Why Kim Kardashian wants the courts to speed up her divorce from Ye

In a new filing, the reality TV star claims her estranged husband is attempting to delay their divorce procedure and is causing damage by doing so

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend a basketball game between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, California, on May 12, 2012, the year the couple began dating. EPA

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the Valentino show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 4, 2012 in Paris, France. Getty Images

Kim Kardashian, then pregnant with their first child, daughter North, and Kanye West attend the Givenchy show as part of Paris Fashion Week on March 3, 2013 in Paris, France. Getty Images

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, US, on May 6, 2013. Kardashian gave birth to North the following month. EPA

The couple scored the April 2014 cover of 'Vogue' magazine. Courtesy Vogue

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the Met Gala at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, US, on May 5, 2014. EPA

People gather around Kim Kardashian, centre, and Kanye West, left, as they leave their residence in Paris on May 23, 2014, before their wedding. AFP

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West make their way down the aisle after their wedding on May 24, 2014, at Fort di Belvedere in Florence, Italy. Courtesy E! Entertainment Television

Kim Kardashian, baby North West, Kanye West and Helene Arnault attend the Givenchy show as part of the Paris Fashion Week on September 28, 2014 in Paris, France. Getty Images

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian attend the Lacma Art + Film Gala at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles, California, on November 1, 2014. EPA

Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and Kris Jenner attend the Balmain show as part of Paris Fashion Week on March 5, 2015 in Paris, France. Getty Images

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the 57th annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, California, on February 8, 2015. EPA

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the Met Gala at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, US, on May 4, 2015. EPA

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian attend the Time 100 Gala at Frederick P Rose Hall in New York, US, on April 21, 2015. EPA

Kayne West and Kim Kardashian, pregnant with son Saint, attend the 32nd MTV Video Music Awards at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, California, on August 30, 2015. EPA

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian attend the Louis Vuitton show as part of Paris Fashion Week on June 21, 2018 in Paris, France. Getty Images

Corey Gamble, Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott arrive at the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, US, on May 6, 2019. EPA

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the Vanity Fair Oscar Party following the 92nd annual Academy Awards ceremony in Beverly Hills, California, on February 9, 2020. EPA

Visitors take a photo with the wax figures of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West at Madame Tussaud's in Istanbul, Turkey, on February 14, 2020. EPA

Kim Kardashian and Rappers, Kanye West and J Cole attend the 69th NBA All-Star Game as part of 2020 NBA All-Star Weekend on February 16, 2020 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. AFP

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian head out of their hotel on October 09, 2021 in New York City. Getty Images

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian has urged a US court to expedite her divorce, saying it would help her husband Ye to accept that the relationship is over.

Kardashian filed for divorce last year after months of press reports about marital strife and as the rapper formerly known as Kanye West battled mental health issues.

Ye has publicly fought the separation, including using social media posts imploring Kardashian to reconcile.

"I very much desire to be divorced," Kardashian wrote in a declaration filed to a Los Angeles court on Wednesday. "I have asked Kanye to keep our divorce private, but he has not done so.

"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 filed the petition for divorce a year ago. Two months later, Ye filed his response, which agreed on all the major points, including child custody. Neither discussed the split publicly. A prenuptial agreement prevented property fights.

At first, it appeared there would be a smooth end to one of the most followed celebrity unions in recent decades, between Kardashian, 41, and the rap and fashion mogul, 44.

In December, Kardashian, as is common in complicated divorces, asked the court to declare her legally single before the details of child custody and property are worked out.

She said in Wednesday’s filing that Ye had agreed to the move, known in court as bifurcation, in advance. But on February 16, Ye objected to it in his own filing, and raised a number of new issues.

Ye in recent months has lashed out on social media against Kardashian, her family and her boyfriend, Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson. He has aired complaints that he is not being allowed to make major parenting decisions and has been excluded from birthday parties and other events for their children.

On Wednesday, Kardashian said it’s clear that Ye is simply attempting to delay, and is causing damage by doing so.

“Mr West, by his actions, has made it clear that he does not accept that the parties’ marital relationship is over,” the court filing says. “Mr West has disseminated on social media the parties’ private communications and misinformation about personal family matters and co-parenting, which has caused emotional distress.”

The couple have four children: daughter North, 8; son Saint, 6; daughter Chicago, 4; and son Psalm, 2.

The pair, who began dating in 2012 and married in a lavish ceremony in Italy two years later, rapidly became one of the world's most instantly recognisable couples.

But their union ran into trouble with reports of bizarre outbursts from Ye, who has bipolar disorder.

"While I wish our marriage would have succeeded, I have come to the realisation that there is no way to repair our marriage," Kardashian wrote in the filing on Wednesday. "Kanye does not agree but at least it appears that he has come to the realisation that I want to end our marriage, even if he does not."

Ye this week released his much-anticipated album, Donda 2, a sequel to last year's Donda, with many of the songs detailing his separation from Kardashian.

— Additional reporting by AFP and AP

Scroll through the gallery below to see Kim Kardashian's style evolution over the years.