Think of the Children! From Kim and Kanye to Eminem: Celebrities Whose Children Have Gotten Caught in the Crossfire
Celebrity relationships are just like any other. They make-up and they break-up. They have good moments and bad. They get married. Some of those marriages don't last. Celebrity divorce has the added element of subjecting all of the intimate ins and outs of a couple's relationship to the opinion of the public eye. This has an impact on not only the celebrity couple but on the children. Normally the who-is-staying-with-who or who-is-seeing-who drama is out of the public eye, but those who are staples of the limelight do not have that luxury. Here are eight celebrity couples that had their drama about their children brought to public attention.
1. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West
Kim Kardashian Kanye West Split
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have been in the complex throws of an intricate public divorce. Over the weekend, Chicago West, one of the daughters of the soon to be split couple, celebrated her birthday. After the epic party, West shared a video in which he expressed his thanks for those that let him into the event. He had not originally been invited, and security had turned him away at the door. However, Travis Scott gave him the invite information, and Kylie Jenner let him into the party. Regardless of the drama, we are glad that Ye got to spend his daughter's birthday with her.
2. Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry
Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry went through a similarly public split back in 2010. They also went through a public custody battle over their daughter Nahla Ariela Aubry. The battle was ongoing. Berry took the custody case to court, finally settling in a joint custody arrangement in 2021. That's ELEVEN years of publicly fighting over their child. Berry is still paying $16K dollars in child support to her ex-boyfriend.
3. Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson
While Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson have been in an on and off again relationship and have been co-parenting their daughter True for a while, the child drama in this relationship is actually about another. In the first week of this year, Thompson took to Instagram to make a public apology to the Kardashian when a paternity test proved that the NBA star had another child with a trainer. Thompson wrote, "You don't deserve the heartache and humiliation I have caused you...You don't deserve the way I have treated you over the years. My actions certainly have not lined up with the way I view you. I have the utmost respect and love for you. Regardless of what you may think. Again, I am so incredibly sorry."
4. Woody Allen and Mia Farrow
The marriage between Woody Allen and Mia Farrow is fraught with scandal and upsetting news. The marriage itself was unsettling. Celebrities such as Carly Simon said that Woody was, "little by little, eroding her [Mia's] self-esteem, eroding her sense of self...He didn't like Mia to see her friends. He just wanted to isolate her." Woody then went on to marry is adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn. Allegations also came out that he molested her. This situation is painfully messed-up in every sense.
5. Mashonda and Swizz Beatz
While we are sad the relationship had to end, Mashonda and Swizz Beatz did a relatively expert job navigating co-parenting during the divorce. Beatz left Mashonda for singer Alicia Keys. There was an overlap in the relationship, and Mashonda took to Twitter back in 2009 saying, "You know the role you played and you know how you contributed to the ending of my marriage. You know that I asked you to step back and let me handle my family issues. Issues that you helped to create." However, recently, the three have managed to become a blended family and have co-written a book about co-parenting their son Kasseem Dean, Jr. Beatz said to People Magazine, "It took two years into our blending to make it happen, but when we did it was like turning the light on. We realized we could minimize the impact on our children by reducing the conflict we had with one another. There were never any big blowouts. There were times when we didn't fully agree, but we were all comfortable just letting it go." We are so glad they figured out how to work it out.
6. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie may have filed for divorce from Brad Pitt back in 2016, but the legal fights, particularly the custody battles continue strongly on. The two share six children. Back in 2021, the couple was granted joint custody of the children, but Jolie is continuing he fight for full custody. At one point, she took her children with her to France to get them away from all of the hysterics. In June of 2021, it was reported that half of the children wanted to testify against Pitt in court. A lawyer later said to Page Six, "The trial is necessarily going to impact them emotionally...To make any of the children endure what may be a futile and void proceeding is beyond unjustified. It is cruel."
7. Eddie Murphy and Mel B
While the relationship between SNL sensation Eddie Murphy and Spice Girls Star Mel B ended back in 2006, the drama surrounding the daughter they share has not yet seen it's final moments. The couple's daughter, Angel, is now a teenager. In 2020, Mel B publicly made a request for more child support and for Murphy to pay for her lawyers. Her lawyers said, "Until recently, Melanie has been fortunate in her career to sustain a comfortable lifestyle for herself and Angel. Unfortunately, Melanie's income has dramatically reduced, such that she must consider modifying child support for the first time."
8. Eminem and Kim Mathers
Eminem and Kim Mathers were married twice. So, as you can expect, there is twice the drama an average couple tends to face. In 1995, prior to the first marriage, their daughter Hailie was born. They got married back in 1999 and caught Mathers cheating on him in 2000, and, in that same year, she tried to take her life at one of Eminem's concerts. Eminem filed for divorce and Hailie tried to counter sue him. In a complete change of tune, the two remarried in 2006 but they divorced in the same year. Today, the two remain friendly and co-parent their daughter, Kim's daughter, and adopted niece together.
It is sad to see any child being subject to the dramas of their parents, but we are glad that so many of these couples, that unfortunately have the eyes of the world on them, have been able to find a way to successfully work through it.
