Chance the Rapper and Kirsten Corley tied the knot on March 9, 2019. Though they make a beautiful couple, their union has been called into question on more than one occasion. In late 2022, the couple was in the headlines as social media sleuths uncovered an NSFW video involving a transgender person in the “Cocoa Butter Kisses” hitmaker’s likes. Corley clapped back at trolls in wake of that drama, and around the same time the recording artist confirmed that he had to put in serious work to keep his marriage strong during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite all the praise the Rapper has given his other half in his music through the years, his actions in real-time have sometimes suggested he still likes to be free and have fun. While at Carnival in 2023, a video of the 30-year-old being twerked on by a bodacious woman while his wife was nowhere to be seen went viral. This caused tensions to rise between them, and people began speculating that trouble was afoot in paradise. It seems they might’ve been right, as Corley confirmed her split from Chance on Wednesday (April 3) via Instagram.
Kirsten Corley Confirms Her Split From Chance the Rapper
@kirstencorleybennett/Instagram Story
“After a period of separation, the two of us have arrived at a decision to part ways,” the mother of two wrote. “We came to this decision amicably and with gratitude for the time we spent together. God has blessed us with two beautiful daughters who we will continue to raise together. We kindly ask for privacy and respect as we navigate this transition. Thank you,” Corley’s statement concluded.
It seems Chance the Rapper’s life is all about change lately, and the themes are even coming through in his music. In a snippet shared online last month, the 30-year-old speaks about Americans starting a revolution rather than voting in the upcoming election. Read all about that at the link below, and let us know if you’re surprised about Kirsten Corley’s divorce announcement in the comments.
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett have been separated for seven years, apparently. The revelation emerged during Jada Pinkett’s press run in support of her upcoming memoir, Worthy. Speaking to Hoda Kotb, she confirmed that the two have been separated since 2016, although they never made their divorce official. Nonetheless, she said that they have the utmost love for each other and their children.
Of course, Jada Pinkett’s latest statements about her (estranged?) husband follow years of scrutiny surrounding their relationship. The couple made headlines when rumors of an open relationship surfaced. Then, there was the entanglement with August Alsina. In between that and the ongoing jokes involving her relationship with Tupac, it seemed to have all culminated in the infamous Oscars slap with Chris Rock, who allegedly tried to secure a date with Jada in the midst of divorce rumors. With the couple back in the headlines, we’re exploring their relationship since the couple first met in 1994.
2/24/99 Los Angeles, CA. Jada Pinkett Smith with her husband, Will Smith at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards. (Ron Wolfson/Getty Images)
Will and Jada met on the set of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air when Jada auditioned for a role on the show. Although she didn’t get the part, they formed a close friendship. It wasn’t until 1995 that they entertained the possibility of a relationship. Will was still married to his then-wife and mother to his firstborn son, Trey, Sheree Zampino, although their relationship was on the rocks.
“I had a realization I wasn’t with the person I was supposed to be with,” he said on a 2018 episode of Red Table Talk. “I was sitting in a [bathroom] stall and I was crying and laughing uncontrollably, and I knew [Jada] was the woman I was supposed to be with.”
After filing for divorce from Zampino, Jada and Will Smith took their relationship to new heights. The couple began dating, largely through Will’s efforts. Following his divorce, he asked Jada if she was “seeing anyone.” Once she said she wasn’t, Will said, “Cool, you’re seeing me now.”
Will reportedly popped the question while they were in bed together. However, it didn’t take long for the couple to get hitched. A month later, they tied the knot at a secret ceremony in a hotel room in Baltimore, Jada’s hometown.
WESTWOOD, CA – DECEMBER 07: (Clockwise) Actor Will Smith, son Trey, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, daughter Willow and son/actor Jaden Smith arrive at the World Premiere of Columbia Pictures’ “The Pursuit of Happyness” at the Mann Village Theatre and Mann Bruin Theatre on December 7, 2006 in Westwood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
In a 1998 interview, Jada Pinkett revealed that they had been expecting their first child a day after their wedding. The couple welcomed Jaden Cyre Smith in July 1998. In the years that followed, Jaden proved to have a knack for the big screen, just like his parents, and similar to his father pursued a career in hip-hop.
