Eminem to Divorce Kim Mathers Again

Less than 90 days after re-marrying his ex-wife, Kim, megastar rapper Eminem has filed for divorce.

Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, and who also goes by the alias Slim Shady, has filed divorce papers in Macomb County, Michigan, according to a spokesperson for Interscope Records, Eminem's label. Officials from the Macomb County clerk's office confirmed the divorce filing as well.

Eminem married his high school sweetheart, Kimberly Ann Scott, on June 14th, 1999. At the time, Marshall Mathers was 26 and Kim was 24. The two had grown up in the same part of Detroit, Eight Mile Road. Eight Mile Road would later serve as the the title to Eminem's semi-autobiographical movie, 8 Mile. Though their relationship had been going on since high school, their first marriage would come to an end just more than a year after they were married, with their divorce being filed on August 7, 2000. One of the major (public) factors behind their divorce was Eminem's song "Kim" off of The Marshall Mathers LP. In it, Eminem raps about his wife having committed an affair, which he becomes enraged about. At the climax of the song, Eminem is heard to slit Kim's throat.

In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2002, Marshall Mathers said "I would rather have a baby through my penis than get married again." Despite this, Mathers announced to Metro Detroit's "Mojo in the Morning" in December 2005 that the couple were planning to re-marry. On January 14th, 2006, Marshall Mathers and Kim Mathers did indeed re-marry. The ceremony, which took place in Rochester Hills, Michigan, at Meadow Brook Hall, a 110-room mansion built for the widow for auto baron John Dodge.

Despite their reconciliation and re-marriage, the divorce papers cite "a breakdown in the marriage relationship" as a factor for divorce, the BBC reported. The BBC went on to quote the divorce document as saying "The objects of matrimony have been destroyed and there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved." The couple is said to have a pre-nuptial agreement in place.

One of the majors factors in the previous divorce, as with the current one, is the topic of custody of Marshall and Kim's two children: Hailie and the adopted Alaina, referred to as "Lainie" in Eminem's song "Mockingbird" off the album Encore. After the first divorce, there had been a bitter custody battle between Mathers and Kim. The two finally settled on joint custody, up until Kim Mathers was arrested for cocaine possession. At that time, Eminem came back to Michigan from his Anger Management to petition the court for full custody, which he was granted.

Kim Mathers has had a troubled past. She became pregnant with Marshall's child when she had just turned 19. She and Marshall Mathers had relationship problems after her birth, at which time she forbade him from seeing their child, which led to Eminem attempting suicide. The couple's first divorce followed Eminem witnessing Kim kissing another man, John Guerrera, outside a Hot Rocks Cafe. The incident caused Eminem to brandish a gun at Guerrera, and allegedly pistol-whip him with it. Then, on July 7, 2000, Kim attempted suicide by slitting her wrists. Kim faced felony charges of possession of cocaine twice: once in 2001 and again in 2003. She also failed a drug test while on probation.

Marshall Mathers has an equally rocky past. With the unsuccessful attempt to overdose of Tylenol analgesics in 1996, Eminem went to work, making himself incredibly successful. However, after the incident with John Guerrera outside the Hot Rocks, and an incident with rap group Insane Clown Posse the next night, Mathers pled guilty to several charges. He has also been the target of lawsuits from both his mother and his ex-wife.

Marshall Mathers' career, however, is a bright light in his life. He has won 9 Grammys, off of 21 nominations. Both The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show won nominations for Album of the Year. His songs "The Real Slim Shady", "My Name Is" (off The Slim Shady LP), "Lose Yourself" (off the 8 Mile soundtrack), "Forgot About Dre" (featuring Dr. Dre) have all won Grammies. The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show all won for Best Rap Album, while Encore was nominated. His music video for "Without Me" earned Slim Shady another Grammy. The rapper also picked up an Oscar for "Lose Yourself" off the 8 Mile Soundtrack.

[Rolling Stone, BBC]