10 Famous Women Who Had to Pay Up After They Got Divorced
Alimony Ain’t Just For Men: 10 Famous Black Women Who Paid The Price For Divorce - Page 8
It’s no secret that Cardi B and Offset have had a messy split. Cheating allegations and online arguments led to their love’s demise late last year. When things didn’t seem they could get any worse, TMZ reported on May 29 that the former Migos rapper requested spousal support amid their divorce.
When couples go their separate ways, it’s usually women who tend to ask for alimony or child support. But it’s not unheard of for men to seek financial assistance – it’s just rare. According to several reports citing the 2010 U.S. Census, of the 400,000 people receiving spousal support, only 3% were men. More recent data on this remains limited.
Here are 10 celebrity women who have had to hand over their money to their exes.
1. Sherri Shepherd, 58
Sherri Shepherd is a victim of having to pay her ex-husband, Lamar Sally. During their three-year marriage, they welcomed a child via surrogate before splitting up in 2014. Their child was born three months after the divorce filing. Sally sought child support and alimony from the TV personality and Shepherd attempted to fight back. She explained that she initially didn’t want the child and only agreed to it to save their marriage.
She fought to keep her name off the birth certificate since she wasn’t initially at the birth to put her name on it. But the courts ruled that she is the mother of the child by law despite not being genetically related to him. During their surrogacy process, it was only Sally’s sperm and the surrogate’s egg used to create the child.
The Sherri Shepherd Show host reportedly has to pay $4,100 in child support a month to Lamar Sally.
2. Wendy Williams, 60
Wendy Williams married Kevin Hunter in 1997, and they remained together until their divorce in 2020. Hunter, who served as an executive producer of Williams’ former eponymous talk show, was unfaithful to her a number of times – which led to the split. During their divorce proceedings, Williams agreed to pay Hunter an unspecified amount in a monthly severance. However, the agreement was to terminate if Williams’ income was ever less than two times her annual salary in 2020. After leaving the show in 2022, due to her declining health, Williams’ salary took a major hit. According to her guardian Sabrina Morrissey, she only received $1,952 in February 2022, and in January 2023, she received $59.
Morrissey filed documents in 2024, demanding Hunter pay back $112,000 for being “overpaid” for three months. Hunter hit back saying Williams actually owed 23 months in back payments. He claimed she stopped paying before being placed on a court-ordered guardianship.
3. Mary J. Blige, 54
After divorcing in 2016, Mary J. Blige was ordered to pay spousal support to her ex, Kendu Isaacs. In court documents, Blige claimed she was the breadwinner in their relationship and that he spent about $420,000 on his mistress. Isaacs originally asked for $129,319 per month from Blige. But the judge showed some favor to the “Mr. Wrong” singer. She ended up having to pay $30,000 in temporary spousal support.
Here is what she told Variety in 2017: “I’m living. I’m not happy about a lot of things. I thought someone loved me, right? Turns out, he was a con artist and he didn’t, and now he’s coming after me for all my money. When you come out of something like that, you realize you were never the one. There was someone else that was his queen. I got played. I got suckered. I have to keep smiling and keep my spirits up because this is designed to kill me.”
4. Candace Parker, 39
Following their eight-year marriage, WNBA star Candance Parker and former NBA player Shelden Williams divorced in 2018. The former Atlanta Hawks player was the one to file and he received $400,000 in alimony. Parker’s agreement for this settlement means she avoided paying ongoing spousal support. She is now married to former Russian basketball player Anna Petrakova.
5. Janet Jackson, 59
Janet Jackson handed over a large sum when she divorced her secret husband. She and Rene Elizondo Jr. quietly married and stayed together for nine years before he filed for divorce in 2000. He attempted to sue the All For You singer for $25 million in spousal support. He claimed that when he signed the prenuptial agreement he was under duress. The couple settled three years later and Elizondo left with $10 million.
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6. Toni Braxton, 57
Toni Braxton is another artist who had to pay alimony to her ex-husband Keri Lewis. During their 12-year marriage, they shared their two sons Denim, 23, and Diezel, 22. In 2018, she opened up about paying alimony and said it made her feel like the “men are the new b*tches.” Lewis later came forward with his own explanation for the aftermath of their divorce. He revealed that Braxton’s lawyers pushed for a prenup before the wedding, and he signed it without consulting an attorney.
In his statement he wrote, “Fast-forward to 2012 after separating, I moved out and at some point later, Toni mentioned to me that the payments set in the prenup would start being deposited into my account. I received alimony for around three years between 2012 and 2014.”
7. Mel B, 50
Mel B’s tumultuous marriage to Stephen Belafonte ended in 2018 after 10 years together. The former Spice Girls member claims she endured physical abuse, which also led to her suicide attempt. While she was able to finally get out of her marriage, it wasn’t without some financial loss.
A judge ordered for her to pay $40,000 in alimony to Belafonte along with $140,000 for legal fees.
8. Halle Berry, 58
Halle Berry filed for divorce from her actor husband, Olivier Martinez, back in 2015. However, they did not finalize it until 2023. Because they share their 11-year-old son Maceo, the court ordered Berry to pay child support. She hands over $8,000 to her ex monthly and, according to People, must also give “4.3% of any income she receives above $2,000,000.”
But that’s not all. The Catwoman star is also making child support payments for her 17-year-old daughter Nahla Ariela Aubry. She welcomed Nahla with her ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry, but the two split in 2010. In 2014, a judge ordered her to pay $16,000 in child support. She was able to get that decreased to $8,000 in 2021; however, she had to pay him 4.3% of any income she received over $1.95 million.
9. Rachel Lindsay, 40
Rachel Lindsay thought she had her happy ending with Bryan Abasolo. They got engaged in 2017 after meeting on The Bachelorette and tied the knot two years later. After four years of marriage, Abasolo filed for divorce. Court documents from last July show that the court ordered Lindsay to pay $13,257 per month in temporary spousal support. She also had to pay $20,000 for his legal fees.
In the Jan. 10 episode of her podcast Higher Learning she broke her silence on the divorce and how it affected her thoughts on marriage.
“I really want to start rebuilding and I want to move forward, and I’m able to do that now,” she said. “It’s, like, changed my whole perspective on everything. I don’t even know if I would get married again. I can’t even fathom that.”
10. Jurnee Smollett, 38
Jurnee Smollet finalized her divorce to her ex-husband Josiah Bell in 2021. The musician received a $1 million payout from that but is still after more money. He’s demanding half of her retirement earnings from their nine-year marriage. They finalized their divorce in California, which enforces a 50/50 split. The law requires couples to divide their assets equally after a split. On top of receiving the million dollars, Bell is also receiving $7,000 a month in child support and alimony. They share their son Hunter whom they welcomed in 2016.
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