their existing prenup, which already keeps their trusts and assets separate.
Wasser told the court today that Kim ‘uses these trusts for her business and to freeze her assets would…create problems. It would prevent her from doing business.’
The second point of dispute was West’s request for Kim to ‘waive marital privilege.’ Waiving marital privilege would means all of their communication would no longer be private and instead would be part of the court record.
Wasser branded the request ‘unprecedented’ and accused West of trying ‘to prevent or make it difficult for Ms. Kardashian to remarry’ in the future.
Judge Cochran denied West’s attempt to stop Kardashian from taking money out of her trusts and he also denied the rapper’s request for her to waive marital privilege, telling the court, ‘The law provides no support for that condition.’
The judge scheduled August 5 for a status and pretrial hearing to hear arguments from both sides about financial and child custody issues still to be settled.
In recent weeks West has taken to attacking her boyfriend Pete Davidson on social media. West — who wasn’t present at the hearing — didn’t object via his attorney, but he asked a judge to let funds meant to be split between the two go to the other partner if one of them dies, which they agreed to
Kanye hasn’t ben exactly loveless since the split. his new girlfriend Chaney Jones showcased her incredible curves last Sunday, as she stepped out for a solo dinner at Carbone in Miami
Following the court appearance, Samantha Spector, the fourth divorce attorney to represent West in the proceedings, shared a statement to ‘to dispel a few mistruths.’
‘Kanye’s paperwork has always indicated that his problems with the divorce [were] only procedural,’ she claimed, before saying that her client would be providing any ‘official’ comment at that time. ‘Moreover, he was always in support of the divorce only if Kim satisfied the procedural requirements to protect rights under the [California] law — the same rights afforded to any litigant going through a divorce.’
She continued: ‘Today it was determined and addressed in court that Kim initially did not have the proper paperwork to get the bifurcation of the marital status. As mentioned in our statement yesterday, Ye is focusing his entire attention to their children.’
Kardashian’s new legal status means that West is also legally single, and a source close to the rapper claimed that he also wants the divorce to proceed, though that doesn’t align with his delay tactics in court or his public statements about trying to get his wife back
Demands: The judge rejected his request that Kim not transfer assets held in trusts and that she waive the right to have a spouse avoid testifying about conversations with her; seen in 2020
She filed for divorce in February 2021 and the couple initially seemed to be on the same page, but in recent weeks West has taken to attacking her boyfriend Pete Davidson on social media.
He has also repeatedly posted text conversations that appear to be with his estranged wife, including one conversation in which she appeared to write, ‘Why can’t you keep any of our conversations private ???’
‘Cause I got a text from my favorite person in the world,’ he allegedly replied. ‘I’m your number one fan. Why wouldn’t I tell everyone!!!!’
Kardashian doesn’t appear to have any desire to slow down her divorce, but her ex has shared multiple times in public that he hopes to win her back.
West’s ex previously filed documents claiming that his recent social media posts have been riddled with ‘misinformation,’ and she claimed their attacks on her and her boyfriend Pete Davidson have caused her ’emotional distress.’
‘I believe that the court terminating our marital status will help Kanye to accept that our marital relationship is over and to move forward on a better path which will assist us in peacefully co-parenting our children,’ Kardashian wrote in documents filed on February 23, according to Rolling Stone.
West’s attorneys said Kardashian would need to prove he had personally written the posts, though they didn’t appear to explicitly deny that he had written them in their own filings.
‘Kim claims she read something online allegedly by Kanye and characterizes the posts in her declaration as misinformation. The social media posts are not attached to the declaration. Kim needed to offer the social media posts into evidence, and show that the posts were written by Kanye,’ his lawyers wrote, adding that Kardashian’s claims amount to ‘double hearsay.’
Mixed messages: The rapper filed to have Kardashian’s complaints about his social media posts ruled inadmissible, claiming she hadn’t proved he wrote them, but he previously posted on Instagram that his account was ‘not hacked’
Unrelenting: Kardashian pleaded with him over text: ‘Why can’t you keep any of our conversations private ???’ and he replied: ”Cause I got a text from my favorite person in the world’
Although West’s attorneys appear to be raising doubts about whether he’s responsible for posts on his social media account, he seems to have taken steps in his posts to cast himself as their author.
In a since-deleted Instagram post, the rapper shared a photo of himself holding up a yellow notepad that read, ‘My account is not hacked,’ and the date, ‘ 2 13 22.’
The post’s caption featured the recognizable breathless all-capitals style that many of West’s recent posts have adhered to.
‘MY ACCOUNT IS NOT HACKED,’ the post repeated in the caption, before noting that West would be taking his children to Sunday Service, followed by the Super Bowl.
New ink? After the hearing, Kanye was spotted back in Miami heading to a tattoo parlor
Bundled up: He was seen wearing a puffy black down jacket with text on the sleeves
Checking out: The rapper was also seen as he stepped out of the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami Beach
Catching up: The hitmaker paired his black jacket with a matching tank top and sweatpants as he took a phone call on speakerphone
Self-promotion: In place of the Balenciaga x Crocs rain boots he has favored in recent days, he opted for a charcoal set of Yeezy Slides.
Mum’s the word: A statement from his fourth divorce attorney, Samantha Spector, said an ‘official’ statement from Kanye about Kim’s new single status wouldn’t be arriving at this time
He also included a note to SNL Weekend Update anchor Michael Che offering to pay him double ‘WHATEVER THEY PAYING YOU’ to get him away from cast member Pete Davidson.
Sources claimed to TMZ that the musician and fashion designer has not been working closely with his legal team.
Instead, he made it clear that he didn’t want to divorce Kardashian, but left it up to his attorneys to craft a legal strategy for him, though he now seems to be back on board with a divorce.
Despite the ongoing divorce drama with Kanye, Kim has continued to devote herself to the causes near and dear to her heart.
Involved: Despite the ongoing divorce drama with Kanye, Kim has continued to devote herself to the causes near and dear to her heart. On Thursday, the SKIMS founder went on a hike at 6AM with the ‘formerly incarcerated members and staff’ of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, which is a non-profit organization that advocates for criminal justice reform
On Thursday, the SKIMS founder went on a hike at 6AM with the ‘formerly incarcerated members and staff’ of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, which is a non-profit organization that advocates for criminal justice reform.
‘[The formerly incarcerated members and staff] are now university students, film students, firefighters, artists, now giving back to their communities,’ wrote Kim, who shared images of the hike to her Instagram Story.
‘I love hearing their stories – from life sentences to what life is like now. I’m so proud of them and can’t wait to hike more! Thank you @scottbudnick1 for introducing us all,’ concluded the star, who added the hashtag #mymorningmotivation.
In a follow-up post, Kim posed for a group selfie with her fellow hikers. She sported a minimalist makeup look and wore her rave hair in a ponytail.
Inspired: ”[The formerly incarcerated members and staff] are now university students, film students, firefighters, artists, now giving back to their communities,’ wrote Kim, who shared images of the hike to her Instagram Story
She braved the morning chill in a zip-up windbreaker jacket and a hooded sweatshirt.
After the hike, Kim revealed to her 289million followers that her four children ‘made all the guys this morning hot chocolate.’
She included an image of the beverages in to-go cups with small bowls of colorful marshmallows made readily available.
The members and staff of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition penned a note to Kim on their own Instagram Story, where they thanked her for ‘all your work on behalf of formerly and currently incarcerated people.’
So sweet! After the hike, Kim revealed to her 289million followers that her four children ‘made all the guys this morning hot chocolate’
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