Think Before You Put A Ring On It: Kenya Bell Gets Broke Off In Divorce Settlement

September 10th, 2012 - By Brande Victorian

Source: Bossip.com

It’s a bad day for Charlie Bell, the ex-husband of “Basketball Wives” star Kenya Bell. After a drawn out divorce settlement, the former NBA player has finally been ordered to pay up big — big as in practically giving his ex-wife half of everything.

As TMZ broke it down, here’s the payout Kenya will get:

Kids: Charlie has to shell out $1,000/month in child support, but they’ll share custody of their two daughters. Neither party has to cough up spousal support.

Homes: Kenya scored the marital home in Michigan, along with the home bought for her parents. Charlie gets the condo in Vegas and the home he bought his parents.

Money: Kenya was awarded $780,000 cash from Charlie’s savings … leaving him with $656,000. She also gets half of the $670,000 from another account.

That doesn’t sound so bad, although with Charlie previously claiming he doesn’t have money like he used to and that he actually deserved some of Kenya’s “Basketball Wives” money, we’re pretty sure he’s not too happy about giving up his savings. Unfortunately for him, it gets much worse. Kenya is also entitled to half of Charlie’s NBA 401k plan, half of his NBA retirement plan, half of his NBA pension, half of his NBA welfare plan, and half of his NBA supplement benefit plan. In other words, Charlie is screwed and Kenya is probably off somewhere picking out a new Hermes bag.

I’d say the former couple’s two children should be well taken care of with all the cash coming Kenya’s way; Charlie however is probably somewhere kicking himself or crying in the half of his money he actually has left. I wonder if Kenya will even want that “Basketball Wives” money anymore.

More on Madame Noire!

MadameNoire Video

Comment Disclaimer

Comments that contain profane or derogatory language, video links or exceed 200 words will require approval by a moderator before appearing in the comment section. XOXO-MN

DidSheReallyGoThere

Ah, for the day women-hating LAMES stop stalking FEMALE LIFESTYLE ONLINE FORUMS with their Bitterisms. You’re about as slick as a Brillo pad. Ah, for 45+ y/o’s like yourself to QUIT frontin like you ain’t doin your potential a major disservice when you intentionally wait until you’re a couple years shy of the age of eligibility to enroll in AARP (it’s 50. Yes, I checked, lol)……….beamingly roll down Labor and Delivery’s hospital hallways!!!!! Come off it, Gramps! The intention withholding of empathy is for an individual with money who does not contractually secure his financial assets prior to entering a legally binding nuptial contract with another (this means No Pre-Nup Before Marriage). So speaking of what doesn’t necessitate a genius’ feedback……that’d pretty much be your Woman-Hating Two Cents. Save it for your orthopedic toilet seat cuz I’m sure you suffer constipation…..talkin THAT $#!T!!!!!!
- bru bru
  
  You say LAME, I say be responsible 30 years ahead. I’m in no way bitter of course because once again I said, no sympathy for any man. Pre-Nup check! I actually love women but this isn’t the 60′s anymore and women are getting theirs now a days. I just chose to secure my own, besides who says I wouldn’t take care of her if by age 45 we still both decide to divorce. I just don’t care to have a court system dictate that, but thats a far if in your early 50′s and she has never been married.
Big Mike

There’s really only one fair way to do this in cases like these.

First, if I were the judge, I would find out what the wife’s profession or schooling was BEFORE they got married. Let’s say she was studying to be a nurse.

Then, I would find out what’s the TOP END salary in her profession minus taxes. Let’s say for argument’s sake, it’s $65K.

Next, i would find out the length of their marriage. Let’s say it was 7 years.

65K x 7 = $455,000. That is what she’d get. No houses or any other assets.

Now, I’d consider making the husband take out a trust of some kind for the kids that they could draw on once they turn 18. That seems right.

In this particular case, it looks as if this girl was working, too. Then obviously the split of the assets would be different….But I definately wouldn’t let her keep ALL of the money she has earned while at the same time taking HALF of the money HE’s earned…..

Look, I hear the argument from women all of the time – that their child rearing, cooking and cleaning is just as important as him bringing in the big check. The problem with that is that there is no way to determine exactly HOW MUCH of the home caring the woman has done. How do you quantify it actually? i guess you could show receipts from daycare, nanny, maid and/or cleaning services (which would hurt the woman’s case). but one thing that CAN be quantified is the career that the wife forfeited. She put her life aside to be his wife, and she needs to be compensated for the potential earnings she would have made if they hadn’t got married.