Two years after the birth of Jaden, Will and Jada welcomed Willow to their family in October 2000. She similarly made a name for herself in the music industry, as an actress and a musician. These days, she often co-hosts Red Table Talk with her mother, Jada while also pursuing a successful career in music.
While 13 years passed with little issues in their marriage, rumors of a shaky relationship began to surface in 2013. At that time, speculation surrounding an open marriage began to emerge. However, Jada denied this entirely during an appearance on HuffPost Live! but she said that she told Will he could “do whatever you want as long as you can look at yourself in the mirror and be OK.”
In a post shared on Facebook, she reiterated that they aren’t in an open marriage. “Will and I BOTH can do WHATEVER we want, because we TRUST each other to do so. This does NOT mean we have an open relationship…this means we have a GROWN one,” she said.
2015: Will & Jada Pinkett Deny Getting A Divorce
Two years later, the couple continued to face rumors of a divorce. Although we’d find on later on that there was some sort of validity to turmoil in their relationship, Will made it clear that a divorce wasn’t on the table. In a post shared to Facebook, he explained that he had received a number of messages from people sending their “deepest condolences,” so he decided to clear the air.
“So, in the interest of redundant, repetitious, over & over-again-ness… Jada and I are…NOT GETTING A DIVORCE!!!!!!!!!!!!! : -) I promise you all – if I ever decide to divorce my Queen – I SWEAR I’ll tell you myself! #Dumb People Should Have to Wear Scarlet D’s,” he wrote.
In Jada’s recent interview with Hoda Kobt, she explained that she and Will had been separated since 2016. However, the two continued to celebrate their marriage together in the public eye. In 2017, Will and Jada celebrated 20 years of marriage, which Will commemorated in a heartfelt Instagram post.
“20 Years Ago Today we held hands and walked naively down that aisle. Here’s what I’ve learned since,” he wrote. “Love is Like Gardening. I have learned to focus on HELPING you to BLOSSOM into what YOU want to be (into what you were born to be)… Rather than Demanding that you become what my Fragile Ego needs you to be.”
2018: No Longer “Married” But Life Partners
During an interview with Rap Radar, Will Smith provided more context to his relationship with Jada Pinkett. Although together for 20+ years, the rapper-turned-actor explained that they consider each other “life partners.”
“We don’t even say we’re married anymore. We refer to ourselves as life partners,” he told Rap Radar. “Where you get into that space where you realize you are literally with somebody for the rest of your life. There’s no deal breakers. There’s nothing she could do — ever. Nothing that would break our relationship. She has my support till death, you know what I mean, and it feels so good to get to that space where you’re not complaining, and worrying, and demanding that a person be a certain thing.”
at the 2017 BET Awards at Staples Center on June 25, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.
Life partners aside, the world was shocked to find out that Jada Pinkett Smith had a self-described “entanglement” with August Alsina. Jada revealed that the couple had been separated in 2016 and during that period, she and Alsina developed a strong bond. In the midst of this revelation, fans began pointing out videos and clips of Alsina hanging out with the Smith family.
During an episode of Red Table Talk, Will explained that he felt that their marriage needed to be tested at that point. “I wasn’t sure I was ever going to speak to you again,” Will said. “Like the fact that I’m speaking to you again is a miracle. [Marriage] ain’t for the weak at heart. There’s just certain things that you have to go through. I wish it could be all magic and miracles.”
2021: Will Contextualizes The Entanglement
Even though the majority of people felt as though the “entanglement” was a one-sided affair, Will revealed that “that was not… in fact the case,” per Wesley Lowrey’s GQ profile on the actor. He didn’t necessarily dive any further on the topic but in his memoir, Will, he said, “For the large part of our relationship, monogamy was what we chose, not thinking of monogamy as the only relational perfection.” He also explained that their marriage wasn’t working.
Later that year, Will sat down with Oprah Winfrey where he explained that they hit a rough patch in their relationship in 2011. It stemmed from a birthday surprise that he supposedly spent “years planning,” which Jada felt was a “ridiculous” self-serving act that put his ego on display.