This is really the only fair way to do it.
- missturner04
  
  When you marry, its sad that you should be thinking ahead to the “what if” of divorce. Your rationale is not faulty, just not how things are done. And both parties should do their due diligence to find out and if needed, that’s why there are prenuptial agreements. You most definitely pay out if you cheat. How does being the cause of your divorce factor in your judgment award?
  - Big Mike
    
    Cheating is not a crime. It IS grounds for divorce, but then you would would have to show video, phone records, etc, if not then it’s he said/she said, and judge would have to use his/her judgment and find out who’s believeable.
    
    In either case, the courts have seen SO many of these cases that they generally know that the marriage was rocky before the cheating began. It obviously doesn’t factor in to their decisions, because the judgments where infidelity is cited are similar to the judgments of ‘irreconcilable differences’… So no, it would not factor that much in my decision. Judgments for ‘pain and suffering’ are usually seen in civil courts.
    
    And please, let’s not talk about “how things are done”. This is the whole point of the article – it’s asking is this judgment fair or not; should the courts rethink how they settle divorce proceedings…..I’m pretty sure you and I can think of HUNDREDS of things that are done in America that can be improved.
    
    Lastly, yes it is sad that people think about possible divorce. But with the divorce rates the way they are, I hope that you understand why they think that way.
Britt

Maybe I’m just cut from a different cloth, but in the event I get divorced (which I don’t believe in), I don’t think I would want my ex’s retirement and half of everything. If we had kids, I would want child support and shared custody. That’s why it’s important to have your own life and career and not be dependent on someone else. Even if he made a lot more than me, my kids would be taken care of without having to get half of his salary.
- http://www.facebook.com/jenea.selassie Jenea’ Patrice Selassie
  
  Being married means that you become interdependent. Society’s focus on independence is part of the problem when it comes to the success of marriage. Getting married is supposed to mean that 2 independent people have come together and decided to depend on one another, especially once they begin having children together. So, if 1 or both people in the couple decide to end their marriage there is nothing wrong with the financial assets being split 50/50.
  Divorce is not and should not be easy on anyone.
honey

i bet those ratchet castmates want to be her friend now.
Tagirl

How long were they married? I hope it was for a while if she’s getting half of his retirement.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001378487692 Davidson Ruby

If these celebs would start to marry people they are really attracked to they can save themselfs a lot of heartache. It’s sad that people allow others to have such a hold on their lives that they are wiling to forfit their own happiness on what they want in life. I find the reason so many marriages go wrong is because people are not true to what they want in life. Be true to you first and then you will be fine.
status quo

I bet he’s moving on to a white woman afterwards mark my words.
- Pat
  
  You are correct or a woman of another race. Even if he does divorces a white woman, he will having a smile on his face. Sadly black guys don’t have a problem giving up paying white women whom they been involved with a lot of money (i.e. Tiger Woods). But with black women, they are mad, white women or women of other races, they are laughing while they are cutting the check.
- http://www.yourtango.com/users/cheekee-baby cheekee baby
  
  Yeah cause we know white women don’t leave and take half. *eye roll* ask your buddy Tiger Woods, Ask OJ, Ask Kobe (he narrowly dodged that divorce) But sure you’re right.
Gotta Say

After reading some of these comments, I have a genuine concern. Why are some women so quick to side against the wife and make her the gold digging villain? This is another example of women being so mean to one another and knocking the other down. Stop putting men on such pedestals that when it ends ugly it’s automatically deemed the womans fault.
JaneDoe

Good for her.. I am pro wives getting what they deserve.. She is now a single mother and that is very hard. If he didn’t want to come out the pocket he should have tried to make his marraige work
Yay!

This article screams ignorance and the typical low thinking going on among young ladies that result in the endless baby-mama woes, and reliance on government assistance (tax payer). In today’s society, we are almost desensitized to the constant stories of the no good husband and father who neglect to provide the basics for his children. Kenya took the necessary steps to secure her children’s future and be compensated for years of marriage. Why isn’t Kenya’s story lauded as success in divorce or an example of the benefits to being married to your children’s father? Why imply Kenya is a gold digger? The last impression that any news source geared towards a community where 70% of children are born out of wedlock is that woman should not exercise all her legal rights in divorce and in child support. This story almost gives credit to a man who has cheated on his wife, showed-up drunk to court litigations and wanted a piece of his wife’s measly reality show income, while he has millions in accounts. # Quit bashing responsible woman is support of trashy men.
NikkitaMichelle

In the grand scheme of things of how these Californing NBA players ex-wives get paid, this is nothing.
Pingback: ViolasTEA - Charlie and Kenya Bell: DIVORCED …. Kenya receives BIG pay day.
Ann

Please she will probably still do basketball wives. Trying to make all the money as she can. She will definitely be doing some shopping full time. I know he somewhere crying and kicking himself, hating to give up that kind of money.
Na Na

Daaaaammmmnnnnn (Have a baby by me baby, be a millionaire *50cent voice)
- sammi_lu
  
  lol
baddvixentype

why is she entitled to any of his NBA benefits, she was playing them games. women like this is why these men are so fearful to share their possessions
- #Seriously
  
  You’re obviously not married. I’ve been with my husband since my freshman and his junior year of college. His first full time job was making $10 an hour. Now, 8 years later he’s a Systems Engineer with a very lucrative salary. We’re a team and when he gets promoted so do I!
  - RuSerious
    
    and you said that to say????? All that means is you get half his retirement if you do divorce. Team or not. Marriage just does not benefit a man anymore.. Sorry to say.
    - TeahMonae
      
      I agree to a certain extent. I don’t
      feel that just because you were married to a man, you should be automatically entitled
      to half of his income/benefits in the event of a divorce. However, if my
      husband and I were to ever divorce, I would feel as if I deserve something substantial
      because he did not do it all by himself. When he started his business, I helped
      him secure contracts, get permits to open, etc. I helped him grow his business
      and at one time even borrowed money from my parents to help it get off the
      ground. Now that he is successful, I would expect that he would be fair in the
      event of a divorce and not just leave me high and dry when I was supportive of
      him from the very beginning. Now, if I didn’t contribute anything, I wouldn’t
      feel that I deserved anything.
    - Yay!
      
      Well, I hope along with your disdain for marriage you have no plans to have children. Research still shows that married persons produce the most well-rounded people.
    - Yay!
      
      Well, I hope along with your disdain for marriage you have no plans to have children. Research still shows that married persons produce the most well-rounded people.
    - #Seriously
      
      My point is that if it’s a marriage in which the husband or wife has been down from day one and helped their spouse build a business, go through school and pay loans, go through the journey of becoming a professional athlete or entertainer, the spouse is entitled to 40-50%. This does not apply to people like Evelyn Lozada, Amber Rose if her and Whiz Khalifa get married. I’m not talking about people who just come on the scene after success.For example, Shawn Snow from the 1st season of RHO of ATL. She talked about being in college together, going to Red Lobster was a big deal fast forward through college and then NBA. When they divorced she deserved 50% of what he earned because she was on the journey with him. This applies to both male and female spouses. The problem I have with your statement is that your default was marriage benefiting a man. A person who really understands marriage doesn’t look at it like Man/Woman it’s a team. In a marriage, one person is the head and the other is the neck. Don’t assume which is who.
    - DidSheReallyGoThere
      
      #RollingEyesAtOBVIOUSLYAnotherManStalkingAWOMENS’LifestyleForum#…..and YOU are here ‘why?’????? This country’s institution of marriage was made BY and FOR men—–in a time where the only right a woman had over her body and life was when to relieve her bowels or bladder. We couldn’t work. Vote. Travel alone. Own Property. Re-marry upon widowhood unless contracting our assets to the prospective suitor prior to nuptials being exchanged. Infidelity on OUR part resulted in termination of parental rights, societal stigma as a ‘who re’. Feminists wisened up and implemented their tax-payer (and God-given) right to DEMAND MORE for our troubles! Sorry if monogamy, use of our uterus’ to continue your bloodline, serving as live-in nanny to your offspring, and providing personal chef and housekeeping services ain’t enough for [a lot of your fellow Menfolk] to get with the “Cheaper to Keep Her” ideology——-TOUGH CRAP. It’s gonna cost ya! (and you BETTA not be a day late, nor a dolla short!)
      - http://www.facebook.com/jenea.selassie Jenea’ Patrice Selassie
        
        HA HA! Who are you? I want you as a FB friend right now! LOL
    - deidraj
      
      It doesn’t benefit a man? Ugghh…you’re draining me. It benefits him when he chose a woman based on her looks when he wanted a trophy to show off. It benefit him when he laid down and had those beautiful children that she carried for him. It benefit him when he got to have his cake and eat it too for as long as she was willing to tolerate it. It stopped when he decided he no longer wanted to deal. Marriage is a trap for anyone who isn’t marrying the person they “love” for the right reasons or without being committed to forever.
    - http://www.facebook.com/jenea.selassie Jenea’ Patrice Selassie
      
      “Marriage does not benefit a man anymore…” Are YOU serious?
      Have you ever been married?
- Stans4Forreals
  
  Maybe the idiot shoulda got a prenup!! Notice how rarely you hear of a white man being cleaned out of over half of his possessions in a divorce unless it was a really long marriage???
- Yay!
  