2022: The Infamous Oscars Slap
At the 2022 Oscars, Will Smith famously slapped Chris Rock in the face after the comedian cracked a joke comparing Jada to G.I. Jane, only to find out that she was suffering from alopecia. “Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see ya,” Chris said before Will stormed the stage and struck the comedian in the face. After heading back to his seat, Will told Chris: “Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth!”
Even though it was an act of support for his wife, Will faced the worst of repercussions. He won the award for Best Actor – the first Oscar in his illustrious career – for King Richard before the Academy barred him from attending the ceremony for 10 years. While Will later apologized, the damage had been done and Twitter continued to pile onto Jada Pinkett.
Through the ups and downs of their relationship in the years prior, Jada Pinkett Smith revealed that she and Will had been separated for roughly seven years. In her book Worthy, she dives further into the topic but the announcement first came during a preview of her sit down with Hoda Kotb. Although Jada said that it wasn’t a “divorce on paper,” the couple was “exhausted with trying.” However, she vowed never to get a divorce. “We will work through … whatever,” she explained. “I just haven’t been able to break that promise,”
In an interview with People, she added that she and Will are still working on their relationship. “We’ve been doing some really heavy-duty work together,” she told PEOPLE. “We just got deep love for each other and we are going to figure out what that looks like for us.”
Xzibit just put his California home up for sale at $4 million amid a divorce battle with his partner of over twenty years, Krista Joiner. Moreover, the six-bathroom and five-bedroom-boasting crib in Porter Ranch went on Architectural Digest on Thursday (January 26). While their debacle resolved to mixed results, it seems this move is part of that mitigation.
ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 19: Rapper Xzibit performs onstage during the High Hopes Concert Series produced by Bobby Dee Presents at Toyota Arena on November 19, 2022 in Ontario, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)
Furthermore, this 5,710 square foot home has two kitchens, a pool with a Baja shelf, a swim-up bar, a built-in fire pit, and a beautiful L.A. view. Still, the amenities seem relatively tame when talking about the Pimp My Ride host. However, it is just a house, and what sounds like a pretty sick one at that.
Regardless, Joiner filed for divorce in 2021 following six years or marriage and twenty years spent dating. First, the rapper asked the judge to not force him to pay his ex any spousal support. Moreover, he claimed financial struggle given the pandemic shutting his performances and other endeavors down. Although he made those claims, Joiner retorted that his brother boasted about Xzibit’s cannabis business making over a million dollars a month.
Additionally, his brother Jason said that he had a stash of $20 million that he helped Xzibit with when needed. In a since-deleted Instagram post, he called his ex’s claims “bulls**t” and warned that “there will be blood” on her hands. Also, he said that she and his brother really “outdid” themselves this time.
In August, the court ordered the L.A. rapper to pay Joiner $6,000 a month in support. Moreover, $2,239 is reportedly towards child support for their 10-year-old son Gatlyn until he’s 18. On the other hand, authorities designated $3,702 a month towards temporary spousal support. Also, he paid $50,000 for Joiner to hire a forensic accountant to revise his finances and $125,000 for legal fees.
Later, Joiner filed a lawsuit last November to be financially compensated for the rest of her life. In court documents, her legal team claimed that Xzibit agreed to comply if she remained a homemaker. While her team alleges that she’s done her part, they say that the MC hasn’t.
“In the event the parties’ relationship ended, all of the property acquired, or entities or businesses established, or which property or entities/businesses increased in value, during their relationship as a result of [Xzibit’s] skills, efforts, labor, and earnings, regardless of how the title was formally held, would be divided equally between them,” her attorney said in a statement.
Also, the suit alleges that Xzibit promised to cater to Joiner’s financial stability when she looked for external employment. Moreover, she seeks compensation for being a “confidant, companion, social and business partner, homemaker, housekeeper and consultant to Defendant in connection with financial and family matters.”
Still, what do you think of Xzibit selling his home amid his divorce with Krista Joiner? Whatever the case, let us know in the comments down below. Also, as always, log back into HNHH for the latest financial news and curious happening in the hip-hop game.