  You’re bad alright. Who do you think was taking care of home and children while he was running the nation playing basketball? You ladies kill me thinking that being a wife and mother isn’t a job or isn’t part of supporting a husband. Smh.
  - JaneDoe
    
    The only one thinking its not a job is most likely someone with no children or the men who think its okay to up and leave the mother of their children with no support. This woman wasn’t his jump off she was his wife.
- child of God
  
  i usually go to this site to get away from the ratchetness but after reading these comments i see its plenty of ratchetness on this page…For all you women who will read this, if you were a millionaire who worked hard for every dime would it be right for your husband to get have of everything you earned even though he did nothing but to help you on your craft ..Before yall get your weaves in a bunch, i understand being a mother is a job, but so is being a father.. the momma can’t take the kids to school w/ out a car? she can’t feed them w/out food, they can’t go to school w/ out money and oh who did all that for you? THE DADDY…All yall would be mad at me if I got Oprah pregnant and took her money but hell that’s all women do nowadays.. Black, white, whatever all these women are gold diggers, most of yall on this page are gold diggers.. I’m very disappointed that we live in a world where we can’t treat people how we want to be treated..So to all you bitter , gold digging, no talent, uneducated, ratchet azz women I hope God enlightens you w/ the righteous spirit so one day you all can make it in heaven and stop being hell to us on earth
  - Nessa
    
    For someone that knows so little you say so much. It’s so funny how you start off sounding pretty ratchet and but then add a touch of God with an judgmental undertone with a little bit of cursing to boot. Christianity at its finest, ya’ll. First of all, in situations like these where there was enough money being made to sustain the household without a working woman (or man), the woman is typically a skill-less worker. If she had a degree, she has never gotten experience in her field and therefore lacks any work experience and is already an older person entering the workforce when divorced (which is an disadvantage). In a situation where they have been married for at least ten years, that is ten years of no work experience. No retirement check in the working or even medical insurance. No money towards Medicare (and you need to atleast work 10 years for Medicare) or Social Security. Now you and the husband (or wife) divorce, you who haven’t had any employment, still have no skills, no trade and no work experience. How would a woman sustain herself when she wasn’t called to work through their entire marriage? Most of the times, it suggested and favored by the husband for the woman not to work. Now if she has physical custody of the kids, you adding even more weight and stress to the situation. So you’re saying this same woman is a golddigger if she pursues him in court to make sure that she (and her children) are okay for whatever period of time the judgement is or until she remarries. That is crazy. That is why people can go to court and have a third party that knows all the facts rules because it is totally unfair for the people that were not working. It’s the reason why people suggest you get married instead of shacking up so you have legal rights to fight for. It’s all legalities. Educate yourself in facts, rather than bolster your opinion that has no basis in reality.
    
    Now, I understand ‘she wasn’t shooting with him in the gym’ concept, I do. So I do believe there is a limit to how much you can award the non-working spouse and usually the judges are fair and take all things into consideration, but to go off and say the wife is a gold digger as suggested by the original author of this post, its just plain stupid.
    - Big Mike
      
      Correct. Please read my original post in this thread. It is simple and fair, IMO.
  - http://www.yourtango.com/users/cheekee-baby cheekee baby
    
    No you didn’t say all that foulness then threw God in the end of it lol. If the tables were turned I would absolutely support a man getting half of the marital assets.
  - DidSheReallyGoThere
    
    Child of God; indeed, You are. Full of $#!t; indeed, You are as well!!!! Your scriptures teach that such modes of communication are a blasphemous abomination to your ‘God’, so if you genuinely support the avoidance of ratchetness, please promise everyone reading that you’ll never bring YOURS `round hear again!!!!!! Pleeeeease! With all this contradictory bull$#!t comin’ outta your mouth, your breath has GOT to stink! I know your logic certainly does!
    - DidSheReallyGoThere
      
      oops. misspelled “here”.

About Us • Advertising • Contact Us • Privacy • Your California Privacy Rights

MadameNoire is a sophisticated lifestyle publication that gives African-American women the latest in fashion trends, black entertainment news, parenting tips and beauty secrets that are specifically for black women. Black women seek information on a wide variety of topics including African-American hair care, health issues, relationship advice and career trends - and MadameNoire provides all of that.